by Richard Heitmann,
Sales Director – AURES Technologies Ltd
With their unique mix of box office, food service and administrative functions, cinemas occupy a business model all their own. Straddling the leisure, hospitality and retail industries creates a unique and broad set of challenges for cinema operators. With ticket sales, snacks and drinks, and even café or in-seat food service, cinemas have varied demands for point of sale transactions, administration and integration with other business applications.
A single POS system that integrates inventory control and mobile wireless terminals for ordering at the table is not enough. The right POS systems must flexibly and effectively serve all parts of the operation.
Just the ticket
Ticket sales are the heart of any cinema operation. Because cinema box office terminals don’t need inventory control software, the terminals don’t require the high processing capacity of most retail POS systems.
Box office POS terminals do require software which links to time and seating plans. As more customers purchase cinema tickets online, the on-site POS and e-commerce platforms need to share the same seat booking system, and print-at-home or e-tickets need to be supported as well.
Laser QR code or barcode scanners can be used away from the main box office to scan theses tickets and reduce queue times. To manage the volumes of people passing through a busy cinema, you’ll also need high-capacity printers integrated with the POS terminals.
Snack time
Cinema snack bars most often sell pre-packaged foods, typically chocolate, popcorn, and drinks. As with all retail outlets, integrating the POS with inventory control helps make operations more efficient and responsive. Snack bar offerings are limited, so robust inventory control software isn’t required. But, at busy times when sales transactions are high, automated inventory control can make all the difference in replenishing stock quickly.
Like bars and cafes, cinema snack bars also require POS systems that are spill-resistant with an easy-to-clean casing.
Find out more
AURES has specialized in POS systems for almost three decades. Using the latest, most innovative technologies, we provide stylish, robust solutions that are ideal for cinema use.
Contact us for more information about AURES POS solutions for cinemas.