#retail testing

Retail POS testing

The footprint of technology has reached everywhere and has made the hitherto complex activities, simple and convenient. One of the areas that shopping establishments grappled with was conducting quick transactions in real-time. In large shopping centers with huge footfalls, facilitating a seamless transaction has been made possible with Point of Sale (POS) terminals. These devices help retail businesses meet the challenges of allowing quick customer disbursal, conducting fast and accurate transactions in real-time, and obtaining the total figures with minimum manual intervention.

These contactless POS terminals take inputs of merchandize through barcode readers and process transactions in double-quick time. These have eliminated the need for entering data manually on an excel sheet. And since the retail ecosystem, especially the customer interface section, seems to be driven by these machines, their accurate functioning has become critical. What if these devices malfunction or generate erroneous data? To address such a possibility, entities manufacturing such devices need to implement stringent retail POS testing in the end-to-end production pipeline. However, before understanding the process of testing the contactless retail POS systems, let us know what they are all about.

What is a POS (Point of Sale) system?

It is a device that is placed where transactions between the customer and dealer/seller take place. Nowadays, such devices have become ubiquitous in places where there are payments involved. These include areas such as shopping malls and retail stores, restaurants, hospitals, and movie theatres, among others. A standalone POS system is an integration of many components or devices including a barcode reader, a wireless payment system, and a printer. To enable the POS system to run smoothly, these individual components must be integrated fully and run as a unit. This is where the significance of retail software testing or POS testing comes about.

Is retail POS testing different?

Yes, it is not exactly the kind of software testing that the QA testers execute through a web app or computer terminal. Retail testing involves the testing of each integrated device and the software running them. It requires a full-fledged setup mimicking a retail store.

Are there challenges in retail software testing?

As the POS systems need customization to meet the requirements of a particular retail store, there are a few challenges involved:

·       The POS system in a retail store may need multiple configurations depending on the day, event, or special occasion. For example, if a retail store wants to run a promotional campaign for a day or a few hours in a day, the POS terminal should be configured to reflect the same.

·       A POS terminal has integrated device components and various software running the latter. So, any retail app testing needs to comply with the various software versions and hardware configurations.

·       Since individual components are part of the POS system, the need for compatibility and integration testing becomes crucial.

·       POS testing should ensure the device is PCI compliant as it deals with customers’ credit or debit cards.

How to test the contactless retail POS systems

As the POS system is a combination of various individual components, the latter should be tested individually.

POS terminal: Since the terminal screen registers all entries related to the transaction and information such as pricing, payment modes, product list, and/or promotional offers, among others, the testing has to be comprehensive. Terminal testing should ensure if all devices are connected to the terminal network and contain the latest software versions.

Barcode reader: It is the barcode reader that makes the whole apparatus ‘contactless’. It scans the merchandize or product and verifies if it exists in the inventory and gets the price. After the product is sold the inventory is updated accordingly. For any retail app testing, any missing product from the inventory should be scanned. Also, products existing in the inventory without any price list attached to them should be scanned during testing.

Handheld device for card payments: This wireless device accepts card payment details post-authentication by the customer through a PIN. Here, the testing should be conducted after selecting the payment mode of a transaction as ‘card.’

Printer: This device helps to generate an invoice or receipt post-transaction. Here, the retail testing strategy should include a range of testing areas - alignment, text size, overwrites, and fonts, among others. Further, tests should be conducted to check response when the printer is not ready, has run out of paper, or loses connection during a transaction.

Conclusion

Digital revolution has spread across every possible business vertical and software applications have made the lives of people easy and comfortable. One of the major beneficiaries of the digital revolution is the retail sector. Whether you visit any shopping mall with POS terminals taking care of your payments or order groceries and other stuff from any eCommerce portal, the software applications behind the scenes do the actual trick. However, the speed at which the new eCommerce stores cater to your orders or the POS terminals clear the queue would depend on the software quality running those systems. Further, with cybersecurity becoming a critical issue plaguing the whole digital ecosystem, there is no respite but to go for retail application testing.

  Why is retail testing so critical?

Since the POS terminals or eCommerce applications carry out financial transactions with interfaces to customer bank accounts or credit/debit card details, they should have robust security measures. If not, hackers can exploit any resident vulnerability or glitch to steal information leading to devastating consequences – both for the customer and establishment. If the retail applications do not function as expected, the consequences can be severe.

·       A glitch-prone retail application will lead to slow processing speed and clearance time

·       More man-hours will be wasted to carry out simple routine activities

·       Cases of incorrect records and employee misbehavior will increase

·       Cost escalation will be the direct consequence of slow processing

·       Incorrect sales report will lead to erroneous business decisions

·       Difficulty to monitor or track promotional campaigns, discounts, or coupons

·       Bad user experience will lead to a fall in brand equity and customer exit

The aim of any enterprise developing retail software applications should be to ensure the reliability, security, usability, scalability, and high performance of such applications through retail software testing.

Considerations for retail application testing

The QA team should keep a few scenarios in mind while executing retail testing.

·       Both positive and negative scenarios should be covered to pre-empt any issue. These may be related to an expired card, invalid PIN or password, among others.

·       The retail application may have its endpoints connected to the peripheral devices such as card readers, printer, cash dispensers, cash counting machines, or barcode scanners. Any glitch in the APIs can create compatibility or synchronization issues with such devices.

·       Any retail application dealing with electronic payment should adhere to global security regulations like PCI. This will ensure the safety of confidential customer information like card and bank details.

Challenges for testers in conducting POS testing

Any retail app testing or POS testing process can face such inadequacies or challenges.

·       A POS application can have various modules where each one of them can have different configurations. Testing such an application with so many configurations can be a tall order. Hence, suitable test cases should be devised covering every scenario.

