Moosejaw is testing the mobile software and has plans to begin using the solution at all stores in 2012. Moosejaw has tapped digital commerce solution CrossView to help with their mobile efforts.

“Mobile point-of-sale is going to gain a lot of momentum in 2012,” said Jason Goldberg, vice president of strategy and customer experience at CrossView, Santa Clara, CA.

“It’s a tremendous growth opportunity for retailers like Moosejaw that are forward-thinking and committed to creating a better customer experience,” he said.

“With so many tier-one retailers deploying in 2011, there will be a keeping up with the Joneses effect in 2012.”

Holiday scramble
Moosejaw is rolling out the mobile point-of-sale service at seven Midwest stores to its sales associates.

The technology lets the retailer speed up lines at registers by doing everything from an Apple iPod Touch device.

Employees can check for inventory throughout Moosejaw locations by using a bar code scanner equipped on the device.

Additionally, associates can process payments and print receipts for consumers.

Moosejaw originally began working with CrossView in 2008 to tie the retailer’s in-store and call centers and ecommerce platforms together.

According to Mr. Goldberg, mobile and retail will increase in 2012 with more retailers using in-store mobile initiatives to increase store revenues.

“We are going to see mobile point-of-sale platforms shift from basic payment processing systems to sales assist tools that have features including inventory and supply chain data, and rich product info to facilitate shoulder-to-shoulder interaction between sales folks and customers,” Mr. Goldberg said.

“By 2012 holiday, we’ll start to see solutions that facilitate mobile payment schemes as they start to be deployed more broadly,” he said.

Point of mobile
Moosejaw is the latest retailer to roll out in-store mobile initiatives.

Most recently, Sears Holding Corp. launched a program to outfit 450 Sears and Kmart stores with iPads to help its associates assist consumers (see story).

Using mobile in-store is especially important during  the holidays when foot traffic is high because it helps clear up lines and congestion.

“More consumers are going to walk into stores with smartphones next year, so retailers will need to equip salespeople with tools to be able to compete with all of the information that shoppers have access to on their own,” Mr. Goldberg said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York