A new study from Tribe Payments has revealed that 28 per cent of merchants’ legacy in-person point of sale (POS) systems cannot support alternative payment methods like digital wallets and QR codes. According to Tribe, these legacy POS system inefficiencies are rupturing revenue streams, leaving a gap that modern SoftPOS solutions can fill.
As in-person and contactless payments continue to soar globally, Tribe Payments’ research, conducted in conjunction with Censuswide, shows that merchants of varying sizes – from sole traders to multinational enterprises across several industry sectors – are struggling with a multitude of legacy POS terminal and infrastructure failings, causing lost sales due to payment acceptance difficulties, lengthy queues of frustrated customers, and compliance headaches.
The survey results were gleaned from 500 merchants across a range of in-person payment sectors, including fashion, grocery, home and DIY, and general merchandise.
Other key findings include:
- 30 per cent of merchants believe using outdated or inadequate payment technology infrastructure is their biggest challenge in maximising cross-selling and upselling opportunities at the checkout.
- 80 per cent of merchants say the ability to accept a wide range of payment methods like QR codes and digital wallets is essential to secure sales.
- 63 per cent cite a lack of specific data analytics capabilities in their current POS systems.
- 79 per cent would leverage advanced analytics to enhance the customer experience and drive loyalty if they had the POS technology to do so.
Inefficiencies such as costly upgrades to the latest security and industry standards like PCI DSS, and being unable to integrate with other merchant systems like stock inventory and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, are also threatening to eat into already-thin profit margins.
Additionally, merchants cite high maintenance costs of legacy POS systems. While many enterprise-scale merchants with multiple sites can afford to spend millions annually on maintaining their POS estates, small and micro merchants can find traditional POS terminals are simply too expensive to operate and lose customer sales as a result.
Tribe’s head of product management, Robin Anderson, commented: “SoftPOS is a game-changer for merchants. It turns any mobile or tablet device running iOS or Android into a payment terminal, without the need for extra hardware like card readers. Unlike traditional mobile POS systems, it allows businesses to process payments, accept PINs, and handle contactless transactions directly on their device.
“What makes this even better is the freedom it gives by enabling untethered payment acceptance. Staff can move around the store, serving customers wherever they are, and take payments right on their smartphones or tablets. It’s also much more affordable than the standard POS terminals. On top of that, SoftPOS can communicate through open APIs in merchant’s other systems, like inventory, cashflow management, and CRM tools, offering a 360-degree view of the business in real time. That kind of insight can lead to hyper-personalised experiences, helping to build stronger customer loyalty.
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