I'm thrilled to share exciting news about our blog's ongoing success. Our blog has reached a significant milestone, surpassing 8,000 search clicks on Google. 

Here is our latest achievement award.

These achievements serve as a way for Google to acknowledge the growth and success of websites in terms of search visibility and user engagement. That we got 8,000 is genuinely remarkable, considering the small niche market we serve. This achievement surpassed our previous record of 7,000 clicks four weeks ago. It certainly demonstrates the growing interest in our product POS Software among retailers.

Here is a graph of how this blog's Google clicks have grown.

Why Our Message is Resonating

I can only guess, but I am sure it has, partly because, unlike many other POS Systems, this blog's policy is to discuss things retailers can use.

Our blog isn't just about promoting a POS system—it's about solving real daily problems that retailers face. We've leveraged our extensive experience in retail and computer software with our user base to create content that speaks directly to the retailer's challenges and opportunities.

Jargon-Free Communication

We've consciously tried to break down complex POS features into easily digestible information. One reader's comment particularly stood out:

"Finally, I've read a tech article that I can understand without a dictionary!"

This feedback reinforces our commitment to transparent, accessible writing that resonates with our audience.

Actionable Advice for Immediate Implementation

We also provide practical tips that retailers can implement right away.  This approach has struck a chord with our readers, as evidenced by the high engagement rates.

Comparing POS Features: What Matters Most

Based on our blog's analytics and reader feedback, here's a comparison of the POS features that appear to matter most to our retailers:

-Our reduced transaction fees: I am not surprised as our lower EFTPOS costs directly impact a retailer's bottom line, allowing them to retain more of each sale. For example, a small business might save heaps by choosing a POS system with competitive EFTPOS rates like ours.
- POS system with CRM: No one as  I know offers like we do a free CRM to its retail clients and such flexible loyalty programs you can select. This is strange as a robust CRM system allows retailers to track customer interactions, preferences, and purchase history. This information can be used to personalise marketing campaigns, offer targeted promotions, and provide exceptional customer service.
- Our POS system with inventory management
-Sales Reporting
-Costing analysis, e.g. our article on the costs of various loyalty programs vs vouchers 

The future of retail technology looks exciting.

New artificial intelligence (AI) improvements, complex data reviews, and smooth online shopping integration are coming. 

* Picture AI-powered stock control that restocks popular items automatically
* Or marketing campaigns matched to what each customer has purchased
* These new ideas are changing how stores work

We want to stay ahead of these trends. We aim to give you the newest information and ideas on the latest technologies. Using our knowledge, we’ll help you make informed choices and keep ahead of others.

Thank you for being so interested, and we look forward to continuing our journey together.

This is an expanded version of an article I wrote on Thu, 20/05/2021. I have reprinted it mainly as there is much interest in the topic.

POS Solutions was asked to give a talk on newsagencies to the ACCC, which I was happy to do to show our commitment to supporting newsagents. So I went to HWT to ask for some information. The HWT manager suggested I start my talk with the history of newsagencies in Australia, saying it would be a good start to get into it. He then proceeded to give me some information. I did some of my own research, and here is what I found. Newsagents have a rich history in Australia.

Firstly, despite what people say, the start had nothing to do with the Gold Rush; newsagencies were firmly established in Australia long before then. 

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser were the first newspapers printed in Australia. They were first published on 5 March 1803, only 15 years since Australia was established. The Sydney Gazette was initially an official publication of the government of New South Wales but soon privatised. Initially, Australian newspapers were sold directly from the printing offices. As more newspapers were established, booksellers and stationers started selling them. The  earliest reference I have to newsagencies in Australia is in the South Australian Record  Wed 8 Nov 1837  

It does not, unfortunately, list the state or details, but shortly afterwards, on Mon 2 Dec 1839, it states in this publication.

Interestingly, it was long before the Gold Rush and in a state that would be relatively unaffected by it.  We then start to see newsagencies listed often. So, by 1837, we had an established newsagency industry. From what I can gather, a storekeeper made a private deal with a newspaper publisher to sell newspapers. The early newsagencies called themselves *news-agents* as they had an agency of a newspaper publisher. What it does highlights the ingenuity of early storekeepers who saw an opportunity in newspaper distribution.

