I am excited to announce The Forrester Wave™: Point-of-Service Solutions, Q4 2024. When we last evaluated this market in 2018, new cloud point-of-service (POS) solutions offered the safety and excitement of reliability, plus features to engage customers. The goals for POS haven’t changed much in those six years. Then and now, retail firms expect POS to drive omnichannel sales, deliver brand consistency across the empowered consumer’s path to purchase, and boost store associate productivity.

What has changed is the internet’s impact on offline retail sales and the demand for seamless omnichannel services. Even in the grocery sector, consumers use digital touchpoints in-store and appreciate convenient checkout and fulfillment options. As a result, more retail firms are assessing their POS technologies and replacing slow or limiting POS solutions that can’t keep up with evolving expectations.

Customer references for this Wave mentioned modern architecture, ease of use, and interoperability as key requirements for their new POS. But strategy and partner relationships often sealed the deal. References shared comments such as “We knew we could inform some of the way [the vendor] built [the POS],” “The vendor shared a compelling vision and has delivered on that vision,” and “They keep adding features to meet our needs.”

Today’s POS buyers aren’t just looking for a bunch of features to check off their list. They’re also looking for a strategic partner that knows their business and is committed to helping them grow and rapidly adapt to whatever lies ahead.

So what do you need to know when selecting a new POS? Vendors differ in how they:

  • Support traditional and emerging checkout experiences in the store. Although most POS vendors provide a responsive UI, they do not equally support fixed, mobile, self, and automated checkout. Some offer comprehensive self-checkout systems with specialized interfaces, kiosk integrations, management tools, etc. Others excel in mobile experiences, utilizing native capabilities such as push notifications for pickup orders. Few have extensive deployments across all touchpoints.
  • Leverage integrations to provide value beyond in-store checkout. A connected and informed POS that easily integrates with adjacent solutions is table stakes. Retail firms expect their POS to not only “see” what’s happening across the business, but it must also expose that data to users in a way that’s maximally useful. This means sleek interfaces and tools that are purpose-built for value-added functions such as clienteling, store fulfillment, and inventory management.
  • Empower nontechnical practitioners to customize the POS experience. Vendors differ in how they equip users with no-code/low-code tools. Some vendors offer sophisticated visual editors that enable nontechnical practitioners to easily adjust the front end, such as modifying the checkout flow, configuring promotional offers, or updating digital receipts. These tools enable quick changes without requiring technical expertise.

You can read our full Wave evaluation here and our market overview research on the 2024 POS landscape here. We’ll also host a webinar in early 2025 for Forrester clients about learnings from this evaluation — stay tuned for details.

Brands and retailers: Please schedule a guidance session with me to see how to use this research to identify the best-fit solutions for your needs. I’ll walk you through my findings and help you tailor the research to your needs to identify the vendors that should make your shortlist.

POS vendors and commerce-related solution providers: Please schedule an inquiry or advisory session with me to discuss what my findings mean for the industry and your offering.