Zebra Technologies Corporation , an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge, today announced Officeworks has successfully introduced an advanced mobile payment solution using Zebra mobile computers at its physical retail stores.   

Officeworks is Australia’s largest supplier of office and stationery products. It operates 167 physical retail stores across Australia, a website that features more than 40,000 products, a national call centre, and a business team that helps micro, small, and medium-sized businesses start, run, and grow.

Using a Soft Point-of-Sale (POS) payment solution called Airpay TAP from Quest Payment Systems, Zebra’s TC52x mobile computers accept payments without the need for additional hardware to be installed. This effectively turns the TC52x mobile computers deployed at Officeworks’ physical retail stores into mobile POS terminals that accept major cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Australia’s domestic debit scheme – eftpos.

“At Officeworks, we’re always looking at innovative ways to help our team members provide an exceptional customer experience,” said Andy Barker, Head of Team Member Experience Applications, Officeworks. “By introducing contactless payment with Zebra’s mobile devices and Airpay TAP, team members can deliver a fast and personalised shopping experience – providing expert advice and allowing customers to make payment easily without the need to queue at a traditional register. We are also seeing significant efficiency and productivity gains with enhanced scanning and stock take accuracy, and reduced repair costs through the ruggedness of the TC52x compared to our previous consumer grade devices.”

According to Zebra’s 15^th Annual Global Shopper Study, accelerated growth of e-commerce and newer technologies like contactless payment have resulted in shoppers expecting a seamless experience however they shop. Globally, 64% of surveyed shoppers prefer stores that offer contactless payment options. This is echoed by market research stating that contactless payment transactions are estimated to reach US$10 trillion globally by 2027 (from US$4.6 trillion in 2022).

“Investment in the right technology is the key to retail agility and resilience for the modern retail store,” said Tom Christodoulou, Sales Vice President, ANZ, Zebra Technologies. “Shoppers today crave convenience through technologies like contactless payment, mobile ordering, and self-checkout. Therefore, retailers must provide a seamless and memorable experience across all channels to stay relevant and competitive in the days ahead.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·       Officeworks has successfully transformed its Zebra TC52x mobile computers into Soft Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals that accept major card schemes without the need for additional hardware installation. 

·       Officeworks has gained greater efficiency, productivity, and reduced repair costs by using Zebra’s TC52x mobile computers.

·       To learn more about Officeworks’ implementation of Zebra’s solution, please watch this video.

Bay City Labs, Stripe, AWS Startups, Cake Equity and Startup Victoria will next week host the Melbourne Startup Bootcamp bringing together leaders from Australia’s top technology, investment and high-growth business ventures for a free event aimed at early-stage and series A startup founders.

The bootcamp at Docklands’ Bay City Labs will feature industry leaders from Stripe, AWS Startups, the ASX, top startups, and venture capital firms for in-depth conversations covering raising capital, growing and scaling your startup.

Panels during the two day bootcamp taking place on January 18 and 19 will look at the current state of VC investment, strategies to build funding, going global, managing growth and cultivating a startup culture, along with how to successfully exit from a venture.

Speakers will include Jodie Imam, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tractor Ventures; Linktree Co-Founder Anthony Zaccaria; Lauren Capelin, AWS Startups Ecosystem Manager; and Amber Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Chris Thompson.

Bay City Labs Head of Growth, Shelin David, said: “The tech startup community is facing a time of uncertainty as funding models change. When there’s uncertainty though, there’s opportunities and we’re delighted to explore the changing landscape at this great event with Stripe, AWS Startups, Cake Equity and Startup Victoria”

Over the two days expert speakers will provide valuable insights and practical advice on how to navigate these uncertain times and emerge stronger. Whether you’re looking to raise capital, exit the market, scale globally, or simply stay afloat, this event is a must-attend for tech startups weathering economic uncertainty.

In-person and virtual registrations for the two day event are open through https://stripe.events/melbournestartupbootcamp2023/startupvic.

