Javelin Explorers Alternative POS Technologies that Level the Playing Field for Small Retailers
San Francisco, CA, November 10, 2016: With the October 2015 migration to the EMV chip card standard now a year in the rearview mirror, many small retailers are still struggling with where to make point-of-sale upgrades to keep up with the rapid explosion in consumer payments choices. Today, Javelin Strategy & Research released The Future of Point-of-Sale: Strategies to Meet Small Retailers Evolving Needs, which examines the current state of POS usage and EMV compliance among small retailers, as well as the adoption of various features like NFC, mobile wallet and cloud applications.
Rapid explosion in consumer choice, pressures of the EMV migration, and significant investments from big box stores leave small retailers exploring POS investments to keep pace. When asked to rank barriers to adopting new POS terminals, cost (72%), new hardware requirements (71%), and security concerns (61%) were by far the most important issues for small retailers.
This suggests that most small retailers understand the need for a POS upgrade but are not clear on what type of system to upgrade to. Is it better to make a costly upgrade now, or make a small investment in EMV compliance and wait until the dust has settled on issues such as NFC vs. QR code to commit?
"Small businesses need to start taking lessons from the big retailers who have moved extremely quickly in the past two years to transform how customers shop and earn rewards in their stores," said Ian Benton, Analyst, Small Business Banking at Javelin Strategy & Research. "Consumers begin to expect to be rewarded for purchasing at a retailer. Many small retailers may not know that these capabilities — including mobile wallets and loyalty and rewards as part of a broader marketing services offering — are available to them as well.”
The report, The Future of Point-of-Sale: Strategies to Meet Small Retailers Evolving Needs, assesses the myriad ways acquirers and their software and hardware partners are innovating — especially in the areas of loyalty and rewards, operations, mobile payments, and POS lending.
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About Javelin Strategy & Research
Javelin Strategy & Research, a Greenwich Associates LLC company, is a research-based advisory firm that advises its clients to make smarter business decisions in a digital financial world. Our analysts offer unbiased, actionable insights and unearth opportunities that help financial institutions, government entities, payment companies, merchants, and other technology providers sustainably increase profits.
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