We've seen it time and time again. A retailer invests in a new point of sale (POS) system only to get frustrated and be back on the market again within a few months.
Why? In many cases, popular POS systems look great on paper, but aren’t industry-specific, are complicated to learn, or come with hidden costs.
That’s why we firmly believe that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, you need a system with features tailored to your unique needs and industry requirements.
In this article, we’ll break down the must-have retail POS features to look out for — both for general retail and specialty use cases — so you can invest in a system that you’re happy with in the long term.
8 Must-Have Features All Retailers Need To Stay Ahead
While we don’t believe any one system is a good fit for every retailer, there are certain features every modern POS system should have. These include:
- Real-time inventory management: Input inventory from a previous list, add custom items, or choose from a list of popular products — then, track stock levels automatically every time you make a sale or receive an invoice.
- Flexible payment options: Accept all popular payment methods, including cash, credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payments.
- Customizable user interface (UI) and hotkeys: Customize the layout of touchscreens to quickly access your most-used features.
- Employee management: Let employees clock in and out directly on your POS system, manage payroll, and adjust access to key systems and functions.
- Integrated vendor management: Keep all supplier contacts in one place for quicker reorders to avoid stockouts and reduce manual data entry.
- E-commerce integration: Integrate seamlessly with popular online sales platforms or set up your own web store while connecting your in-store and online inventory for accurate stock levels and visibility.
- Sales and inventory reports: Track store performance, communicate the value of promotions, and spot trends with sales analytics tools and visual dashboards.
- Data security and PCI DSS compliance: Provide a modern customer experience without sacrificing security by using solutions that follow data and payment security best practices.
Consider this the foundation. If any system you look at doesn’t support these features, we recommend cutting it from your list.
These features should keep most businesses running, but are they enough to elevate your business and make it stand out from the competition? That depends on your industry — specialty retailers often have system needs that others don’t.
Keep reading for some of the industry-specific features you may need.
Key Features for Grocers, Butchers, and Food Stores
If you own a grocery store, butcher shop, international food market, or any other business that deals with fresh food, you have to tackle specific challenges that other retailers don’t — from perishable inventory and homemade items to order fulfillment and special payment needs.
If you work in grocery or other food shops, here are some additional features to keep an eye out for:
- Scale and label printers: Easily weigh items, price them, then scan them at checkout using integrated scales and label printers. Custom labels also make selling homemade items or unique product bundles easy.
- Unlimited SKUs: Track thousands or tens of thousands of unique items using a system that supports unlimited SKUs, including custom inventory for products you make in house.
- Quick-service features: Build menus, take orders, add modifiers, and send orders directly to a kitchen printer with features built for quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and grocerants.
- Perishable inventory tracking: Track expiration dates, monitor purchase dates for easier first in, first out (FIFO) stocking, and add custom sell-by dates to improve visibility over perishable items.
- EBT payment support: Support shoppers on SNAP benefits by using systems that natively support EBT payments.
Running a grocery store is tough and operates on razor-thin profit margins. By finding ways to better anticipate customer demand and reduce spoilage, you can reduce costs. Better yet, by modernizing the customer experience, you can stand toe-to-toe with big-box stores and chains.
Related Read: Integrated Payment Processing for Grocery Stores: The What, Why, and How
Key Features for Alcohol and Tobacco Sales
If you work in a “high-risk” industry like liquor stores, convenience stores, or smoke shops, the first thing you need to do is see if your industry is supported.
We’ve heard horror stories of high-risk businesses signing up for a POS system and using it for months before being unceremoniously dropped because the provider decided to change their mind on what types of businesses are supported.
That’s why it’s vital for businesses that specialize in tobacco or alcohol to use specialty POS systems. Not only is it safer, but many of them come with features that make running those types of businesses easier, including:
- Age verification and ID scanning: Prompt cashiers to check IDs or use a 2D barcode scanner to validate a customers’ ID instantly.
- Case break inventory tracking: Receive cigarettes by the carton or bottles of wine by the case, then sell and track individual units automatically. This ensures you have a more granular view of your stock levels.
- Unlimited and consolidated SKUs: Avoid adding duplicate SKUs for the same item by easily consolidating items from different manufacturers or adding variations to inventory.
- Label printers: Print labels for individual cigars or custom produce bundles to improve stock counts and speed up checkout.
- Automated tax rate adjustments: Adjust tax rates for different types of items in your shop and ensure that stores in multiple locations are collecting the right amount of sales tax.
