Superhero of the Bodega, Independent & Small Chain World

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Helping Independent Grocery Stores Survive and Thrive Against Goliath Competition

The Old World is Right on Your Corner. You see them everywhere. Throughout the U.S., grocery stores and bodegas represent an important part of history and culture of the communities they serve. Entering a traditional grocery store, you’ll find memories of the “old world”, with delicious products and aromas that you enjoyed in childhood. But the reality is that, in today’s competitive retail climate, many of these small stores are suffering.

They are in an unbalanced competition with large, big-box and chain stores, which can lure customers away with lower negotiated pricing, marketing and technology, not to mention online retailers who don’t have rent to pay. These larger operations, by their mere existence, threaten to choke small, independent retailers out of business.

Competition is Fierce and the Struggles Are Real. Big-box stores and online retailers are often able to negotiate better pricing with manufacturers and stock up in larger quantities, which enables them to offer reduced pricing for their customers. Smaller, independent retailers do not have this advantage. Being unable to compete in pricing and keep customers loyal, many are being forced to close. I’m seeing this happening all across the US. It’s survival of the fittest, but this crisis hits very close to home for many.

Owners of small grocery chains and bodegas know that there is no easy solution. They are struggling to stay afloat and competing for survival. At National Retail Solutions (NRS), they are aware that these independent retailers need powerful tools to help them manage their business more efficiently. There are obstacles holding them back; access to capital, language barriers and technical challenges. Many of these stores still use old cash registers and manually key in sales and inventory. The antiquated system of manually checking out customers and keeping track sales and inventory makes it difficult for small stores to promote their products and services competitively.

National Retail Solutions is Helping Independent and Small Chain Retailers. These businesses can benefit strongly from simple-to-use technology and support to operate efficiently. NRS helps these businesses by providing technology and easy-to-use tools to help retailers tracks sales and inventory, attract customers and grow their business. “NRS was founded with a mission to help the little guys survive and thrive amidst Goliath competition”, said Elie Y. Katz, NRS founder, president & CEO of NRS. “And we’re extremely committed to our cause.”

NRS offers a robust, but easy to use, point-of-sale (POS) system that can change the future of grocery, liquor and tobacco retailers. The POS, which offers tools to control costs, optimize inventory, and process transactions efficiently, comes with its own, exclusive built in customer loyalty program. Customers can sign up, free, for the BR Club with just a phone number, to receive a key fob to scan at checkout for instant discounts on popular, club-exclusive items offered each month.

BR Club promos are advertised on the POS’ sleek, customer-facing ad screen. Plus, retailers can optionally run their own store specials and ad! The POS has remote access via web and app. With Boss Revolution® one-touch pinless on the POS, recharging phone cards is a snap and a great source of additional revenue for merchants. The POS also offers seamless, optional integration with newly launched NRS PAY (and almost all other credit card processors), for a one-stop shop.

NRS has a Strong Reputation of Excellence, Backed by a Strong Parent Company. NRS is a division of IDT Corporation, which, since 1994, has provided local and international calling cards, bringing Boss Revolution® products and services to over 40,000 retailers nationwide, with 3.5 million+ customers. Since the founding of National Retail Solutions in 2015, over 8,000 NRS POS systems have been deployed across the U.S.

No More Being Ripped Off by Credit Card Processors! Within the same mission of helping small independent and chain retailers thrive and succeed, NRS recently launched NRS PAY credit card processing, to help retailers save money – and earn more money – with low-rate credit card processing. With a quick and easy tap, dip, swipe or key, retailers can now provide their customers a faster and more efficient payment process. Unfortunately, the credit card processing industry can be shady, so I always advise retailers to choose an honest company that won’t take advantage with hidden fees and unknowns.

NRS PAY card processing interfaces with NRS POS, or can be used independently by retailers, professionals, or almost every business in any industry, even those without the NRS POS.

Customers Are Loving NRS. With the ecosystem of the POS bundled with the BR Club loyalty program and NRS PAY credit card processing, National Retail Solutions is providing grocery, liquor and tobacco retailers the opportunity to compete at the same level as large chains. NRS has a stellar reputation for customer support.

“They make you feel as if you’re family. If I have a problem, I call their support hotline and within minutes, a team member is providing me help”, said Diego Fuentes, a bodega owner in New Jersey.

Another customer of NRS, Alicia Peres, said, “It’s a few months since we got our new POS and it’s like a good luck charm for our business. Organizing and knowing what/when we need to purchase and restock products, has saved us a lot of money — and customers are complimenting how professional our equipment is. They love saving money on the club specials when they check out.”

It is a comfort to retailers to know that NRS is here for them, to help them with selling more, monitoring inventory and building customer loyalty. “Any person with the right tools can grow and succeed — NRS offers the best combo of tools for the job!” Katz said.

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