Retail Monitor: Mobil POS Ventures Poised For Growth

Mobile point of sale (POS) systems are quickly gaining momentum in the market.

Old-School POS
According to research firm, IHL, the traditional point-of-sale industry was worth about $18 billion worldwide in 2012. And this year, it’s expected to grow by about 5%.

Mobile POS, on the other hand, is projected to grow 39% -- from $2.3 billion in 2012 to $3.2 billion by the end of 2013.

The Newcomers
Of course companies like Starbucks partner Square -- created by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey -- are leading the way. But others, such as New York-based ShopKeep are also getting more and more attention lately.

Like Square, ShopKeep uses iPads to process typical 'cash-register' transactions for small businesses.

Customers pay $49 a month for each register (multiple-terminal discounts are available) and a one-time equipment fee of roughly $1,100. That includes an iPad, cash drawer, iPad stand, card swiper and printer.

Big Cost Advantage
Joel Branson of One Girl Cookies, a trendy New York bakery, certainly likes the system.

It’s very cost-effective, for the complete set up. It cost about 20% of what a big, bulky Windows-based PC point of sales costs, which is great. The iPad has numerous functionalities. I use it for my stereo. I use it for my time clock. I use it for the internet. $50 a month is nothing in comparison to all the time I save, actually not having to dig through all the receipts. It’s so easy to use. I’ve been doing it for 11 years, and can’t even imagine going through the first nine without this.

Better yet, ShopKeep plans to improve its system from here.

As the CEO and Founder, Jason Richelson, says, We’re now getting so many customers and they continue to want this feature and that feature, and we’re trying to deliver what their needs are. We can never make everyone happy. But we’re trying very hard. That’s why we moved to this [New York City] office. We’ll be able to hire more engineers [and] hire more people, so we can deliver on the needs of our customers.