5 Key Components of Proper POS Ergonomics in Retail
When running a brick-and-mortar retail store, leadership teams often consider various elements to improve the working experience. As employees continue to assist patrons in finalizing transactions and finding product locations, having the proper equipment to maintain an ergonomic and convenient environment is a priority.
Ergonomics makes a vast difference in an employee’s workflow, improving profits in the process. However, it helps to learn the five key components of proper POS ergonomics in retail and how they can help your business. Continue reading to learn more about terminology, the importance of ergonomics, and what elements can make a POS system ergonomic.
What Is Ergonomics?
Before you can implement strategies to achieve an ergonomic POS area, it helps to develop an understanding of the term and what it implies in your retail business. Ergonomics is an applied science that involves studying, designing, and arranging objects and furniture used by workers in a business setting.
Also known as biotechnology and human engineering, ergonomics focuses on establishing a workplace that supports the capabilities and limitations of team members when conducting daily operations. With these objectives in mind, science proposes efficiency and safety for all those within the working environment.
Why Does It Matter for Your POS System?
While POS ergonomics is crucial to many industries, the science is significantly relevant in retail. Nearly every retailer considers software and hardware as staples when acquiring a new system. However, retailers may often overlook the ergonomic benefits of their options and how the POS area adapts to their current store layout.
The connection between a POS design, functionality, and ergonomics is undeniable, resulting in the need to find an ideal machine that serves patrons and employees alike.
What Are the Key Components of POS Ergonomics?
A poorly designed machine in a POS workstation can have detrimental consequences on efficiency and productivity. Its issues can ultimately result in increased error rates, employee fatigue, and overall dissatisfaction for team members and patrons.
Conversely, there are five key components to consider when locating the ideal machine for a retail setting.
Workstation Layout
Before you can acquire machinery for your store, it helps to conduct an inclusive assessment of your environment to determine potential problems that would affect your final decision. In doing so, you’ll discover ergonomic issues in the specific setting.
During your assessment, you’ll want to document workstation dimensions, the height of the counter on which you’ll keep the POS system, and whether operators will sit or stand. You may also determine which repetitive movements the role will require and the positioning and weight of the equipment.
It would be wise for a retailer to approach this assessment with their employees in mind so that they can make adjustments during planning. These minor considerations may facilitate changes and reduce employee injury and fatigue.
POS Footprint
Retailers value their space, and when operating out of a brick-and-mortar location, sufficient space can be challenging to come by! When promoting ergonomics within the retail environment, it is crucial to utilize as much area as possible to display merchandise.
You can achieve this by scaling down on workstation footprints, in turn, maximizing the setting for more product displays.
The workstations themselves should also have enough room for team members to comfortably carry out their daily responsibilities. This aspect would create a more visually appealing area for customers to conduct transactions while eliminating the clutter the employee must deal with.
Hardware Flexibility
Many smaller-scale retail environments may rely on a single POS workstation to conduct transactions. This machinery may require the assistance of different employees at various times, meaning that you’ll want to adjust hardware heights to accommodate everyone’s reach.
When maintaining the standard in POS ergonomics, it helps to have adjustable equipment that can operate at different heights and positions. These features may support worker capabilities to avoid introducing strain or injury while working, ensuring that the station is comfortable for everyone to use.
Mobile Implementation
With ergonomics, you’ll notice the importance of efficiency and how it affects the equipment retailers should incorporate in their stores. Efficiency, convenience, and portability often go hand in hand.
Increasingly popular across stores worldwide, mobile POS implementation alleviates some of the pressures from the standard setup by allowing workers to perform duties anywhere in the store.
A versatile machine may support transactions, including handling returns while facilitating product searches without wasting time in backrooms. This added convenience brings a fresh dimension to the sales experience by allowing staff to engage with patrons in cross-sells and upsells while away from the counter.
With increased mobility, employees will no longer have to worry about spending long periods sitting, standing, or engaging in straining, repetitive movements.
Customer Convenience
Customer ergonomics have an equally significant impact on POS convenience in a retail environment. With extended queues during specific shopping seasons, you need to have flexible equipment that can meet the needs of patrons in the blink of an eye.
A versatile POS system may also allow you to adjust the settings so that workers can assist customers seeking assistance with returns and exchanges. Filtering out those not making direct purchases can reduce wait times, resulting in a pleasant customer experience.
What Makes a POS System Ergonomic?
There’s no doubt that a versatile point-of-sale system with comprehensive functionality is beneficial to your retail business. Two elements can help you evaluate machinery and determine whether it meets ergonomic expectations: size and cables.
Size
Given that most all-in-one POS systems minimize workstation footprints, your compact system will now expand available space so that employees can carry out other duties. Larger equipment tends to get in the way, making it difficult to conduct further transaction processing steps.
Cables
A POS system’s footprint and ergonomics also factor in the wiring required during its use. Many retailers note the surplus of wiring needed to process payments; however, the mass of electrical accessories is seldom part of the equation in convenient technology.
Ergonomic POS systems may reduce the need for wiring by including wireless connectivity, offline processing, and rechargeable power supply.
Learning about POS ergonomics in retail can be a lifesaver in your business’s daily operations. It helps to know how the machine fits into your store’s flow and how it can impact your employee’s duties. While many retailers have a habit of noticing issues when it’s too late, you’ll want to tackle concerns right away.
At Hilipro, we can supply you with the equipment you need to convert your card processing unit into a convenient, ergonomic piece of equipment that accommodates all parties. Our Verifone credit card machine stand is available with a stationary, countertop, swivel, or wall-mounted feature that makes payments easier for you and your customers.
