The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryToy shop software

How our POS software helps local small business retailers with Father’s Day 2021

September 3, 2021

2 Min read

H

Retailers using our POS software have been leveraging opportunities for connecting with shoppers for Father’s Day 2021. We are grateful to have seen from our POS software customers plenty of examples of how they are engaging with Father’s Day opportunities. here are some of the initiatives that we have seen, where our POS software has worked with local retailers to engage with Father’s Day:

Selling online through POS software connected websites.
Offering click and collect through the POS software and through Shopify connected website.
Supporting the creation of Father’s Day gift bundles for easy and efficient selling.
Offering infrequent shopper loyalty rewards for those in the shop for Father’s Day.
Leveraging what the POS software curated data show does work for Father’s Day.
Efficiently bringing in products for Father’s Day thanks to deep supplier links.
Selling quickly and safely.
Guiding inventory replen opportunities.
Offering email marketing data you can leverage to reach out and invite shoppers.

Father’s Day is a vital season for many retailers, newsagents, gift shops, jewellers, garden centres, fishing shops, toy shops and more. Embedded in our POS software we offer tools that local small business retailers are using this Father’s Day to help drive small business success.

Even with lockdown impacting local small business retail across plenty of channels, we have helped many retailers to make the most of the unique circumstances through online as well as in-store engagement. Our click and collect opportunities, for example, make it easier for retailers to connect with this. We are showing that the challenge of lockdown can help a local small business to pivot so that they can safely connect with the lockdown regulations that are now in place.

Father’s Day is a key season in many retail businesses and while 2021 does present a set of unique challenges, we know there are ways in which our software can serve these businesses, to help them trade through the unique settings, to help make Father’s Day bright for plenty of their customers. we are grateful for opportunities to serve the retailers in our POS software user community.

If you are yet to make purchases for Father’s Day 2021, please consider shopping local as it is local retailers who are more likely to support the local community and they can only do this if you support them.

Read on Read later

beautiful, specialty Point of Sale POS software for local specialty retailers

August 29, 2021

1 Min read

b

Read on Read later

Advice for small business retailers on writing blog posts to drive website traffic

August 26, 2021

3 Min read

A

Today, Thursday August 25, we are hosting a free workshop for small business retailers on writing blog posts for websites to attract online shopper traffic.

This is the fourth free Zoom workshop we have hosted this week for local small business retailers seeking advice and help in creating beautiful websites for their businesses.

From the workshops, a common question from people was about writing blog posts: how to, when to, why to and how to. So, we decided to share our experience from successfully using blog posts to drive online shopper traffic.

Writing blog posts can feel daunting. Let’s talk and see if we can help show a pathway to make this achievable free marketing for you. Plus, we will answer any Shopify / online sales questions you have.

Today, Thursday August 26 @ 10:30am Melbourne time:
https://zoom.us/j/94814612952?pwd=L25FRVkyVmFybzI1TjVmYzUrYXhvUT09
Meeting ID: 948 1461 2952 Passcode: 941762

Click here to access our fixed-price standard POS software connected Shopify website quote.

Click here to access our website customer questionnaire. This is designed to help you clarify your needs. A copy of your responses is sent to you.

Selling online is hard and relentless work. There are no shortcuts. But, there are decisions you can make to narrow your focus, so you can have some early learning opportunities.

Based on what we are seeing and based on the data from major retailers here, online is contributing more and =more to business bottom line. What Covid has done is speed up that transition.

Oh, and if you think online is not impacting you or not being used by your shoppers, based on my experience I am sure it is. Hopefully, we can offer advice that helps you see what is next for you online.

There is no easy road. But, that should not put you off for if you get it right, the reward can be wonderful. Click here to see some of the many websites we have created.

I have a small high street retail shop in suburban Melbourne that will do more than $160,000 in online sales this year. What we have done for that shop is what we advise our POS software and web development customers to do. It runs a POS software commented Shopify site, which we created here at Tower Systems.

A website is a hungry beast. if you leave things to someone else, I guarantee the results will not be as good as they could be. There is no easy road. We have a pathway that focusses on early wins, good commercial outcomes you will like.

We develop POS software connected websites for our customers for $6,600.00. But, we expect you to get your data ready, in the POS software, so it flows across. We guide you through this.

Read on Read later

Making click and collect easy for local small business retailers

August 24, 2021

2 Min read

M

Using our specialty retail POS software we help local small business retailers to engage with click and collect retail.

Better still, with our beautiful Shopify websites connected directly with our POS software we are helping local small business retailers sell to anyone, anywhere, at any time online for click and collect and for delivery.

In our POS software we have the ability to manage click and collect orders, bringing structure and consistency to the workflow involved with picking items, packaging them and advising shoppers of collect opportunities.

We have been providing click and collect opportunities for local small business retailers for many years. Their use has grown through the Covid pandemic. It is terrific seeing the different types of businesses engaging with click and collect through our POS software: jewellers, garden centres, pet shop, toy shops, gift shops, newsagents and more.

Making click and collect easy and manageable for small business retailers is something we are proud to have brought to life. In addition to the facilities in our POS software, we provide these retailers with business execution advice, to help them achieve valuable outcomes using the tools we provide access to.

