Checkout isn’t a place anymore. It’s a strategy. We dive into how modern POS now spans mobile devices in the aisle, self-checkout, curbside pickup, and scan-and-go, and what that means for customer experience, associate workflows, and the bottom line. With guest Michael Leister, who helped deploy hundreds of thousands of devices across Walmart and Sam’s Club and later supported Amazon’s last mile, we unpack the operational playbook behind retail hardware and software that actually scales.

We start on the floor, not in a slide deck: observing shoppers, mapping associate tasks, and finding the gaps before drafting requirements. From there, we compare the strengths of enterprise vendors, NCR Voyix, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Diebold Nixdorf, HP, and the fresh pressure from Elo that’s pushed the market toward sleeker, modular, and configurable systems. Michael shares why mobile-first models like JCPenney’s ELO M60 transform a handheld into a dockable fixed lane, a line-busting tool, and an endless-aisle clienteling device that saves the sale when inventory is elsewhere.

ROI hides in serviceability. We break down how remote management, over-the-air updates, and AI-guided diagnostics (think on-screen self-checkout fixes and one-tap ticketing) cut downtime and truck rolls. We also look at NRF trends such as smart carts, computer vision, scan-to-add, and retrofits, along with the real hurdles of charging, shopper adoption, and defining where a transaction “closes.” Call 2025 a turning point: retailers need hardware and software that flex across kiosks, fixed lanes, mobile, and self-checkout without ripping and replacing every few years.

If you care about faster queues, higher conversion, and fewer abandoned baskets, this conversation gives you a clear path to modernize with less risk. Listen, share with your ops and tech teams, and subscribe for more pragmatic deep dives. Got a checkout pain point we should tackle next? Send it our way and leave a review to help others find the show.