Retail Watchers

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 1:50 am Sears is installing new cash registers at the store in Whittier. Completely new hardware and software. I'm sure it is some vendor system but it is interesting they'd bother to do this. Given how well the current system works with liquidation sales I fail to see what the point is of installing a new system.

There is a Reddit post with a photo of this:
~ttps://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1bj0nh2 ... ittier_ca/

Looks like a new pinpad too. I wonder if they will finally support Tap.

Super S wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 5:09 am

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 1:50 am Sears is installing new cash registers at the store in Whittier. Completely new hardware and software. I'm sure it is some vendor system but it is interesting they'd bother to do this. Given how well the current system works with liquidation sales I fail to see what the point is of installing a new system.

There is a Reddit post with a photo of this:
~ttps://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1bj0nh2 ... ittier_ca/

Looks like a new pinpad too. I wonder if they will finally support Tap.

This is not entirely unheard of. I remember the home improvement chain Pay 'N Pak in the Northwest went to a new system with IBM 4683 registers about 1-2 years before the chain shut down. I have seen other struggling stores install new registers only to shut down in a year or two.

Curiously, the present system that Bi-Mart uses bears a strong resemblance to the Sears/Kmart POS system, only the cabinets are black instead of white....

babs wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 3:11 pm

Super S wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 5:09 am

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 1:50 am Sears is installing new cash registers at the store in Whittier. Completely new hardware and software. I'm sure it is some vendor system but it is interesting they'd bother to do this. Given how well the current system works with liquidation sales I fail to see what the point is of installing a new system.

There is a Reddit post with a photo of this:
~ttps://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1bj0nh2 ... ittier_ca/

Looks like a new pinpad too. I wonder if they will finally support Tap.

This is not entirely unheard of. I remember the home improvement chain Pay 'N Pak in the Northwest went to a new system with IBM 4683 registers about 1-2 years before the chain shut down. I have seen other struggling stores install new registers only to shut down in a year or two.

Curiously, the present system that Bi-Mart uses bears a strong resemblance to the Sears/Kmart POS system, only the cabinets are black instead of white....

Many of these POS systems are leased and as part of the agreement, they need to update every so often.

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 6:25 pm

Sears/Kmart POS are owned systems, not leased. When Sears/Kmart close stores they send the old POS somewhere to some company operated facility. They are so old they can't get parts anymore so they supposedly use the old POS for parts. I think in most Sears/Kmart for quite some time over the past 15+ years, a significant fraction like 20% or more of the registers have been broken. Not an issue with how little business they were doing, until the liquidation sale when the liquidator wants to open every register but can't.

Super S wrote: ↑March 29th, 2024, 10:26 pm

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 6:25 pm

Sears/Kmart POS are owned systems, not leased. When Sears/Kmart close stores they send the old POS somewhere to some company operated facility. They are so old they can't get parts anymore so they supposedly use the old POS for parts. I think in most Sears/Kmart for quite some time over the past 15+ years, a significant fraction like 20% or more of the registers have been broken. Not an issue with how little business they were doing, until the liquidation sale when the liquidator wants to open every register but can't.

What parts can they no longer get? As I mentioned, Bi-Mart uses a very similar looking IBM POS system, and various other identical register components are still in use at many other retailers using IBM/Toshiba systems, I have seen an occasional Toshiba brand register component which looks identical to the IBM units, keyboards, cash drawers, monitors, printers etc.

It's more like Sears/Kmart are not willing to invest in new components so are using surplus items, and most don't really need more than a few registers at most these days anyway.

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 30th, 2024, 12:54 am

Super S wrote: ↑March 29th, 2024, 10:26 pm

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2024, 6:25 pm

Sears/Kmart POS are owned systems, not leased. When Sears/Kmart close stores they send the old POS somewhere to some company operated facility. They are so old they can't get parts anymore so they supposedly use the old POS for parts. I think in most Sears/Kmart for quite some time over the past 15+ years, a significant fraction like 20% or more of the registers have been broken. Not an issue with how little business they were doing, until the liquidation sale when the liquidator wants to open every register but can't.

What parts can they no longer get? As I mentioned, Bi-Mart uses a very similar looking IBM POS system, and various other identical register components are still in use at many other retailers using IBM/Toshiba systems, I have seen an occasional Toshiba brand register component which looks identical to the IBM units, keyboards, cash drawers, monitors, printers etc.

It's more like Sears/Kmart are not willing to invest in new components so are using surplus items, and most don't really need more than a few registers at most these days anyway.

I'm not sure. Office Depot also uses those same old IBM terminals that Sears/Kmart use. That is just what I've heard about what happens to the equipment when Sears/Kmart close stores and the reason for it.

The terminals Sears uses are a couple years newer than the Kmart terminals and have somewhat larger screen and a slightly different keyboard. The Kmart terminal is identical to the Office Depot terminal.

ClownLoach wrote: ↑March 30th, 2024, 1:34 pm

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 30th, 2024, 12:54 am

Super S wrote: ↑March 29th, 2024, 10:26 pm

What parts can they no longer get? As I mentioned, Bi-Mart uses a very similar looking IBM POS system, and various other identical register components are still in use at many other retailers using IBM/Toshiba systems, I have seen an occasional Toshiba brand register component which looks identical to the IBM units, keyboards, cash drawers, monitors, printers etc.

It's more like Sears/Kmart are not willing to invest in new components so are using surplus items, and most don't really need more than a few registers at most these days anyway.

I'm not sure. Office Depot also uses those same old IBM terminals that Sears/Kmart use. That is just what I've heard about what happens to the equipment when Sears/Kmart close stores and the reason for it.

The terminals Sears uses are a couple years newer than the Kmart terminals and have somewhat larger screen and a slightly different keyboard. The Kmart terminal is identical to the Office Depot terminal.

IBM 4690 software and related hardware has been around since the 70s and was sold to Toshiba over ten years ago. The hardware is all similar and still more or less produced by Toshiba.

Toshiba is phasing the software out finally and trying to migrate 4690 customers to a new system called Elera. There are many options online to buy salvaged parts though.