We first started pitching click and collect to our small business POS software customers more than six years ago. Our engagement has grown plenty since through enhanced software, more nuanced advice and better tools on the web side of the tech opportunities available to retailers.

Thanks to a dashboard, retailers are able to easily, in one place, manage orders and manage the work associated with these online orders. This central management of online orders, in the local retail shop, provides a consistent approach that small business retailers are loving.

While there is a surge of interest in click and collect because of Covid, click and collect will be vital in the future for local small business retail. It is here to stay as part of the retail mix, because shoppers love it. They love the time it saves, the ease of shopping. retailers, with good systems in place, love it too as it can help them reach shoppers they may otherwise not reach.

The Tower Systems POS software helps local small business retailers engage with click and collect.

Read on Read later

Small business retailers benefit from Afterpay POS software access

August 5, 2021

2 Min read

S

Afterpay is a terrific payment option that helps local small business retailers increase shopper reach and achieve a deeper shopping basket. In many small businesses, Afterpay has helped them leave LayBy and all of its associated challenges and costs and move to a new model, which appeals to a new suite of shoppers.

Providing access to Afterpay through our POS software is part of our commitment to helping retailers benefit from Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) opportunities like Zip Pay, Zip Money and Humm. these are all payment options, along with Afterpay, through our POS software.

The recently announced proposed take over of Afterpay by Square is set to turbocharge this BNPL space and we are grateful to play a small role in this space for years now. If you have a moment, seek out the interview on ABC Radio that Peter Ryan conducted with Square’s CFO, Amrita Ahuja, as it offers valuable insights local small business retailers will find interesting.

The Afterpay buy now pay later payment option is available through the Tower Systems POS software. This is another of the buy now pay later options that our software supports, like Zip Pay and Humm.

Taking payment via Afterpay through our POS software is easy, secure and business beneficial. We have made sure of this through the work we have done, to ensure that our small business customers are well serves through a frictionless solution. Like so much we have done with our software, our approach to Afterpay is fast, secure and something customers will love. It helps a local small retail business attract more shoppers.

The Afterpay POS software solution we have delivered is the Afterpay Card.

Add this to what we have done for years with Humm and Zip and you can see opportunities that serve plenty of local small business retail solutions across Australia, helping these retailers sell to shoppers who might otherwise not have purchased from the business at this time.

This move away from credit cards in the millennial and get Z groups is on and BNPL is playing a key role in this as they leverage these platforms for their purchases from the small to the large.

Through its POS software, Tower Systems provides local small business retailers with opportunities that are leading-edge in customer engagement and service.

Read on Read later

Afterpay Card payment option for small business retail POS software

July 27, 2021

2 Min read

A

The Afterpay buy now pay later payment option is available through the Tower Systems POS software. This is another of the buy now pay later options that our software supports, like Zip Pay and Humm.

Taking payment via Afterpay through our POS software is easy, secure and business beneficial. We have made sure of this through the work we have done, to ensure that our small business customers are well serves through a frictionless solution. Like so much we have done with our software, our approach to Afterpay is fast, secure and something customers will love. It helps a local small retail business attract more shoppers.

The Afterpay POS software solution we have delivered is the Afterpay Card. Here’s what Afterpay has to say about this new facility for their buy now pay later option:

We’ve made paying a better and easier experience for you when you shop in-store.

Afterpay Card has replaced the barcode system of shopping in-store. It’s a contactless Mastercard stored in your Google Pay or Apple Wallet, and is super easy to set up and use.

With Afterpay Card, you just App it, Add it, and Tap it to pay in 4 interest-free instalments.

We are grateful to be part of the release, to be able to bring this option to thousands of local small business retailers.

For a retail business to be ready for taking payment through the Afterpay Card is easy with our fast-track setup opportunities. Our software guides our customers. In almost no time at all, this new payment method is up and running in the business, offering the business a fresh approach to selling.

Using the Afterpay Card in a Tower Systems POS software connected business is as easy as using any credit card. Tap and go. It’s fast, easy, secure and backed by good business engagement reporting. Offering an additional payment method is something small business retailers embrace as they seek to reduce barriers to business growth. The Afterpay Card does that, it’s a timely solution for small business retailers looking for new revenue streams.

Tower Systems supports the Afterpay Card and welcomes its wider release within retail in Australia.

Read on Read later

How we have been helping small business retailers through on-going Covid challenges

July 26, 2021

3 Min read

H

Tower Systems is grateful to be able to continue to help Australian and New Zealand small business retailers through COVID-19.

Our business is open and our office is open, since we meet the criteria for being essential.

What we introduced in February 2020 when we saw how Covid is playing out around the world and the impact it is having on businesses is still available. This Tower Systems support package is helping local small business retailers to pivot and embrace opportunity found within the Covid situation.

Our customers have access to a range of opportunities and benefits to help them best run their businesses in this situation.

Free POS software licences for home software access.
Free unlimited personal, one-on-one, POS software training.
No surcharge credit card use.
Free access anywhere POS software reporting tools.
Pivot advice, based on your business data – advice on opportunities for new traffic, new revenue.
Capped price low cost Shopify sites, with fast track to going live.
Business performance analysis help based on a professional assessment of what your data reveal.

