Mobile data shows consumers’ demand and responds well to an elevated retail experience.
While the economic landscape has been anything but stable, with international trade tensions and the national budget fallout spooking the market before rebounding when the VAT increase was later withdrawn, the retail sector is showing remarkable resilience, says Ecentric Payment Systems’ Rory Bosman, adding that many retailers proved at the end of last year that investing in a superior retail experience reinforces a growing belief in the sector staging a powerful comeback.
Bosman says that mobile point of sale (mPOS) technology is “a gateway to a modern retail experience, and a modern retail experience is precisely what consumers are looking for.” He says that Ecentric, the payments partner for just under two-thirds of JSE-listed retailers, can be sure of this sentiment by analysing data from the country’s first formal Black Friday index, released earlier this year.
“Even during peak demand, where online commerce leads the charge, such as the rush between the beginning of November and Christmas Eve, in-store retail is undergoing a powerful resurgence. In-store revenue as a proportion of total revenue during that period saw a whopping 109.4% surge, doubling from 5.3% to 11.1% of total holiday revenue,” explains Bosman. He says this is especially astounding because the period coincides with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and discounts leading up to Christmas. Yet, consumers were still choosing to purchase goods in-store.
“Of course, this may seem easier said than done, but our data in the Black Friday index shows us that retailers who capitalised on the peak moments saw the biggest gains. And that’s the crux of it, right? How do you capitalise on peak moments when the store is packed to capacity? This is relevant to far more than Black Friday or Christmas – think about Saturday or Sunday mornings, or the rush after work. In the fast-moving consumer goods space, it is not unusual to see queues snake through the store,” he says.
He explains that mPOS is a gateway to a modern retail experience because it goes beyond just a mobile point of sale. “It is far more than that. It is a sophisticated technology architecture that reimagines retail. It redefines actual interaction technologies. At its core, mPOS integrates cloud-based processing platforms with advanced technologies such as machine learning to enable real-time data interpretation and transactional intelligence. This encompasses secure payment gateways, biometric authentication protocols, predictive analytics, and more, to transform traditional retail spaces into intelligent engagement environments.”
The outcome is that a well-designed and implemented mpos transforms retail experiences. “And so,” he says, “it enables a modern retail experience, which means more efficient, personalised customer interactions while optimising operations for retailers.”
Of course, in theory, this all sounds intriguing, but Bosman says a well-designed mPOS needs to enable practical solutions. “For example, in a crowded store, elevating customer experience is non-negotiable. You don’t want customers to leave their trolleys and walk out. So, shortening queue times is paramount. In addition to this, the technology allows retailers to optimise their return per square metre, and we all know that every square metre in a store is like gold, especially in the context of big points of sale that can take up significant floor area,” he says.
Bosman explains that the benefits go beyond shortening queues and optimising space. “mPOS enables in-aisle product information and purchasing. It supports omnichannel experiences, and as the key insights from the Black Friday Index make clear, we know omnichannel shopping is the future,” says Bosman.
Inevitably, every store won’t have exactly what a customer is looking for every single time. Bosman explains that mPOS technology enables access for customers to broader product catalogues. “With space constraints in mind, the retailer can engage the customer with an entire catalogue of products beyond just physical store inventory. Depending on the product type and retail category, these products can be selected, paid for, and delivered to the store or the customer’s house. Beyond this, mPOS enables the selling of digital products, which opens up new revenue streams from value-added services.”
One of the key strengths of e-commerce is personalisation. Bringing that level of customer knowledge into the physical store is made possible with mPOS. Knowing who the customer is, and their past online and in-store behaviour, staff are equipped not only to offer them what they want, but also to upsell and cross-sell based on real-time and predictive intelligence. “We cannot underestimate the power of this capability,” says Bosman. “The Black Friday Index showed that personal recommendations and targeted deals will set leaders apart. It is vital, in 2025 and beyond, that retailers use data for targeted promotions.”
Casting an eye towards peak periods, where customer service and experience can be the difference between retaining or losing a customer, another key aspect of mPOS is improving operations. “It is an intelligent system that enables real-time stock tracking, which improves inventory management. If we think about high-demand periods, inventory management is critical to capitalise on the increased foot volume.”
This level of modern retail is not the sole preserve of enterprise retailers, although it remains fundamental if the largest retailers wish to stay competitive. mPOS technology also opens up this level of capability to a much wider pool of mid-sized retailers who may not yet know that they, too, can reduce waiting times, improve in-store experiences, bring the full online catalogue in-store, and use hyper-personalisation to upsell and cross-sell at the physical point of sale, says Bosman.
