Integrating POS System With An Ecommerce Website

Having a brick and mortar business, it’s time to start your online store with worldwide Ecommerce sales expected to rise by 2020. There’s no reason why some of that money can’t be yours. Now-a-days technology has become easier and more affordable than before as online presence and webstore to support your physical store.

Integration is a shared communication path between two different companies that combine their respective technologies to create a more comprehensive solution.

In this instance, it’s about POS provider joining with Ecommerce platform to create more powerful solutions for small businesses.

Getting Started

To get started you need to evaluate your current state of retail management operations. For beginners, do they have a POS system or have an existing website with or without an Ecommerce component? Do you have none of the above and need to start from scratch.

Check with your POS provider whether they have Ecommerce site or online shopping cart they have integration with and their features and functionality will work for your business model.

If you have an outdated POS system which can’t be integrated with any Ecommerce provider then you need to go with modern capabilities POS solution.

The Finer Details and Asking the Right Questions

Once you’ve a good idea, you can get down to business. There are a few questions to ask you want to ask the solution provider before you commit to buying.

• 1) Find out exactly how the integration works. What data is shared.
• 2) Understand the communication process between POS software and Ecommerce platform.
• 3) Is information updated between the two systems in real-time?
• 4) Cost of integrating Ecommerce and POS integration?
• 5) Inquire about credit card processing.
• 6) Do the providers offer customer service and support 24/7/365?

Why Integrate Your Ecommerce and POS System

Now after knowing what questions to ask before buying a solution, it’s time to know ‘the why.’ Why is all this necessary?

It Makes Financial Cents

Omnichannel experience can be allowed to your customers with your physical store and online presence through your website or webstore. You customer can choose the channel or combination he prefers to shop and they’ll find your brand.

Consumers research and buy products online. 81% of shoppers conduct online research and 79% of consumers make online purchases. Businesses that adopt omnichannel strategies achieve 91% year-over-year customer retention rates.

It Makes Operational Cents

Operating your POS system and Ecommerce separately which can have the extra manual effort that can keep everything in sync. In such instance someone has to process the sales orders, deduct proper inventory and track shipping information of every customer.

Calculate the labor hours that are costing each pay period, which is higher than the cost of upgrading to an integrated solution.

There is a risk of human error and mistakes with manual effort. An employee can accidentally transpose a single number wrong in zip code can delay the customer’s shipment.

Your online stores still shows items in the stock if products are not deducted from your inventory. If you don’t identify the mistake before another customer place an order, you need to wait to get the item from the supplier before you can ship it to the customer which can result in yet another delayed shipment, negative customer experience and decreased customer satisfaction.

Bottom Line

Inventory management is just as hard for online retailers as it is for brick and mortar shops which are agreed by many retail owners. It is necessary to find the perfect ecommerce and POS integration to run a more efficient business.