Here at Tower Systems, it is business as usual and, through this, we are helping our POS software customers achieve a business as usual experience. We know this is comforting to our customers, helpful for their business planning and operations.

We continue to offer a full service POS software help desk service, releasing POS software updates and delivering our much-loves free one-on-one training to our retail business owners and their staff.

In offering business as usual, our customers have continuity of service. This helps them have what they need to work on their businesses … as that is what plenty of small business retailers have been doing through COVID-19, working on their businesses, re-calibrating, adjusting and, for some, pivoting. Indeed, we have helped some exciting pivots and we are grateful to have seen this and been part of it.

We are grateful to our team of software developers, help desk experts, POS software trainers, our back office infrastructure support and our sales team in that it is this group of people that has delivered for our customers through COVID-19 every day.

But back to the pivot opportunity. We see plenty of this in a range of local specialty retail channels in which we serve. By see we mean in real and accurate business data. Data show pivot opportunities and we can help our retail partners to explore these and consider whether they are useful. 2020 is a terrific year for a pivot and having the right software with flexibility can be helpful.

Read on Read later

A Covid lockdown To-Do list for local small business retailers

July 24, 2021

4 Min read

A

Here in Melbourne we are in our fifth Covid lockdown. As well as owning our POS software company and working with local small business retailers every day, I also own three retail businesses and several online businesses.

This Covid lockdown To-Do list for local small business retailers is practical advice you can action without cost, to make the most of the lockdown opportunity.

Whether your shop is closed or open but with less traffic, now is an ideal time to work on your business.

List what’s not sold. Run a report listing all inventory in the business that has not sold at all this year. This list gives you a starting point for action. We did this last week for one customer and identified $15,000 worth of dead stock, stock the owner to that point was not focussed on.
Act on what’s not sold. Dead stock is dead weight. If you have long since paid for it, cents in the dollar for it is better than nothing.
Look at what’s been selling with what. Often the items in the same basket are not seen by retailers as items you can put together. This list, which you should be able to get from your POS software, can guide shop floor placement changes.
Front to back clean. Literally, start at the front of the shop and work your want to the back. Clean every single product. We often find that the act of holding every product leads to decisions about some products, decisions we might otherwise not have made. We have just done this at one of our own Westfield shops and the decisions we made along the way have been liberating.
Work on your roster. Look at what usually sells by day of week and by time. Your POS software should be able to help with this. Take time to review your roster to ensure it is set appropriately. Labour is usually the top or second highest cost in a retail business outside of inventory.
Reset the front third of the store. Look carefully at that front third of your store. Make bold changes simply by moving things, so that when shoppers return they see things they’ve not noticed before.
Prepare social media content that leverages you. Using your phone, film short videos of you or a team member talking about products. Prepare these to load over time on Facebook, Instagram and more. Have fun.
If you have a website for the business, write blog posts as they are absolutely the single best thing you can do to attract traffic to the website. A blog post should be single topic, pitch a consistent keyword at least five times and be over 350 words. We have a lot of experience with this and note, again, this is the single most effective online marketing for a website. The only investment is your time – don’t outsource this.
Learn something new. Ask your POS software company for the best report in the software to reveal what you are unlikely to know about your business. Run that report. Read it. Make a list of things you could do. Act on it.
Be a shopfitter. Shopfitters are expensive. Look at an area of your shop that you want to change that you would usually hire a shoplifter to handle. Think through how you can do it yourself. I know many retailers who have done this and vowed to not use shopfitters for such changes in the future.
If you are online, undertake a data driven review of your website. Look at your traffic and the traffic of your competitors. Review your site and theirs. Look for opportunities to attract more shoppers to your site based on the data. Whoever developed your website should be able to collate this data for you.
Personally: refresh. If you can take a break from business, even for an hour a day, read fiction, listen to music you love, go for a walk outside. These nourishing things can help reset mood and that could help you discover new opportunities for your business.

We are a local Aussie POS software company serving 3,500+ local small business retailers with POS software and beautiful Shopify websites. Beyond this, we also offer retail business management advice and help to our customers every day.

Thanks for reading. have an awesome rest of your weekend …

Mark Fletcher | mark@towersystems.com.au.

Read on Read later

Advice for NSW small business retailers in their 2nd lockdown … from the Victorian experience

July 13, 2021

3 Min read

A

It was the second Covid lockdown in Victoria that was a defining moment for many small business retailers. Whereas first lockdown was a national experience, the second lockdown was unique to Victoria back then.

