WinePos Innovative Computer Solutions

08/29/2018

This Week In Liquor Store Retail News:
Loyalty Programs – Is it time to charge for a membership?

Some retailers have begun to change their perspective when it comes to Loyalty Club memberships. While these were initially a method for getting repeat business, the ongoing cost of management of these programs and their effect on a store’s bottom line have forced owners to reevaluate their process. As a result, stores are starting to roll out a ‘paid membership’ program, whereby a fee (one time or annual) is assessed to the consumer in order for them to remain in the program.

There are many ways this can be implemented: first-year free, pay one time, pay annually. While this has gained traction over the past year, it seems that the renewal tolerance is no less than a year; i.e. this is not a program you would introduce on a quarterly or monthly expiration.

There may be a few readers raising their eyebrows at this seemingly shocking reversal of today’s retail mind-set; however I have 2 words in rebuttal: Amazon Prime.

08/08/2018

This Week In Liquor Store Retail News:

PCI and OnLine transactions – the Elephant in the room
While lots of attention has been paid to PCI and the impact of chip cards at the POS registers, the fact remains that Online transactions have not kept pace with new PCI technology. Today, several years after the latest round of PCI changes were implemented, there still is no solution to the protection of a customer’s card when transacting online. And we are still doing things ‘the old way’ with respect to what the consumer enters when they tender an online transaction with their credit card.
As everyone knows, Online orders are increasing exponentially year over year. This also presents an opportunity for fraud to expand (especially when the perpetrators have been thwarted at the register).
Some processors are aware of this and are currently working on solutions. One of the more interesting concepts involves re-issuing chip cards with a dynamic CVV (3 or 4 digit security code). This would change each time it’s used. The CVV would be compared on the processor’s database against a list of random CVV codes. In order for the consumer to see their current CVV code, a small display would be attached to the card, showing only the active code.
One of the drawbacks to this process is the cost of the cards which would rise from approximately $3-4 to $12. But the advantage of this dynamic CVV, (which makes it comparable to the dynamic PIN, which is stored on today’s chip cards) may eventually outweigh the cost, as processors continue to seek out ways to combat fraud in the marketplace.

07/30/2018

Blog of the Week

NFC Slow to adopt. But Why?

NFC (Near Field Communication) is the technology that is associated with ‘tap and go’ credit card payments.
For POS retailers, this method of payment (also known as ‘Contactless’) takes several forms such as ApplePay, Android Pay and SamsungPay. But statistics have shown that while these are available on most of the PCI compliant terminals in the field today, they are seldom used. Why is that?
A lot of confusion surrounds this technology. In some cases, it is as simple a matter as enabling the feature. In other cases, it’s a matter of card distribution (many credit/debit cards have a chip, however they are not NFC enabled). A further complication is that some processors accept either passive NFC (tapping your credit card) or active NFC (ApplePay, etc) but not both. You can see how (with all the moving parts) this gets messy.
After the tech is sorted out, there remains a significant, final stumbling block: the consumers themselves. Studies have shown that almost 40% of Americans have tried contactless payments when making a purchase. Further analysis of these statistics, however, show that less than 3% have used contactless in the last 3 months. Clearly, the end-users are reluctant to adopt, despite the convenience; many still express concerns about security; their smartphones being stolen or their card triggering an unintentional charge.
NFC and both passive/active functions remain the ‘shiny new toy’ and sparked a round of enthusiasm, when they were first announced. But until security concerns are alleviated and the true benefits of contactless are understood, consumers will remain on the fence.

07/02/2018

4th of July Readiness & Reminders

Let WinePOS help to make this holiday as profitable as possible! We are here to help you prepare for a successful 4th of July!

