TMCnet News
Only 18% of C-Stores have the Right POS Infrastructure to Serve the Business Now and in the FutureZynstra, the leading provider of purpose-built software powering the retail edge, today released more findings from its C-Store Technology Insight Report, which identifies the key priorities and obstacles c-store retailers face as they look to deliver better customer experiences and reduced costs. Point-of-Sale Flexibility is Critical for Delivering the Right Customer Experience When asked about POS systems, the majority of c-store retailers indicated a number of drivers for change at the POS. This was no surprise, as only 18% of respondents said they had the exact POS infrastructure to serve the business now and in the future. Additional insights include:
Keeping Pace with Amazon Go and Omnichannel Experiences C-stores know that Amazon Go's frictionless checkout has set the benchmark for convenience and their Prime loyalty program continues to expand offline. While c-store retailers know they will have to offer new levels of frictionless checkout and omnichannl convenience to compete, they face barriers due to the high cost and lack of consistency across their technology infrastructure. According to the survey, top challenges in rolling out new applications and services to c-stores include:
In response to the Amazon threat, survey respondents identified mobile POS tablets, kiosk-based POS, scan & go, mobile payment apps, order online/pick-up in-store and order at the pump as "very important" to the future of their business. Meeting the Future C-Store IT Needs: Simplified, Cost-Effective and Scalable Technology To meet the challenges of implementing new applications and services, 91% of survey respondents answered that simplified management of IT is a top priority. Centralized management of stores through a software-defined store strategy can be the key to this, as it allows c-stores to manage all stores from one central system, enabling faster app deployment and more secure IT updates. Other top IT priorities for c-store retailers include:
"With rising labor costs impacting margins, c-store retailers are looking for ways to drive in-store cost efficiencies while meeting customer's expectations for a fast and frictionless experience," said Nick East, CEO and founder, Zynstra. "To achieve this, we are seeing c-store retailers look towards optimizing their existing POS infrastructure while digitally transforming their stores for the future." Methodology: The findings are the results from a survey of c-store directors and IT managers from U.S. convenience store chains with a physical footprint of 20 to more than 500 locations and average revenue between $10M to more than $999M. To download the full report, click here. About Zynstra Zynstra enables retailers to deliver superior customer and employee experiences through faster innovation and radically reduces cost to serve in-store. Purpose built for the edge, our powerful software optimizes existing store technology and enables digital transformation. Zynstra virtualizes back and front office store technology, with intelligent automation to deliver software defined stores. Specific virtualization solutions include Store, POS, portable POS Tablet, Self-Checkout and Enhanced PCI (News - Alert)-DSS Compliance. Zynstra delivers its patented retail edge software for the world's largest, most distributed, innovation-driven enterprises. With Tier 1 PCI-DSS compliance, Zynstra is committed to security excellence at the edge. Zynstra is backed by Octopus Ventures, one of Europe's leading investors in fast-growth companies, focused on backing unusually talented entrepreneurs. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190918005072/en/ |