In 2023, it will be essential for websites to be fast and mobile-responsive, not only to engage users, but to secure a favourable search engine ranking. In the past year, we have seen stronger demand for convenience and instant access to information via mobile phones. An increasingly even split between desktop and mobile browsing means businesses need to look beyond only optimising their website for the computer screen. If webpages don’t fit the screen, the menu button is hard to find, or load times are too long, businesses may suffer a loss of sales, or even worse, a damaged brand reputation.

A mobile-responsive site resizes content to adapt to different devices, whether it be desktop, tablet or mobile. Images are also scaled to reduce lag time, fit the frame, and suit the resolution of the display. Through optimising with these features, your website can be listed higher on the search results with Google rewarding mobile-responsive sites and they can help lower your bounce rate (i.e., less people leaving your site). Users demand seamless experiences so mobile-responsive sites that enable a faster and more streamlined experience encourage consumers to stay on the site for longer.

The newly released WordPress 6.1 is already helping businesses with mobile-responsive sites via fluid typography. This new feature allows text to resize seamlessly based on the display size. Although businesses previously could manually enable fluid typography via a CSS code, this new update allows businesses to improve their site without coding. This is one of many ways WordPress is supporting mobile-responsive sites. However, it is still up to companies to invest in the themes, plug-ins and designs needed to continue to engage in this increasingly competitive space.

For small businesses, outsourcing website management to an agency can be invaluable. A trusted agency takes the guesswork out of building a website, ensuring your website employs the latest features applicable to your business, without hurting website performance.

attributed to Ricky Blacker, WordPress Evangelist, WP Engine

There’s no doubt that 2022 was a tough year for many Australian businesses with the ATO cracking down on unpaid tax debts, rising inflation and interest rates, soaring fuel prices and the cost of living continuing to spiral. So how will you manage your business better in 2023?

It’s unlikely we’re out of the woods yet and businesses need to plan carefully for the next 12 months particularly when it comes to cash flow and making their operations as efficient as possible.

It’s important to embrace these changes in order to remain competitive, relevant and to keep on top of finances. The most successful businesses are continuously evolving and adapting to the circumstances they’re confronted with.

Here’s how to manage your business better in 2023:

Establish Your Goals

Heading into the new year make a list of your short-term and long-term business goals. What do you want your business to achieve? Who will your customers be tomorrow or even next year? What type of organisation do you want to become? Be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (the SMART principles) when you’re establishing these goals. Make sure you communicate them with your employees as well so they know how and what they need to focus on.

Update Your Budget

The last few years have been a rollercoaster for many businesses and it’s important to update your budget to reflect the changes. Sit down with your accountant and assess the opportunities and risks that are ahead for the year. Focus on how you can do more with a lower cost base. Have a close look at your expenses and limit new costs unless you can see they’re going to drive a meaningful return or benefit your returning customers.

Consider Automation

Automated operations can benefit your business in many aspects. Around a third of businesses have at least one function fully automated as it can increase productivity, performance and reduce operating costs. It also guarantees quality and the same level of service across all your clients. Anything that can help your business run smoother and more efficiently 

Data is an Asset

The most successful businesses focus on a data-driven culture. Data is an asset that can help you understand what works for your business and what doesn’t. It can help you understand who your customers are, what products they like and how effective your marketing strategies are. Data also helps create a cash flow forecast so you can track cash movements and make a plan for the year ahead.

Rethink Marketing

A new year is a good time for a fresh look at your marketing strategy. What’s worked in the past may not always be the best for the future. Customers and their attitudes change rapidly especially in a new post-pandemic world and businesses need to stay on top of the shift. With increasing costs, this year might be worth a rethink on your social media campaigns and low cost’ value-giving content such as videos, blogs and entertainment.  

Reconsider Financing

It’s a tough time for businesses to get finance at the moment and that’s likely to continue for the next 12 months. The start of the year is a good time to consider flexible financing solutions such as invoice financing which uses your current accounts receivable ledger as security to turn your outstanding invoices into cash within 24 hours. It’s a solution that can transform the cash flow of your business without you having to borrow. Think of it as giving an early settlement discount on an invoice to a client that is willing to pay you in 24 hours instead of 30-60+ days later.

It’s a competitive environment at the moment so you need to consider new financial strategies that will position your business for growth.

