Fashion Resources Video

Video: Retail Roundup: Amazon Kindle POS & Small Business Fashion & Retail


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www.ScalingRetail.com

@ScalingRetail

With the launch of the Amazon Kindle POS system, it’s a great opportunity to talk about new technologies in the POS (Point of Sale) space for small businesses. How do small retailers and brands choose the right system?

If you’re familiar with POS systems, and you’re a vendor or small retailer, chances are you’ve spent quite some time agonizing over which system to use. Potentially, you’re working off of an iPad, or maybe you’re working off your iPhone and using such applications as Square, or even PayPal. With so many new technologies being introduced into the POS market for small businesses, it often leaves business owners asking:

  • Where should I start?
  • Where should I go?
  • What’s the best inventory management app for my business?
  • How can I best take advantage of all these new products in the marketplace?

Calculate the return on investment (ROI), considering not only the amount you’re going to spend for the initial setup, but also the monthly recurring cost associated with buying and using the technology. How much is it going to cost you month after month to manage your inventory system via a certain technology?

Integrating E-Commerce & Brick-and-Mortar Sales

With all the new system applications available, the one that I am most excited about is the POS systems that integrate online and offline. Imagine being able to manage inventories at your brick-and-mortar store and your online inventory for your e-commerce store- all at the same time. With the POS system in place, both the brick-and-mortar store and the online store pull up inventory from the same place. You’re able to manage inventory more efficiently and economically as you don’t need to maintain inventory for the brick-and-mortar store and the online store separately. Managing inventory in multiple places at the same time could be more challenging if you’re a small business.

Now, how does this work if you’re a vendor? Well, if you’re a brand, hopefully you’re taking advantage of all the new ways that you can access your customer. Meaning, with the integration of having a POS system, you can work with online and offline, you can manage your inventory and take advantage of things, like pop-up shops, trade shows, etc. (in terms of immediate selling), as well as taking a look at things like trunk shows and other types of events.

Tech Spend Financial Planning for the Future

It’s always important to think about your long-term strategy. With the introduction of this Kindle POS system, it makes us think about how much these types of technologies are going to cost us. Obviously when you have so many products to market, things start to get a little more expensive. As a small business, you’re definitely in the advantageous position here. A lot of brands and companies are going to be vying for your business, and it’s really up to you to be critical in terms of where you spend your dollars. Hopefully you’ve found a good POS system- and if you haven’t, take a look at some of the ones mentioned above.