As we begin 2025, Retailers are coming off the back of their busiest season and are now looking forward to evaluating upcoming consumer and technology trends to look out for throughout 2025. Driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes and the shift in consumer preferences, BIXOLON have put together a list of key POS technology trends we project for the European market throughout 2025.
- Personalised Shopping Experiences
Gone are the days of a unified selling structure, as consumers are now looking for a personalised shopping experience with tailored product recommendations and promotions, paired with unique customer service. By leveraging data from POS systems with technology such as AI, businesses can engage consumers with personalised shopping experiences tailored to their wants and desires which will raise customer satisfaction and loyalty. - Unified Commerce and Omnichannel Integration
As consumers throughout Europe demand seamless integration across all shopping channels from physical stores, online platforms to mobile apps. Retailers are increasingly required to maintain a unified POS system which will enable real-time inventory updates, consumer profiling and transactional histories across all channels.
Whether it be maintaining a click-and-collect service, where consumers expect faster in-store pickup for online orders to developing loyalty programs which span all touchpoints from instore to online. - Mobile POS (mPOS) Adoption
Mobile POS systems are gaining traction throughout Europe, as businesses are seeing it as a cost-effective solution compared to traditional POS terminals providing flexibility for busy, remote or outdoor operations. Paired with the growing popularity of mobile payment solutions such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet and other digital banking apps, the way payments are being taken is also transforming by offering additional consumer convenience. - Enhanced Data Security and Compliance
With tightening regulations over data privacy and payment security, with regulations such as GDPR and PSD2 (the Revised Payment Services Directive). Businesses must look at their POS systems to adapt to remain compliant to ensure secure payments and online transactions offering increased encryptions and fraud detection for a secure shopping experience. - AI, Machine Learning and Smarter Integration
As Artificial Intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve, there are now more tools than ever for businesses to use to improve their operations. From AI driven insights on customer analytics and dynamic pricing to back office inventory optimisation, to predict consumer demand for ongoing stock management. Retailers are looking into smarter POS ecosystems to link up all aspects of POS from smart shelving to connected terminals to seamlessly integrate with other devices like barcode scanners and receipt printers. - Self-Service Checkouts and Automation
As self-service kiosks and automatic checkouts continue to increase popularity throughout Europe by reducing customer wait times and labour costs. They play a crucial role by supporting frictionless payments and can be easily integrated with advances scanning and tracking technologies to streamline operations and enhance the shopping experience. - Rise of Subscription-Based POS Models
As more businesses are adopting SaaS-based POS solutions, there has been a rise in the demand for flexible rental models which reduce upfront costs. Allowing businesses to upgrade and add to their POS hardware as and when their businesses require. - Sustainability in POS
Throughout Europe consumers are now prioritising sustainability and pushing retailers to adopt eco-friendly POS practices. This can be from choosing energy efficient hardware which can be differentiated with an energy star rating, to the packaging that the hardware arrives in. Printing technology advancements go hand-in-hand with the media for sustainability with the introduction of blue receipting and linerless label printing to reduce waste.
Throughout 2025 the POS landscape throughout Europe will continue to evolve with technology developments being at the forefront of these adaptations. Businesses will need to adapt to further develop their customer experience while maintaining operational efficiency to keeping up with the ever-changing demands of the Retail market.
