The POS is becoming a point of service that extends the customer experience
The role of the POS is changing. It is no longer just a place to pay. Modern point of sale systems now go beyond the transaction to extend the customer experience.
But intent is running ahead of execution for many retail leaders. The Deloitte 2026 Retail Industry Outlook reports only 26% have deployed AI that makes highly personalized recommendations possible, though 67% expect to within the year. The journey from point of sale to point of service can begin alongside the legacy POS you already have, with a next-gen POS that runs in the cloud.
In-store mobility facilitates the end-to-end customer centric experience that today’s consumers expect in the modern retail environment
Three capabilities your POS needs to create a customer-centric experience
Stay beside your customer with a mobile POS
It’s important to keep the associate at the forefront of discussions about the customer experience. Associates are responsible for building relationships with customers from the moment they walk in the store to the time they leave.
Associates need to follow and listen to the customer, take robust customer notes, and make highly personal suggestions. And given how shoppers now walk in having researched products themselves, the associate’s ability to deliver a tailored customer experience is all the more important.
Between flipping through a product catalog and scribbling in a client book, the associate has to divert their attention from the customer, which can shatter an otherwise immersive experience. Mobile devices make clienteling processes like these systematic and automatic, so associates can focus fully on the customer.
Mobile POS systems facilitate a seamless flow from the beginning to the end of the in-store journey. By enabling associates to accept payments from anywhere in the store, there’s no need to abandon the customer in the checkout line. In-store mobility facilitates the end-to-end customer centric experience that today’s consumers expect in the modern retail environment.
Access omnichannel inventory anywhere in the store
Customers shop in stores not only to touch and test products, but also to ask questions that are best answered by people rather than AI chatbots. Meaning, they expect that the in-store experience will enhance their shopping journey more than they are capable of doing on their own.
Associates can only work from what their systems can show them, and IBM and the NRF found that 54% of brand executives report persistent data challenges across channels and systems. Those gaps surface on the sales floor when the associate is interacting with the customer.
To create the cohesive experience customers want, associates need to see what’s in stock across every channel, along with product details and customer context. Legacy point of sale systems hold that information at the checkout. A modern POS makes it accessible from anywhere on the store floor.
Retailers are finding ways around inventory shortages to ensure customers leave satisfied, even without the purchase in tow
A modern POS system eliminates the need for superhuman effort and enables associates to stay in the moment with customers to create a seamless, omnichannel experience. The omnichannel POS acts as an inventory management tool and can instantly recall the entire product catalog. Associates can then answer customer questions on-the-spot about what products are made of, where they come from, and what other colors and sizes are available— even if they aren’t in stock in their store.
Process omnichannel sales and returns
Beyond being able to access omnichannel inventory, associates also need to be able to sell products that aren’t physically available in their store. There are probably hundreds of reasons stores may not have every item available— supply chain issues, holiday rush, small square footage, the list goes on. Regardless of the reason, shoppers still have the expectation that when they go in-store, they’ll leave with what they’re looking for.
While this unfortunately can’t always be the case, retailers are finding ways around inventory shortages to ensure customers leave satisfied, even without the purchase in tow. Having an omnichannel point of sale that can process online and in-store orders in one transaction lets customers get exactly what they came for, even if it wasn’t in the store. The omnichannel POS also gives associates the ability to accept online returns from the store to add a further layer of convenience to the customer experience.
Most point of sale systems used by enterprise retailers were designed over 30 years ago and can’t keep up with modern omnichannel demands. Tulip POS is the next-gen POS built to create a point of service alongside the legacy POS you already run.
