NCR Emerald Chosen By Northgate To Boost Customer Experience

NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR) announced recently that a family-owned chain of supermarkets — Northgate González Markets — which serves communities in Southern (NYSE:SO) California, has chosen NCR Emerald, the next generation point-of-sale (POS) enterprise software.

Northgate will use this cloud-based retail POS solution to aid its digital transformation and enhance consumer experience.

Harrison Lewis, CIO, Northgate was quoted saying: “With NCR, we believe that we have found a partner who works at our pace, truly understands the grocery business and provides a cloud-based POS solution that will meet our current and future business needs while supporting our requirement for real-time integration.”

POS: A Key Catalyst

Changing customer preference toward cashless transactions along with rising demand for additional payment options is boosting demand for POS systems.

Demand for NCR’s POS solution is increasing among retailers and hospitality industries as it facilitates automation of bill payment and accounting. As a result, managers get ample time for customer interaction, leading to higher productivity.

Notably, NCR leveraged its position in the POS market through the acquisition of Radiant Systems in August 2011. Last month, NCR announced the buyout of Denver-based BEC, a provider of hospitality POS technology to expand its hospitality business.

On the previous earnings call, management mentioned that in Digital First retail, the company will steadily invest in Emerald, which eases transition to a subscription model. Significantly, retail accounts for nearly 33% of the company’s total revenues.

Per Grand View Research, the global market size for POS terminals is projected to reach $108.46 billion by 2025, witnessing a CAGR of 7.8%. The cloud segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR over the forecast period.

The report also states that the retail segment led the market in 2018 and is likely to maintain its dominance throughout the prediction period.

Thus, NCR with its varied offerings of POS terminals and solutions should be able to capitalize on these growth opportunities.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

NCR currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLT) , eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) and Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for CommVault, eGain and Fortinet is projected at 15.8%, 30% and 16.8%, respectively.

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