Ah, moms. They are there for us since day one, and they remind us to take care of ourselves when we are adults. Clearly many people appreciate their mothers, and feel that there’s no better way to thank mom than to treat her on Mother’s Day. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, in 2018, 86% of American consumers celebrated the holiday, and they spent $179.77 each (with the biggest spenders shelling out nearly $225)!
It’s simply a no brainer that businesses large and small should cash in on the loving holiday. Implementing an in-store Mother’s Day marketing campaign in particular is great idea. Why? Because collectively, 64% of consumers will shop at department stores and specialty stores (like florists and jewelers), versus just 31% of shoppers who plan to shop online. Additionally, nearly 30% of moms claim they would love to receive the gift of an experience, like a spa day or entertainment tickets.
PromoPRNT: The Perfect Solution for Mother’s Day Marketing
Lucky for retailers and restaurants, with Star Micronics PromoPRNT, there’s never been an easier way to take advantage of in-store marketing. PromoPRNT works with your existing Star receipt printer (at no additional cost) and enables you to print customized promotions – directly on the receipts that go into your customer’s hand! Benefits of PromoPRNT include:
To help you out, Star has created three customizable Mother’s Day promotion templates, which are available now in the Promotion Builder. Check them out now:
Promo 1: Invite Customers to Take Mom Out
Promo 2: Promote Your Mother’s Day Sales
Promo 3: Host a Giveaway
Remember, all of these templates are now available to use in Promo Builder!
The payments industry is changing – fast. According to Statista, digital payments (including any payment made over the internet and payments made via mobile device at the point of sale) are expected to grow 12.7% year over year, and will account for over $6.5 trillion worldwide by 2023.
That’s where the U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC) comes in. Lead by some of the payment industry’s key players, the FPC aims to enable all Americans to “safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time, and with near-immediate funds availability.” Let’s take a deeper dive into the FPC and its goals.
The FPC was created in November 2018 by the Faster Payments Task Force, a group of hundreds of stakeholders that came together – with Federal Reserve support – to form the Governance Framework Formation Team (GFFT). The GFFT was tasked with developing and implementing a governance framework that was inclusive of all of its stakeholders and facilitated faster payments in America, which is the FPC.
Who is a Part of the FPC?
The FPC is open to all stakeholders in the U.S. payment system, and it welcomes everyone from corporations to small businesses to individuals. Founding sponsors of the FPC include:
Bankers’ Bank
Ceridian
Corporate One
Early Warning
ICBA Bancard
Mastercard
NEACH
North American Banking Company
Open Payment Network
SHAZAM
Target
TD Bank
The Bankers’ Bank
The Clearing House
Visa Inc.
The Bank of New York Mellon
First Data
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
JPMorgan Chase Bank & Co.
Walmart
What is the FPC’s Mission?
Simply put, the FPC’s mission is to enable ubiquitous faster payments in the U.S. According to its website, the FPC has three pillars of guiding principles: inclusiveness and fairness; flexibility and responsibility; and transparency. More specifically, some goals the FPC has are:
Addressing issues that inhibit the adoption of faster payments
Enhancing the safety and security for service providers and users of faster payments
Developing guidelines to address opportunities and issues
Creating an education and awareness program to foster a better understanding of faster payments
The FPC is planning to hold its first in-person meeting at the end of May 2019, so we expect to hear an update on its next steps shortly after. The council is also currently searching for its permanent Executive Director. During a time when payments are changing faster than ever, we’re interested to see how the FPC will affect the industry!
When sports fans in Temple, Texas, want to enjoy great food while watching the game, they head for Wings Pizza n Things. Voted the best wings in central Texas for 10 years running, the single-location, 40-employee restaurant sells about 50,000 wings each week. Customer favorites also include pizza, burgers, and authentic Philly cheesesteaks. Since owners Mike and Sara Dent opened Wings Pizza n Things in 2006, their goals were serving fresh, quality menu items and creating a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.
The Challenge
Wings Pizza n Things needed to find a point of sale (POS) solution provider that could equip its business with the innovative technology it needs to handle a high-volume of sales. The restaurant also wanted to partner with a POS provider that could deliver a total solution, including POS hardware and software, reliable printer solutions for the front- and back-of-house, payment processing, and fast efficient service.
