The Role Of Receipts At The New POS

October 2012 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Matt Pillar, editor in chief

With the rapid metamorphosis of the traditional POS, what will become of receipts?

As retailers reevaluate every point of interaction with consumers, the role of the fixed-station POS is changing. With any change in POS philosophy comes a ripple effect of operational decisions — from payment acceptance to the issuance of receipts. We talked with Angela Mansfield-Swanson, director of corporate marketing at CognitiveTPG, for insight into the future of the receipt in an omni-channel, increasingly mobile retail environment.

In an age when the relevance of the store is changing — if not altogether questioned — how are retailers leveraging POS peripherals to enhance or differentiate the in-store experience?

Mansfield-Swanson: The retail environment has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Even just a few short years ago, the main question was how brick-and-mortar retailers could compete with the online retailers. Today, the majority of retailers have a multichannel platform, so the complexities are far greater, yet the opportunities for connecting with the customer are also exponentially better.

In our industry, we use the acronym POS. What does it really mean other than point of sale? I see it as the key interaction point between retailer and customer. In the past, this was a salesperson at the store and at the register. Today, the points of interaction are many, which means our POS platforms must adapt to these multiple interaction points, including mobile POS.