Here are the earliest photos I could find of newsagencies in Australia, 

Short Street, Hill End, in 1872, when the gold town was at its peak. State Library of New South Wales.

If you notice, it sells much more than newspapers. 

J. Phillips' Newsagency, Fruitrer (sic) and General Dealer, Hill End1870-1875

By 1879, the first Newsagents Association in Australia (VANA) was formed in Melbourne. This formation signified the industry's growth and need for collective representation.

The rest is history.

BNPL Market Facing Stronger Headwinds

The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market has been in the spotlight for a while now. The market has proliferated over the past few years, attracting millions of users Australia-wide. Recent events suggest that the BNPL market is in real problems.

In a recent announcement, LatitudePay, one of the largest Australian BNPL providers, stated that it would no longer be available from 11 April 2023.

This news comes shortly after Openpay, another Australian BNPL provider, announced that its customers can no longer use their platform for new purchases.

While these companies may not show the end of the BNPL market, they suggest it is hitting a rough patch.

The Pitfalls of Retailers

One of the benefits for retailers was that the BNPL market did not always need credit checks. It meant that BNPL providers were more likely to issue loans to people who find it hard to get loans. This allowed these people to buy more retailers' products and allowed them to sell products to people they often could not. It also allowed them to reduce and often drop the bother of using laybys. 

What we are seeing is that big players like Zippay have their share prices less than a third of last year.

Many believe this is due to too many bad loans given to people who cannot repay them. I am not surprised as retailers were not fools; they moved much of their account business to BNPL because they knew of the risks. They knew giving up a few percent of the sale to remove the risk was a good deal.

Is BNPL Sustainable in the Long Run?

The BNPL market's sustainability has been debated for some time now. Many believe BNPL providers have little ability to survive in the long run. They do not like it as they claim it is a debt trap. It encourages people who cannot afford it to buy what they cannot afford.

But, proponents of BNPL argue that it allows poor people to get products they would otherwise never be able to afford. Then it enables them to pay for these products slowly, improving their quality of life.

One clear point is that the free ride many retailers had is unlikely to continue. BNPL will survive, but it will need credit checks, which means that many people will not be able to get it. Retailers will have to go back to layby.

Conclusion

From the retailer perspective, the BNPL market is in difficulties. The free ride many retailers receive from BNPL is unlikely to last; credit checks are back. As a result, retailers might have to go back to layby and adjust to the new requirements. It is evident that changes are taking place, and retailers must adapt.

It was great when again, our clients won all the prestigious NLNA NSW Newsagent of the Year 2023 Industry Awards.

They all have been clients for a long time and are household names in the newsagency industry.

This accomplishment demonstrates their dedication to maintaining excellence. It shows they know their business. They are willing to go above and beyond to provide for their clients. They are family-owned businesses. They have put much effort into establishing solid relationships with their clients, one of the keys to their success. All have recognized the significance of creating a solid brand identity for their shops.

POS Solutions is proud to be their technology partner. A provider of cutting-edge solutions that help our clients maintain their growth and success. We take great pride in assisting our clients in achieving their objectives and excelling in their respective industries by providing unmatched services and support.

Our conviction that their success is our success drives our determination to move forward.

 Some new changes are coming through the system for those intending to use the enhanced Income Management cards. We have yet to confirm all the details. It is pretty hard as it is just through parliament, and people are still digesting the new information. 

What we do know makes us feel that our system will handle the new, much stricter requirements. Once details are confirmed, we will contact you. 

Well retail sales are running at record levels now, and the forecasts here show sales are expected to remain strong until next year. 

"Australian retail sales are set to remain strong over the festive trading period, with consumers to continue spending in the face of cost-of-living challenges, according to the most comprehensive Christmas insights ever released by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) in collaboration with strategic partners Roy Morgan and Salesforce.

 Australians are forecast to spend $63.9 billion in the pre-Christmas sales period (November 14 – December 24), which is up 3% on last year. Hospitality businesses are set to flourish in the run up to Christmas, with over $9 billion in trade – up 16.3% on 2021.