The Solution
When the Dents met the Paradise POS team, they knew they found the right partner. Paradise POS was the one-stop-shop for POS, third-party peripherals like kitchen ticket printers and receipt printers, credit card processing, and personalized customer support and service that Wings Pizza n Things was looking for. Owner Mike Dent says he was impressed by Paradise POS’ iPad-based system that equipped servers with mobile POS and gave his business a way to easily benefit from future innovation. “They were the only company that offered software updates, so as the technology improved, your POS system improved as well,” says Dent. “With other companies you basically purchased software, and you were never able to take advantage of the
always-improving technology that was out there.”
Because of Paradise POS’ roots in payment processing, the company provided Wings Pizza n Things with a comprehensive POS and payment solution. “That’s a difficult thing to find in this business,” says Dent. “If we have any POS or credit card issues, we literally make one phone call.” Dent adds that, because of their Texas roots, the Paradise POS team is easy to work with. “They’re very friendly and that comes through when you’re talking to them,” he says.
Wings Pizza n Things began working with Paradise POS in 2012, originally installing three Paradise POS terminals. The Paradise POS system is iPad-based, which combines legacy POS functionality with the easy-to-use iOS interface. The reliable Paradise POS system also features offline mode, so the system keeps working, even if there is an internet outage.
The Wings Pizza n Things solution also utilizes two models of Star Micronics printers. The TSP700 series impact printer is used in the kitchen due to its durability and high-quality ticket printing in a hot, humid kitchen environment. It is also capable of multicolor printing; by printing modifiers in red, it helps to eliminate confusion in the kitchen and increases speed. In the front of the house, the restaurant uses the Star TSP650 series for receipt printing. Wings Pizza n Things uses printer routing during busy times, and the printers aid the restaurant with branding due to their ability to print logos on receipts.
Dent says, “We were the first pizza restaurant POS system Paradise POS installed, so they worked with us until we had all the components we needed to operate efficiently, from the modifiers to being able to break down pizza toppings per slice and making it all understandable for the kitchen.
“They learned with us and were open to the changes we needed to make it work. They were with us 100% along the way — there’s not another company out there like that.” Dent was impressed that the Paradise team was willing to stay for a few days after installation to address any issues that occurred.
When the restaurant expanded in 2015 and the volume of business grew, Paradise POS equipped Wings Pizza n Things with two additional terminals and eight server iPads. With advancements in Paradise POS’ capabilities, parts of the second installation were managed remotely and it only took a few days for the restaurant to have full use of the system.
Kiosk Pro, with Star Micronics printer peripherals makes self-service kiosks easy for government, healthcare, museums, and more
SOMERSET, NJ – APRIL 24, 2019 – Star Micronics, a leading manufacturer of mobile, point of sale (POS), and customer engagement technologies, is proud to announce that Kiosk Group, Inc. has added support for Star’s all-in-one mPOP for their Kiosk Pro solution. Kiosk Pro transforms ideas into interactive kiosk experiences with Star’s modern and sleek hardware for the ultimate customer experience.
Kiosk Group offers ready-to-ship and custom-made solutions through their Kiosk Pro software. It is a flexible solution for any use case that also supports web-friendly content and media. Kiosk Pro Enterprise provides retailers and restaurants with interactive kiosk solutions for price checking or self-service check-out. Kiosk Pro also offers solutions for government, healthcare, museums, and more.
Star Micronics’ mPOP offers a compact and sleek mobile point of sale peripheral with a built-in receipt printer and cash drawer. In addition to the mPOP, Kiosk Group also supports Star’s TSP654II, TSP743II, TSP847II, and TSP143IIIU printers through their Kiosk Pro Enterprise solution. With these hardware options, Kiosk Pro provides their customers with an easy and reliable way to complete transactions with printed receipts.
“We’ve seen an increasing number of customers using Kiosk Pro for self-created POS applications,” said Becca Rice, Director of Software Development at Kiosk Group. “As an all-in-one cash register and printer solution, the mPOP is a great fit for our platform.”
