Past Times promotional push with new till software
Past Times is to roll out a new promotions update to its till system software ahead of the peak Christmas period in what is a sign of how increasingly important promotional activity has become for retailers across all categories.
By Glynn Davis
Simon Watson, senior business analyst at Past Times, says the update is proof of the level of promotional activity now taking place in the UK and should provide the retailer with the ability to run the likes of three-for-two offers along with buy-one-get-one-half-price, which have until recent times been largely the preserve of the major supermarkets.
Past Times has just received the software update from vendor VcS Timeless, which is part of the Cegid group, and Watson expects to have tested completed and the tills fully updated before the end of the month. The update involves modifying the company’s server at head office and the software on the individual tills.
The update represents the latter part of a complete overhaul of Past Times’ till systems that was completed in late-2008 with the installation of the Colombus Retail solution from VcS Timeless across the retailer’s 112 stores in the UK and Ireland. “The previous till system was old and this brought us up to date through a complete hardware and software upgrade. We’ve now got touch-screens and real-time connection of the tills to head office,” explains Watson.
The benefits that the new PoS solution has brought to the company are manifold, according to Watson, who says he can now run intra-day sales reports, since the tills now have broadband connections it is possible for employees to access the company’s intranet and receive emails, and training can now be undertaken via the tills.
The initial prompt behind the overhaul of the company’s PoS was chip and PIN and Watson says that since becoming compliant the transaction charges from its bank have been dramatically reduced. He also expects the new solution to provide further advantages in the future: “There are lots of opportunities for the business and we see lots more potential benefits going forward.”
