Inner City Bodegas Gets Tech Facelift

Inner city bodegas, staples in urban communities, are having difficulty competing with big box stores and retail chains. Many of these small, independent, store owners are immigrants and lack the resources and access to capital to keep up with tech-savvy retail chains.  Bodegas often do not have the resources to maintain accurate reports on sales, lack the technology to process coupons, and cannot offer discounts on some products because of profit constraints. As a result of these and other factors, their retail prices can be significantly higher than those of their larger competitors. National Retail Solutions, a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, is offering these bodegas the tools they need to compete more successfully through NRS’ cost-effective, point-of-sale based terminals for independent retailers.

President of NRS, Elie Katz, describes NRS’s relationship with these bodega owners as a partnership where “their growth is our growth.”

NRS is positioning itself as the clearinghouse for coupons by becoming the intermediary between consumer package goods manufacturers and bodegas. “We verify the legitimacy of the coupons based on the account” says Vice-President Eli Korn. “We also fund the coupon for the retailer instantly, avoiding the need for bodega owners to lay out money.”

Hannah Kestenbaum, NRS’ Media Manager, explains that additional savings for customers and tools for the bodegas come from the “BR Club,” a popular rewards program that offers its members significant savings on popular products. “The BR Club was made to cater to the end consumer,” Kestenbaum says. “Members who have registered their phone numbers receive alerts to potential savings at participating bodegas.” Bodegas who choose to participate with the BR Club get monthly promotional kits produced by NRS.

The NRS POS terminal network takes the notion of a cash register to a whole new level. From the terminal’s touch-screen merchant-facing monitor, bodega owners have access to their entire inventory, their staff, sales records, and coupons. They can restock their store from the marketplace feature, and can even manage their own branding and revenue streams with the customer facing screen.

The bodega owner can also promote other local businesses and create an ad revenue stream by displaying ads from local businesses on the customer facing screen.

 

 

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