POS expertise has impacted the retail trade far and broad ever since its debut within the Seventies. Earlier than the fashionable POS system, transactions had been guide, cash-based, and tangible. Nevertheless, with the arrival of expertise, the POS has modified how retailers do enterprise and the way shoppers do their procuring.
Although the primary POS was centered on processing money funds in a clear, trackable means, it rapidly developed to facilitate credit score and debit card transactions. And now? POS methods can do a complete lot extra than simply course of funds. They’ve became mini enterprise administration command facilities!
So, what are the newest tendencies in POS methods? Beneath, I break down the POS retail tendencies of 2024 which can be impacting the trade now and into the longer term.
Cloud POS
Enterprise has transitioned to largely cloud-based options — and that features the POS. Cloud POS methods are more and more changing into the norm, changing the old-school conventional point-of-sale terminal that makes information troublesome to entry and handle.
In line with Straits Analysis, the worldwide cloud POS market dimension was price $3,987 million in 2022 and is forecasted to be greater than $30,205 million by 2031 — that’s a compound annual progress fee (CAGR) of 24.7%.
The cloud POS is a major level of sale innovation as a result of it has made information, agility, and mobility accessible to companies of all sizes. Particularly in a world the place retail is now not single-channel, cloud POS expertise permits companies to sync information and guarantee operations run easily no matter their enterprise dimension or location(s).
A retailer with 100 bodily places, its personal web site, and a thriving Amazon presence can profit from the cloud POS similar to the small mom-and-pop store that’s managing a single retail location plus on-line channels.
With cloud POS expertise, you’re now not tethered to a selected place or a hardwire connection. You possibly can entry what you are promoting expertise from anyplace, at any time.
AI and automation
AI and automation are additionally altering nearly each side of the enterprise panorama. I guess there are methods you already use these applied sciences that you simply don’t even notice!
The pattern can be impacting the POS — and in a great way. 100% of retail enterprise homeowners surveyed by Sq. Way forward for Retail report say automation has improved their enterprise ultimately.
That very same survey discovered that monitoring is the highest space of automation for 43% of companies, and the largest profit is an improved buyer expertise for 47% of companies. One other 45% have seen improved worker retention and profitability because of automation.
What position does AI play in fashionable POS methods?
With regards to POS expertise, AI and automation occur in a ton of potential use instances:
- Automated reordering for stock
- Fraud detection and prevention
- AI-powered pricing changes
- Loyalty and rewards applications
- E mail advertising and marketing
Buyers from Sq.’s report say they’d assist retailers automating:
- Checkout: 31%
- Product search: 22%
- AI-generated product descriptions: 22%
- Dynamic pricing: 21%
- Product suggestions: 18%
- Product evaluations: 15%
Seemingly, the probabilities are really countless. I’m excited to see this pattern play out and develop every year with progressive point-of-sale methods.
Cost choices
In the present day’s shoppers like comfort and choices. And that is true for funds made on the POS terminal. I bear in mind when it was only a money or credit score world—now, prospects can select to pay for his or her purchases in some ways.
In line with Sq., right here’s the way it breaks down by way of the cost strategies retailers settle for:
- Money: 58%
- Cell pockets apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay: 57%
- QR code funds: 52%
- Conventional card funds: 47%
- Touchless card funds: 44%
- Purchase-now, pay-later (BNPL) choices like Clearpay: 43%
POS expertise is advancing in a means that accommodates these ever-changing cost preferences. The truth is, fashionable POS tendencies present that the platforms have integrated new options and performance to course of totally different cost strategies and provide choices like subscriptions, cryptocurrency, saved funds, invoice splitting, and present playing cards.
Cell POS
Cell POS, or mPOS, is one other sizzling pattern. The worldwide mPOS market is estimated to be price round $3.78 trillion, based on Statista. Greater than 2 billion mPOS customers are anticipated by 2028. And practically 1 / 4 of consumers need to use cellular checkout choices.
So why is that this trending? Similar to shoppers are extra cellular, so are associates. Now, associates can meet consumers the place they’re on the gross sales ground and course of the transaction on the spot. Clients don’t have to attend in line on the POS terminal — they’ll take a look at wherever they’re at.
However this extends previous transactions, too. An mPOS makes it simpler for retail employees to carry out varied duties, equivalent to barcode scanning, stock counts, and so forth.
Buyer self-serve
Self-checkout is one other pattern in retail, and whereas it initially made its mark in grocery shops, different verticals are exploring the pattern, too. That is largely consumer-driven — with Sq. Way forward for Retail reporting that two-thirds of consumers want to do duties independently, like trying out or seeing if a product is in inventory.
Shoppers are more and more feeling empowered to do issues independently, influencing the way forward for POS.
When requested what duties they’d prefer to carry out on their very own with the assistance of expertise versus with a dwell employees member, right here’s what the respondents stated:
- Checking product stock: 29%
- Ordering out-of-stock merchandise: 26%
- Gathering details about a product: 26%
- Selecting up an merchandise ordered on-line: 24%
- Utilizing cellular checkout or in-store terminals: 24%
- Arranging residence supply: 23%
Why? They love the effectivity and comfort of having the ability to do issues themselves. “Clients are searching for pace,” writes Bob Phibbs, The Retail Physician. Self-checkout can present that effectivity.
These shopper preferences proceed to impression point-of-sale market tendencies.
Biometric safety
Safety must be a high concern for companies — to guard each themselves and their prospects. POS expertise usually comes outfitted with safety to safeguard all events concerned. PCI compliance, information encryption, and two-factor authentication are only a few examples.
Nevertheless, one safety pattern that can impression POS expertise in 2025 and past is biometric security measures. This contains issues like fingerprint identification and facial recognition.
Biometric funds are experiencing a surge in progress, with Juniper Analysis forecasting a CAGR of 113.6% from 2024 by way of 2028. Some even anticipate it to grow to be the norm inside the subsequent decade.
Companies are more and more implementing these safety measures on their POS methods. This may be for workers or admins who log in to the POS system and authentication for buyer funds.
And never solely does biometric authentication assist increase safety, nevertheless it additionally makes login and connection extra environment friendly. And bear in mind, consumers love effectivity and comfort.
7 greatest POS methods to attempt in 2025
These are our picks for the greatest POS methods obtainable to small companies seeking to faucet into these tendencies:
- Greatest general small enterprise level of sale system: Sq.
- Greatest POS for retail and e-commerce: Shopify
- Greatest restaurant POS: Toast
- Greatest for desktop compatibility: Lightspeed Retail
- Greatest iPad restaurant POS: TouchBistro
- Greatest for common cost processor compatibility: Clover
- Greatest for high-risk companies: KORONA POS
