Lenovo Launches ThinkPad mPOS Platform
Lenovo and VeriFone Systems have teamed up to launch ThinkPad Mobile POS, a comprehensive mPOS platform designed for retailers, evidence that the mobile point of sale is and will continue to be a strong trend in the consumer market.
Using a custom version of VeriFone's PAYware Mobile Enterprise for Tablet payment solution, the platform designed for the Lenovo ThinkPad enterprise-class tablet promises a "versatile and secure mobile platform that increases customer transaction speed and helps advance retail shopping to a new level of personal service," according to Dilip Bhatia, vice president of the ThinkPad business unit at Lenovo.
Underlying the announcement is supporting research from Aberdeen Group's Retail and Consumer Markets survey, which finds that 57 percent of retailers express a desire to present a more individual and personalized shopping experience in order to positively impact customer profitability. What is driving customer strategy is the "essence of the connected consumer," notes Sahir Anand, vice president and principal analyst for retail and banking at Aberdeen Group. Things like mobile, social, and cloud will continue to empower the consumer over the next three years. Gartner Research pinned mobile payment transaction volume at $86.1 billion in 2011, up from $48.9 billion in 2010.
Evidence of mPOS impacting strategy and sales can be found in the case of C. Wonder, a growing concept store developed by venture capitalist and entrepreneur J. Christopher Burch. The company uses a 100 percent mobile POS solution in its four retail stores (there are five more planned openings), which "allows our customer to check out anywhere in-store," noted Burch at Aberdeen's Retail and Consumer Markets Summit in New York City.
As a result of deploying mPOS solutions and contributing to the in-store experience through customer giveaways and personal touches like customized fitting room lighting and music, C. Wonder's flagship SoHo store is now 60 percent over plan for sales performance since opening last October, according to Burch.
"Mobile solutions are enabling retailers to reimagine the point of sale," said Jennifer Miles, executive vice president of VeriFone North America, in a statement. The release of ThinkPad Mobile POS echoes the fact, allowing for functionalities like individual device tracking, managed applications, remote resetting of devices, and controlled timing for OS updates for IT managers.
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