How your Christmas tree lot can increase sales with a mobile point of sale solution.

Running a Christmas tree lot is a terrific way to spread the joy and beauty of the season. Best of all, if you do it right, this retail hustle can generate handsome profits that will pad your wallet long after the holidays are over. Use this ultimate POS guide to help you with the nuts and bolts of accepting customer payments in the most secure and streamlined way possible.

Advantages of mobile point of sale systems.

You might be under the impression that your current, old-school credit card terminal is perfectly adequate for your needs. However, if the pandemic has taught retailers anything, it is that agility and adaptability are key for any business that wants to thrive in today’s dog-eat-dog commercial climate.

As the name suggests, mobile point of sale (mPOS) systems are portable. They use wireless technology that allows you and your staff to accept payments and gather and provide information anywhere, unencumbered by cords or cables. As soon as you upgrade to a tablet- or smartphone-based mobile system, you will notice a few advantages.

• You will have more counter space.
• You and your sales staff can carry your POS solution right to your customer, allowing for fast yet secure payments without the need to stand in line.
• Without ever having to leave your customer’s side, you and your sales associates can check on inventory and answer questions by accessing merchandise information in real time via your hand-held tablet or smartphone-based POS system.

Now that you have a sense of what this type of wireless system can do for your business, it’s time to dive into how to choose a mobile POS solution.

What to look for.

Although your Christmas tree lot is seasonal, that does not mean you need to compromise when it comes to finding the optimal POS solution. As you research your options, look for a system that offers the following.

• It’s cloud-based. This means that your data is no longer stored on your premises, significantly lowering the risk of data theft, tampering, or loss. Because your system encrypts all transmissions, payment details remain out of the hands of hackers, and the credibility of your Christmas tree lot is enhanced. Moreover, you will find that it is much easier to build and maintain your website once your internal business information and customer details are stored safely off-site.
• It contains inventory management capabilities. As soon as you are ready to put a tree up for sale on your lot, you need to record it in your inventory system. With the right mobile POS system in place, this can be done with just a few clicks. You can then track this and every other piece of merchandise to keep an eye on quantities, re-stock in a timely fashion, and understand sales cycles and shopper behaviors.
• It integrates with your other business software to streamline operations. Your system should communicate effortlessly with your bookkeeping program and other software so that you can count on having accurate financials and sales reports from anywhere.
• It has customer relationship capabilities. Although most customers will only come to your lot once annually, you should still be able to use your POS system’s database to record valuable contact details that you use next year. At a time when rising above your competitors has never been more important, you can use this personal touch to let last year’s buyers know when your lot is opening so that they get the best selection.
• It provides payment flexibility. Today’s customers want choice, and that includes versatility in how they pay. In addition to accepting cash, you also need a system that allows for purchases to be made with credit and debit cards, or through digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

With a state-of-the-art mobile POS system in place, you can provide your valued customers with maximum choice and top-level security combined with an unparalleled, fast, and flexible checkout experience.

How your mobile POS can amp up your sales.

Once you bring a mobile payment solution onboard, you will wonder how you ever survived without it. That’s because having an mPOS system should lead to a marked increase in profits thanks to its sales-enhancing features.

• Enhanced cash flow management. Although keeping track of money is vital for all businesses, it is especially important for seasonal ones like yours because of your very narrow sales window. Thanks to the reporting and inventory features in today’s POS systems, you will always know when to replenish stock to ensure that customers get the tree they want on their first visit.
• Better understanding of customers and shopping behaviors. When you keep track of which products are top sellers while monitoring who is buying them and when, you can gain deeper insights into your sales tactics and advance your marketing campaigns. Knowing what is working and what is not will help you to tailor your sales strategies as you go, as well as assist you in your long-term planning for next year and beyond.
• Personalized outreach to current and future customers via social media. Those big box stores might have millions of dollars to spend on ads in conventional radio and TV outlets, but you have something that is often just as good or better: Targeted reach through social media. Thanks to your mobile POS, you can easily spread the word about products and promotions to current and future customers on your Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook pages. Use these avenues to promote sales and promotions while leveraging your system’s customer loyalty tools to encourage visits and referrals.
• Better employee management. Sales suffer if your workers have low morale, don’t understand what they are selling or, worst of all, don’t show up for their shifts. Your POS solution should help you to stay on top of every aspect of employee management: productivity monitoring, shift scheduling, ongoing communication, training — even setting up and changing user permissions. Your POS system and its software should also allow workers to access customers’ buying histories, enabling them to provide the ultimate in personalized service. These features combine to keep workers happy and engaged as they provide a top-tier buying experience to every customer who walks onto your lot.

Once the tree-selling time of year gets started, you only have a few precious weeks to make the most of the season. When you tap into the numerous features of a modern mobile POS solution, you can ensure that inventory is stocked, money is rolling in, and your customers are happy. What better holiday gift could you give to yourself, your staff, and your valued patrons?