What is considered a point of sale in Retail?

A Retail point of sale (POS) in the retail context refers to a physical or virtual place where stock is sold to customers. It’s the final point in the supply chain where consumers interact directly with the retailer to purchase the products or services offered.

A point of sale can be a physical store, a kiosk, a counter, an e-commerce platform or any other place where a commercial transaction takes place.

The point of sale not only involves the transaction, but also encompasses other related activities, such as customer service, product display, and inventory management.

What types of POS can be found in retail?

In retail there are different types of points of sale that adapt to the needs and preferences of consumers. Some of the most common types of points of sale are:

Physical stores:

These are traditional commercial establishments where customers can physically interact with products and receive personalized attention from sales staff. They can vary in size and format, such as department stores, boutiques, supermarkets, among others.

E-commerce:

With the rise of the Internet, online outlets have become increasingly popular. Consumers can make purchases through e-commerce websites, such as online stores, marketplaces or catalog sales platforms. These outlets offer convenience and 24/7 access.

Mobile or app stores:

These are temporary points of sale that are installed in strategic locations, such as shopping malls, fairs, events or even mobile trucks. These points of sale provide flexibility and allow reaching different locations to capture the attention of customers on a temporary basis.

Potential points of sale in the future Retail

Regarding the points of sale of the new Retail, thanks to the revolution that Artificial Intelligence is bringing about, there are some emerging trends that could influence its development:

Augmented Reality Stores (AR):

AR will provide a more immersive shopping experience, allowing customers to try products virtually before buying them. For example, through the use of mobile apps, customers can see how a piece of clothing would look on them or how a piece of furniture would look in their home before buying it.

Contactless payments and wearable systems:

The use of technologies such as payments with mobile devices or wearables (such as smart watches) is on the rise. In the future, we are likely to see greater use of these technologies to make payments quickly and conveniently at the point of sale.

Data-driven personalization and recommendations:

As data collection and artificial intelligence continue to advance, retail outlets could use these resources to offer personalized shopping recommendations and experiences. This would include product suggestions based on purchase histories, customer preferences and demographics.

Automation and self-service:

Advances in automation could lead to the adoption of more cashierless outlets, where customers can scan and pay for their products autonomously. In addition, robotics and artificial intelligence could play a role in automatic shelf replenishment and inventory management.

These are just a few of the possible directions retail outlets could take in the future, but technological evolution and changing consumer needs will continue to influence how retail outlets develop.

How AI improves your point of sale

Depending on the type of objective you are looking to improve at your retail point of sale, we have solutions for both inventory planning and stock management.

Many of these functionalities are compatible with each other, and use the Machine Learning system of our algorithm to offer efficient predictive recommendations. If you want you can see here all the AI solutions we offer.

Inventory planning with AI at the point of sale

Here are the features for inventory planning at your retail point of sale that ROIvolution offers:

Commercial plan and sales projections

To calculate and design your commercial plan before you start selling, ROIvolution offers you a demand forecast (for each of your POS) by weeks of the year or months. Up to 52 weeks of forecasts can be offered by the AI to help you organize your inventory in advance – that’s a whole year!

In addition, this forecast by week and store takes into account your Visual Merchandising rules, so that you not only avoid losing sales, but also guarantee your brand image and the layout or distribution of stock in each part of your store.

Assortment plan:

Not only will we give you global forecasts of your point of sale inventory, ROIvolution will also take into account your assortment plan, the groupings of products by classes, families or sets, so that you know exactly what will be sold in each store.

Here you will find the rest of the Retail warehouse planning functionalities.

Stock management with AI at your POS

Assortment definition

Here ROIvolution limits a specific mix or grouping of products for each store, so that you can adjust with rules or specifications the characteristics that your business requires in each store.

Automatic performance dashboard:

How long does it take to prepare and present a sales results report by product and store? In the time it takes you to think about it and respond, ROIvolution has already done it for you. Thanks to its data integration with the ERP, it has a global vision, and you will be able to see in real time the main sales performance indicators (KPI’s) in a customizable, easy and intuitive dashboard.

Product Mix Analysis:

This functionality, designed by our developers, allows you to identify which specific products within the set or assortment are the ones that are selling the most at your point of sale. This way you will be able to prioritize the space in your store, some product categories over others, and on which products to focus your commercial actions.

Capacity alerts according to size:

The space of your store is limited, the way to manage it is not. Therefore, with this functionality you will be able to set maximum and minimum stock quantities of a particular product.

This will allow the AI to set early alerts when the stock balance is broken. You’ll forget about stocking goods with low turnover, and you’ll also ensure that you don’t suffer the opposite effect, painful stock-outs!

Sell-through alert:

Want to know the weight of one of your stores over total sales? With this ROIvolution feature you can compare the sales of a product in a store with the overall sales of that product. You will be able to detect inefficiencies at product and store level, and make better decisions based on this.

Visual merchandising management:

Guarantee a minimum amount of stock not only to avoid loss of sales, but also to ensure that the aesthetics of your point of sale does not lose its essence, with a harmonious balance of models, assortments and categories. Create rules not only thinking about the stock and efficiency of the store, but also taking care of the aesthetics and the brand image you want to convey.

Promotions management:

Evaluate the performance of your stock and receive recommendations on products that can perform well with promotions, ensuring coverage and profit margin. Get the most out of your discounts!

Variable coverage management:

Do you know how long your existing stock will last? With this ROIvolution feature you can analyze and parameterize the number of weeks of sales you can achieve until new stock arrives at your POS.

Set the initial product mix:

As we have mentioned above in the inventory planning module, in the daily management of your stock you will also be able to determine the quantity of units and models needed for each of the stores, defining this assortment will allow you to have a closer proximity or greater knowledge of your customers’ needs.