06/28/2018

Blog of the Week:
UPC Mysteries
So what does that ‘U’ stand for in UPC?
While many people think ‘unique’ it really stands for Universal. A UPC code ‘should’ be identical for the same product, regardless of where it’s found.
But today, that’s not the case. There are differing standards within UPC coding structure, resulting in the same product having multiple UPC’s.
Recently, the converse has become more prevalent. A manufacturer, looking to avoid the paperwork associated with filing for a UPC, now sidesteps the process by using that same UPC for multiple products. As you would think, this wreaks havoc with POS systems, especially in Liquor Stores, as this ‘Multiple SKU, single UPC’ scenario plays out for many craft beer products. And it’s a common situation, which will only grow over time.
Fortunately WinePOS has addressed this with a simple-to-use function at the POS terminal.
So, 1 SKU – many UPC’s or 1 UPC – many SKU’s; it doesn’t matter. WinePOS has you covered. We’ll be happy to explain this to you!

06/08/2018

Blog of the Week:
WinePOS is pleased to announce our new UPC sharing feature. In order to see this new feature you will need to be on WinePOS release 2057. An instructional video can be found here: https://vfiles.winepos.com/system/files/How_To_Share_UPC's.mp4.

06/07/2018

So, how reliable is your system?

WinePOS users know their system is robust and stable, thanks to the Linux backbone that we have used for years.
How stable? Over 20% of our users have not re-started their servers in over a year; 8% in 2 years! Our current champion has had their system up and running for almost 6 years!!!!!

You want stability? Check us out.

06/01/2018

This Week in Beverage Retail News..

Did you know?
In the event of a server or network interruption, your registers will be able to open and continue to run on what we call robust register mode. While using robust register, the status line at the bottom of the window will show red instead of green. Cashiers will be able to use the registers just as they do normally and all sales information will be saved on the register until a connection is once again made with the WinePOS server. This minimizes downtime during interruptions and prevents unnecessary customer wait times.
To make best use of robust register mode it is suggested that register shortcuts be updated to our latest release of VStart v2.0.8, available from our WinePOS Utilities page at http://vfiles.winepos.com/public
or directly at https://vfiles.winepos.com/system/files/vstart_setup-8.101-2.0.8.exe.

05/29/2018

Blog of the Week:

There is a lot of buzz surrounding PCI compliancy and even more confusion about what it means.
To many, PCI means that credit card transactions are executed in a secure environment, protecting both the merchant and the customer from fraud.
And many retail POS systems stop there, hoping that you won’t ask them additional questions.
To safeguard yourself you should look deeper into what exactly PCI stands for and what it means to you and your system.
PCI involves much more than credit cards. As an example, it requires encrypted passwords for each of your users and additional security functions that provide detailed protection. Given the breaches of today, these standards are good insurance to have.
That is why WinePOS is certified by the PCI Security Standards Council. Every year, we submit our system to a series of extensive tests, to ensure that we (and you) will have software that performs to the current requirements.
So, you can trust a system that ‘says’ it is PCI compliant. Or you can select a company, WinePOS, that has gone the extra mile to protect you and your data.

05/24/2018

WinePOS New Install for Ancona's Wine & Liquors in CT!

720 Branchville Rd
Ridgefield, CT 06877

https://www.anconaswine.com/

05/22/2018

‘Natural wine’ advocates say everything about the modern industry is ethically, ecologically and aesthetically wrong – and have triggered the biggest split in the wine world for a generation. Read the article below for more information.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/15/has-wine-gone-bad-organic-biodynamic-natural-wine

The long read: ‘Natural wine’ advocates say everything about the modern industry is ethically, ecologically and aesthetically wrong – and have triggered the biggest split in the wine world for a generation

05/03/2018

This Week in Beverage Retail News:

This month marks another milestone in PCI processing.

All credit card companies have announced that they will phase out the requirement for signatures on credit card transactions. While no 'end date' has been announced, some cards no longer require signatures effective immediately.

This differs slightly from the credit card processors (Heartland, Firstdata, Vantiv, etc). In order for credit card terminals to adhere to these regulation changes, they must accommodate all card types identically. So the upgrade to integrated terminals will occur over time, as new software is tested and released for each processor.