SOMERSET, NJ – APRIL 22, 2019 – Star Micronics, a leading global manufacturer of mobile, point of sale (POS), and customer engagement technology solutions will be showcasing and demonstrating a range of featured products and software at ETA TRANSACT, an impressive show where industry leaders and entrepreneurs gather to focus solely on the business of payments technology. TRANSACT is held on Tuesday, April 30th through Thursday, May 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Star Micronics will be at booth #3509, displaying an assortment of industry-leading solutions and connecting with attendees.
Featured products and services include:
PromoPRNT– a seamless way for retailers to create and design printed promotions and receipts.
mUnite stands – durable steel POS solution stands that offers both function and style.
mCollection– a collection of durable, stylish printers and accessories designed to be easy to use.
CloudPRNT– a modern way for users to print to Star printers directly through a cloud service.
In addition to providing information on featured products and services, Star will be offering software demos for:
Zuza on mPOP –ZUZA works with hundreds of processors and ISVs making its sales channels one of the fastest growing in the industry.
CardFlight on TSP100IIIBi– CardFlight is a leader in payment technology and mobile point-of-sale solutions for merchant service providers, banks, and independent sales organizations.
eMobilePOS on SM-S230i– A pioneer and leader in mobile POS, eMobile offers full-featured mobile POS software for Android, Apple iOS, and Windows smartphones and tablets.
Acadia POS on mC-Print3– Acadia provides robust, cloud-based point-of-sale and business management solutions for retailers.
Star Micronics’ collection of printing and POS solutions are designed to align with the needs of business owners and support their brands.
“We are eager to connect with other industry leaders, technology innovators, and forward-thinkers in the payments industry. ETA TRANSACT is an ideal place to learn who and what is shaping the payments industry, and form lasting connections that promote mutual success,” says Christophe Naasz, Director of Business Development for Star Micronics.
Join Star Micronics at ETA TRANSACT 2019 and get an in-depth look at cutting edge software, solutions, and services that are making waves in the industry.
The cannabis industry is huge in the United States – and it’s just getting started. In 2017, the industry employed 121,000 people and took in roughly $9 billion in sales. With more and more states legalizing its use, those numbers are expected to steadily rise and many more cannabis dispensaries will surely open their doors. Curious about the dispensaries already in operation? Let’s take a look at five of the most beautiful cannabis dispensaries in America – in no particular order.
When it comes to providing a safe, clean, and comfortable atmosphere for its clients, Barbary Coast goes above and beyond. With a wide range of lab-tested flowers, pre-rolls, premium vape cartridges, concentrates, edibles, and more, it’s no wonder this place became a hot spot in The City by the Bay.
Barbary Coast in San Francisco, California
Barbary Coast offers a dab and vape bar, as well as a stylish personal lounge for customers to relax, enjoy themselves with friends and family, and make new friends. Visitors may browse, receive one-on-one recommendations from staff, and experience the strong sense of community established in the dispensary.
According to its website, when you visit Emerald Pharms, “you might think you’re in an art gallery or a green technology wonderland rather than a medical marijuana dispensary.”
Emerald Pharms is a one-of-a-kind dispensary that focuses on natural, sustainable, and locally grown cannabis. The site manages a 12-acre Solar Living Center which features renewable energy sources, eco-friendly buildings, biodynamic gardens, and more. Customers can even refuel their cars with recycled biodiesel, or charge up their electric vehicles (via solar panels).
Emerald Pharms in Hopland, California
At the Pharm, visitors can walk across the lush landscape and view thousands of organically grown edibles, wildflowers, and ornamental plants. All are welcomed and encouraged to explore the off-the-grid “permaculture oasis” and attend its events including product demos, yoga, art classes, picnicking, and more.
The Herbal Cure is a family-owned business that takes great pride in its work and is committed to its award-winning marijuana strains. The dispensary’s mission is simple: to provide the highest quality cannabis and customer service to its clients.
On the exterior, visitors see a log cabin-style depot with a “cannaboose” train car on the property that was inherited with the land. The back of the dispensary features local graffiti and murals, which are rotated through the year. Inside, clients are introduced to exotic strains, fair prices, and the result of dedicated professionals perfecting their craft. Shoppers will also find a strong family-like vibe among the staff, or as they are called, “The Cure Crew,” who make it a priority to make every visitor feel welcome, comfortable, and secure.
