The iPad and iPhone are already incredibly popular among small business owners as a means of accepting credit card payments. Square has made sure of that. However, the phenomenon is moving into large retail chains as well.
According to a story by All Things Digital retailers Nordstrom, Home Depot, and Urban Outfitters have already rolled out iDevice registar programs, but Lowe's is looking to one-up them all. Lowe's is set to deploy 42,000 mobile devices across 1,700 stores in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the fiscal year 2011.
The mobile POS (point of sale) systems usually utilize iPads, iPhones, or iPod Touches, but most of the retailers aren't specifying what mobile devices the will be using (Touchpads anyone?). However, the initial use of the devices has been relegated to customer service. Employees use the devices to look up answers to customer questions, and checking inventory.
PacSun will be implementing iPads in 300 stores by the end of this year, with 600 more by the end of next year. Where their iPads will differ from competitors is the proprietary software they will use developed by Global Bay. The software will be able to assist customers in ordering items that are out of stock in stores, and help associates close an estimated five more transactions a day.
Mobile payment kiosks may be the future, but whats gonna happen to cold hard cash? You can't really accept benjamins via an iPad or iPhone. Still, the death of the traditional checkout is upon us.
Source: AllThingsD
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