- Maximizing Efficiency: The Role of POS Systems in Liquor Stores.
- Crucial POS Features for Optimal Liquor Store Management.
- Guidelines for Selecting the Right Liquor Store POS System.
| Feature | Benefits for Liquor Stores | Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Tracking | Identifies peak sales hours and popular products, aiding in inventory and staffing | Look for real-time tracking and customizable reports |
| Inventory Management | Ensures accurate stock levels and timely reordering | Seek systems with automated stock alerts |
| Customer Loyalty Programs | Encourages repeat business and customer loyalty | Prefer systems with integrated, easy-to-use loyalty features |
| Store Promotions | Attracts customers and boosts sales with special offers | Choose POS with flexible promotion setup options |
| Age Verification Reminders | Ensures legal compliance and customer safety | Ensure the system prompts for ID checks on age-restricted products |
| Payment Method Compatibility | Accommodates various payment types for customer convenience | Look for POS systems supporting multiple payment methods including mobile payments |
| Cloud-Based Accessibility | Allows remote access to sales data and inventory | Consider the security and reliability of cloud services |
| User Interface and Ease of Use | Simplifies training and improves transaction efficiency | Opt for intuitive interfaces with quick learning curves |
Over the past five years, the number of liquor store businesses in the U.S. has steadily grown by 0.9 percent. It’s no wonder that the market is thriving.
Beer, wine, and liquor stores offer customers a wider selection of alcoholic drinks than convenience stores, drug stores, or big box stores, and they typically do so in a conveniently sized location.
Imagine navigating a vast big-box store only to find a limited selection of alcohol that doesn’t include your favorite drink.
When stopping at your local liquor store, you don’t have to worry about that. Whether you are gearing up for a celebration or a quiet night in, you can stop by your local liquor store and find the beer, wine, or liquor to complete the experience.
If you’re one of the more than 156,000 Americans who work at a liquor store — especially if you are an owner or manager — you probably have a sense of how important your store is to your community.
Like all small business owners, you should take pride in your work and constantly look for ways to improve a customer’s experience in your store. You can do that with a point of sale (POS) system.
In this post, we’ll learn more about POS systems and how to choose the right one for your liquor store. The right POS system can help you make your store an even better place for people to shop for their favorite drinks.
Why Your Liquor Store Needs a Modern POS System
If you’re just looking for a new barcode scanner or cash register for your liquor store, consider a complete POS system instead. Point of sale refers to the checkout process at your store.
When a consumer makes a purchase, you need a way to facilitate the transaction.
Cashiers used manual cash registers and handwritten receipts in the past, but today, consumers expect an efficient checkout experience that takes full advantage of modern technology.
A POS system uses integrated hardware and software to modernize and streamline the checkout experience for consumers and employees, giving managers and owners a suite of helpful tools.
All-in-one POS systems come with all the components you need for checkout, including a register terminal screen, a customer-facing screen, a cash register drawer, a barcode scanner, a card reader, and a receipt printer.
Liquor stores need efficient and modern point-of-sale systems for many reasons, but mainly because a POS system:
- Speeds up checkout time
- It helps cashiers be accurate with pricing and taxes
- It enables you to take a variety of payment types
- Tracks data from every purchase
- Allows you to make more informed business decisions
What POS Features Are Important for Liquor Stores?
Now that we’ve looked at what a POS system can offer a business let’s look more specifically at which features liquor store owners should look for when shopping for a POS system.
After all, there are many different systems on the market, so you want to choose the one that best fits your needs.
When comparing POS systems, look for one that delivers these five features since they’re especially important for liquor stores:
1. Sales Tracking
Tracking your sales allows you to take the temperature of your store’s current performance and reveals how your sales performance evolves. This can help you see what’s working and what’s not so you can successfully grow your business.
For example, sales are too low during specific periods for it to be worth staying open while other hours are busy and warrant more employees being on the schedule.
With a POS system, tracking sales is a smooth process, but with a POS system, the software does the work for you. It stores the data and delivers it in an easy-to-understand format.
Once you’ve had your POS long enough, you can compare sales from this April to last April or this year’s total to last year’s total to get a wide-angle perspective of your business.
2. Inventory Management
Managing inventory is critical to the success of your business. The best modern POS systems offer inventory tracking, so you don’t need another software program.
Since POS systems have a database that recognizes all your store’s items, they can note when a product is sold and track how many you have left in stock.
They can even tell you when it’s time to reorder a product when running low.
Tracking your inventory is the only way to decide which products to carry.
The POS inventory management tool can clarify which products are selling well and which may need to be eliminated from your product line. Try replacing unpopular products with new ones and use the inventory tracking tool to see how these new SKUs work.
Did you know that traditional drinks like mead are experiencing a resurgence in popularity? You can introduce trendy or more niche products like this with inventory management software and evaluate their performance.
3. Customer Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs can help keep satisfied customers returning to your store repeatedly. One report found that some consumers spend up to 99 percent more with brands where they have a loyalty account. Some small businesses have a loyalty program, which involves stamping or punching holes into a loyalty card. This method is better than nothing, but it’s not ideal.