Be More Flexible

The best way to position your business for success in 2023 is to make sure you’re adaptable to change. Look at fresh ways to satisfy your clients needs and take advantage of new technology to improve your business operations. Consider cloud-based platforms to improve operational efficiency, shift your communication to digital channels and adopt new management strategies that foster collaboration. An agile business is better placed to succeed in the long run.

A new year brings with it new challenges but also new opportunities. Stay in the game, manage your business better by reinventing and reviewing your business strategy and embrace what lies ahead!

By Angus Sedgwick, CEO of OptiPay

Answering the questions of how to attract and retain the right people are high on many small businesses’ agendas. Jody Blinco MAIPM and Petria Paynter MAIPM from Proximity look at what businesses can do to fill the skills gap and win over the right people to fill the skills shortage.

The changing ways of work

Many people in the workforce are considering more progressive modes of work and questioning the conventional values that were once at the core of the way we work. There is an increase in people leaving traditional employment structures and either going to non-traditional work (temporary, gig/freelance, or part-time roles) or starting their own businesses. This has led to an overall reduction in the workforce, helped by issues such as the immigration shortfall due to barriers for entering Australia.

According to the Australian Institute of Project Management’s (AIPM) recent report with KPMG, The state of project management in Australia 2022:

● 73% of project professionals said their projects experienced staff shortages

● 52% suffered from delays in sourcing key roles or skills shortage critical to projects.

Organisation culture matters

Organisations need to understand what motivates employees today. We are seeing – in our recruitment of people in general, not just PM roles – that aspects such as flexible working options and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) policies are what candidates expect employers to have; they are not differentiators. According to McKinsey, up to 55% of employee engagement is driven by non-financial recognition. Sure, there needs to be a financial reward given the cost-of-living pressures, but it’s being weighed heavily against being felt valued by the organisation and delivering meaningful work.

This research also showed that the strongest indicators of a positive work experience came from aspects such as quality relationships with leaders, trust, caring teams, and the overall social climate.

Recruiting needs to change

It is crucial for organisations to create a more complete employee value proposition, and this includes employees looking for non-traditional work options, such as freelancers. Organisations should adapt their recruitment strategies to encompass both the customary and non-traditional approaches to work. Using freelancers or contract project managers for example, allows you to scale your project quickly and gives you agility when things need to change. But it will be important to integrate these people into your organisation, not just the project – just as if they were an employee. The focus should be on promoting an atmosphere of inclusion.

Interviewing in reverse

The notion that companies are doing the interviewing has faded, with Australia’s unemployment rate at 3.4%, a 48-year low and over 470,000 job vacancies, according to the most recent data release (August 2022) by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Good candidates now have the upper hand, with the dynamic almost shifting towards interviewing the organisations.

Skill-based recruitment

In looking for new people, carefully consider what you need in an employee to deliver your project. We have seen a trend towards skill-based recruitment. Glassdoor reports that companies including

Google, Hilton Hotels and Apple, are offering well-paying jobs to those possessing in- demand skills but lacking a degree. We have also seen a shift to the practice of setting specific skills and competency requirements for a job rather than only looking at a candidate’s credentials. This shouldn’t be seen as devaluing a formal degree but to increase your options while ensuring you have the right skills to meet your project needs.

Encouraging mentoring

Another driver behind the skills gap within the project management profession is the 13 million people that are predicted to retire from the profession over the next eight years, according to Project Management Institute’s (PMI) 2021 Talent Gap Report. The wealth of knowledge and experience stored in the top-tiers of the industry has become a valuable asset to a business. Yet, in the AIPM’s recent report with KPMG, The state of project management in Australia 2022, 42% said their organisation wasn’t doing anything (or they didn’t know what they were doing) to attract and encourage emerging project professionals.

The transfer of knowledge down to new entrants should be leveraged in learning and development frameworks in addition to increasing stakeholder engagement in training processes. Finding the right people is a challenge at best, but shifting towards valuing a new entrants potential can broaden the candidate pool.

‘Micro-credentialling’

All employees expect learning and development, including freelancers and part- timers. But despite companies spending an average of $1,308 (USD) per worker on learning and development activities, only 12% of employees can apply these skills to their jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review.