What makes Om of Medicine stand out is its ambition to create a collaborative, safe, and inspiring environment that promotes the rights of its patients and improves their quality of life. Establishing a welcoming environment for all ages and bridging the gap between nature and technology, Om of Medicine captures the duality of life and perfect balance.
Om of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Notable features within the dispensary include a living wall installation, an aquarium, and local art galleries. Together with its state-of-the-art products and its compassionate staff, the dispensary holds events such as medical research sessions, grow seminars, comedy shows, yoga classes, film showings, and more, to not only serve the community, but to be a part of it.
The first thing you notice about Hashtag Cannabis is COLOR! The bright purple exterior of this cannabis dispensary features a colorful fish mural and a neon blue door to boot. With two locations in Fremont and Redmond, Washington, Hashtag Cannabis offers customers smokable flower, concentrates, infused edible products, capsules, tinctures, and lotions.
Hashtag Cannabis in Seattle, Washington
Designed to provide product to both customers seeking recreational cannabis, as well as those who need assistance with medical issues, Hashtag Cannabis strives to improve its customers’ quality of life. The dispensary also aims to help its community, and has raised thousands of dollars for non-profit organizations focused on hunger and immigrant family rights.
Earth Day is upon us! Established in 1970, the holiday aims to educate people around the globe about environmental issues. This year Earth Day falls on Monday, April 22, but did you know you can give back to the environment every day using your Star Micronics technology? Read on to learn about the many ways we strive to preserve the earth while supplying top notch point of sale (POS) solutions.
Star Printer Environmental Profiles
Star puts forth great consideration into manufacturing safe and environmentally friendly products. Each printer model has an Environmental Profile featuring information on its usage safety, hazardous chemical substances, ecology considerations, and more.
Paper Reduction
Paper usage is a receipt printer’s largest negative burden on the environment. Taking this fact into consideration, Star designed ways to reduce the severity of receipt paper’s ecological impact while maintaining user comfort and familiarity. Here are some examples of how:
Reduced Top Margin: The top margin is the white space starting from the paper’s top edge down to the first line of printed text. In the past, typical receipt printers had top margins ranging from 11 to 15 mm, resulting in lots of unnecessary waste over time. Realizing this, Star defined the default top margin size of the TSP143III to 3 mm and made the feature available on other printer models in our lineup. The result? Conserving between 8 to 12 mm per receipt without any effort or adjustment from the retail shop or restaurant owner!
Receipt Length and Width Compression: Many Star printers enable retailers to reduce the size of their receipts without requiring any modification to existing POS software. Store owners have the ability to compress receipts horizontally, vertically, or both ways, for maximum paper conservation. Reduction of both vertical and horizontal space can reduce receipt size by a total of 75% without compromising image quality.
On-Demand Printing: Each day, cashiers provide receipts for small purchases, most of which are immediately discarded. The TSP143III addresses this wasteful situation by offering an intuitive option to print the receipt – or not – with no modification to existing POS software. Should the customer wish to not have the receipt printed, the cashier can simply hit the “No” button to skip the print job. The transaction data can then be automatically saved into a journal which allows the store or restaurant owner to browse past transactions, reprint receipts, and more. (Please note some countries ban transaction reprinting or logging, so this feature may not be available in your country should such a law exist).
Digital Receipts: What better way to reduce paper waste than with digital receipts? With Star Micronics Cloud Services, end users may provide digitized receipts in a fast, free, and secure way using any Star receipt printer.
Energy Efficiency
Although the cost to power a receipt printer is quite small, business owners can still benefit from Star’s energy efficient solutions. By using a Star receipt printer, businesses can save on electricity and add to their green efforts without making a large investment or changing company operations.
Star is proud to be ENERGY STAR-qualified! An international standard for the promotion of energy efficiency, the ENERGY STAR qualification is a highly respected achievement for any product. In order for a product to obtain the qualification mark, it must meet strict energy requirements set by the government.
Sustainable Packaging
To further reduce negative impact on the environment, Star has adopted environmentally friendly packaging techniques, including:
Recyclable Packaging: Every Star printer ships in a recyclable cardboard box which can be easily dismantled and folded. The TSP143III took this initiative a step further by featuring the removal of polystyrene and Styrofoam packaging. These components were replaced by the same recyclable cardboard (which protects products from damage just as well).