While there were many media stories about businesses doing it tough, the reality is that many of us had a good Covid, through all four lockdowns in Victoria. Here’s what worked for us and many of the local small business retailers I have spoken with:

Be safe. Have the perspex screens at the counter. Place your credit card terminal on the customer side.
Be frugal. Spend what you must but hang on to as much cash as you can. You don’t know how long this will go on for.
Make shopping easier, safer. Bring what people will want the most to the front of the shop, to reduce browsing. In a newsagency where papers have been put to the back of the shop, for example, bring them to the front of the shop.
If you’re not online, get online.
Be practical. Now is not the time for pretty displays.
Preference card payment. The less cash you have to handle, the safer the business.
Be flexible. Be available for shoppers where they want to shop: online, on the phone, via social media. Offer delivery or curbsibe pickup.
Offer what they want. What people will purchase through a lockdown will be different to other times.
Bundle. People who want to send gifts will appreciate you offering bundles ready to be delivered or posted.
Co-operate locally. If you are open and a nearby shop is closed, maybe you could sell some of their stock for them.
Clean, clean and clean. Showing this being done builds confidence.
Be grateful. You will see many good deeds and hear about many too. Share them on social media.
Look after your team. Have a good supply of masks and anti-bacterial gel. Given them breaks to refresh and wash their hands.
Think about beyond Covid. The experience will help you see your business differently. Lean into that for opportunities on the other side.

Regional, rural and high street newsagents are likely to have a better lockdown than those in shopping centres. many Victorian shopping centres are yet to recover from lockdown 2 and beyond. We mention this as one consequence of extended lockdown for shopping centre businesses is to find opportunities outside the centre.

We have three physical shops in Victoria as well as an office and several online only businesses. What we have suggested in this post we have done in our businesses, and we continue to do them today. For example, as part of the be frugal advice, we made some decisions that we expected to be temporary, decisions we still follow today, decisions that continue to save money.

While things seem grim in NSW right now, at the local small business level you have an opportunity to make your own success, your own good situation out of a bad situation.

If your shop is open and not busy because people are staying at home, use the opportunity to make changes. Be bold, but frugal. Use the time, too, to plan for what’s on the other side – promotions, marketing, re-casting.

Footnote: through our work with newsagents and with the Tower POS software community more broadly, only a very few businesses did not make it through. We think this is because small business retailers are resilient and flexible, doing what is necessary. Good luck everyone!

Read on Read later

Our POS software for specialty retail …

July 4, 2021

1 Min read

O

Read on Read later

Stocktake Q&A for retailers

June 28, 2021

1 Min read

S

Monday last week at the office we shot and released this stocktake video to our POS software customers as part of a kit of advice on stocktake 2021. This was sent to our customers by email as well as shared on our private social media platforms.

This is another example of fresh content we provide to our customers.

We also released a longer form full stocktake training video for those keen for more of a specific how to stocktake.

Read on Read later

Fresh POS software marketing pitch

June 8, 2021

1 Min read

F

We are loving the reaction from our new range of POS software marketing postcards, which are out now. Each features a happy image representing our software in a specialty niche retail channel. They are a good reflection of the specialty nature of our small business retail focussed POS software.

This is us, Tower Systems. We are proud of what we make and the businesses we get to help.

Read on Read later

End of financial year offer: POS software integrated Shopify websites

June 1, 2021

3 Min read

E

We are grateful to the many retailers who have already embraced our end of financial year offer for a $1,000 gift off our fixed price Shopify POS software integrated website development.

This is a genuine EOFY offer, not one of those inflated prices discounted to make it look like you’re getting a deal situation.

Our fixed price through to life POS software connected Shopify web development packages cost $6,600, which includes a commercial and beautiful template of your choice.

The EOFY offer is $1,000 off this.

There are a couple of conditions, which our sales people can help you with,.

Here is what is included in our fixed price Shopify POS software integrated website solution:

Tower Systems offers to create a Shopify website for $6,600.00 for which you receive:

Pre development consultation. This is comprehensive phone call reviewing needs as outlined in the survey, seeking to more completely understand your needs.
A checklist of work you complete with our guidance, to provide us assets such as text and images for the website. The current version of the checklist is part of this quote. This lists what any web developer will require from you.
A live Shopify site as per everything outlined here. During development, there will be back and forth discussions by email and phone to ensure that the evolving meets expectations. Your timely attention to communication is key.
Shopify theme choice. Included in the quoted price is the selection of a paid-for theme up to the cost of US$250.00.
Shopify link. The Retailer POS software to link with Shopify. This link transfers to the Shopify site ta defined and useful set of data points for each inventory item.
Personal hand-over training so you can make your own tweaks to the site as needed. This is usually around 2 hours.
Three months of phone-based assistance (but not software changes) following delivery of the site.
A comprehensive pre-prep / handover document that provides support, written training and guidance on your next steps. This is the same for all our Shopify site customers. i.e. it is not document written especially for you.

What this list does not show is the back and forth, the discussions, explorations and investigations with you that lead to the creation of a website that serves your needs. This is a comprehensive and iterative process between you and our webbed experts, all of whom work here in Melbourne Australia.

Read on Read later

Fixed price POS software connected Shopify websites for small business retailers

May 19, 2021

1 Min read

F

Tower Systems is grateful to help more small business retailers get live with beautiful Shopify websites connected to their POS software. Our work doin g this has evolved over the years, from sites we have developed for our businesses to websites for many of our customers across many different retail channels.

Our work in this area is considerable and diverse. It starts with understanding the needs of our customers. Our approach is comprehensive and transparent.

