While mobile payments on smartphones have yet to take of in a big way, AllThingsD tells how big retail giants like Lowes, Home Depot, Nordstrom and others are starting to abandon regular cash registers in favor of the iPad.
The iPad is becoming a pretty massive deal for business, allowing employees to collaborate on projects, allowing pilots to navigate the skies without 40 pounds of paper, and even allowing retailers to sell things and keep sales records in a far more effective and efficient manner. The above image, provided by CultofMac, shows various examples of iPad-based cash registers.
The iPad can perform many tasks in retail establishments. Aside from acting as a cash register, the iPads can be used to show merchandise, color samples, and more to customers to help them find the right item to purchase. Further, employees can check inventory and find where products are located in the store directly from the iPad, saving both the employee and the customer a lot of time.
Further, the use of iPads is apparently having very positive effects on sales, which, according to one case, has resulted in a 12 percent increase in order size.
Of course, Apple has led the movement of integrating the iPad into retail settings with their recent “Apple Store 2.0” transformation of all Apple stores. Apple uses the iPads as digital product information signs, and also distributes them to employees to help them keep track of what’s happening in the store, as well as to show products to customers and help them make purchase decisions.
There’s no doubt about it – the iPad is quickly transforming the way things are done in the world, finding its way into a wide range of industries from medicine to retail to airlines and beyond. The only question that remains is: What will the iPad do for you?