- High-risk payment processing: Accept modern payment methods both in store and online with integrated high-risk payment processing.
- Security system integrations: Integrate your POS system directly with security cameras and other security systems to keep your store safe.
With the right liquor or tobacco POS system, you can eliminate hours of manual labor spent on adding inventory information and stock counting, and spend more time with your customers.
Key Features for Electronics Stores and Repair Shops
Electronic stores, cell phone shops, and repair shops remain popular — and with rising prices, many customers are looking for cheaper ways to stay up to date with the latest tech.
However, managing electronics inventory and repairs creates complexity, especially when businesses are using multiple, disconnected systems to do it.
Finding a consolidated POS solution can help. Here are a few unique features that help electronics and repair shops:
- Repair ticketing: Handle electronics sales and repairs in a single system. Assign repair techs, track parts inventory, and communicate with customers with integrated repair ticketing software.
- Serialized inventory tracking: Track both new and used products by serial number or IMEI number to track individual device history and warranty status.
- CRM tools: Leverage customer relationship management (CRM) tools to consolidate customer contact information, device information, and more.
- Layaway payment support: Give customers the option to pay for large purchases in installments.
- Loaner device tracking: Track devices that you loan to customers while repairs are being made.
Specialized inventory and customer tracking features ensure that your electronics shop can provide a superior customer experience.
Other Specialty Features To Consider
This last set of features isn’t industry-specific, but could be impactful depending on your business’ unique needs and goals. These include:
- Multichannel customer loyalty: Incentivize customers to come back by earning points on purchases or with exclusive discounts, whether they shop in store or online.
- Fuel integrations: Allow customers to pump and pay for gas on the same system you use to sell items in your shop.
- Custom reporting: Build custom reports based on product tags, sales by department, or other factors to get a detailed view of store performance.
- Low-stock alerts and automated reordering: Set low-stock alerts based on sales history and supplier lead times to optimize stock levels and reorder times. Some systems give the option to generate purchase orders automatically, further reducing manual labor.
- Segmented marketing: Use sales history to segment customers based on different preferences, then send those customers tailored discounts and promotions.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of every retail POS feature, but it should give you a solid idea of what to expect when you evaluate a provider.
Top POS Providers by Industry
With so many POS providers to choose from, how do you pick one that’s right for your business?
First things first: Don’t rush! A POS system can be a big investment, and it’s something you’ll use every day. The last thing you want to do is rush into buying a system that you don’t want to use.
Second, consider the following when evaluating a POS provider:
- Budget: How much do you currently spend on software? Do you need to upgrade your hardware?*
- Industry: Does your business have any industry-specific needs like weight-based sales or age-restricted products?
- Support: Does the POS company provide onboarding support? Who can you call if something isn’t working as expected or you want to upgrade?
- Goals: What are your short-term goals, and what things do you want to improve right away? What do you want to accomplish in several years, and will your system support both your long and short-term goals?
*Don’t forget to account for the time and money you’ll save by streamlining your processes with a modern POS system.
Without further ado, here are our recommendations for POS systems based on different industries.
Comcash — Best for Specialty Retailers and Boutiques
Comcash has worked with specialty retailers for over 25 years, creating powerful retail solutions to fit any budget. Trusted by over 3,000 businesses worldwide, Comcash includes many specialized features retailers need.
Features:
- Extensive CRM: Connect with your customers, learn their preferences, and tailor marketing to their needs with powerful CRM features.
- Integrated e-commerce: Offer seamless online sales with the Comcash webstore application and keep stock levels updated across channels.
- Mobile inventory: Manage and track inventory across multiple locations from any device.
Pricing: Comcash provides custom quotes based on your business type and size.
Other POS options: For specialty retailers, you might also think about Square (Retail plan and above), Erply, and National Retail Solutions (NRS).
Markt POS — Best for Small Grocery, Butchers, and Food Markets
Markt POS (spelled without the “E”) specializes in creating industry-specific solutions to simplify selling fresh food. Unlike many providers that require you to invest in new hardware, Markt allows you to modernize your food market without breaking the bank.
Features:
- Flexible hardware support: Leverage your existing barcode scanners, scanner scales, and deli scales thanks to Markt POS’ flexible hardware integrations. They also sell POS hardware for businesses that are just starting out.
- Quick service features: Manage orders for delis and grocerants on the same system you use for the rest of the store, simplifying operations and giving you better visibility into store performance.
- Weight-based sales: Easily sell catch weight items, print labels with integrated scales, track average weights left in inventory, and more with powerful weight-based inventory tracking.