Electronic Manuals: Star provides an electronic user manual on the installation CD included with most printer models. The manual, along with other documentation including setup sheets, installation guides, and FAQs, are available online for download.
Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing
Star continually monitors and conforms to international laws and standards, obtains certifications, and investigates new ways to make our products safe for people and the environment. Some environmental initiatives Star has taken include:
ISO 14001 Conformity: Star’s main printer manufacturing locations conform to the ISO 14001 international standard.
RoHS Compliance: All Star printers are RoHS (Restriction of use of Hazardous Substances) compliant. RoHS restricts the inclusion of certain hazardous substances in electronics manufacturing.
WEEE Compliance: All Star printers have earned the WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) marking. WEEE mandates the proper disposal and recycling processes of electronics equipment.
Environmental Activity Reporting: A yearly Environmental Report is published and posted on Star’s corporate website.
Green Procurement Guide and Survey Issuance: Star created a Green Procurement Guide, which is distributed to all suppliers and enables Star to mandate and monitor the exclusion of particular materials during manufacturing processes.
BPA–Free Paper Rolls: Star is proud to provide BPA-free, premium grade printer paper rolls. Authentic Star paper rolls are easily recognized by the Blue Core.
Recycling Practices
Star strives to be eco-friendly every step of the way and encourages its customers to follow local standards for recycling electronics. Please note the disposal process for desktop printers, portable printers and batteries varies from country to country. Please refer to the appropriate measures mandating the disposal method of the country in which your printer is used.
Encourage Others to Go Green
Last but not least, one of the best ways to “do your part” when it comes to improving the environment is to encourage others to do the same! Business owners can use PromoPRNT, a value-add tool that prints custom promotions on receipts, to encourage its customers to use reusable bags, recycling product packaging, and more.
Flash Order and Star Micronics offer a complete system for order taking with a kiosk, menu wizard, and full-featured Kitchen Display System (KDS)
SOMERSET, NJ – APRIL 10, 2019 – Star Micronics, a leading manufacturer of mobile, point of sale (POS), and customer engagement technologies, is proud to announce that Flash Order has added support for Star’s TSP143III, SP742 printers, and CD3 Value Series Cash Drawers, and plan to add support for the mPOP. Flash Order, paired with Star Micronics’ printing peripherals, delivers a DIY (do-it-yourself) kiosk solution to restaurants as a fast and easy way to implement digital ordering.
Flash Order is seamlessly integrated with Square and brings the cost saving and operational efficiency of digital ordering to the Square POS. Using the menu wizard, restaurants can easily import their menu from Square or build it from scratch. Flash Order allows users to manage their orders through the Flash Order KDS or with integrated Star Printing. The KDS allows restaurant owners and managers to set targets for order prep times, expedite orders, and filter and streamline orders between the grill, cold, prep, or any other station.
Star’s TSP143III receipt printer offers easy-to-use LAN connectivity, along with high-speed printing, and “print-flat” technology. It is ideal for offering customers printed copies of their self-ordering receipt that contains important information such as order number, wait time, etc. and can also be used to deliver printer promotions with Star’s PromoPRNT technology. The SP742 is Star’s ultimate kitchen printing solution, built to withstand environments where high temperatures can erode the type on the kitchen order.
“Flash Order self-order kiosks are perfect for restaurants of any size from Food Trucks to multi-unit chains,” said Flash Order co-founder Weston Hafen. “Kiosks can eliminate long lines, increase revenue, and with our DIY approach a location can be set up and ready to take customer orders in minutes.”
The benefits of implementing the Flash Order kiosk system attracted The Wash, a late-night desserts and drinks shop. Sean Kang owner of The Wash said, “We love the Flash Order system. We have transitioned to run all of our transactions through the self-order kiosks. It has transformed our business and our customers love it.”
Keolis Commuter Service (Keolis) operates the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) rail system, the fifth largest in North America. The MBTA and Keolis recently expanded their partnership to align through incentives and global best practices increases to revenue and ridership. As a component of this directive, the rail operator recognized a need for better insight into ticket and revenue numbers than what the MBTA’s paper ticket system provided. The paper tickets were tallied once a month, making limited data available only once every 30 days. In order to create a new marketing and promotional campaign that would boost ridership and optimize schedules, Keolis needed readily available, in-depth data that could form the basis of its new growth initiative.
