For many independent retailers, bundling products is a smart strategy to increase average transaction value and to differentiate the business to others. Whether it is a Christmas hamper, a “starter pack” for a hobbyist, or a bulk-buy special, selling groups of items together is great for business.
We see hampers in fishing and outdoors shops, garden centres, bike shops, jewellers, gift shops, homewares shops, toy shops and others in the local specialty retail space.
A logistical challenge has always been inventory management. How do you track the stock of the individual items inside the bundle without creating a mess of your data?
Here at Tower Systems, our POS software offers a specific facility designed to solve this problem: Kits.
What is a Kit? A Kit in the Tower Systems Retailer software allows you to add multiple items to a sale by scanning a single barcode. Think of a Kit as a “virtual container” or a parent item.
When you scan that one Kit barcode at the counter, the system automatically expands it, listing every individual component on the receipt.
Crucially, the Kit item itself does not hold a quantity on hand. Instead, stock levels and pricing are always managed at the component level. This means if you sell a “Gardener’s Starter Kit,” the system immediately deducts one pair of gloves, one trowel, and one packet of seeds from your inventory.
The difference between kits and manufactured goods We often get asked how Kits differ from Manufactured Goods. Manufactured Goods is another way we handle some bundling – it’s been in our software longer. While they share similarities, they serve different purposes:
Manufactured Goods are for items you build and stock on the shelf (like a computer you assemble or a sandwich you make). Creating the good consumes the components at that moment.
Kits are flexible containers. The consumption of the stock happens at the moment of sale. Pretty cool huh?!
Why retailers value the kits facility The Kits module offers flexibility that standard bundling often lacks.
Flexibility at the POS: Real-world retail is rarely rigid. A customer might want the Gift Pack but asks to swap the blue coffee mug for a red one. With Kits, you can allow alterations. This lets you swap or upgrade components right at the point of sale, ensuring the correct item is deducted from stock and the price is adjusted if necessary.
Granular reporting: Because a Kit breaks down into its components during the sale, your sales reports reflect the reality of what left the store. You retain full visibility over the individual items sold, which makes reordering much easier.
Pricing control: You have the choice to sell the components at their standard retail price, or set a special “Set Price” for the Kit (e.g., buying the bundle saves the customer $5).
Seamless eCommerce integration For our customers selling online, Kits are a powerful tool. Kit items can sync directly to Shopify as a “Bundle” (provided you are using our new Shopify GraphQL connection).
When set up correctly, the available quantity of the Kit on your website is calculated based on the availability of the components. If you run out of the specific components that make up the kit, the website automatically knows the Kit is out of stock.
How to access kits The Kits feature is available to Retailer users on the Advanced or Ultimate rental levels.
To check if you have access, go to Help -> Register in your software and look for the Kits tick-box. If you are on a standard plan and would like to unlock this feature to handle your bundles and packages more professionally, please reach out to us.
Need help setting this up? Setting up a Kit involves selecting a parent item and assigning components via the Stock Screen. You can set rules for whether staff are allowed to alter the kit at the counter, giving you control over your margins.
If you would like a hand configuring your first Kit, please contact our support team.
Tower Systems Serving local independent retailers. www.towersystems.com.au
.We’d love to see if we offer POS software useful to your retail business: 1 300 662 957 or 0800 444 367 (NZ). Or, email sales@towersystems.com.au.
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