Mined wisely, POS data analytics leads to decisions and innovations to help you strike it rich. Simple or complex, analytics represent the future of the guest experience. The best POS analytics software should provide all the metrics and reporting tools necessary to make decisions that improve business and it should be easy to access. Ideally, operators have a platform with embedded analytics and profit center-specific dashboards that provide these essentials:
Repeat Guest Rate
Armed with data on revenue, orders, frequency of visits, average dollars spent, best-selling and least-popular items, etc., it’s easy to see how existing guests are affecting the bottom line. Visibility into data across multiple guest interactions and points in time helps in understanding the “repeat guest rate”. This is important when making business decisions, ensuring you always have the most popular items for your repeat purchasers, and delivering consistent experiences that support your brand value.
What’s Selling
Goods come in and goods go out. That inventory flow, whether steady, variable or static, says a lot about guests and their preferences. It tells you what items aren’t moving so you can determine if those items need to be re-positioned, or if it’s better to close out the item altogether. Either way, it’s important to understand which items are just sitting on the shelf. In this case, it may be wise to begin by developing an incentive promotion to steer guests to those items.
Staff Metrics
In addition to keeping an eye on overall labor costs, table turn times, tip percentages or upsell revenue, POS analytics can help identify other employee performance trends. Maybe you’re seeing higher item returns during a certain shift, or from a certain terminal. This often indicates an employee who needs additional training. Comparing inventory levels with revenue can also bring attention to potential theft. Gone unchecked, these guest service areas could significantly increase costs, negatively affecting your bottom line.