David Rivera

Gamification is the use of gaming elements and mechanics within sales and marketing to boost customer engagement and create buying incentive. Within retail, gamification can be used to attract new customers, strengthen relationships with existing customers, enhance the shopping experience, and increase overall conversion rates and sales. Retailers can use gamification in-store (with tools such…

Businesses that participate in events and pop-ups like outdoor markets, fairs, and festivals may want to rent or use a POS system that is compatible with a variety of hardware devices, has good sales mobility, and doesn’t have any long-term contracts. We evaluated several POS systems in terms of their use as short-term rentals, in…

Barcode label printers—which help small businesses create price tag barcodes, shelf labels, or even armbands and tickets—range in price from $100 to thousands of dollars. They can support home-based businesses, retailers, restaurants, food producers, and warehouse operations. The best label printers integrate with point-of-sale (POS) systems and other business-supporting software to streamline small business operations….

Cash registers are essentially high-performing calculators with attached cash drawers used to process sales transactions. Point-of-sale (POS) systems are a full-featured combination of hardware and software that can process transactions as well as perform a variety of other functions from employee time tracking to real-time inventory management. If you’re trying to decide which is best…

From their first incarnation, the original and primary purpose of point-of-sale (POS) systems was to record the products and services being sold to buyers, receive payment from customers, and keep cash secure. The history of POS systems began in the US as far back as the late 1800s with simple mechanical cash registers. As the…

Pharmacies need more features than a standard point-of-sale (POS) system offers. Handling prescriptions requires software that can manage complex inventory, track IDs and signatures for compliances, and include or integrate with pharmacy management systems. We looked at common POS systems recommended for pharmacies and specialized pharmacy POS to determine the six best options. Based on…

Impulse buying refers to unplanned or spontaneous purchases that shoppers make on a whim due to an emotional response at the moment of seeing the item. Impulse buying can happen both in brick-and-mortar stores and online. This guide will explore why people buy impulsively, what items are most frequently purchased, and how you can capitalize…

Point-of-sale (POS) system costs vary by industry; expect to pay $0 to $400 per month for software, and $60 to over $3,000 upfront for devices, registers, and hardware kits—depending on your POS hardware preferences. This comes to a total of around $4,000–$10,000 per year, without factoring in additional costs for payment processing. That price range…

Toast and Clover are both well-developed point-of-sale (POS) systems with strong industry-specific features designed for kitchens and food businesses. In general, Toast favors simplicity and straightforwardness, while Clover prioritizes flexibility. In our evaluation of best restaurant POS systems, Toast ranked as the best overall with a score of 4.16. Clover did not make the final…

In our review of the best free POS systems for small businesses, Loyverse POS system came in second overall with a 4.05 out of 5, based on our evaluation of 24 data points. It is best for quick service restaurants (QSRs) and small food-based retailers that need inventory tools like variants and real-time tracking. Loyverse…

Point-of-sale (POS) security protects the computer systems that process debit and credit card transactions. Because point-of-sale systems can contain sensitive data like account numbers, emails, and addresses, hackers target these systems, and a data breach can be costly both financially and reputationally. POS system security does not only apply in-store; POS systems can also be…

A point-of-sale integration is a direct connection between your point-of-sale (POS) system (where all transactions take place) and important software tools for business functions like accounting, marketing, ecommerce, and payment processing. This direct connection allows your POS system to access real-time information from your business software tools and automate tasks such as tracking and record…