We also host online workshops for retailers interested in considering Shopify web development. Here is one such workshop from a few weeks ago. It is one of many we have hosted already this year.

We share the video of this meeting is it demonstrates our openness without pitching sales. We genuinely want to help small business retailers make informed decisions about web development, so that the money they invest in a website for their business us useful for the business and for its stakeholders.

Read on Read later

POS software alternative to MYOB Retail manager

May 17, 2021

2 Min read

P

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to offer a viable alternative to the MYOB Retail Manager POS solution. Having switched plenty of MYOB Retail Manager customers to our POS software, we have good experience on which to draw to help more businesses make the switch.

We don’t claim to be a copy of MYOB Retail Manager. No, our POS software solution is ours and ours alone. We made it, maintain it, evolve it and support it. We also provide training in how to use our software. We don’t rely on third p[arty businesses to do this.

Our POS software solution is comprehensive and specialty. It is made for specific retail channels with a version of our software for each of our target retail channels such as bike shops, jewellers, garden centres, toy shops, pet shops, homewares stores, gift shops, sewing shops and more. Ours is specialty retail POS software made for these and more specialty retail channels.

MYOB Retail Manager users have in the Tower Systems POS software an alternative worthy of consideration. Thanks to the OzBiz link to MYOB and the direct integration with xero, accounting system links are easy.

Here is a video of the Tower Systems sales team, shop on January 20, 2021, talking about MYOB retail manager and the alternative POS software solution offered by Tower Systems.

From data conversion, to customer training to specialty retail functionality the Tower Systems POS software sales team can help you check out our MYOB Retail Manager alternative, so that you can determine for yourself whether what Tower Systems offers is right for your business.

The in-house produced video shares some initial insights and information. For a more comprehensive demonstration, reach out to our sales team at sales@towersystems.com.au.

In converting a retail business from MYOB Retail Manager to the Tower Systems POS software, the company follows a structured process for data conversion, system setup, user training and on-going personal customer support. Tower Systems does this work itself, using its own people. It does not rely on external contractors or third-party businesses. This matters as it shows Tower Systems accepts responsibility for customer achievement and satisfaction. While we appreciate tech experts out in the field, we think using our own people maintains a closer customer relationship.

Read on Read later

Sunday small business retail advice: 6 ways to promote your shop this Winter

May 16, 2021

2 Min read

S

Winter can be tough for retail as traffic is often down. Local indie retail businesses have an opportunity to leverage the season, to make it more enjoyable. Here are six suggestions to get you thinking abut winter differently:

Provide a warm and welcoming Winter experience. Offer hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Maybe have a slow cooker with some delicious home cooked vegetable soup. Offer warm cookies or muffins. Play warming / comforting music. Maybe project a movie onto a wall for something fresh and different. Have a place for wet umbrellas. Offer a place people can dry themselves. The goal here is to make your shop the shop locals talk about loving in Winter.
Host a Winter event. Create your our ‘season’ your own in-store experience where people can relax, have some fun and enjoy the business. Warm cider or mulled wine wold be good for this after-hours event.
Reach out to retirement villages and nursing homes. Pack up key items from your shop and take them on the road – go to those customers who can’t come to you because of the cold.
Offer free delivery. If option one does not work for you promote a delivery service so people shut in can still get their fix. Be the retailer who goes the extra mile.
Have a summer sale. In the middle of winter, at the coldest, have a blow-out sale and call it something like a SIZZLING SALE. Get people warm with great prices.
Host an art event. A wonderful way to brighten up the shop and those who visit is by displaying art, photos and things made by your shoppers.

If your shop is in a really cold area consider an outer door to keep the warmth in. They do this a lot in Europe and the US in Winter.

These ideas are all about relaxing things, bringing opportunities for joy to the business and evolving the narrative associated with the business. This is what having fun through Winter is about. It’s abut the less obvious, you doing things you can and that a bigger business are less likely to try.

Read on Read later

Aussie POS software for local Aussie specialty retail businesses

May 15, 2021

1 Min read

A

We are grateful and proud. This is us:

Read on Read later

Marketing tips for small business retailers

May 1, 2021

2 Min read

M

Here at Tower Systems, through our work with our specialsist retail POS software, we get to see many different types and sizes of retail businesses. we are grateful for the insights they share and the inspiration they provide.

We have put together this collection of local small business retail every day marketing tips. These are tips that could work in almost any business situation. We hope you find it useful.

Always unpack and price products on the shop floor and not in the back room or outside of shopper view.
Always have a value-proposition offer just inside the entrance to the business. This should be a double-sided offer, one they see as they enter and as they leave. Ensure it is:
1. Easily understood.
2. Easily purchased.
3. Broadly appealing.
4. Something people will talk about.
5. Fun, ideally.
Always have an appealing impulse purchase offer at the counter. Change this weekly. Use the opportunity to learn more about what your customers will purchase on impulse.
Always know your top selling items in the store and always place products next to the top selling item thoughtfully, to leverage the eyeballs looking for and at the top selling product.
Run a generous loyalty program where the value is understood. This probably means not using points, because points have a questionable value thanks to the trashing of loyalty programs by big retailers.
Create stunning window displays people would not expect to see in your type of business.
Offer multi-buy opportunities unlocking savings for people purchasing more than would be usual in a single visit.
Be brief in talking to customers about your products on social media: a single product per post. Two sentences. Short sentences. Make the post appealing beyond you trying to promote your business. Entertain them.
Send customers a card for special occasions, a personal card to reinforce the personal relationship you have with them.
Change the front two metres of your shop weekly, keep it fresh for your customers and your staff.

