The way retailers handle purchases is changing rapidly because of electronic payments, New York-based ShopKeep is betting it can help push this evolution even further. The so-called point of sale is no longer limited to traditional cash registers built around PC-based hardware and software. Companies such as startup Own Point of Sale in San Francisco and point-of-sale giant NCR offer software to process sales transactions on tablet devices.
The idea seems to be getting more traction in the industry as retailers replace their old registers with iPads to process sales. ShopKeep wants to position its technology to make retailers lives easier at lower costs. Many retailers today use point-of-sale platforms based on the old-school Windows XP operating system that’s specially configured to have touch screen monitors, says Jason Richelson, CEO and co-founder of three-and-a-half-year-old ShopKeep, Such units can cost about $3,000 each by his estimates. He believes drastic changes lie ahead in terms of the technology that retailers want. “A huge upheaval is going to happen over the next three years in the point-of-sale space,” he says.
Given the costs of traditional systems, Richelson sees a place for his company to offer retailers a less expensive option on comparatively lower priced tablets. The ShopKeep platform is used by small and midsize retailers, he says, as well as larger companies.
Investors including Tribeca Venture Partners, TTV Capital, and Contour Venture Partners are backing ShopKeep’s plans to disrupt the POS scene.. In January, ShopKeep announced it raised $2.2 million in a Series A round.
Richelson says his company is generating its own revenue and expects to be