 Out of the states and territories, South Australia is set to record the biggest growth in sales on last year (up 6.6%), followed by the Northern Territory (up 6.5%). Consumers in NSW are forecast to spend nearly $20 billion in the pre-Christmas sales (up 3.1% on 2021), with Victorians to fork out $16.5 billion (up 0.8%) and Queenslanders $13.3 billion (up 4.6%)."

Details are available here.

Over-the-counter bill payments are when people go to a shop to pay bills such as water, phone, electricity, etc. All the large utility companies providing telephony, electricity, gas, water and similar are mandated to provide an over-the-counter payment option for the customers. So this is a big market in Australia. Australia Post processes more than 100 million Post Billpay transactions yearly, so many people use it. So for many of our clients, it is a service they provide their customers, bringing them to the shop. When I did a study in 2020, I noted that a shop pushing bill payments were processing about (3) a workday. A quick check shows that this is unchanged today. 

How much would you pay an advertiser who gets 2 to 3 people into your shop every day who buy something?

So over the past few months, we have had several attempts to keep it going. Yet, despite our efforts, our Bill Payment service will close at the end of this month. We had yesterday a discussion where we offered several options to keep it going, but all were rejected. The decision is final. 

In retrospect, all we did was help give our clients a reprieve, an extension, as today, our clients are the last ones left on the service. 

The immediate problem was not economical. It was the concern over the legal liability involved in handling such large sums of money. These figures are enormous. Here is a graph of one of our accounts, showing the amounts going through for Bill Payments over time from a group of 20 clients of ours. 

So next month, we are closing our Bill Payment service.

I want to thank everyone that participated in the program. 

This is not a good decision as a large segment of Australians needs a facility to pay their bills in cash or card over the counter. Many of these are far from post offices.

​ 

​I did meet a few, but I was surprised that more of my clients did not go to Fine Food Show. Food is always a hot seller. With so many now interested in gourmet chocolate, this was the place to go to check them out. Check out the listings. It was packed with companies trying to market their products.

There was a wide range of different foods too.

What I did like is that most offered samples to try out. Labels do not fool the public with food. It is always important to taste the product offered. With one bite, for example, the public can taste the difference between high-quality artisan and mass-marketed chocolate. If you want them back, your product has to be good.

Plus, there was a lot in technology, ever heard of a sushi machine, I had not. This sort of technology is important if you do not have the skill developed over years in food preparation. 

If you get a chance, I recommend you check out this show. I am sure you will get some ideas.

There is an old saying, "There is no going back."

Although BNPL companies' share prices and valuations are down, their products in the marketplace are still as strong as ever. Growth in BNPL, although slower, is expected to increase. Also, the market is expected to grow as many players like banks and apple are moving into this space. Whether the existing BNPL companies can exist as viable stand-alone businesses remains to be seen. Most feel these BNPLs will soon be absorbed into traditional finance companies and banks; however, the customers will not be significantly affected and will continue to buy as usual. What may change is that the primary decision to use BNPL will shift away from the store. The CBA system does not have any store input.

The belief that many retail experts had was that laybys would become more popular has not happened. Consumers are *NOT* turning back to layby, nor do I see retailers keen on going back to layby either. To a retailer, a layby sale, unlike a BNPL, is a messy problem sale. It has high administration costs, legal issues and high risks of cancellation. Besides, why should the retailer share the risk of bad debts if they can avoid them? Also, most feel that a typical BNPL customer spends more than a regular layby customer, so they want more BNPL sales rather than layby. Also, a BNPL is vested in pushing its client to buy, and they do bring customers; no one is pushing a layby customer to come.

Our advice is unchanged, offer layby for those that want it; your POS System can handle it, but make sure you can take BNPL. 

Do not create unnecessary problems for your customers to pay.

One caveat here, you need an item to cover your BNPL fees, plus BNPL often does put conditions on what you can do, e.g. some items cannot be sold under BNPL. 

You will find their results here for February 2022. 

The spreadsheet proven the most useful for retailers is Table 3—retail trade, by the state. Now select your closest retail type and see the comparison. Now, look at your shop.
These figures are what our bankers, political leaders, and landlords will be using to base their decisions on. This then tells us what they think is happening in the marketplace. This is often more important than how you feel about what is happening now. If it says it is up, and you are not, it does not reflect well on you in these people's eyes. 