Our goal with this list is to give you ideas you can use right away as well as ideas that will get you thinking of your own ideas.

Go for it. Remember, if you do next week what you did this week you cannot expect any growth. Growth only comes from change.

Read on Read later

Small business retail advice: beware web developers and consultants offering to create a website for your retail business

April 30, 2021

3 Min read

S

We urge small business retailers to take care when selecting an individual or business to undertake Shopify web development. Inside the Shopify web developer ecosystem there are people who take the money, do the bare minimum and run – failing the retail businesses that paid them.

How do you spot a Shopify web developer who is not likely to serve the needs of your retail business? Here is our advice …

Look at their quote. Is it professionally laid out? Is it well written? Is it understandable? Is it complete? If it is none or only some of these things they may not be the developer for you for if they take this approach representing themselves what approach will they take representing you?! we say … be particularly concerned about text based quotes.

Look for understanding. In their words there should be indicators that they understand your needs and that they want to understand your needs. The website is all about you and your business after all.

Speak to them. We have seen shonky web developers void this at all costs. Speak to them. Talk with them. Engage in conversation. You are looking for someone you can trust your business with. Speak to them.

Look at them. Ask for a Zoom meeting, so you can meet face to face. Ask them to show you sample Shopify sites in this meeting and to explain why each is a good sample site for you to consider. Sometimes we see web developers avoid Zoom meetings so they can hide behind typed words. face to face can be revealing.

Say you don’t understand. Tell them you don’t understand some or all of their pitch. Test their patience. See if they meet you at a tech jargon level that you are comfortable with. Challenge them. test them. It is vital they use words and terms you understand. They have to meet you, not you them.

Be in control. You are the customer. You choose the web developer you go with. Decide whether you accept their quote and their terms. You do these things when it suits you. Do not succumb to pressure as anyone pressuring you on timing may be serving their needs and not yours.

Website development right now is like the 1800s gold rush – fast, unregulated with a lot of people being negatively impacted along the way and only a few finding gold.

Take your time. Be sure of what matters to you. Choose the business you want to work with, they business you think can hell you achieve what you want.

Know that you get what you pay for. by that we mean … some web developers under quote as a business model either because they will cut corners or because they know they can charge extra for what they did not know at the start. Again, take your time, be sure of your needs, and remember the carpenter adage: measure twice, cut once. Time spent before you make a decision on your Shopify web developer could ensure that the outcome is better for you and your business.

If you are looking for a Shopify website for your retail business: Email sales@towersystems.com.au or call us on 1300 662 957.

Recently released websites we have developed for Tower Systems customers.

www.backobourkecollective.com.au
www.inspiretasmania.com.au
www.brindabellastockfeed.com.au
www.heavensabove.com.au
www.loavesrobe.com.au
www.masterjewellersonline.com.au
www.chitchatgifts.com.au
www.eidsvoldrural.com.au
www.forevergiftsandmore.com.au
www.funporium.com.au
www.goulburnstationery.com.au
www.rehfisch.com.au
www.merimbulaextra.com.au
www.morganpark.com.au
www.nextragiftsorange.com.au
www.northsideproduceagency.com.au
www.pamperedpetz.com.au
www.www.paperplayonline.com.au
www.parkesnewsandgifts.com.au
www.rivercitypets.com.au
www.smithstreettraders.com.au
www.sprengersruraltraders.com.au
www.hefeedshop.com.au
www.shop.newcastle.edu.au
www.toyworldcanberra.com.au
www.toyworldwauchope.com.au
www.reasureboxgifts.com.au
www.uncletomspps.com.au
www.warragulpetemporium.com.au
www.welbygardencentre.com.au
www.wollongongbikehub.com.au

Read on Read later

Insights help local toy retailers benefit from Toy Shop software

April 20, 2021

3 Min read

I

We are grateful to have been provided a copy of a comprehensive report into global and Australian toy sales in 2020 comparing to 2019. The data assessed in the repot is pulled from a large pool of toy and toy related retailers in Australia and globally. The assessment itself is undertaken by the NPD group.

The results are extraordinary. While we won’t share the report itself here, we can share high level data. we have shared even more with our customers.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve local toy shops with toy shop POS software made for their specific business needs. Our toy shop software is comprehensive. It is also connected to the Shopify e-commerce platform for selling online – offering local toy shops a true omnichannel retail opportunity and enabling them to compete effectively with much bigger businesses.

Deeper in the report is a list of top performing brands, some of which plenty of newsagents stock. This information and other information nearby is what we can leverage to further grow the toy category in our businesses.

