Factors That Make A “Hot” Retailer

Posted on by ccsretail
Which companies do you think were the “hottest” retailers for the year 2015? What caused them to be so successful? These questions were addressed in an article written by David P. Schultz for National Retail Federation’s website. He cited STORES Magazine’s August 2015 article Hot 100 Retailers 2015.
The top five companies of the 100 listed were:
            Hudson’s Bay
            Choxi.com (formerly NoMoreRack.com)
            Zulily
            G-III Apparel Group
            Wayfair
Hudson’s Bay success came from the realization that there is still a place in the world for the traditional department store. Executive Chairman Richard Baker has assembled a conglomerate that will soon be operating in three countries on two continents.
Choxi.com’s success comes from offering deep discounts on an array of general merchandise.
Zulily’ flash sale strategy, with a no-return policy, brought the company great strength. A test program was initiated in May to allow some customers to return some brands of their products.
G-III Apparel Group, best known as a softgoods vendor to major department and specialty stores, acquires and operates stores under different names.
Wayfair is the umbrella for five e-commerce brands. Home furnishings and décor is their realm of business offerings.
Having balance sheets that allow for acquisitions and organic growth is one factor that permits success for the mix of companies that have made the top list, but these companies grow quickly because they understand what people are buying.
Do you know what your customers are buying? Staying connected to your customers with NCR’s Counterpoint CustomerConnect will help you track your customers’ buying habits and allow you to target your advertising to those most likely to buy your products. Opening an online store with Counterpoint’s Ecommerce will increase your sales from online purchasers.
For more information, all it takes is a call to CCS Retail Systems at 800/425-672-4806 or you can email us.
 

EMV Chip/Pin Update – 08/25/2015

Posted on by ccsretail

EMV Chip/Pin Update – 08/25/2015

EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) is the standard for electronic payment cards with a smart card processor embedded in the card.  Among it’s features are:

  • Card holder data and payment application are stored on the processors system.
  • PIN based or Signature based security.
  • Requires EMV Card Reading Hardware.
  • Credit Card remains in an EMV reader for the entire duration of the a payment transaction.

What are the Benefits of EMV?

  • Because of the smart card processor embedded in the payment card, and the hardware required to read the card, creation of fraudulent cards is much less likely than with other card types.
  • PIN based implementations have a far less likelihood of being fraudulent.
  • Has about the same speed as a Pin Debit Card.
  • Consumer retains possession of the card at all times.

What are the limitations of EMV?

  • Does not encrypt personal account data, so it will be up to each POS provider and/or EMV device  manufacturer to come up with standards for encryption and retention.

What is the current status of the EMV roll-out in the U.S.?

As of the end of the first quarter of 2015, many financial institutions are starting to  mail out the new EMV cards to their customer base.

With the industry goal currently being that all Retail merchants should be able to start supporting the full feature use of EMV Chip/Pin cards there is some rush to both compliant hardware and  software in place on time.  However, this demand has created some backlogs on getting compliant Pin Pads ordered and installed.  This means that if you want this equipment in place by the last  quarter of 2015, you need to be placing your equipment orders in now.

What does this mean for NCR Counterpoint installations?

  • One of the requirements to take advantage of the EMV capabilities inherent in the Ingenico iSC250is a Retail Base Application (RBA) firmware version which requires and upgrade to v14.0.6.
  • Regardless of a merchant’s plans to use EMV, if the upcoming NCR Counterpoint Service Pack (8.4.6.13) is installed, it will require that all existing iSC250 devices be updated to v14.0.6 firmware. This  applies to all devices in the field. At the time that this is done, a software configuration change from using the "Lacy Device Framework" to the "New Device Framework". 
  • This applies to all merchants, whether they process cards through CPGateway or NCR Secure Pay and regardless of whether of not the merchant plans to enable the use of the EMV feature.
  • If the firmware update is not done prior to the service pack update, the device will not be operable  in NCR Counterpoint until the firmware update is completed. It is strongly suggested the devices be updated and verified to work for both Credit Cards and Debit Cards (if applicable) prior to upgrading to the 8.4.6.13 Service Pack.
  • If using P2PE encryption, verify on the NCR Secure Pay Settlement portal that  transactions show ‘Yes’ in the “P2PE?” column after the firmware is updated on the device, and before  updating the Service Pack.
  • The steps are different for P2PE and non-P2PE devices, so it needs to be confirmed if the device is  P2PE or not prior to upgrading the firmware.  Running the wrong updated procedure could permanently  damage the unit and may require an RMA.

Please contact the CCS Sales Department for more detailed information on the above process.

– John

How To Get Support Help Faster

Posted on by ccsretail
I often find voice mails first thing in the morning from customers who are having a problem. Sometimes the problem is enormous, sometimes it is trivial, but always of concern to the person having the problem. We understand that, and want to help you as quickly and efficiently as is humanly possible.
Sometimes, however, the voice mail message doesn’t give us the information that we need to have. Here are four factors that hamper a quick response:
*The person is speaking too rapidly for the listener to decipher what is being said. Sometimes this happens merely because the person is frustrated with the issue at hand.
*Little (or no) information is given about the nature of the problem. Is it a log-in problem, a printer problem, a scanner problem, a credit card processing problem, an email problem, a system crash? A brief description of the issue helps to speed your request to the appropriate tech.
*No call-back number is given. Yes, the tech might have your number, but are you calling from home, the office, your cell phone? Always leave the number where we can reach you or the person you want us to contact.
*For customers with multiple sites, no information is given as to which location is having the problem or if it is all sites. Knowing this gives us insight as to what the issue might be.
So there it is—speak slowly, leave a brief description of the problem, be sure to leave a phone number, and identify which site or sites are involved. This information will help us help you!
Marlene

Back-To-School/College Trents – 2015

Posted on by ccsretail
The latest predictions for back-to-school/college trends from National Retail Federation’s annual survey are out. The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, presents some notable trends, according to Kathy Grannis Allen of NRF.
Average family spending on school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, and backpacks will approximate $97.74. Average family spending overall for grades K-12 is expected to reach $630; for college spending, $899. Combined spending is expected to reach $68 billion.
28% of parents surveyed revealed that their children will wear a school uniform, the highest number in survey history.
More people are waiting until the last minute to shop, one or two weeks before the beginning of the school year. That’s up to 30% compared to 25% last year.
31% of college students will live in a dorm room or other college housing—the highest number in survey history. Dorm or apartment furnishings will average $126 in spending for the average college family.
Smartphones will be owned by more than three-fourths of college students; more than half will own a tablet. 41% will use these devices for researching and buying products.
Ship to store or in-store pickup services will be used by nearly half of on-line back-to-college shoppers.
So there’s your roadmap to sales. Are you ready? Do you have NCR’s Counterpoint CustomerConnect so you can send your advertising to the right people? CPMobile will help you with all those on-the-go sales and your inventory can be accurately regulated with Counterpoint as well.
What are you waiting for? Call us today at 800/425-672-4806 or email us for more information.
Marlene