The Challenge
In addition to addressing the lack of data, Keolis wanted to tackle another problem: a top complaint from passengers was the inability to pay onboard with a credit or debit card. MBTA’s Greater Boston area commuter rail moves an estimated 127,000 riders a day, but its onboard ticketing options were limited. Passengers could purchase tickets with cards from a kiosk at the station or in-person at a ticket window. However, if riders boarded the train without tickets, they would have to pay cash, or download the MBTA’s Commuter Rail mobile ticketing app.
Boston is a large tourism destination, so visitors or occasional users on board who didn’t have cash had two choices: download the app to pay or be issued a post-ride payment form to mail in later. Additionally, this cash-only option onboard was a security issue for conductors who had to carry large sums of money. Since fares are determined by departure and arrival zones, for non-ticket holders onboard, conductors had to memorize zone pricing to calculate the fare of a ticket, accept payment, then calculate the change to return to the passenger, or issue a non-payment form before moving on to the next rider. There could be up to 188 travelers in each car, so waiting for people to download the app or issuing them a post-ride payment form made each conductor’s job take longer than it should. In addition, riders who accepted the post-payment form were on the honor system to mail it in, so MBTA would risk loss of revenue on riders who didn’t carry cash.
The Solution
Conductors already carried Mobile Computing Devices (MCD) to receive notifications and train information, so Keolis sought a solution that would integrate with the hardware that was already in use. The rail operator partnered with the software company e-Nabler Corp, developers of eMobilePOS suite of point-of-sale applications for their unique mobile solutions expertise, who developed RailSales mPOS, which supports onboard ticket purchases with various tender types such as credit or debit cards. e-Nabler’s system runs on the Apple iPhone 6S (MCD) with an Infinite Peripherals Linea Pro 6 scanner and a Star Micronics SM-S230i handheld printer. Star’s SM-S230i is a 2” portable Bluetooth and USB printer that is compact and lightweight, so it can be worn on the conductors’ belts. The printer is MFi certified and easily connects to and pairs with the MCD.
This setup allows conductors to use the same interface they were already familiar with, which eliminated the need to carry a second mobile device and train on a new mobile operating system. The RailSales ticketing application’s new dynamic scheduling interface gives conductors up-to-the-minute train, zone and station selections for fare calculations and makes the end-of-day shift reconciliation accurate and much more convenient. RailSales mPOS also gives passengers the ability to pay on the train with a credit or debit card, or cash and get a receipt that can be validated visually or by scanning the receipt’s QR code.
The new fully operational integrated mobile RailSales solution was successfully rolled out in record time to approximately 400 conductors over four months after a successful 10-conductor pilot.
Spring has sprung and Easter is almost here! If you haven’t developed an Easter marketing plan for your store, you are missing out. In 2016, a whopping 8 in 10 Americans planned to celebrate the holiday, and they spent $17.3 billion that year (and $146 per person). That’s a lot of festive customers at your fingertips, ready to make you some “egg-cellent” profits.
Ready to get started? Did you know that with PromoPRNT, you can use your existing Star Micronics printer to create custom Easter promotions that are printed directly on the bottom of receipts? Here’s a quick rundown of PromoPRNT’s features:
Make custom promotions from templates
Manage promotions from anywhere
Increase customer retention
Make each customer visit unique
You can now easily get your Easter marketing hopping with our pre-made PromoPRNT templates. Check them out:
Promo 1: Promote Easter Sales
Want to grow some business this spring? Host an Easter weekend sale! The template is editable, so customize it to match your store’s specific sale.
Promo 2: Highlight Special Easter Products
If you offer Easter- and spring-themed products, this is your time to shine. Promote them now on your receipts so your current customers become repeat customers.
Promo 3: Host a Social Media Contest
Who doesn’t want to win something? Host a social media giveaway contest and not only gain sticky customers, but also some followers.
Promo 4: Advertise an Easter Event
If you happen to be hosting an Easter-themed event, using PromoPRNT is a great way to advertise it. Make sure to remind your staff to alert customers of the event information located on their receipts.
Remember, all of these templates are now available to use in Promo Builder!