Of particular interest are the Christmas results and the move, in 2020, to toys and games of >$50 in value. This is the fastest growing sub-category for the Christmas season. It interests me because too many newsagents focus on low price point toys while shoppers are happy to spend up on higher price point toys.

Looking at the results more broadly …

Global Trends
1. 8/13 Countries grew sales revenue.
2. Australia achieved strongest growth: 22% as shown above.
3. Q4 growth was excellent.
Australian Market
1. +22% Growth.
2. 12out of 13 super categories grew revenue.
3. Unlicensed Toys Grew +21% .
4. Licensed Toys Grew +26%.
5. 10 months of consecutive growth (adding $256m to Toy Industry).
6. Consumers move to bigger box items > $50 items
Christmas performance
1. +16 grow revenue/
2. Unlicensed Toys grew 19%.
3. Licensed Toys grew 11%.
4. 12 out of 13 super categories grew.
  – 5 categories grew faster than the total category.
Looking ahead into 2021 and considering early indications.
1. Toys / games remain strong.
2. Online in toys and games is growing faster.
3. Movie licences are back.
4. Puzzles and Games need to be watched / managed / promoted.
5. Collectibles are showing a strong start to the year.
6. Shoppers are looking for newness.

The toys / games / puzzle and related categories are good for plenty of retail businesses, not just toy shops. They can make a terrific contribution. I know of non toy shops doing more than $150,000 a year in these categories and achieving a 50% or more gross profit – making the GP value of the categories considerably greater than the contribution from products more traditional for a non-toy retail channel.

Read on Read later

Proud to launch more Shopify websites for small business retailers

April 15, 2021

2 Min read

P

We are grateful to have launched more POS software connected Shopify websites for small business retailers in our community. These sites, all developed by us here in Australia, deliver terrific new customer acquisition opportunities for our shoppers, helping them to sell 24/7 and sell as far afield as they would like.

Here are some of the recently made live websites from our web team:

www.backobourkecollective.com.au
www.inspiretasmania.com.au
www.brindabellastockfeed.com.au
www.heavensabove.com.au
www.loavesrobe.com.au
www.masterjewellersonline.com.au
www.chitchatgifts.com.au
www.eidsvoldrural.com.au
www.forevergiftsandmore.com.au
www.funporium.com.au
www.goulburnstationery.com.au
www.rehfisch.com.au
www.merimbulaextra.com.au
www.morganpark.com.au
www.nextragiftsorange.com.au
www.northsideproduceagency.com.au
www.pamperedpetz.com.au
www.www.paperplayonline.com.au
www.parkesnewsandgifts.com.au
www.rivercitypets.com.au
www.smithstreettraders.com.au
www.sprengersruraltraders.com.au
www.hefeedshop.com.au
www.shop.newcastle.edu.au
www.toyworldcanberra.com.au
www.toyworldwauchope.com.au
www.reasureboxgifts.com.au
www.uncletomspps.com.au
www.warragulpetemporium.com.au
www.welbygardencentre.com.au
www.wollongongbikehub.com.au

If you are interested in a POS software connected website, please reach out to our sales team: sales@towersystems.com.au.

USEFUL, EVERYDAY WEBSITE ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESS RETAILERS.
Regardless of who you choose to create your website, here are tips we offer to help make setting up a Shopify site successful for you.

Know why. Knowing why you want the website can answer plenty of other questions. For some it is to win new customers, for others it is revenue growth, while for ithers it is better service of existing customers.
Know your narrator. Every website has a narrator, the person behind the scenes writing the text, responding to queries. Think about that person, how they speak, words they use, their manner. Think of this person as a character you create.
Look at competitor sites online locally and overseas as it is beneficial to see what someone else is doing and learn from that.
Only use unique images. If you use supplier supplied images, they may be on other sites and Google will know this. Google likes fresh content.
Write your own product name / title. Use search keyworks in the name – that is, what people are searching for. Google likes fresh content.
Write your own product description and think about what shoppers search for.
Do not load everything. Too much stock makes a site hard to navigate.
Consider using a website name that is different to your business name. Online can benefit from a different brand to your in-store situation.
Be open to additional sites. You may make more money from having multiple.
Support the site with active social media engagement.
Promote the site with an email monthly at least, through MailChimp or similar.

Read on Read later

Grateful …

April 10, 2021

1 Min read

G

Read on Read later

Retail business advice on POS software integrated websites

March 26, 2021

3 Min read

R

We make POS software integrated Shopify websites for a fixed price: $6,600.00 (inc. GST).

Too often we see small business retailers pay a web consultant anything between $5,000 and $15,000 for an awful website, one not connected to your POS software.

A retailer called us just recently in tears about money wasted on a site that looks like it is from the 1990s … thousands down the drain.

We are seeing too many WooCommerce / WordPress websites that businesses want to switch from. Web developers recommend WooCommerce as it guarantees income for them. In our experience, this is an expensive platform to maintain, a platform we moved from ourselves for e-commerce years ago.

If you want a website for your business, please ask us. You have nothing to lose and much to gain by getting us to quote.

See some of the beautiful websites we have created: www.towersystems.com.au/Websites-we-have-created

Before we start creating a beautiful website for your business, we want to know about what you need from the site, your competitors and how you’d like to handle things like shipping, payment methods and more.

