ICT at Work Retailing

EPOS – Electronic Point of Sale EPOS has revolutionized the control of stock and monitoring of sales.

Behind the scenes The quantity of stock sold is taken off the number of items in stock so that the shop knows how many they have left to sell. The value of the sale is passed to the accounts system, so the store knows how much money has been taken that day. The amount of cash taken by each till can be compared to the value of the total goods sold.

EPOS – Advantages and disadvantages

Uses for EPOS data EPOS data is very important to shops as it can produce a number of essential reports.

EPOS data: Information available through data collected by EPOS: Which are the shop’s busiest times. Which cashiers work quickest. How much the average customer spends. Which goods are most popular. Whether the tills agree with the money taken. Which stock needs to be reordered.

Which one am I using today? Loyalty cards Lots of stores run loyalty card schemes. Customers use the card each time they make a purchase in the relevant store. The money spent earns them points, vouchers or gifts depending on the amount spent and the type of scheme. Which one am I using today? The store uses the data collected to build up a profile of the customers and what they buy. They can also send out more vouchers to encourage customers to use the shop again.

Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale

Benefits of EFTPOS Store Benefits Customer Benefits Less cash held in the tills, so robbery is less likely. Money from debit cards goes into the store’s account straight away. Don’t have to spend time counting cash. No possibility of till operator giving the wrong change. Less cash needs to be carried so personal safety is improved. Don’t have to carry a cheque book. Don’t have to decide how much money to take out with them. Faster service at the checkout because people don’t have to physically count money

Online shopping (e-commerce) Many shops have created web sites displaying images and details of all their products. This has enabled people to buy all sorts of things like groceries, books and specialist items like craft supplies online using the Internet. Customers access the web sites and purchase goods by dropping them into a virtual shopping basket. The cost of the goods is paid by credit or debit card using a secure area within the site. The goods are then delivered to the customer’s address.

Advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce Goods are delivered to the door. Can shop at any time of day or night. Can search the web for hard to find items. Can order things from anywhere in the world. Can be quicker than visiting the shops. Easy to compare prices. Postage can be expensive. Credit card security can be a concern. You can’t touch things or try clothes on. You have to be at home to accept delivery. May mean high street stores will close.

Summary EPOS is Electronic Point of Sale, and it deals with stock and sales. EPOS usually operates through bar codes on goods. It makes stock control much simpler. Customers get itemized receipts. EFTPOS is Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale and deals with paying for goods using credit or debit cards. Many people now shop online using the Internet. They can choose from a wide range of goods.