Traditional learning and development frameworks have become stale in today’s skills short climate; we have already seen changes in learning delivery with online and AI models available.

Research shows that industry, vocational education, and university providers should be considering ‘micro-credentialling’, which are qualifications that can target skills gaps, in a short term, focused manner. This is especially relevant in the project management space, as the practice is upheld by a framework of principles and methodology.

It’s now up to you to fix the skills shortage

The workforce is thinking differently, so organisations need to also think differently if you want to be an employer that the new workforce want to work with and fix the skills shortage.

So, what kind of organisation are you? Will you follow the same path, or become a leader in this new paradigm?

By Jody Blinco MAIPM and Petria Paynter MAIPM

The deal season is upon us with our inbox full we look at tips on what phishing emails look like. Considering the cost of living has been increasing, many Australians are likely to be on the lookout for some money-saving deals. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are well aware of this and will often find ways to exploit Australians.

ACCC Scamwatch data reveals that as of October 16 million dollars was lost to phishing scams in 2022.This is over a 300 per cent increase to2021 when over four million dollars was lost to phishing scams. Research from 2022¹ of Avast, a leading global digital security and privacy consumer brand by Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), also found that phishing scams are the most experienced scams for Australians, with 72.9% having reported receiving or seeing one even if they didn’t fall for it.

Stephen Kho, cyber security expert at Avast, says, “given how vulnerable many can be, the likelihood of accidentally opening a phishing email and clicking on a link that is a scam may be higher than usual”.

“Cyber criminals will likely take advantage of people this holiday season by sending and posting fake offers, claiming to sell expensive gifts at extremely low prices. Alternatively, emails designed to look like well-known and trusted sites could hit people’s inboxes. They can also disguise themselves as well-known charities and encourage users to donate money instead of giving physical gifts.

“Other common phishing emails claim to include an invoice or describe a billing problem and could be more effective during the pre-holiday season when people make more purchases than usual and therefore expect more shipments. These emails can lead to spoofed landing pages, prompting people to enter their financial information, for example. 

“Cyber criminals may also send out more fake bank alerts. Many banks will alert customers if they detect any suspicious activity or the account is about to be overdrawn. Phishers use these helpful services to try and convince people to “confirm” their bank account information.

“For Australians to remain vigilant and scam smart, it is important to be aware of what these phishing scams might look like this holiday season and what can happen when you open a phishing email,” Kho concluded.

Top tips on what phishing emails look like and what users should be wary of:

• Weak salutation: Many types of phishing, including the standard “deceptive phishing,” cast a wide net. As such, the email won’t be personalized with the recipient’s name but instead will greet you with something vague, such as “Dear Customer,” or maybe even their email username. Official correspondences from legitimate companies will address customers by name. However, cyber criminals can parse email addresses to figure out victims’ first and last names, if these are included in the email address.
• Offers that can’t be refused: If an offer or deal seems too good to be true, that’s probably because it is. 
• Immediate action required: Phishers are big on urgency. This tactic can be more successful during big shopping events like Black Friday, as limited-time offers are expected.
• Shortened or misspelled links: Malicious links often hide behind link-shortening services. Cyber criminals also host spoofed versions of legitimate sites with almost identical URLs, and they’ll encourage people to click these links in their phishing emails. Attackers also try to deceive people with typosquatting, using a slightly incorrect version of the legitimate URL — or deliberate misspellings that use similar-looking letters and characters.
• Poor writing: A bank isn’t going to send out an email with typos and grammatical mistakes. A phisher, on the other hand, can and often will. Careless errors like these are signs of a phishing email.
• Attachments: There’s nothing wrong with attachments in general — if people expect them and come from a trusted source. Scammers can even hide malware in rich-content files like PDFs. In many cases, attackers use attachments with double extensions like .doc.exe.
• Personal information requested: Phishers are after data. Therefore, they send emails asking people to confirm their account info, login credentials, or other personal information.
• Appear to be from a company or service not used by the recipient: Phishers don’t usually have access to the user databases of the companies they impersonate, so they blast their phishing emails out to anyone they can find. People should be especially wary of emails from services they don’t use claiming account issues, or billing issues, for example.

