POS Display Match-up: Touch Screen vs. Traditional

With things like inventory control and fee structures on your mind, it can be easy to overlook the importance of your POS display. Yet choosing the wrong one can slow transaction times, increase data entry errors and hamper customer satisfaction.

Consider these features to decide which would be better for your business.

Touch-screen POS display overview

Touch-screen POS displays allow employees and customers to enter data with a finger or special stylus. They function a lot like tablets or touch-screen laptop. There are two different types:

1. Desktop displays sync with a keyboard, barcode scanner and printer, even mobile devices with POS software and a credit card reader. These systems are best for retailers with dedicated counter space, or with a large inventory.
2. Mobile displays allow your employees to get out from behind the counter and interact with customers on a more personal level. These are a good fit for retailers who sell outside a traditional shop, have limited or no counter space, or who do business on the go.

Andrea Barnes owns iCare Repair, a mobile technology repair business with multiple outlets in Michigan. "Because we don't have enough space for a checkout in kiosks, having a tablet-based point of sale makes us more mobile and we can serve customers wherever they are," she says. "Transactions become easier." An additional benefit: "Since our business is related to mobile devices, we want to appear updated in the use of technology."

Point-and-click POS display overview

For businesses with larger and more diverse inventories, like a retail store that offers related services, a traditional point-and-click POS display may be a better option. Because this unit has a full-featured keyboard and a mouse, it's often faster, easier and more accurate to input notes for orders or purchases, or to use multiple data entry fields during one purchase.

"Since we have so many items and pricing variations, a drop-down menu is absolutely the way to go with our register," says Jolene Grey, general manager of Unleashed by Petco in Laguna Niguel, CA. "The keyboard and mouse make everything easier. By inputting just three letters, for example, we can quickly look up bulk items that don't have a SKU, or even check the last item customers have purchased - like if they forget the type of dog food they bought on their last visit to the store."

Get ready to buy

This information gets you up to speed on which POS displays are right for the kinds of transactions you complete and the setting in which you accept them.