Avoid The iPad Pitfall

By Matt Pillar, chief editor

September 2013 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

Rarely does a technology grab hold of the entire retail continuum simultaneously. Sweeping adoption of anything retail tech — and by sweeping adoption I mean embraced all at once by everyone from mom-and-pop shops to tier-one mega chains — is unusual. It may be unprecedented. Consider how long it took for the whole spectrum of North American retail to move from mechanical cash drawers to PC-based POS. Or before that, how long it took for bar code scanners to penetrate every nook and cranny of retail. Or the fact that, in my small town, there are still family-owned businesses that have neither, nor do they accept card payments.

The super small town retailer aside, I can’t see any precedent for the size-, segment-, and niche-agnostic clamor over the iPad for POS and other retail operations applications.

North American retailers will spend $2 billion this year on mobile POS, according to IHL. Worldwide, consumers will spend $5.7 billion via mobile POS, marking what IHL calls the fastest-moving trend in retail since the Internet.