This report looks at arguably one of the more explosive yet most difficult areas to define in the IT sector - namely Self-Service Kiosks. Key to any review of Kiosks is a definition of what types of kiosks that are included. In this study we ventured beyond retail in the breadth of our discussion, but focused only on those devices where payment is currently or soon to be taken.

Named after the greek word for wisdom, Sophia is by far the most comprehensive source of not just data, but key wisdom for smart decisions in the retail industry. It is the only data service that links IT spend, to specific technology, to specific personnel, to specific financial results, tied together and backed by our advisory staff. Accessed online through the MyIHL link, Sophia provides insight into nearly 200 types of hardware/software/services and key personnel for over 2,500 retailers and restaurants. Your enterprise subscription allows everyone in your organization to create targeted mailing lists of key executives, do competitive analysis, look up market share and understand IT spend for an individual retailer or thousands of companies
Read a Microsoft Case Study on Sophia Here

Now with the NRF-ARTS RFP Framework inside, the RAPID POS Project Toolkit is a methodology to facilitate POS hardware and/or software replacement for retailers. As most retailers keep their POS systems 5-15 years, the people that were involved in the last POS planning exercise are usually no longer available for this next generation project. In addition there are undocumented features that have crept into the current system that need to be included and a new vision for what the latest technology can provide is required. The POS RAPID Toolkit is comprised of templates and tools for RAPID scope definition of a project, development of an RFP, vendor selection and project execution, resulting in a typical 12 week reduction in the RFP process while ensuring all functional requirements and vendor selection occurs via a comprehensive and thorough process.

The Latin/South American market for POS continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. Large western retailers continue to grow in the market, bringing new POS terminals with them. Our Latin/South America POS terminal market study is 106 pages in length and explores the market climate for POS terminals throughout the Latin/Central and South American region. More than just numbers without explanation, this report goes deep into discussion of retailing in the countries and segments to reveal the forces that are shaping POS purchase decisions.

This 59 page report focuses on the Hospitality POS market in the United States and Canada. It includes shipment, installed base and trends analyses of POS devices based on processor speed and operating system choice. Additionally, the report covers emerging trends and influences that affected the market in 2008 and those that will help form market decisions in the future. It also includes market value for the installed base and a forecast for shipments and installed base through 2013.

With the North American and EMEA regions struggling for POS shipment growth in this economy, the strong growth in the Asia/Pacific region continues to be a highlight of the worldwide POS market. China and India continue to expand faster than other countries contracted and their swelling retail ranks will continue to drive growth in 2009 and beyond. Our Asia/Pacific POS Market Study is a 97 page study in which we explore the market climate for POS terminals in the Asia/Pacific region. It includes shipment, installed base and trends analyses for POS in Japan, China, India, Australia/New Zealand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Other Asia/Pacific countries.

This 72 page report focuses on the housed receipt printer market for retail POS devices in North America. It details the market shipshare, distribution channels and installed base for the top printer vendors doing business in the region and provides for market projections based on changing technologies and changing distribution philosophies through the year 2011. Vendors reviewed include Epson, IBM, NCR, TPG, Star Micronics, TransAct, Citizen, Bixolon, and others.

With the North American POS Market slowing, the EMEA POS Market has also, but to a lesser degree thanks to favorable cyclical trends. But what is the effect on individual countries? Individual segments? Our ninth annual EMEA EPOS report is 123 pages in length and explores the market climate for EPOS terminals in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region. More than just numbers without explanation, this report goes deep into discussion of retailing in the countries and segments to reveal the forces that are shaping EPOS purchase decisions.

This report focuses on the Retail POS market in North America. It includes shipment, installed base and trends analyses of POS devices based on processor speed and operating system choice. The report is designed for use by POS Hardware and Software Providers, Maintenance Providers, Printer Manufacturers, EFT device vendors, Retailers and others who might have a vested interest in the North American Point-of-Sale Market.

IHL President Greg Buzek and other retail industry analysts and luminaries congratulate NCR on 125 years in the retail business in this YouTube video. Enjoy. Click Here to Watch ... [ More ]

If you were to ask the people in customer support how often IT problems are not really technology problems but human errors, it becomes clear why most exercise programs fail to work. It is often the human, and not the program, that fails to execute. Or how about exercise programs...ok, better not go there. The same logic applies when it comes to software implementations. The ultima... [ More ]

On a recent date night my wife and I went for a rare shopping trip to the mall without our kids. For those of you without kids, it is hard to convey the excitement we felt when we were able browse unhurried by pleas to go to Build-A-Bear, the food court, or to ride the carousel. Determined to enjoy this freedom to its fullest, we went to the premium mall in our area, a place where (for u... [ More ]