POS stands for point-of-sale, so many small business owners make the mistake of thinking this business tool is just a way to take credit card payments. Yes, we do function as a payment processing system. However, the right smoke shop POS system can do so much more! Here at Lifelong Merchant Services, we help our family of small businesses implement strategies to help their profits grow. After all, we can’t be successful unless you are too. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can use our POS system to increase your sales.
Customizable Reports for Informed Decisions
You can’t make good choices for your business without sales reports. The best POS systems on the market will allow you to become a data geek, so you can easily analyze what is working best for your business. Our POS tool gives you access to four different types of reports:
- Customer – Easily capture, view, and print customer information so you can contact them as part of your marketing efforts. It is usually easier (and less time-consuming and expensive) to get repeat customers than it is to get brand new customers.
- Employee – Our reporting system allows you to view information about specific employees, as well as data for your entire team. This helps you identify the best people to promote, as well as what you could do to better support your staff.
- Inventory – Seeing your inventory is just the tip of the iceberg. With our reporting, you can also view low stock items so you can reorder them before they run out, check the value of your inventory for financial reporting, view sales information for specific items, see historic sales data, and more.
- Sales – Our sales reports are extremely comprehensive. You’re able to understand which items are most popular, as well as which items help you make the most profit. With our reports, you can also identify sales or promotions that did well so you can repeat them, as well as track sales tax, tender types, and other information to help you increase your sales.
While it can seem daunting to dive into your smoke shop POS system reports at first, understanding the most important metrics of your vape store sales can help you drive growth over time. Don’t worry; if you have questions about our customizable reports, our team of POS experts is on call to help.
Get Repeat Customers with a Loyalty Program
Did you know that in 2022, US consumers were members of 16.6 loyalty programs on average? These programs are popular for a reason: customers love to save money and businesses love the repeat business. It’s a win-win situation.
Not every retail POS system has a way for you to set up and track a loyalty program. Many small businesses use physical punch cards as a solution, but this kind of loyalty program is not only limited, but also extremely susceptible to fraud. Our tools, however, allow you to implement a digital loyalty program. This gives you several benefits over traditional punch cards:
- Your customers don’t have to carry around yet another card in their wallet or remember to present it when making a purchase.
- We seamlessly integrate with MailChimp, so you can send out emails to get repeat sales from your most loyal customers.
- You can set up specific promotions that make sense for your customers’ preferences and your inventory.
Our loyalty program works across all your locations if you have more than one smoke shop. This feature gives you more flexibility in allowing your loyal customers to shop at the store that makes the most sense to them, even if that changes from day to day.
Recently, some loyalty programs within the vape shop industry ended abruptly, causing chaos for shop owners who scrambled to find better solutions and retain customer data. With our loyalty program integration, you don’t have to worry about this happening. We specialize in working with high-risk merchants so you can rest assured that you’ll always have access to your program and data.
Manage Your Inventory with Your POS System
Most POS systems offer at least rudimentary inventory management. However, with our solution, you can do much more than the bare minimum. Inventory management is of course important for your day-to-day operations. But how can it help you increase your sales?
- Know exactly when you need to reorder items so you never run out (and thus miss out on sales)
- Track product sales so you can easily see which brands, flavors, etc. are customer favorites
- Identify seasonal trends so you can stock up when products are most popular
- Create product categories and departments so you can help customers find specific products
- Adjust prices quickly and easily so you can clear out inventory that isn’t selling or create unique discounts like a vape shop “happy hour” or other special prices for loyal customers
In short, the best POS system for vape shop owners is going to have robust inventory management options. When you have complete control of your inventory, you can make little tweaks to maximize your sales. These little optimizations set some shops apart from the rest. Make sure your vape POS software is helping you rise to the top.
FAQs About Your Smoke Shop POS System
We’d be happy to walk you through any questions you have about using the Lifelong POS system to increase your sales. Here are a few FAQs to get you started:
How much does a vape shop POS system cost?
The cost depends on multiple factors, but we never charge an application fee, so you can get started free. We’ll walk you through the costs of both the hardware and software options if you choose our POS system. Plus, we have options for dual pricing, which allows you to have customers cover the cost of credit card processing and receive a discount for paying with cash.
Is a POS system the best way to keep inventory in a smoke shop?
In our opinion, yes, because it allows you to quickly and easily dive into the data so you can increase your sales. Older inventory systems are still an option of course, but it’s much harder to understand the best inventory options for your shop when you use manual spreadsheets, paper records, etc.
Do you work with brick-and-mortar vape shops or online vape shops?
Both! We’re the best solution for customers who like to purchase products online and for customers who prefer a face-to-face retail shopping experience. To learn more, click here to contact a member of our team and set up a free demo.
