The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.

CategoryShop locally

Shop local: show don’t tell is a strong message local retailers can spend through the decisions they make

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If you run a local retail business and have put a shop local post on social media or a sign in your window, take a moment to think about the decisions you have made in your business that lean into the shop local narrative for your business.

Do you by local every time you can?

Take POS software, is your software locally made, locally supported, benefiting the local community.

In the POS software space we have plenty of businesses owned by overseas companies, selling software that is developed overseas and software that is supported overseas. Very little of every dollar you spend with them stays locally. here at Tower Systems, most of what we are paid stays locally, supporting the local community, for which we are grateful.

In the relates EFTPOS payments space, there are local banks and providers and there are international businesses. Given the similarity in fees, choosing the local company would appear to make sense to businesses that themselves call on others to shoot local.

Now, if there is software locally made and locally supported that fist your business needs and is similar in price, why not consider the, local alternative and, when you do, tell people that you are grateful to be able to shop local for your own business.

This is one way to pitch shop local practically in your local business: shop local for yourself and gracefully share stories about this on your social media pages. Without telling customers to shop local you are leading in the conversation by doing it yourself.

Any business publicly encouraging others to shop local has an obligation themselves for each decision to make to first consider the local options. Your actions in business speak to the narrative of your business. You actions on shopping locally will show whether you are true to your word.

There is so much more to a call to shop local than the words themselves. It is vital we understand this and that we live it through the decisions we make in our businesses if we plan to tell others to shop local.

Shop local is a solid message if we walk the walk.

Owning and running a local shop is a calling

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Owning and running a local shop is often more of a calling than a pure business decision, for local shops play active and vital roles in supporting local communities.

This is what happens when the owner of a business lives among those they serve. They want the local community to thrive because they live and feel the joy of a thriving community.

No big business can compete with this personal local connection, no matter how much they advertise or promote local support. Nothing beats living alongside those your own business serves.=

It’s this connectedness of local retailers to their local community that inspires us to make software that is genuinely useful in helping local retailers to serve, and to thrive themselves.

We are grateful to only make software for local independent retailers. As locals ourselves, we understand the role our software can play.

How POS software helps local small business retailers serve local shoppers

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Local retailers often pitch for local shoppers with emotive language on social media and noticeboards out the front of the shop and while these pitches can help the local retailers feel like they are pitching shop local, we think they are noise in an already noisy space.

The best way for a local retailer to pitch shop local to local shoppers is by showing, rather than telling.

Here are 7 ways local small business retailers can use POS software to pitch local by showing rather than telling.

  1. Share local knowledge. If you sell products that can be used locally, in local conditions, share relevant information as to appropriate local usage on your receipts. Garden centres, fishing shops, camping businesses, produce / farm supply businesses and more are ideal for the sharing on this local knowledge. Big businesses are not structured to do this like you can.
  2. Share local knowledge II. Share information about local places where what you sell can be used. share your local knowledge, insider tips, to add value.
  3. Support local community groups. use your POS software to serve members of local community groups and clubs. Offer the members a deal and an opportunity to fundraise for their club or group. This pay it forward approach offers a level of local support that big businesses will struggle to match.
  4. Highlight local products. Use your POS software to note what you have in store that is locally sourced. Shine a light on local products so your shoppers can support local more.
  5. Offer local value. Use your POS software to offer loyalty rewards to regular shoppers. These are more likely to be the local shoppers who provide the best value for the business.
  6. Communicate locally. Harvest local shopper details from your POS software and email local specific offers to local shoppers. reward their locality.
  7. Be locally relevant. Use your shop as a hub, a knowledge base on local, be known for this and your service of the local community and local places of interest.

We have cultivated this list by being local retailers ourselves, through own own doing, for decades in the gift, homewares and related retail channels. By showing shoppers the value of shopping locally we win more local business for sure. yes, we use our POS software every day in shops we own and run.

Tower Systems is not your average POS softer company.

The pandemic showed us the value of local, and local retailers were there for us

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Local retailers were quick to respond to the Covid pandemic and the needs of the local community who could not go far from home.

In our work with thousands of local retailers we saw many pivot, or adjust, to the new situations brought through Covid. It was wonderful seeing local small business retailers respond, and to see their customers respond, too.

March 2020 heralded in a new era of shop local, in part because we all had to. Today, early in 2023, many local retailers are benefiting, and continues using to lean more into serving local shopper needs.

2023 can be a year of shopping locally. The community benefits. The planet, too, benefits.

We know form our work with a variety of local retail businesses that there is a diverse mix of products available, many of which have been locally sourced, from gifts to homewares to food. These local businesses have brought to town more products and services than ever. It is a joy to be part of what is helping local retailers service their local communities in this way.

