Cinnabon Adding Revel Systems POS Tablets With EMV And Apple Pay Acceptance

Treat retailer Cinnabon is installing iPad-based point-of-sale systems made by Revel Systems Inc. in anticipation of the EMV migration. The devices also will enable Apple Pay acceptance, Revel Systems announced Wednesday.

In addition to EMV and mag-stripe cards, Revel Systems devices also accept near-field communication (NFC) payments made with Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay. With Apple Pay just now becoming a mainstream payment option, Cinnabon wants to be able to accept it, Joe Guith, Cinnabon president tells Digital Transactions News.

In addition to payment acceptance, the POS systems will enable Cinnabon to collect data on consumer shopping behavior, better manage labor costs, and monitor food costs, Guith says.

Cinnabon’s existing POS system lagged the needs of the company, Guith says. “We used this as an opportunity to look at the big thing in POS,” Guith says. “For us, it not only provides a better POS system that is one of the most stable operating systems in the world, but the opportunity to build new capabilities,” he says.

The POS systems, which will be installed at more than 250 Cinnabon mall locations by the end of 2015, will become a business system for the company, which is part of Focus Brands Inc., owners of Carvel, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne’s, Schlotzsky’s, and McAlister’s Deli, Guith says.

Specifically, Atlanta-based Cinnabon will be able to view local store data as it is created, track and manage this data, make changes to the POS systems from a centralized station, and get reporting on sales, products, and customer relationship management data that tracks shopper history.

Cinnabon tested the Revel Systems POS at two locations for six months prior to today’s announcement.