POS technology has evolved significantly over the years to improve the customer experience through faster transactions. Early systems relied on engineers to fix issues during slow on-site visits, but now remote support allows for issues to be addressed in minutes. As POS systems adopt new technologies like touchscreens, card payments, self-checkout, and kiosks, the ability to provide quick remote support has become essential to keep customers satisfied with minimal disruption.

1. In-store POS technology is getting faster to meet customer
demand — but can your support processes keep up?
POS technology is getting
faster — but is your IT support team?
teamviewer.com

2. In this slideshare, we take a look at how POS
systems have changed over the years and how
IT managers have adapted.
In-store point of sale (POS) technology
continues to evolve to meet the changing
needs of businesses and their customers.

3. In-store technology has certainly
come a long way from the first
cash register, created by James
Ritty and bought in 1884 leading to
the creation of the National Cash
Register (NCR) company.
Take a look at our
timeline to discover
how today’s point
of sale technology
has developed.

4. 1906Electric
registers arrive
Refining on their mechanical
predecessors, NCR added an
electric motor to their registers.
The device was faster, making
it easier for cashiers to process
customer payments.

5. Waiting for engineers to travel
from NCR’s headquarters in
Ohio could take days. In the
meantime, each customer
transaction took longer to
complete, making shopping an
unpleasant experience.
Days or weeks — problems still
had to be fixed by an engineer
making site visits.
Time to fix
Outcome

6. 1972
The first self-checkout
Working with barcode specialist RCA, the Kroger
store in Cincinnati trial an automated checkout
stand that allows customers to scan their own
goods at the checkout. The technology is too
expensive for mass deployment, and the project is
shelved. The technology is adopted as a standard
for future development.

7. When the self-checkout system was
out of order, Kroger had to supply
additional checkout staff, adding to
their running costs and reducing the
convenience factor for shoppers.
This caused losses all around;
profitability, customer loyalty and, in
its worst case scenario, productivity.
Unknown. As a proof
of concept, the system
would have needed regular
hands-on intervention by
engineers based out of RCA’s
headquarters in New York.
Time to fix Outcome

8. Magnetic strip cards released
Visa roll out magnetic strip cards and processing
terminals. By replacing ZipZap carbon copy machines, the
checkout process becomes even quicker for customers.
1979

9. When the self-checkout system was
out of order, Kroger had to supply
additional checkout staff, adding to
their running costs and reducing the
convenience factor for shoppers.
This caused losses all around;
profitability, customer loyalty and, in
its worst case scenario, productivity.
As a proof of concept,
the system would have
needed regular hands-on
intervention by engineers
based out of RCA’s
headquarters in New York.
Time to fix
Outcome

10. 1979The first computerized
register
Using a custom application on his
Apple II personal computer, Gene
Moshel creates a computerized order
entry POS for his New York restaurant.
The system even prints receipts using
an Apple Silentype printer.

11. Without his computerized system,
Gene would have had to revert to a
traditional register and ZipZap card
reader. He’d also have to manually
re-enter every transaction into his
accounts system once the computer
was back up-and-running. This also
put customer privacy at risk, making
it easy for thieves to steal sensitive
data.
Any bugs and problems
had to be fixed by Gene
himself — how long is a
piece of string?
Time to fix
Outcome

12. The first touchscreen terminal
Gene Moshel takes POS to the next level by adding a color
touchscreen. The system is designed to simplify the checkout
process and make cashiers more efficient. Moshel forms
ViewTouch, a company specializing in POS terminals.
1986

13. Without the new touchscreen
terminals, cashiers must ring up
purchases manually. This slows
down the checkout process,
causing inefficiencies for customers
and increasing their disgruntlement.
Days — bugs still need to be
fixed by Gene. A lack of remote
access means relying on the
postal system for software
updates and patches.
Time to fix Outcome

14. 1993Smart cards go mainstream
Several smart card technologies are merged to create
the new EMV standard which uses an embedded chip for
authentication and to prevent fraud. This industry agreement
leads to the development of chip and pin payments that
increase customer security and make checkout times
even shorter. By 2006, chip and pin becomes the de facto
standard in the UK, cutting fraud by 13%1
.

15. Without card processing capabilities,
customers must resort to paying with
cash. Shoppers without cash will
simply go elsewhere, resulting in lost
sales.
At least a day — despite
the creation of data
standard, vendors
continue to build their own
hardware that needs to be
serviced and maintained
by engineers on site.
Time to fix
Outcome

16. Self-checkout
systems appear
Self-checkout systems appear in major supermarkets
across the world. Despite concerns about shoplifting
and temperamental technology, 65% of customers
want to see more deployments because they are
faster than using manned registers2
.
2000

17. Remote support reduces downtime
and increases scan rates, allowing
supermarkets to maintain footfall
and customer satisfaction.
Troubleshooting can be
performed in a matter of
minutes using remote
support tools.
Time to fix
Outcome

18. 2007Contactless
payments appear
Barclaycard becomes the first bank to issue
contactless payment cards that use an
embedded wireless chip (NFC) to confirm
shopper identity and authorize payments.
Contactless technology is integrated into
smartphones and wearable devices, making the
checkout process even quicker for shoppers.

19. Fixing terminals remotely allows
customers to checkout with their
preferred payment method — card.
This makes them happier and the
process quicker. High security remote
access tools ensure sensitive data
is never exposed while terminals are
repaired or updated.
With support tools capable
of connecting to multiple
operating systems, issues
can be fixed remotely over the
internet in minutes or less.
Time to fix
Outcome

20. Kiosks take
over the world
McDonald’s announce plans to roll-out self-
service order kiosks to 14,000 U.S. restaurants3
.
Wendy’s also deploys units to 16% of their stores
— 1,000 premises in total4
. These projects follow
reports that customers prefer placing food
orders without having to queue at the counter.
2016

21. Secure, high-performance,
hands-off support ensures that
kiosk downtime is reduced to
virtually zero, increasing customer
purchasing options, and freeing
employees to focus on the in-store
experience.
With multi-platform support
tools, engineers can resolve
issues in minutes. With a zero
configuration setup, they can
even troubleshoot problems
without involving staff on-site.
Time to fix Outcome

22. Every development in the history of POS has been to
make the checkout experience quicker and more efficient.
Customers love the speed and convenience — so the IT
manager must use effective support tools to keep systems
running and to fix problems as quickly as possible.
Remote access software allows engineers to access a broad
range of in-store terminals and kiosks, securely and quickly,
and to resolve issues or roll-out updates within seconds.
Speed behind-the-scenes is just as important as the rest of
the checkout process.
Speed is everything.
CONCLUSION

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24. POS systems are now
all about customer
convenience.
Modern POS terminals free
in-store employees to focus
on client-facing activities.
Speed of transactions are
everything - and so is fixing
technical issues quickly.
TAKEAWAYS

25. 1
By 2006, chip and pin becomes the de facto
standard in the UK, cutting fraud by 13% - http://
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4779314.stm
2
Despite concerns about shoplifting and
temperamental technology, 65% of customers
want to see more deployments because they
are faster than using manned registers - www.
express.co.uk/news/uk/350729/Self-service-
tills-a-ringing-success
3
McDonald’s announce plans to roll-out self-
service order kiosks to 14,000 US restaurants
- http://fortune.com/2016/11/18/mcdonalds-
kiosks-table-service
4
Wendy’s also deploys units to 16% of their
stores — 1,000 premises in total - https://
fortune.com/2017/02/27/wendys-self-ordering-
kiosks
SOURCES

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