The trend over the last five years or so has been for face-to-face retailing to decrease quite rapidly.That is to say people no longer wander from shop to shop looking for goods plus more and more are opting to purchase online with absolutely no physical contact with any shopkeeper or shop assistant.

Supermarkets were the very first to spot the POS trend and they fully embraced it with the advent of laser barcode readers as well as fully integrated retail management systems, of which the cash register was only a small part.

In the last year or two, banks are gradually moving to contactless payment which still involves a small plastic card and some say that because of continuing fraud, in spite of the evolution of both payment and POS systems, there will come a time when payment for goods will be made by either an individual’s retina scan, thumb print or possibly even an on the spot DNA test. Who knows? That is how fast the technology is moving.

It is suspected by many retail experts that there will come a time when what used to be called high street shops will be no more than showrooms in which we will be able to order goods in the same way that we currently do online from our homes and the days of staggering home with a pile of bags and boxes will be consigned to history.

Nevertheless, people still travel, people still eat in restaurants and in the same way that shopping is becoming more and more remote, the service industries are becoming ever more slick and evermore automated and mechanised.

As far as the future of POS is concerned, many believe that it has a very bright future, especially as there is a certain inevitability of us moving towards a cashless society where the only problem will be that of security and ID.

Voice recognition is also considered to be a possibility at POS so you can see that with all the possibilities awaiting us, it is still amazing that many retail and service industries still appear to be holding back from introducing a fully integrated POS system within their own enterprise.

The last 10 years have seen yet another surprising development, and that is the advent of the iPhone and the iPad, which, in spite of all the excellent competition, looks as if they are going to become the standard. That is to say, they already contain technology which will be able to cope with whatever POS developments take place in the future.

There are already companies such as Revel Systems who perceive the fact that the iPad may become a standard and they have designed their thinking and development around the concept. In that case, it won’t matter what future developments take place with POS, it is possible to be ready NOW.

The obvious advantage to you, the retailer or the service provider is that you not only have an up-to-date system that you will be able to carry with you, giving you portable 24/7 control of your business.

Another word which is in common usage nowadays is the concept of ‘The Cloud’ . Many people think they know what it is but aren’t always sure.

Cloud computing simply means that information is stored on a remote server somewhere and if it is your information, you will be able to access it and all your management information through any Internet browser. Current cloud-based POS are built in such a way that they are compatible with most POS hardware, notably the Apple iPad.

It is cloud-based POS which is helping the development and rapid expansion of POS to mobile devices, not necessarily just the ones connected to your cash register through Wi-Fi.

Imagine if you had several stores and wanted to integrate all the management and accounting information. A cloud-based system through the centralization of the data will give you access to all your information wherever you are.

Once again an excellent reason not to wait, but to begin participating in cutting-edge POS as soon as possible.