When you go to the grocery store or out shopping, you will inevitably make your way to the front of the store to purchase your items at the cash-out area, or the “Point of Sale,” as it’s known to us business folk. It is at this point in the process when you are ready to pay for your items.
The point of sale is not only part of the process, it is also the physical place where the transaction occurs. It also refers to the machine or device used to complete the transaction.
It used to be called a “cash register” or “cash-out stand” and it is still often referred to as such.
The point of sale for someone who is shopping online uses virtually (no pun intended) the same process.
Once they have perused through countless pages of merchandise, they select what they want and click the “shopping cart” button or purchase button.
They are then escorted to the Point of Sale, which in this case is the virtual form where they input their personal information, physical address, and credit card number. These typically all look the same.
They basically mimic a physical order form, with fields for them to input their name, mailing address, and credit card information.
In order to make things user-friendly and familiar for consumers, most virtual point-of-sale pages look the same. The general uniformity of these online payment POS’s helps the customer feel more comfortable with the transaction.
Think about it. When you are giving out your personal credit card information, you want it to feel familiar, right? It puts your mind at ease, doesn’t it? You want to feel familiarity otherwise, you are hesitant to give out your very important information.