We also share details of our experiences with the consumer facing websites we run ourselves as well as experiences from the websites we have developed for others.

Here’s where to start: contact one of our sales people, please call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

Australian made.
We make websites for our customers ourselves. We do not outsource this work offshore. There is something to be said for locally made websites for local retail businesses that, themselves, want local people to shop locally.

At the core of what we do, we create websites that we would want if we owned your business. Each website is a calling card, something we want to show off to win business for you and to win business for us.

Website Q&A.
Can I run multiple Shopify websites from the one business? Yes
Can Retailer POS software connect to a website? Yes.
Where is the best place to manage stock description and price data? Retailer.
Can I have a different price online to in my shop? Yes.
Can I have a different description online to in my shop? Yes.
Does Retailer store photos for what I sell? Yes.
Can these flow to the website? Yes.
Do I have to put everything I sell in my shop online? No.
Where do I start? Do our online questionnaire.
After I do the questionnaire, what’s next? Sign up with us and we will guide through a structured process designed to get the best website possible for your business.
Money is tight. I can get a website cheaper elsewhere. You should go with the web developer that best suits your business. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Let us show you what we can do in creating a website for your business.

We’d love to show some of the beautiful, functional and flexible websites we have created for our customers. Let’s talk …

A website of itself will not drive success. What’s needed is a beautiful website with the right tech and connections to help you reach more customers than you do now.

Read on Read later

Web development for small business retailers

March 19, 2021

2 Min read

W

Local small business retailers are benefiting from the local web development that we offer here at Tower Systems. Our POS software connected web development is tuned to the needs of local retail businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

By doing our web development locally and within our own POS software develop0ment community, we are able to deliver a more whole of business solution, something tuned to the needs of the physical and online businesses.

Our web development work is done in Shopify, magenta or WooCommerce. Our customers can choose, which is often done based on the types of needs they have.

Here is a list of what we deliver in our fixed price web development solution for local small business retailers:

Pre development consultation. This will cover what is needed from you, the data, decisions and more. This is thorough and very much driven by your needs.
A live Shopify site as per the facilities and functionality outlined in this document – see below, including pre-development consultation. As the site evolves, there will be discussions by email and phone to ensure that the site is meeting the expectations you laid out at the start. The development, previewing and further enhancement of this is an interactive process involving you and following your needs.
Shopify theme choice. Included in the price is the selection of a paid-for theme up to the cost of US$250.00.
Shopify link. The Tower Systems Retailer POS software to link with Shopify. This link transfers to the Shopify site the following data points for each inventory item:
1. SKU
2. Name
3. Qty
4. Web Description
5. Web Price
6. Department
7. Category
8. Images
Up to 2 hours of personally tailored hand-over training once the site is live, so you can be confident administering the site yourself.
Three months of phone-based assistance (but not software changes) following delivery of the site.
A comprehensive pre-prep / handover document that provides support, written training and guidance on your next steps. This is the same for all our Shopify site customers. i.e. it is not document written especially for you.

Developing beautiful websites is something we are proud to offer here at Tower Systems. Helping local small business retailers transact online is wonderful and fulfilling. The joy they experience from their first sales is a thrill for them and for us, too.

Read on Read later

Small business retailers beware POS software comparison websites

March 17, 2021

2 Min read

S

Do a Google search for POS software and most likely ad from several POS software comparison websites will list first.

Do a search for Tower Systems in Australia and, again, most likely ad from several POS software comparison websites will list first.

These Marketing companies are paying for the POS software and for the Tower Systems keywords.

There is no law against it. But … and it’s a big but … there is a law against misrepresentation.

If a software comparison website claims they have done the research for you, if they claim to offer to suggest to you the best businesses, if they pitch anything indicating any research into the products they list, ask for the evidence, ask for proof of the research they undertook not only of the companies they recommend but the companies they do not recommend.

Tower Systems has not been evaluated by any POS software comparison website. They have not seen or used our software, they have not experienced our training. They have not experienced our support services.

No POS software comparison website can speak with authority as to how Tower Systems may compare with any other POS software company in the marketplaces in which we offer our specialty retail POS software:

Bike shops.
Jewellers.
Pet shops.
Gift shops.
Toy shops.
Newsagents.
Garden centres.
Produce businesses.
Farm supply businesses.
Homewares businesses.
Fishing and Outdoors businesses.
Firearms dealers.
Music shops.
Bookshops.
Fabric businesses.

… and more.

Having looked at POS software comparison websites, we can’t see any we recommend, any we would trust to provide valuable help or guidance as to this software or that.

In our opinion, the comparison websites are merely marketping platforms paid by software companies to effectively advertise their businesses.

We suspect this is why some POS software comparison websites pay for keywords that match the names of successful POS software companies.

Our advice: be curious, ask questions, ensure that any claim as to research undertaken has actually be undertaken.

Tower Systems is a local POS software company making POS software for specialty retailers in New Zealand and Australia. We research each retail channel in which we operate thoroughly to ensure that our specialty retail POS software is specialty in function.

Read on Read later