When you choose a POS system with a loyalty program already built in, you can take advantage of the technology and enjoy a wholly automated rewards experience. No, dealing with lost cards, delays during checkout, or confusion. When it comes to loyalty programs, customers who have engaged with loyalty technology note that it has drastically improved their member experience.
4. Store Promotions
It’s no secret that store promotions are a great way to encourage people to shop. In a liquor store, special discounts may encourage people to try something new and walk out with more than just their ordinary purchase.
People become more adventurous when they see a sale price on an item, so they might pick up a bottle of that cookies and cream whiskey or dill pickle vodka if the price is right. Store promotions can also encourage them to stock up on their favorite products now if they’re on sale.
When choosing a POS system, ensure it allows you to program any temporary promotions or discounts you decide to feature. Your POS should automatically reflect the discounted price when you scan an item on sale. I
If you want a discount to apply only after a customer purchases a certain number of products, your POS should be able to do that, too. The right POS can take all the guesswork of applying for promotions at checkout.
5. Age Verification Reminders
Your cashiers are legally obligated to check every customer’s ID to confirm that they are of legal drinking age before selling them alcohol.
Even though it’s a requirement, it can be easy for cashiers to forget to take the time to check, especially if a person appears to be well over the age of 21. New employees may be especially susceptible to forgetting to check ID, which could immediately compromise your business’s security.
Your POS system can help. Look for a POS system that allows you to denote which product categories require age verification.
When one of these items is scanned, the POS should notify the cashier to verify the customer’s age. It’s a simple feature but can be a beneficial reminder to all employees.
Choosing the Best POS System for Your Liquor Store
Now you know what features to look for when shopping for a POS system, but other considerations should also factor into your decision.
When choosing a POS system, consider your business’s unique needs. With many different POS systems on the market, you want to identify the one that will help your business the most.
A helpful way to think through some qualities you need from a POS is to ask yourself questions about your business and preferences. Here are five questions to get you started:
1. How Many Locations Do I Run?
Do you need a POS system connecting your sales from multiple stores?
If you currently operate multiple locations or think you might open up a second location, choose a POS system now that can synchronize your data across locations.
This will save you from having to combine data or attempt to integrate different systems manually.
2. Do I Want Remote Access?
Another question is whether you want access to your data when you’re not at the store. If so, opt for a cloud-based system.
With a cloud-based terminal POS, your data is stored in the cloud instead of in a hard drive, allowing you to access it through a mobile app or website at home, out of town, or in a different store location. You can even input new information or make changes from the app.
3. What’s My Budget?
Another essential question is how much you can afford to spend on your liquor store POS system.
The expense of a POS system is what has held you back from buying one sooner. When considering your budget, remember that a POS is an investment likely to help your business grow and succeed. It may cost upfront, but it will be well worth it.
Still, budgetary limitations are a reality. Another advantage of the cloud-based terminal system is that it entails a lower upfront cost with an ongoing monthly or annual fee for support from the POS company.
4. How Do My Customers Pay?
You may remember the days when people either paid with cash or a check, but today, many more forms of payment are going around, including credit and debit cards and, more recently, mobile wallet apps.
Mobile payment methods like Apple Pay and Android Pay are innovative methods of payment that aren’t just popular with young people. The typical user of mobile wallet apps is between 30 and 44 years old.
If you want to be equipped to accept a variety of payment types, then look for a POS that can handle cash, cards, mobile payments, and more.
5. Do I Want a Customer-Facing Screen?
While it’s standard for POS systems to include a register terminal for the cashier, they may not have a screen for the customer.
If you want customers to see their items and prices as they’re rung up along with their final total, look for a POS with a customer-facing display screen.
It’s a great bonus if you can display store promotions or news on the screen, as well, since this visual information can help keep customers engaged during checkout.
End Your Search With the POS+ From National Retail Solutions
If you’re searching for the best POS system on the market, your search should end with the POS+, an all-in-one POS system from National Retail Solutions (NRS).
Our POS system comprises high-quality hardware and cutting-edge software, making it the perfect solution for small businesses all over the U.S. Liquor store owners will especially appreciate that the POS+ offers all of the helpful features we’ve discussed in this post.
You and your employees will notice immediately that the POS+ is exceptionally user-friendly, as liquor store point of sale software — or any POS software — should be.
The touchscreen terminal is easy to navigate, with clear images and text.
Even though the system appears simplistic, there is so much you can do with the POS+.
Create and manage your inventory, track sales performance, enter promotions, and more. When you purchase a POS+, you also get access to the BR Club, a customer loyalty program that independent retailers nationwide use to encourage repeat business.
The POS+ from NRS is the best market value so that you can invest in a POS system confidently. In addition to setting you up with all the components initially, NRS offers ongoing support.
Like a fine wine, your software will improve with age because NRS will automatically update it periodically. We’re always looking for ways to innovate and improve as technology progresses.
You can learn more about our liquor store POS system on our website. Contact us today for a free quote if you want to equate your liquor store with a POS system.
