Demandware Pushes The POS Button

Enterprise cloud commerce solutions company Demandware announced Monday (Jan. 12) that it has taken steps to accelerate its One Platform strategy by integrating a retail point-of-sale system aimed at delivering a more unified commerce platform.

To do so, Demandware announced it has agreed to acquire Tomax, an enterprise cloud software that provides an integrated solution for retail POS and store operations. This will help the company create a platform that “empowers retailers to deliver seamless experiences across all consumer touch points, including POS,” Demandware said.

“By joining Demandware, we will continue to drive transformational change into retail through a single platform powered by the cloud,” Eric Olafson, CEO of Tomax said. “The One Platform strategy will help retailers reach omnichannel nirvana — a single point of control and digital backbone that continually innovates and provides actionable consumer and product intelligence to drive growth and optimize margins across the retail enterprise.”

Technology innovation has driven a retail digital transformation and retailers have seen an increasing need to incorporate digital functionality to adapt to changing times. Personalized merchandising, detailed product information, ratings and reviews, product recommendations and the mobilization of store associates have been a few ways retailers have managed the transformation. Digital influences nearly every aspect of the shopping experience and retailers have been forced to meet consumer demands.

Through Demandware’s acquisition of Tomax, the company hopes to deliver a unified, cloud-driven platform to meet those demands by providing retailers real-time information about its products, inventory, order and price data. Combining the companies will also enable retailers to provide personalized and consistent experiences to its customers.

“The retail landscape is rapidly changing with more than 70 percent of specialty stores saying their next POS will be a unified commerce platform,” said Greg Buzek, Founder and President of IHL Group. “Traditional siloed systems are not meeting the needs of the consumer who requires the same experience across channels and devices. Retailers need to have a ‘single version of the truth’ — one view of the enterprise organization and information about the consumer from point-of-sale to digital commerce. Demandware’s acquisition of Tomax significantly advances its One Platform strategy, making the company one of the early leaders in delivering this important solution to market.”