Epicor Software Corporation, a global leader in business software solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, announced the company has been named one of the leading vendors of point of sale (POS) software, as recognized by independent retail management consulting firm Boston Retail Partners (BRP) in its 14th Annual POS Benchmarking Survey.
BRP surveyed more than 500 North American retailers for the survey, soliciting responses from October through December 2012 to gain insight into their planned initiatives, priorities, and future trends. Respondents were generally C-level executives or VP/directors of store systems or information technology.
Nearly two-thirds of the survey respondents fell into the specialty category with the remainder in other lines of trade such as general merchandise, grocery, and convenience and fuel. Of the retailers surveyed, the breakdown in size based on gross annual revenue included a broad selection of Tier 1, 2, and 3 retailers with nearly 60% above $1 billion and even 23% above $5 billion.
When retailers were asked what vendor software they used for traditional POS, Epicor was one of the top responses.
The survey also sought to identify key trends, new challenges and opportunities facing retailers in their POS deployments, including mobile and cross-channel -- which align with Epicor Retail current product offerings and key strategic initiatives Epicor has in place to ensure it continues to deliver new and emerging capabilities.
According to survey results, retailers are looking at mobile POS and customer-facing mobile solutions as a focus for 2013 -- with more than half of the retailers increasing their spending in these two areas.
Retailers are planning to increase their reliance on customer-owned mobile devices with more than half of the retailers surveyed indicating that these devices may account for up to 50% of the point-of-sale technology devices used by the end of 2014. BRP notes, "The possibilities continue to expand as mobile can be used for customer service, as a sales channel, and to provide in-store product information."
Additionally BRP says that retailers are seeking real-time integration across all channels and touch points to offer customers the omni-channel support, enabled through centralized technology platform for store, mobile, and web.
According to BRP, "To support the omni-channel experience, retailers need tight integration across multiple systems and a strong Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Layer provides this. This technology is what enables a true omni-channel environment and ensures exceptional customer service while retailers simplify their support structure and lower costs."
"Point of sale technology plays a key role in helping retailers best serve their customers across all channels," said Ian Rawlins, vice president of marketing and business development, retailsoftware for Epicor. "Through mobility, cross-channel support and the underlying SOA architecture that enables this all, Epicor is committed to providing retail technology solutions that enable retailers to fully run and drive their business and meet customers' evolving needs."