International markets for wool and cotton have seen much volatility through the course of 2022 – with the lingering impacts of COVID and escalated geopolitical and economic uncertainty affecting the trade – and the year ahead could be equally turbulent, agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank says in a new industry podcast.

Speaking on the podcast, Turbulent 2022 for Cotton and Wool Prices, Rabobank associate analyst Edward McGeoch said local and global extreme weather events have significantly impacted cotton production while Australian wool production is on the rise.

Year in review – Cotton

There has been a lot of fluctuation with cotton prices through 2022, Mr McGeoch said.

“Cotton prices opened well off the back of strong performances in 2021 – kicking off the year with a local price of roughly $740 per bale. And we saw the price trend up significantly to an 11-year high, with rises of 29 per cent to achieve just under $1000 per bale.

“Unfortunately, we have seen a steady decline from those high prices, which almost halved during the year, recovering slightly in recent months to sit at approximately $600 per bale.”

Speaking on the podcast with Rabobank agriculture analyst Dennis Voznesenski, Mr McGeoch said there were a number of factors “playing into” the dramatic cotton price fluctuations seen through 2002.

“Reduced global production being one of the chief drivers of the market volatility,” he said. “The US cotton crop has been affected by ongoing drought conditions – particularly in Texas, one of the major cotton-producing states.

“Retail sales have also been strong off the back of COVID lockdowns and cotton mills have been very active in the market – driving prices up.

“Global container logistics also played a role in the cotton price fluctuations, with high container rates and uncertainty about delivery times, which led to some over buying and ordering from cotton mills to ensure they had a continuity of supply.”

Year in review – Wool

Mr McGeoch said Australian wool producers – like cotton growers – had experienced similar volatile market conditions throughout the course of the year.

“The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) climbed significantly through the first half of 2022 to reach a high of approximately 1474 cent/kg,” he said. “And subsequently we have seen the EMI slide back by roughly 20 per cent from those high prices seen earlier in the year.”

Mr McGeoch said within the various wool micron ranges – there have been significant drops in prices paid for the finer micron wools, with falls between six to 15 per cent since the beginning of the year. “There were slight increases for some mid-micron wools. But the biggest price drops, of up to 30 per cent, have been in the higher micron type wools. Looking at prices across the last 10 years, some of those high-micron wools are at their lowest price for that period,” he said.

Mr Voznesenski said there is a range of factors contributing to the price decline for high- micron wools. “Including when the Chinese property market slows down and there is a reduced need for carpeting – a major market for high-micron wool.

“High micron wool is also used in the production of fake-fur, and when there was a downturn in the demand for fake-fur during COVID this affected the market for the courser types of wool,” he said.

Mr McGeoch said falling international consumer confidence in major wool markets, such as China and the US, through 2022 is the major factor behind the downturn in Australian wool prices.

“International retail apparel sales drive the Australian wool market and while there was a strong start to the year, growing international economic uncertainty has seen a negative effect on the sale of wool apparel and hence local prices,” he said.

“Key markets for wool suits – US, Japan and France – have seen reduced product appetite with sales down between 20 and 50 per cent.      

“And the long COVID lockdowns in China through the year have affected the country’s wool milling capacity and saw reduced demand for Australian wool.”

Production outlook – Cotton

Mr McGeoch said there have been recent industry adjustments made to the 2023 production outlook – globally and locally, due to weather events.

“US production was down this year by roughly 3.5 million bales due to drought conditions. And flooding and heatwaves in Pakistan during the year saw a reduction in the nation’s cotton production of approximately 1.5 million bales.”

Looking at the Australian cotton production outlook, Mr McGeoch said, the sector is coming off a very strong 2021/22 season of around 5.75 million bales – a big increase on the previously drought-impacted years.

Australia’s production estimate for 2022/23 was around six million bales, however, the excessive rainfall and flooding in southern Queensland and across cotton-growing areas of New South Wales has put a “serious dint” in the outlook for the 2022/23 production season, he said.

Mr McGeoch said Rabobank is now expecting to see a cotton harvest next year of under five million bales due to the impacts of the wet weather.

