Target POS System
As one of the largest retailers in the country, Target requires a reliable and high volume POS system that can handle the company's day-to-day operations.
We're going to break it down and discuss the most relevant features found in this company's POS solution so that you gan get a better idea of which of these features you may want to incorporate into your smaller retail business.
Continue reading to learn more.
What Are Retail POS Systems?
Retail POS systems are combined hardware and software business solutions that can process payments, handle transactions, and manage all inventory matters.
They also offer loyalty programs and discount or promotional features.
The best POS systems for retail incorporate customer-relationship management (CRM) system software and unique features, such as mobile payment terminals and buy-now pay-later options.
Now that you have a better idea of what retail POS systems entail, let's dive in and learn more about the one Target uses.
What POS System Does Target Use?
Target makes use of a retail POS system that is highly unique. This custom in-house solution was developed by Target Technology Services, the company's IT department.
Each Target store's servers are able to run up to 30 registers at one time. The registers in the retail POS system have third-party IT service provider support. It should be noted that Target does not have full-time staff for its IT department.
The Evolution of Target's Retail POS System
Over the past decade, Target has been in the process of upgrading its IT systems.
Every one of the company's stores has two servers that its POS systems work on.
With new upgrades, not only are these two servers able to handle up to 30 cash registers, but they can also handle the pharmacy database, stock control, and inventory management for every store.
Microsoft is the main system for Target's retail POS software. However, the company uses Linux for all pharmacy operations.
The Inventory Management software is a separate entity that runs in tandem with the smooth and user-friendly retail POS system, allowing the company to get a better grasp on the demand for various products and see how things are selling in real-time.
Over the past few years, we've seen many retail stores adopt electronic signature pads. Target was actually one of the first to implement this unique feature into its retail POS systems. Before Target began using Hypercom Optimum L4150, which is a custom form of hardware for its electronic signature pads, it used hardware from VeriFone and IBM.
Target's Self-Checkout Technology
Beyond their regular retail POS system, Target recently invested a fair amount of money into its new self-checkout technology. The interface in these kiosks is far more intuitive, allowing guests to checkout faster and easier than ever before.
These self-checkout point-of-sale systems offer sleek touchscreen displays and thermal receipt printers, allowing guests to easily make purchases and get out the door faster than ever before.
If you'd like to incorporate this time-saving technology into your small business, visit our guide to the best kiosk POS systems.
MyCheckout Technology
In the past couple of years, Target has also been in the process of building a new online POS system that it dubbed "MyCheckout."
This unique point of sale software gives employees the ability to assist guests using handheld devices.
Instead of self-checkout, guests can get checked out using these MyCheckout devices.
Employees can also use these devices to search for products in-store to see if they have them in stock or not.
So, say a guest is unable to find a shirt in their particular size, or they want to find that same shirt in a different color.
Instead of leaving the store without having made a purchase, a team member can assist that guest and place an online order for them directly from the sales floor so they can have it shipped to their home as soon as possible
What Kind of Database Does Target Use?
Target uses Oracle Exadata to manage inventory for the online marketplace and in real-time. This unique technology allows for easy in-store pickup and is one of the best for processing large workloads and referencing large databases.
Target Retail POS System Front Office Features
The front office features for Target's retail POS system is the portion of the company's point of sale system that includes retail billing. The hardware interface has a scanner that can be used to quickly get price information for items, though each cash register also includes codes, descriptions, and names in case the scanner is not as efficient for the particular situation.
Target allows for multiple payment processing modes and uses Lay off Billing to hold current bills.
The Billing System includes a number of parameters, including a customer loyalty discount section for particular items that are part of current promotions. It also supports multiple tax percentages for different items.
Just recently, the POS system was integrated with the ability to put custom messages on retail bills and easily design and incorporate customer-specific bill formats into the system.
There are security levels for management too, giving certain employees permissions while blocking those permissions from others. For example, a cashier will not be able to alter the items of the number of items they select.
Overall, the billing system is quite accurate and fast, giving the store flexible options for payment processing, including cash payments and credit transactions.
Target Retail POS System Back Office Features
From Sales Analytics to Inventory Management, the back-office portion of this retail POS system has tons of in-depth features.
With the ability to manage inventory, stores can see what they are receiving from the Central Warehouse or from direct suppliers. The POS system also has Transfer Outs so managers can see when items have been transferred to different store locations or sent back to the company's Central Warehouse.
All Front Office System Daily Sales get transferred to the Back Office system after each day. Once deposited into the back-office system, the Stocks and Sales and posted for reporting and analytics. Certain employees can use the Back-Office portion of the POS system to look at bills from previous dates, as well as print or view several sets of data, including:
The Back-Office POS system can also be used to gauge the sales performance of certain products during promotional periods to compare sales between promotional and non-promotional periods.
Additional POS System Features
RFID Technology
In 2016, Target began rolling out RFID hardware (Radio-Frequency Identification Tags) to provide greater inventory visibility and increase in-store efficiency with each customer. Guests will have the ability to find out whether certain items they are looking for are in-stock with this unique hardware or if the item is in a store nearby.
The company said that it expects this RFID technology to make fulfilling online orders easier, especially those that are placed for in-store pick up, which accounts for more than 15% of purchases made on the company's online marketplace.
Mobile POS
In 2018, Target began equipping its employees with handheld mobile devices to make checkout faster.
While the mobile POS system was initially meant as an exclusive deal for Black Friday, many stores have continued implementing these mobile devices to help guests have more convenient checkout experiences.
While Target has implemented mobile POS systems in many stores, they are a bit behind a few other retail POS systems with mobile POS software.
For example, JCPenney recently expanded its technical eCommerce capabilities with mobile POS devices. The mobile devices used by employees are often iPads, allowing them to make transactions with guests while on the floor, checking stock levels, or finding products.
There is a clear shift in the industry to a mobile POS environment, and many other retailers are starting to implement payment processor mobile devices to create more efficiency, including stores like Home Depot and Lowe's.
Home Depot recently invested around $64 million to deliver 30,000 mobile POS devices to more than 1,970 storefronts. Home Depot refers to these devices as "First Phones." They use the Motorola MC75 platform to check inventory and process transactions. These point of sale devices can also be used to help guests find out if certain items are in stock.
Head over to our best mobile POS system guide if you'd like to see the technology available for smaller retailers.
Final Thoughts
Trying to determine which POS system is a good choice for you can be difficult. Of course, using Target's POS system is not an option, as it was custom-built for the company.
If you're a smaller business, we highly recommend looking at POS systems like LightSpeed, Shopify, and Square, as these options are far more inexpensive and come with a number of high-end features to help businesses run swiftly and effectively.
We hope that you've found this POS systems article helpful and that you feel more confident about making a POS systems selection for your business.
To find out what POS solutions other household name merchandise retailers and restaurants use, see our Retail POS Examples article.
Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author