We all have a part to play to make 2023 a wonderful year for the local community.

So, what can you do to support local businesses in 2023? Here are a few simple steps:

  1. Shop at local stores and markets. Make a conscious effort to shop at locally-owned businesses rather than online or chain stores. This includes everything from groceries and clothing to home goods and gifts.
  2. Buy local products. Ask where it’s made. Preference locally made products. Your query can encourage local retailers to stock more local.
  3. Use local services. This can include everything from getting your hair done at a local salon to hiring a local plumber or electrician.
  4. Share the love. Tell your friends and family about the great local businesses you’ve discovered and encourage them to shop local as well. You can also leave reviews online or share your experiences on social media to help spread the word.
  5. And, like. Each time you like a social media post by a local business, it is cheer for them and the more they feel those cheers the more able they are to help your local community.

Part of our role here at Tower Systems is to provide local retailers with tools on which they can rely to serve local shoppers. We only serve local specialty retailers. And while we for sure benefit when you shop local, you benefit too in many ways.

Join us in making 2023 a strong shop local year, for your community.

The simple case for shopping local in 2023

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Here at Tower Systems we make POS software local retailers, specialty retailers, local shops that serve the local community. To us, local is Australia and New Zealand. We are grateful to serve over 3,000 local small business retailers with our POS software across both countries.

And, local community is key … and here’s why …

Shopping local matters to the local community for a number of reasons, some obvious, some not so obvious.

Every dollar you spend locally helps to stimulate the local economy. This is especially true if you shop at locally owned businesses.

When you shop at a locally owned and operated business, the money you spend tends to stay within the community, rather than making its way to corporate offices elsewhere.

Your dollars spent locally are supporting local jobs, local suppliers, and local tax revenues, local infrastructure. This can have a ripple effect throughout the community, as the increased economic activity can lead to more opportunities for businesses to thrive, which in turn can lead to more jobs and further economic growth.

Shopping local also helps to preserve the unique character and culture of a community. Local businesses are often an integral part of the fabric of a community, and they can help to define its personality and sense of place. When you support local businesses, you are helping to keep these cultural touchstones alive and ensure that the community retains its distinct character.

In addition, shopping local can be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Local businesses tend to have smaller carbon footprints and are often more committed to using environmentally friendly practices. By supporting these businesses, you can help to reduce your own carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable local economy.

Finally, shopping local can simply be more convenient and enjoyable. Local businesses often offer a level of personal service and attention to detail that can be difficult to find at larger chain stores. Plus, shopping at a local store can be a more engaging and enjoyable experience, as you have the opportunity to interact with the owners and employees and learn about the unique products and services that they offer.

Local is community. Yes, we get that reads as a cliche. It;’s true, tho. Local is community. Thriving local shops are able to help the community thrive and in a local thriving community, you thrive.

It its the circular nature of the local community that benefits all in it and all who rely on it.

The Tower Systems team is grateful to serve local retailers.

Have an awesome 2023. May you and your local community thrive!

Explainer: why shopping local is good

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Shopping local is good for a variety of reasons. For one, it supports the local economy by keeping money in the community. When you shop at locally-owned businesses, the money you spend stays in the local economy, supporting other businesses and creating jobs. Local businesses also tend to be more invested in the community, and often support local causes and organizations. Additionally, shopping local can help to preserve the unique character of a community, as local businesses often offer products and services that reflect the local culture. Finally, shopping local can be more environmentally friendly, as it reduces the need for long-distance transportation of goods.

Tower Systems makes POS software to support local small business retail.

Shopping local can benefit both the local community and the individual consumer. When people shop at local businesses, they are supporting the local economy by providing jobs and income for members of the community. This can lead to the growth and development of the local area. Additionally, shopping local often means that people are able to find unique, high-quality products and services that may not be available at larger chain stores. This can be a more satisfying and enjoyable shopping experience for the individual consumer.

Tower Systems makes POS software to support local small business retail.

There are many reasons why shopping at local small businesses can be good for both the local community and the individual consumer. Some of the benefits of supporting local small businesses include:

  • Supporting the local economy: When people shop at local small businesses, they are supporting the local economy by providing jobs and income for members of the community. This can lead to the growth and development of the local area.
  • Unique, high-quality products and services: Local small businesses often offer unique and high-quality products and services that may not be available at larger chain stores. This can be a more satisfying and enjoyable shopping experience for the individual consumer.
  • Stronger community ties: Shopping at local small businesses can help to build stronger ties within the community. Local business owners are often more connected to the community and may be more likely to support local organizations and events.
  • Environmental benefits: Shopping locally can also have environmental benefits. Local businesses may be more likely to use sustainable practices, and because customers are not required to travel long distances to shop, there is less pollution from transportation.

