POS Software Trend Report 2015

Each year, Hospitality Technology puts a spotlight on point-of-sale technology to find out what’s trending in POS for the year ahead. Through reader surveys with restaurant executives, HT uncovers insight into their 2015 purchasing plans, and the business pressures that are impacting their next POS buy. We also get specific, asking about the features they’ll seek in their next upgrades.

Here’s what’s top of mind for most hospitality operators: a POS that can enable restaurants to accept new mobile payment options, and that’ll take the EMV migration in stride. In fact, both operators and suppliers agree that the ability to accept mobile wallet is having a significant impact on POS software purchasing decisions, closely followed by EMV-readiness and overall payment security. Specifically, more than half of restaurants (56%) say that enabling new payment options such as e-wallet is the top business goal influencing POS upgrades. Adding mobile POS and prepping for EMV is pushing 47% of restaurants to look at POS upgrades. Better integration is a core concern for about a quarter of restaurants, looking to build bridges to both e-commerce and other operational systems.

Overall, the majority of POS purchasing activity will be for upgrades to existing POS software, with just over two-thirds of the restaurants that HT surveyed stating their intent to add new functionality, features or modules to their current solution. There’s also substantial activity planned for the development and roll-out of POS software on mobile devices (38%). Currently, there’s a good deal of stability in supplier relationships, with just 19% of restaurants planning to install POS software from a new company. But change may be on the horizon: 35% of restaurants are testing and researching new POS software for possible installation after 2015.


With substantial upgrades planned to existing systems, here’s what specific features restaurants are clamoring for in 2015: the majority (59%) will look to add mobile wallet (payment via customers’ mobile devices), followed by tablet-based POS software and loyalty tools, both at 57%. Cloud-based POS is on the shopping list for 35% of restaurants in the HT survey, and nearly as many (33%) are seeking integration with social media activity. About 18% are looking to enter into a Software-as-a-Service relationship with their POS software supplier.

Overall, these patterns reinforce that restaurants want flexibility in the way they take orders and process payments.  Next up, we take a look at how the POS software supplier community is responding to that call…

Source: http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/news/POS-Software-Trend-Report-201597065