So, like many individuals associated with retail, we look forward to seeing what these statistics show. Unfortunately, the categories are limited because it only breaks them into their type of retail, so all we can do is select the closest and check that. Ensure you are armed with the information before you meet the bank or the landlord.

Overall, we can say that retail shopping is very *up* by 9.1% in Feb 2022 compared with February 2021; clearly, the lockdown is over, and people are coming back, which is good news.

It appears the next major gift show in Australia will be next year in Sydney.  

This is not unexpected, but it isn't pleasant, although we can all understand the many challenges of holding this proposed show.

The catalogue, although helpful, is not going to provide much of an opportunity to develop relationships with suppliers, but at least it will allow you to research industry trends.

About ten years ago, we were invited to a meeting of the Victorian News Agency Association. It was to discuss the launch of the "Love Your News Agent" campaign. This was to be an online advertisement that was to be the beginning of a national campaign. At the time, we believed that this was vital to the industry. Unfortunately, after weeks of planning and some strategy formulation, it never took off.

It was great at first. It got some good sponsors, and it had some good awards. There was nothing wrong with travelling to Hawaii for two, but it started to go downhill as time passed.

You figure out what went wrong!

Some people were disappointed by the marketing. I was too. I told a member of the VANA committee that it was the wrong messages you are sending. For example, when COVID-19 hit, they needed to emphasize that newsagencies are part of the community. That we are in this together. 

I was stunned at National Newsagent Week when this was how the website looked. I would have done a better page for VANA for free to help. We do lots of websites, probably more than anyone in our marketspace.

The bigger problem seems to be a lack of interest. Maybe they believed that as they did not get the desired result immediately to drop it. I know this can be frustrating. Few people are willing to invest time and money in a failed campaign. Even fewer to support a loser. But at the same time, they needed to give the campaign enough time to be successful. This is why a timetable needs to be set early because campaigns must be given time. They also need goals to measure their progress.

If you visit the site, it seems to be over now!

Shame. Great shame.

Recently Buy now, pay later (BNPL) service providers such as Afterpay and Zip have experienced dramatic growth. With many of our clients, these now make up a large proportion of their sales.  It is predicted that soon as the big banks enter this market, their growth will significantly increase.

Yesterday the Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO commented on Afterpay and other such BNPL providers.  Some of his remarks would be of interest to our readers here.

What he stated was that "companies like Afterpay and Zip are charging very high merchant fees of up to 7%." He also complained that merchants should be able to pass this fee to the consumer. If you read the refutal by two BNPL providers in the link, neither disputed these claims.

Today in most business, BNPL is low-cost to the consumer as they are paying most of it. A BNPL platform like Afterpay or Zip charges a typical client of mine about 7% of the transaction amount. This is much higher than other forms of payment, such as debit and credit cards. Plus, unlike debit and credit cards, it is hard for them to charge a merchant fee.

The principal way merchants can recoup this cost is to increase their prices to cover the merchant fees. 

Often most accept the loss because of the BNPL's lead generation and because it's a cheaper and better option than their layby service.

There are two big questions on BNPL. I am wondering:

1) If the government allows merchants to charge the BNPL costs, how many customers would use them?

2) How many merchants will use Afterpay or Zip if the big banks come into this space with merchant costs of .5% to 2%. This what they are talking of doing now?

I am hoping that the big banks do come into this space ASAP.

Anyway, have a read and let me know what you think?

Many of our clients are reporting that their sales slightly down. Yet there are significant changes in Australia's shoppers'  behaviour from coronavirus.

As readers know, our POS software has built-in traffic monitoring software. This will demonstrate its capabilities.

This chart shows the overall retail traffic above by Kepler, a well-known traffic measurement consulting company in Australia, for the last week of January. 

I will take you through the options so you can see how Australian shoppers are changing.  

The most important lines are green this year and yellow, which is last year. 

On the top left, you can see the PASSER-BY by weeks. This measures the number of people who walk past shops. As you can see, this fell by 5.3%, which means that fewer people are coming now to window shop. 