Production outlook – Wool

“Since 2019, we have seen the Australian sheep flock recover in numbers, following years of drought – the increased sheep numbers have subsequently contributed to a lift in wool production,” Mr McGeoch said.

“In 2021, Australian wool production was approximately 294 million kilograms which we saw increase in 2022 to around 324 million kilograms.

“Through the course of this year, there has been a growth in wool production in Queensland and Tasmania – with sheep numbers increasing in Queensland and improved seasons seen in Tasmania.”

New markets

New export destinations for Australian wool and cotton are opening up in 2023, Mr McGeoch said.

“In October 2020, China imposed a soft-ban on Australian cotton imports, and at the time Australia was sending a significant amount of cotton to that market – around 66 per cent of cotton exports,” he said. “There was then an urgent need to look for alternate markets and now in 2022, we’ve seen Vietnam emerge as a key new market – with the largest growth in demand for Australian cotton – with that nation now importing approximately 38 per cent of Australian cotton exports.”

Australian cotton exports to India have also jumped dramatically with 13 per cent now going to that market – compared with four per cent in 2020, Mr McGeoch said. “And Turkey has also emerged as a new market, taking roughly 10 per cent of Australian cotton exports this year.”

For Australian wool exports, Mr McGeoch said there is still a heavy reliance on the Chinese market – with approximately 80 per cent of the national wool clip going to China.

“We are seeing recent growth of some smaller markets for Australian wool – not to the same extent as in cotton markets – however, India is now accounting for five per cent of Australia’s total wool exports. That is a 40 per cent increase on 2021 exports to the country – which is considerable growth off the back of COVID disruptions.”

Mr Voznesenski said in recent years, Turkey, Vietnam and Indonesia have been purchasing and importing textile spinning and weaving machinery which will further open up these markets for Australian wool and cotton imports.

Grant Thornton’s retail industry group reports predictions of strong consumer spending and a return to stores have come true after the Black Friday weekend, although not to the extent retailers were expecting.

Black Friday sales data shows Australian consumers have spent $4.97b in global sales, well below the forecast $6.2b, representing a 17 per cent increase on last year. Grant Thornton’s retail team noted this change in how consumers are spending shows people are seeking value for money as household discretionary spending becomes tighter.

“We saw shoppers bring forward their Christmas spending to November, leveraging promotional activities. Consumers are making increasingly considered purchase decisions for bargains to save in the long run,” said Tyson Dujela, Retail Industry Group partner.

According to the data, the average cart price increased over Black Friday weekend, rising from $163.28 per transaction in 2021 to $167.99 this year.

This year Grant Thornton noted buying behaviour shifting, with consumers returning to stores, making the most of their shopping experience after lengthy pandemic and lockdown-induced waiting periods, with the data showing a 29 per cent increase to in-store point of sale – or offline, bricks-and-mortar sales – compared to 2021.

“This shows consumers still want store experiences as they create an engaging, touch and feel, customer service driven retail experience with the instant gratification of buying products in person,” said Tyson Dujela. “The trend our retail industry group saw of consumers returning to stores isn’t to say that the online experience isn’t just as important. In this era of omnichannel retailing, retailers need to provide a consistent experience across all touchpoints – spanning from online channels to stores.”

Similarly, Salesforce’s Connected Shoppers Report shows poor customer experiences can be detrimental to businesses, with 80 per cent of shoppers abandoning a retailer after three bad experiences.

Reflecting on 2022 more broadly, this year was not immune to disruption. Retail, like most sectors, was impacted by price inflation, a tight labour market, cost pressures and a reduction in promotional activity.

Grant Thornton’s Retail Industry Group predicts this sentiment may not continue into 2023, as consumers who held record level household balance sheets a year ago are now more cautious with their spending as inflation, rising interest rates and impacts on the cost of living are front of mind, inevitably affecting retailers across all sub-sectors.

“We predict shoppers of high-end retailers may start going to more affordable stores if businesses don’t put measures in place to retain customers. Consumers are projected to reduce discretionary spending, prioritise essential goods and discount options,” continued Tyson Dujela. “To combat impacts of changing spending habits, we encourage retailers to plan inventory carefully and consider how demand will impact your products.”

