Future of Retail 2014: Mobile POS Solutions Move Beyond 'Show and Tell'

BURLINGTON, Mass. and NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- attune Consulting, a premier global solutions provider to the fashion and lifestyle industries, today shared the top four technology advances to expect from retail mobile point of sale (POS) solutions over the next 12-18 months.

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According to research from IHL Group, mobile in retail is now a $5.7 billion business worldwide and one that continues to grow rapidly. Retailers have embraced mobile POS solutions as a way to extend the reach of their in-store POS and engage with shoppers. However, these solutions remain in the "show and tell" phase, offering only limited information about products available in the store and the ability to scan and purchase those items.

Over the next 12-18 months, retailers can expect to offer a richer, more personalized omnichannel shopping experience through their mobile POS deployments. The emergence of new platform-agnostic solutions, along with deeper integration of the mobile POS to backend enterprise systems tied into the supply chain, will enable retailers to transform the physical store shopping experience and deliver:

• "Anywhere, any store" shopping – If goods aren't available in the store, with a few swipes of the fingertips, sales associates on the store floor can instantly search for inventory across store locations, message other store associates as needed, place an order for delivery, and have it shipped to the customer from anywhere within the country.
• Advanced analytics – Sales associates will have instant access to customer data – including buying patterns, preferences, and recent online or store purchases – to offer a more personal and customized shopping experience. Store managers will gain access to real-time reports on retail operations, such as the status of merchandise during promotions or product performance that will empower them to improve store performance.
• Direct access to global data – Current mobile POS solutions have limited access to global merchandise and inventory data. By directly integrating into the retailer's central enterprise systems, mobile POS clients – across all stores – are constantly synchronized with the latest information. This will give sales associates the ability to easily view merchandise information and availability offered at other stores in real time so they can help customers find and purchase the products that best fit their needs, regardless of location.
• Global views into inventory...and the future – Today store personnel can use a mobile POS to check and manage the delivery of inventory at their store location. With deeper integration, retailers will not only be able to extend that visibility to global inventory and deliver "anywhere, any store" shopping, they will also be able to place orders for items not yet manufactured. This glimpse into the future of shopping is entirely possible – and probable – within the next few years with this level of mobile POS integration.

"The true power of the mobile POS will come when it becomes an extension of the global retail supply chain, rather than being deployed as an extension of the store cash register," said Verlin Youd, regional director, Americas at attune. "By leveraging the mobile POS to connect what happens on the store floor to developments downstream at the factory or farm level – where products are sourced and manufactured – retailers with physical storefronts will have an opportunity to differentiate their services in a highly competitive market."

These viewpoints are based on attune's years of experience working with many of the world's most recognized fashion and lifestyle brands to deploy technology and service offerings that address all areas of their operations – from product design through manufacturing to the retail store. 

attune is exhibiting (booth #1038) at the NRF Annual Convention & EXPO, January 13-14, 2014. Stop by to learn more about how attune is serving the needs of fashion and lifestyle retailers with attune for Retail, a retail enterprise solution, and to receive a demonstration of attune Mobile Store, a mobile POS solution designed to integrate with any retail enterprise system.

To arrange for a media interview at NRF, contact Sharon Dratch: 781-418-2425, [email protected].

About attune

A premier global solution provider to the fashion industry, attune empowers companies at all stages of the fashion value chain to maximize revenue, ROI, and supply chain visibility. Established in 2006 as an SAP solution provider - for manufacturers, brand owners, and retailers - its mission is to partner with the world's great fashion and lifestyle companies to develop customized, innovative solutions that will transform their business success. attune's comprehensive offering of end-to-end ERP solutions, combined with full lifecycle services, include preconfigured solutions for accelerated SAP Apparel & Footwear (SAP AFS) and Retail implementations. For more information about attune, please visit http://www.attuneconsulting.com.

Media Contact:  
Sharon Dratch 
Davies Murphy Group, Inc. 
+1-781-418-2425 
[email protected]

SOURCE attune Consulting