- E-commerce support: Create a custom online grocery store to deliver or offer local pickup, or connect your inventory with popular services like InstaCart and Mercato.
Pricing: Markt POS offers multiple pricing tiers based on your business’ needs.
Other POS options: There are a few other grocery POS options to consider, especially if you operate a medium or large-scale grocery business, including IT Retail, Lightspeed POS, and Toast.
Bottle POS — Best for Liquor Stores and Wine Shops
Bottle POS was built by an Atlanta-based liquor store owner to cater specifically to liquor retailers. In addition to everything you’d expect from a modern POS system, Bottle POS includes some unique and helpful industry-specific features.
Features:
- Automatic item ranking: Use Bottle POS’ unique auto ranking feature to classify your stock from A (top sellers) to D (items needing help) to quickly get a sense of sales performance.
- Advanced inventory: Track inventory in real time, sell beer and wine by the case or by six-pack and bottle, and identify shrinkage sources with advanced inventory management tools.
- Automated invoicing: Automatically add products to your inventory as they arrive to save hours of work on manual data entry.
- Customer loyalty: Set up a customer loyalty program to incentivize repeat purchases and to effectively market to your best customers.
Pricing: Bottle POS has several flexible pricing levels. Learn more by scheduling a demo on their website.
Other POS options: Other potential fits for liquor stores are Spirits POS by Atlantic Systems, Inc., KORONA POS, and Epos Now.
Cigars POS — Best for Smoke Shops, Cigar Lounges, and Vape Stores
Cigars POS is one of the only POS providers that specializes exclusively in tobacco and vape sales. By offering a highly tailored solution, Cigars POS gives tobacco retailers what they need while cutting out the fluff they don’t.
Features:
- Tobacco scan data support: Take advantage of exclusive promotional pricing with built-in support for scan data reporting.
- Sophisticated inventory control: Track unlimited SKUs, consolidate duplicate items in inventory, create custom product tags and notes, and monitor inventory levels in real time.
- Comprehensive reporting: Get a better understanding of your customer preferences and build your niche with custom reporting and analytics tools.
- Multilocation support: Seamlessly manage multiple stores in different cities, counties, or states, including the ability to adjust tax rates, enforce minimum pricing, and track inventory.
Pricing: Cigars POS works closely with customers to provide custom pricing based on their business size, hardware needs, and more.
Other POS options: A few other POS providers who offer high-risk solutions include KORONA POS and FTx POS.
CellSmart POS — Best for Electronics Shops, Cell Phone Stores, and Smartphone Repair
CellSmart POS specializes in electronics retail and repair, including many features designed to keep track of device history, stay on top of repair status, and build trust with customers.
Features:
- Serialized inventory and IMEI verification: Track serialized inventory and verify device history easily through built-in serialized inventory management tools.
- Integrated ticketing software: Manage your sales and ticketing processes from a single system — easily assign technicians, monitor parts inventory, and provide customers with status updates.
- Trade-in support: Quickly assess the value of trade-in devices, record their details, and apply credit to new purchases.
- Carrier integration: Integrate your POS system with carrier systems to simplify activations, plan changes, and billing.
Pricing: CellSmart POS offers three pricing tiers and custom quotes on their website.
Other POS options: Other popular electronics and repair solutions include RepairDesk and RepairShopr.
Shopify — Best for Businesses That Sell Exclusively Online
Shopify is a leading name in online sales for a reason. With extensive and customizable integrations for any type of online business, Shopify is a solid and affordable e-commerce option.
Features:
- Powerful marketing: Leverage Shopify’s powerful marketing integration for sophisticated email campaigns, influencer campaigns, automated communications, and more.
- Extensive integrations: Use Shopify's extensive app marketplace to add features to your business as it grows.
- Omnichannel sales: Sell products on your website, on social media, or list products directly on Google.
- Global sales: Sell your products in the U.S. or internationally with global sales support.
Pricing: Shopify’s Basic plan starts at $29/month.
Other POS options: You have a few other options for online sales, including GrazeCart (for online food sales), Square, and Wix.
Get the Right Retail POS Features for Your Business
A POS system is much more than a way to take payments — the right system changes the way you connect with customers and run your business.
But, as you can see, not every POS system is created equally. Every POS provider has their strengths and weaknesses.
Overwhelmed? We understand.
POS Nation is trusted by thousands of small businesses to find POS software and hardware that fits their unique needs and goals.
To find the right system for your small business, schedule a custom demo today.