Overall, shopping at local small businesses can be good for the local community and the individual consumer by supporting the local economy, providing unique products and services, building stronger community ties, and reducing environmental impact.

Tower Systems makes POS software to support local small business retail.

Small business retail advice: how to be local and leverage this for local shopper sales

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Being genuinely local for any local business sounds easy, right? It’s not that easy though, certainly not as easy as it seems. It can be challenging because of different expectations and experiences.

As a POS software company that only develops POS software and sells to local small business retailers, we have plenty of experience with retailers on thinking, living and acting local. Plus, we own and run local shops. Our experience and the experience of our 3,000+ local retail business customers informed the advice we share here and in our day to day contact with our POS software customer community.

Today, we share some of that advice, to provide a taste for the extent of business inspiration and management we provide our customers.

Being local in retail is more important than ever.

Local can mean different things to different people – it does not necessarily mean geographic proximity. Being local could be about the level of care and attention you provide customers, the additional advice you provide, that you live locally, that you source locally or that you serve the local community personally.

Locally sourced products could be products made in Australia. For example, detailing where a product is made and the family behind it pitches local compared to a similar product imported from overseas.

You can use your Tower Systems POS software to pitch local in a range of ways:

  1. Shop local yourself. Be seen doing this.
  2. Hire local. This shows you adding local economic value.
  3. Talk local. Know local news. Share it on your business social media pages.
  4. Include notes on receipts.Add product care instructions, use instructions or other useful information automatically on receipts – making your receipt a useful information platform.
  5. Tell people where you source products. For a product made by a family or small business in Australia, include details on the receipt. Shine a light on this local product – provide extra information so your shoppers can feel more locally connected.
  6. Include a SHOP LOCAL pitch. Add an image of a poster or some other promotion of the benefits of shop local to every receipt, reinforcing the value of shopping local. Tower Systems has images you can use for free – in the downloads section of our website.
  7. Thank your customers.Include text personally thanking customers shopping with you. Put our name to the message. Include your mobile. Big businesses do not do this.
  8. Track local product sales.Be aware of suppliers of locally made products and report on the performance of these through various reporting tools.
  9. Thanks for shopping local vouchers.You can use the discount voucher facilities in the software and call them Thanks for shopping localorLocal shopping reward. This reinforces a value for shopping with a local business – offering $$ discount off the next purchase based on rules you establish.
  10. Show local, on product tags, with information you auto-share about locally sourced products and about products sourced to serve local conditions.

It is not enough to tell people to shop local. Doing just that will fail, it will be ignored. We think it is vital for local retailers to demonstrate the value of local, to live it transactionally in your retail business. The best way to do this is through systems and processes in your POS software.

How Australian made POS software helps local Australian retail businesses

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Any local Australian retail business that wants to see local shoppers engage with local retailers should consider these benefits of local Australian made POS software:

  1. We better understand you. A local Aussie POS software company will understand local retailer needs better than a software company located offshore.
  2. Your business is different to retail overseas. There is an Australian way, an Australian style, an Australian approach … embedded in our POS software.
  3. We speak Australian. Terms used in our POS reflect local terms, they make sense.
  4. We are awake when you are awake. If you need us for something serious, or even not so serious, we are open when you are open whereas an offshore company operates their local hours.
  5. We pay taxes here, which benefit the local Aussie community. And by taxes we mean GST, payroll tax, company tax, regulatory fees and more. And, since we hire locally, our employees contribute locally. If you buy from a software company located offshore, much less of what you spend will benefit the Australian economy and the lives of Australians.
  6. We report in a way that makes local sense. How businesses assess their performance varies around the world. Having local software provides you with access to reporting in a manner that makes sense to you.
  7. Local software helps you compete locally. We need local businesses, small retail businesses. Our software is fine-tuned to help these businesses compete against bigger businesses, just like we do in our own company. We think our local POS software will do better at helping your local business compete than POS software from some big offshore company that may not be as locally connected as we are.
  8. We support local community groups. Local small businesses understand local community support.

Of course, we’ll pitch this as we are a local Australian POS software company serving local Australian retailer needs.

While this is a nice emotive case, the real decision has to be what’s best for your business. Now, best can be about the tech. of the software or the broader assist from the company to your business and the local community we share.

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to have been chosen by more than 3,000 local retail businesses in Australia.

Thank you.

The POS Software Blog

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