Clover Mini gives small retailers the edge

Running a retail business today is a lot more than just sales and taking payments. It’s about listening to your customers, learning from them and forming relationships. It’s about finding new opportunities to grow and taking them. It’s about doing something you are genuinely passionate about.

But this is easier said than done. Most small and start-up retailers find they simply don’t have the time for vital areas of their business like customer relations because they are too busy taking care of necessary but time-consuming tasks like stock control, accounts and so on. And they find themselves at a distinct disadvantage to their major retail competitors who have been able to invest vast sums in systems which gather information about their business and their customers.

Now, at a fraction of the cost of those systems, the Clover ^TM Mini card terminal puts all of this power at the fingertips of small retailers in a sleek and stylish format which will enhance the image of any retail or hospitality premises.

Clover Mini is a next generation card payment terminal which helps you run and grow your business. To begin with, it enables you to accept almost any type of payment – quickly and easily, and in a safe and secure way.

Quite simply, it is the fastest, smartest, most flexible card terminal around at the moment. It works at broadband speed to deal with chip & pin and contactless payments as well as telephone payments. It is also future-proofed and ready to accept ApplePay and NFC payments over Android phones.

This will be particularly important in future years as people increasingly use their smartphones to make payments abandoning cash and cards in the process. But it‘s a lot more than just a card payment terminal. Upgrade the service plan and Clover Mini becomes a powerful EPOS (electronic point of sale) solution – helping you track inventory, manage employees, gain valuable customer insights, and identify new ways to grow and develop your business. It can help track inventory, manage employees, gain valuable customer insights, and identify new ways to grow and develop your business.

Clover Mini is part of an ongoing retail revolution which began when AIB Merchant Services introduced Clover Station to this country in 2014. Clover Station comes with the same sleek lines and styling but is that bit larger and offers a full electronic point of sale (EPOS) solution as standard.

The power of the Clover family comes partly from the cloud-based nature of the solution. Users don’t have to maintain large servers holding complex databases. Instead, all of their information is held in the cloud and accessible from anywhere.

A retailer can shut up shop for the evening, open up their laptop, tablet or phone at home and access the report on any device with internet access, to go through the day’s sales and takings with full visibility on what sold well and what didn’t. They can even see which staff members sold most and what periods of the day were best for sales.

The Clover family also comes with its own app market which allows users to download a variety of different applications to suit their specific business. A particularly useful one for almost any business is the Drop Thought customer feedback app. This offers much richer feedback than suggestion cards or the push-button machines employed by some retailers.

The Drop Thought app allows the customer register their feedback at the same time as they are making their card payment. The feedback is therefore linked to what they purchased and when, as well other data such as whether they are members of a shop loyalty scheme. This information can then be used by the retailer either to directly tackle sources of customer dissatisfaction or to design promotional offers with product combinations already proven to appeal to customers.

As with Clover Station, Clover Mini is easy to set up as an EPOS system. The AIB Merchant Services team uploads all product and pricing details to the cloud and the device is ready to run for the business on the day it is delivered. The touchscreen and Android operating system make it as easy to use as a smartphone and staff training can be completed in a matter of hours or even minutes. The Clover EPOS system can also integrate with the Big Red Cloud accounting system.

When a retailer wishes to add or delete a product from the list it can be done simply and easily either on the Clover device or on any other device.

This Summer, AIB Merchant Services will introduce a further addition to the Clover family, with the arrival in Ireland of Clover Mobile. This brings the power and functionality of Clover to settings such as outdoor shops, exhibitions, farmers' markets, or to a dining table being served by a waiter.

Clover Mini and Clover Mobile can be used as standalone devices or as companions to the Clover station.

Clover is affordable, totally accessible, and whether you operate a family store, independent retail outlet, coffee shop or restaurant, it has the power to change the way you do business forever – the only real limit is your imagination and ingenuity.

What the customers say:

Cool, friendly and efficient Clover’s functionality is not the only thing that impresses users. “My customers love how cool it looks,” says Ayuba Salaudeen of Temple Bar vintage clothing shop Tola Vintage. “They love the easy-to-use touchscreen display and, with the increase in contactless payments, it has cut down queuing time. It works really well with my Clover station as a fully integrated system, allowing me to run my reports easily, quickly and accurately on a daily basis which I can access from anywhere via the cloud. It is better than any terminal I have had before and has really improved my customer experience as well as making my life easier”

Willow & Oak of Dungarvan, Co Waterford offers a design centre showcasing the best of Irish and international giftware and design. Owner Pat Keane has found that Clover has enhanced the store’s brand image. “My customers think it looks really classy and hi-tech and it has helped me achieve a more high-end image for my store. Clover Mini helps me stand out from my competitors as customers have never seen anything like it before. It is customer-friendly and easy to use. The phone sales function is fantastic and allows me to make sales over the phone quickly and efficiently.”

Clover Mini has also made a difference to Dunboyne, Co Meath based Dunboyne Dental. “It is important in our industry to look high tech and it really suits the style of our dental studio,” says director Ewelina Klinowska. “The touchscreen, with our branding on it, looks very impressive and our customers love it. We can easily run reports and it syncs well with our till system. It is really fast and stylish and its functionality is excellent – I just can’t fault it! I would recommend it to any business wanting to improve their customer experience.”

For more information on Clover visit www.aibms.com

AIB and Clover are sponsors of The Irish Times Best Shops competition 2016