Gun sales in the United States have seen a significant increase in 2022, from 1 million guns sold per month to a staggering 2 million. Going to a gun store is a common pass time for 4 out of 10 American households, who regularly visit gun merchants to stock up on ammunition, accessories, and test out the latest gun models. But not all gun stores are created equal. A lot of gun stores provide lackluster customer experience, most evident with complicated and outright outdated checkout processes.
If you own a gun store anywhere in the world, it’s imperative that your store offers the best shopping experience to your loyal customers. A point-of-sales solution that could upgrade your gun store and still follow strict sale compliances is hard to come to buy. Luckily, here’s an up-to-date list of the top 5 POS systems designed for gun merchants, with every system meeting strict regulations and providing unique features for every gun merchant.
What is Gun Store POS?
A gun store point-of-sales (POS) system is software dedicated to facilitating the buying and selling of guns and guns accessories. Unlike traditional POS systems, a gun store POS must adhere to gun regulations and safety compliances of your local region. An excellent gun store POS system keeps close track of inventory, handle weapon sales, and record and retains client identities for use in FFL (Federal Firearms License) and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) compliance software.
What are the differences between traditional POS and Gun Store POS systems?
Traditional POS
Gun Store POS
Regulations
No required regulations
Federal Firearms LicenseATF 4473 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Features
Card CheckoutNFC ReaderPrint Bills
All Traditional POS features Inventory SynchronizationCustomer IdentificationOffline-Online Syncing
Costs
The average normal POS system with hardware included ranges from $1,000-$6,000 yearly, not including additional maintenance costs.
The average Gun Store POS costs range from $500-$2,000 yearly. Developing a dedicated gun store POS from scratch costs $30,000-$45,000
Top 5 Outstanding Gun Store POS
ConnectPOS: Omnichannel Support
ConnectPOS is a powerful standalone gun store POS system that provides smooth sales and checkout processes for any gun shop. The software is compatible with many existing POS hardware providers, so gun stores with outdated hardware can easily upgrade their systems. Moreover, ConnectPOS is compatible on almost any electronic device: phones, tablets, monitors, computers. Gun stores can skip POS hardware costs altogether and simply implement ConnectPOS on the devices they have on hand.
A compelling feature for gun sellers is ConnectPOS’s ability to operate both offline and online, at anywhere, anytime. Going to an offline gun show event? No problem, you can bring ConnectPOS anywhere and can sync back later to your inventory and order management software. Additionally, the self-checkout POS feature offers a quick and customer-friendly checkout process with the ConnectPOS PWA app. The POS is of course configurable to adhere to gun regulations of your local jurisdictions, with advance customer identification and third-party integrations.
Pros:
Omnichannel Support: ConnectPOS connects seamlessly to third-party software, so each gun sale triggers inventory and order syncs automatically.
Consumer Management: With the latest facial recognition tech, ConnectPOS helps gun vendors vet and save clients’ information with no manual inputs.
Hardware Compatibility: ConnectPOS is an especially attractive solution for gun retailers looking to upgrade their outdated POS systems.
Cons:
ConnectPOS does not sell proprietary hardware, so gun stores looking for only traditional POS should consider this
Trident1: A Cloud-Based System for Gun Store
Trident 1 FFL is a gun store POS that aims to improve the whole client experience. It offers many marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) functions to attract new clients and retain existing ones.
Everything from gunsmithing and shooting range administration to training sessions and firearm sales is automated. This software may be taken to gun exhibitions thanks to cloud-based mobility. This allows you to build and update your A&D book at any time and from any location.
With a customer-facing app for booking training sessions, referencing appointment dates, and collecting payments, it’s simple to keep consumers engaged.
Pros:
Gun Range Management: Trident1’s gun range management system is attractive to gun stores with ranges in addition to selling products.
Customer Relations: The software provides excellent customer membership tracking and rewards programs for a strong, gun-loving customer base.
Cons:
Limited Compatibility: Trident1’s software has limited choices for integration with existing POS hardware and third-party software.
Rapid Gun System: Built for Gun Stores
Rapid Gun Systems is more than just a point-of-sale system. With a few exceptions, the system delivers near-end-to-end gun shop administration features, which we’ll discuss below.
Many parts of shooting range administration are automated. Automated tracking of rental guns, multiple range management, and waitlist administration, when all shooting lanes are full, are just a few of the features available.
Membership administration is available, but not as a built-in function. Instead, it works with EZFacility to let clients book, pay, and reschedule lane hours and training sessions online.
Pros:
Gun Range Management: RGS’s range management feature combines both equipment and customer management into one platform.
Customer Relations: Customer relation-building tools like memberships and rewards system makes RGS stands out for sellers looking to build a community.
Cons:
Not Offline Capable: You can’t take RGS to anywhere without a solid connection to the Internet, making this system less then ideal for the traveling gun merchant.
Stratus Retail: Best for ATF Compliance
The Stratus Retail gun store POS can be customized to fit the shop owner’s specific demands.
Stratus offers fully integrated A&D books that track and record every gun transaction automatically. It also generates ATF compliance reports with backups and allows customers to see the history of each gun sold. In addition, the system is updated whenever the ATF adds or changes its consistent rules.
Pros:
Cutomizability: The Stratus Retail system is highly configurable to adapt to your systems, so inventory and order management is made easy with SR.
Automated Data Sync: The Stratus Retail POS can automatically sync customer data to your cloud or physical servers
Cons:
Cost Consideration: Unlike many of its competitors, Stratus Retail doesn’t offer many gun-centered features out of the box, making this a development cost for some gun retailers looking for a more robust POS solution
ORCHID
A contender for the most feature-rich POS system for gun stores, ORCHID is a pro-firearm POS system not to be missed. ORCHID has many features dedicated to safer and more reliable gun purchasing, including Gun Smithing, Safety Compliances, and Gun Rentals service.
The ORCHID System is a one-stop shop checkout model for anything gun related, providing users with quick compliance search and online self-checkout. It can also be connected to inventory software and state’s directories for up-to-date information on guns and accessories.
Pros:
User-Facing Features: Gun lovers can search for gun-related questions during their checkout process and make well-informed purchases.
Gun Smithing: ORCHID will help with work order management if your store offers this service
Cons:
Separated Hardware Cost: ORCHID offers a range of POS hardware selections, but this is an additional cost to stores with no alternative
Conclusion
Gun store POS can support retailers with day-to-day management and operations since POS inherently plays a big role in eCommerce for every merchant. So if you want to make your business easier and more efficient, call us immediately to receive the best advice and solutions.
Source: https://www.connectpos.com/tgun-store-pos-system-2021/