In addition, shoppers have in recent years become increasingly conscious of making sustainable purchase decisions, considering values and businesses impacts on the planet and communities. However, expected changes to discretionary spending may influence increasingly price-sensitive consumers to prioritise price over responsible purchases, therefore affecting outlet and product choices.

As merchants are adapting to an ever-evolving industry with online ordering and ecommerce expanding in retail and hospitality, Epson announced the fastest POS receipt printer in the industry¹ – the TM-T88VII.

As the latest model in Epson’s most popular TM-T88 series POS printer line which has sold millions of units across the globe, TM-T88VII offers lightning-fast print speeds and flexible connectivity between multiple devices to help merchants – particularly in high-volume industries such as hospitality, retail and grocery – deliver the best customer experience in virtually every environment.

Epson Australia MD, Craig Heckenberg, said, “What do Coles, Bunnings, Woolworths, 7 Eleven and so many other household brands have in common with Epson? It’s the TM-T88 receipt printer, now celebrating over 25 years. The TM-T88 series is the workhorse of Epson’s receipt printer line. It’s sleek design and legendary reliability has earned it an important role in the Australian retail landscape, if not globally. Now in its seventh generation, the Epson TM-T88VII is a quiet achiever. Almost always hidden from view, you’ve probably never realised your shopping experiences over the last couple of decades have more than likely involved a TM-T88 series printer and will now likely involve a TM-T88VII.”

The TM-T88VII is the easiest and fastest T88-series product to configure and deploy. The new model delivers fast print speeds up to 500 mm/sec¹ and a high-speed auto cutter, as well as a long printhead and auto cutter life² and a four-year warranty for advanced reliability.

The TM-T88VII can be dynamically shared with fixed PC-POS terminals as well as mobile devices and cloud servers at the same time. With the vertical mounting kit, the printer has flexible configuration options and can connect to almost any system with built-in Ethernet and USB, along with options including Serial, Parallel, Powered USB, and Wi-Fi®.

The TM-T88VII has streamlined the setup process with an improved Epson TM Utility app – available on both PC and mobile devices – which includes a new simple set up tool for easy configuration and deployment of new printers. In addition, the Epson TM Utility app enables integrators to seamlessly upgrade from prior T88 models to the TM-T88VII without losing pre-configured settings and disrupting existing workflows.

As e-commerce and online ordering continues to skyrocket, the TM-T88VII is online order ready and can retrieve orders from a web server and print from web-based applications using Epson’s ePOS™ Print Technology or utilise Server Direct Print technology without installing any additional hardware or POS software integration. Users can easily and securely print as the TM-T88VII offers support for the latest WPA3 Wi-Fi security standard.

The fastest POS receipt printer Epson TM-T88VII key features include:

• Ultra-fast transaction times – industry-leading print speeds up to 500 mm/sec¹ and high-speed auto cutter
• Reliability you can count on – 4-year warranty; easy-to-clean, water-resistant enclosure; long printhead and auto cutter life²
• Connect to multiple devices simultaneously – using multiple interfaces, printer can be dynamically shared by PC-POS terminals, tablets, and mobile devices as well as cloud servers
• Multi-interface support – built-in USB and Ethernet, optional Serial, Powered USB, Parallel and Wireless connectivity ensure maximum flexibility and futureproofing
• Secure wireless connection – supports the latest Wi-Fi® security standard (WPA3)
• Online ordering ready – Server Direct Print technology allows the printer to retrieve orders from a web server and print a receipt without requiring POS software integration
• POS peripheral support – supports POS peripherals including barcode scanners, customer displays, and more
• Easy setup and configuration – streamline the setup and replacement processes using Epson TM Utility; vertical mounting kit provides flexible configuration options
• Easy to understand – status LEDs and network diagnostic sheet improve on-site network troubleshooting
• Backwards compatible – fully compatible with the existing TM-T88V and TM-T88VI software and same footprint
• Advanced paper-saving functions – top-margin and character-height reduction features help reduce paper usage by up to 49 percent³

The TM-T88VII thermal receipt printer is available from www.epson.com.au and all Epson authorised channel partners for the RRP of AUD$745.00 including GST.