·       With technological advancements, especially in security happening rapidly, the retail applications should be upgraded alongside as well.

·       The POS system has interfaces with several third-party software systems – the integration of which should be systematically tested.

Steps to take while conducting POS testing

To ensure the quality of POS software in terms of security, usability, integration, and scalability, among others, it should be run through a robust retail application testing process. The focus areas as far as testing a retail software system are concerned are:

·       Cashier activity: One of the important functions of a POS system is handling cash transactions. These can comprise activities such as offering discounts, coupons, entry of items, petty cash, closings, cash drawer loans, and store value cards, among others. If only a proper retail testing strategy is adopted, the security and efficacy of such transactions can be ensured. The outcomes can be:

o   The accuracy of purchased items can be maintained

o   The total amount accrued from the purchases can be ensured

o   The validity and integrity of discounts, store value cards, and gift cards can be ensured

o   The total closing amount can be accurately obtained

·       Barcode reading: A lot of merchandise is bar-coded to ensure better inventory management and tracking. There are software to interpret the barcodes and get them synchronized with the POS system. The retail app testing exercise would check for glitches and compatibility issues with such software applications and make the functioning of barcode reading accurate.

·       Server management and integration: The POS or retail application at the front-end can only function properly if its integration with the back-end server is total and seamless. The testing would ensure the smooth interaction between the front-end POS terminals and back-end servers. Moreover, transactions recorded electronically can be verified across channels for better accuracy.

·       Operating platforms: A big retail store can have a number of operating platforms upon which the retail applications usually run. A comprehensive retail software testing can verify the functionality of such platforms.

·       Loyalty points: An important aspect of today’s retail outlet is the loyalty points given by the store. These are given to encourage customers from making purchases. Since these are integral to the POS system and offer discounts to customers on various purchases, the system should accurately process these. The retail app testing or POS testing should ensure the system keeps track of customer purchases, loyalty points, and discounts offered, among others. The system should record the anniversary, birthdays, and other important dates of the customers and wish them on those dates.

  Conclusion

It is no more a secret that consumers purchasing inside stores are being watched. Whether it is a premium boutique store like Calvin Klein or a big box retailer like Walmart, overhead cameras have become a regular fixture inside stores. These cameras record the activities of shoppers to identify instances of shoplifting. However, what if these cameras continuously scrutinize the faces of shoppers through an arrangement and look for potential shoplifters? Biometric technologies like facial recognition have become more robust, accessible and advanced with the incorporation of artificial intelligence. Now, several stores are utilizing facial recognition technology to spot shoplifters. As per a survey by the National Retail Foundation, retail organizations lose about 50 billion dollars annually due to shoplifting.

Previously, facial recognition was associated with cybersecurity but today, it has an active application into other sectors as well such as marketing, retail, and health. In fact, more number of retail-based brands are looking for ways to engage customers with this technology. Many entrepreneurs are offering better shopping experiences by incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality, CRM, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence. Thus, facial recognition has become one of the most prominent technologies to drive future stores. Let us dig deeper to find out how facial recognition can help future retail stores to succeed.

Sending tailored messages:

It is easier to track customers who are shopping online, but quite difficult for the brick and mortar stores. Here, face recognition software can enhance customer experiences by identifying VIP shoppers who check-in. Retailers can offer bespoke text messages to consumers in stores to promote discounts, recommendations, and other offers.

Preventing organized crime and violence in stores:

As per surveys, retail crime incidents cost U.S retailers around 30 billion each year and unfortunately, are getting aggravated. The loss prevention teams find it difficult to recall the names and faces of every retail criminal. However, with the help of facial recognition, retailers can proactively stop organized retail crimes. This biometric process also helps to keep stores safer. Security personnel generally react to crimes in progress without the presence of facial recognition. This AI-based technology can empower them to take a proactive approach to block crimes even before they happen.

Offering bespoke assistance during in-store purchase:

Face recognition can also be applied to convey meaningful notifications to retailers. As a result, store employees can offer better assistance to shoppers present in the store. Facial recognition technology can incorporate a wide range of retail solutions such as loyalty systems, CRM, point-of-sale and many others. Store executives can gather substantial information about customers thus helping them to do a better job of assisting customer service.

Are all facial recognition technologies up to the mark:

Facial recognition is a complex process, which needs to be tested rigorously to enable its flawless performance. AI application testing would ensure that all security tests run seamlessly. This type of retail mobile application testing must focus on comparing various sets of data to get the desired results. Presently, most facial recognition faces challenges regarding high FAR and FRR rate. Hackers too are on the lookout to exploit the technology for their nefarious activities. However, a thorough testing process would make sure the facial recognition software performs as desired. It accomplishes the moderate accuracy levels of facial recognition software by decreasing security vulnerabilities.

Challenges of facial recognition software:

According to a survey by Forrester, the biggest challenge facing a facial recognition AI system is a well-curated collection of data. FAR (False Acceptance Rate) and FRR (False Recognition Rate) are the two major challenges of AI system. FAR is known to be the ratio of false acceptances and identification attempts while FRR is known to be the ratio of false recognition and identification attempts. The impactful challenges apart from FAR and FRR to the facial recognition system are the occlusion of subjects, different expressions of an individual, movements of the head or pose variations, and background of the subject.

However, to carry out best practices, organizations need to engage in software testing in artificial intelligence to deliver foolproof results.

Conclusion

Facial recognition application is utilized by retailers to rapidly recognize offenders and inform team members to ensure in-store loss prevention. This technology helps to prevent crime before commencing. However, AI application testing remains critical to making sure that collected data remains secure and the loss prevention team can prevent any attempts by hackers. It demands a standard accuracy level that can only be attained through retail software testing.