But look at the chart labelled SFC (middle right). This is the ratio of transactions to those who came into the shop. Then, look at the chart ATV, which shows the transaction value that the shoppers are doing. Both are up. Shoppers are buying more.

As I stated here before, COVID has changed shoppers' priorities. They are now not window-shopping. They are not going to an enclosed shopping centre to spend a day socialising with friends over lunch and buying. They know what they want. They are coming to get it. So they are going shopping on a planned mission to an open street close to them. 

As such, they are now trying new shops. I expect that people you have never seen will come to your shop.

If you are using Newspower to buy ink sales, be aware that there is a problem with the current category file. What it is, is the descriptions have been duplicated. See here.

If you try to do a regular import, all the inkjets will become Brother LC38. 

We have notified Newpower and a fix will be released soon. Until then, do not do the import.

Now we have to manage retail queues in a COVID world. 

These signs were all over a significant shopping centre DFO in Melbourne on Saturday.

What is happening is that shoppers in Melbourne were out in large numbers on Saturday. Yet shops can now, due to government restrictions, only have limited numbers in the shop at any one time, so queue management has become more critical than ever.

So one solution was that, in theory, they introduced maximum queue sizes. It does not look like the public went for it, though. Queues went way beyond the signs.

Also, what all shops had was a security guard doing queue management.
 

Still, I suspect it was a good boxing day in sales there.

We are clarifying here the situation now of linking the Tabcorp machines into POS software like ours. 

This is a project that is being administrated by XChangeIT and shows much potential.

So for months now, we have been linking Tabcorp machines into our software. Directly many of our clients are now connected.  This is saving them a lot of time.

It allows sales through the Tabcorp system to get into our software electronically and semi-automated. It is:

- Faster
- Means less work for you to do.
- Has less chance of errors 
- Gives you better independent reconciliation.

As a bonus, if you want more control and/or do loyalty marketing, you can assign the Tabcorp sales to a person.

It is free to all XChangeiT customers.

*BUT* and there is always a but 

It is only available currently in South Australia. So we have for months have rolled it out to our relevant South Australian customers.  We have been waiting for the word to link in the rest of our customers.  

Yesterday, I asked for clarification and information from XChangeIT about rolling this out to all our clients. 

They told me this. 

"We await some Tabcorp material and it should be available for the January effort. This is because it looks like we will only be piloting in SA until then. If we get it sooner, I’ll pass it on."

If you want more details, click here.

The sale of POS Hardware such as scanners, printers, and scales is now on. What is happening is that importers of such equipment have been sitting on stock. Less has moved then expected.  They also know that few new sales are coming till mid-January. So they are ringing us up and telling us that they are doing deals to move stock now to raise funds. 

So if you are thinking of upgrading your Point of Sale equipment, now is an excellent time.

Everyone is so relieved in retail that we are open for business with most retail staff returning. So no-one, unlike past years, has given us their predictions. It's so hard as it is so different this year from anything we have experienced.

My thoughts, the buying public is not spending their money on concerts, restaurants, holidays, cars, etc. 

Many still have Jobkeeper. 

The public has money, they are cashed up.

The question is, what are they going to do with this cash? 

In our market-space, I am optimistic. We have spoken to our clients, and most report that it looks up. Also, the public is not going anywhere. They will be avoiding crowds. That means to go out it is close friends and families, so they need gifts. They will want Lotto. They also have a big shopping list because now they have several months of demand behind them and what better time to buy than Christmas? Even if they buy much more online, which most of our clients should be on now too, at least 80% plus will come from the retail shops. That is a lot of business assuming they spend.

When I did a google trend analysis for the past month, it shows an upward Christmas trend.

Blue is 2020. Red is 2019. Yellow is 2018, so the interest is there.

So curiously it looks good for Christmas for retailers this year. 

Your marketing should shift to what is happening now where we are seeing as a localised and make it loyalty-based.

Your thoughts?

In any case, make sure your prepared.

We just received confirmation that all Melbournians have been waiting for the State Government to announce that hospitality, beauty, and retail businesses in metropolitan Melbourne can open their doors from 11.59 pm Tuesday 27 October.

I and probably most of the state were going close to crazy. It is our fault as no other state stuffed COVID so badly as Victoria.