In 2025, U.S. retailers and restaurants continue to face mounting cost pressures, from labor shortages to rising theft and chargeback disputes. At the same time, evidence shows that modern point-of-sale (POS) and electronic POS (EPOS) systems are delivering measurable cost savings by improving inventory accuracy, streamlining operations, and reducing financial leakage.

This article reviews January, September 2025 trends and compares them with late-2024 benchmarks, highlighting where POS investments are proving most valuable. For OpenCart store owners and operators, the findings reinforce the business case for integrated retail POS, restaurant POS, and omnichannel POS solutions.

Inventory Accuracy and Overstock Prevention

Inventory remains a major pain point for U.S. merchants. A 2023 Fluent Commerce survey found that 62% of U.S. retailers had inventory accuracy below 80%, and nearly 39% canceled one in 10 online orders due to inaccurate stock. Half of respondents said their POS or ERP systems did not update inventory frequently enough, with only 26% updating every 30 minutes or less.

The financial consequences are large. Overstock costs the average business about $142,000 annually.

According to industry leader Epos Now, one of the best POS provider, real-time inventory synchronization across ecommerce platforms and physical stores is one of the most effective ways to prevent both overselling and overstocking. By unifying sales channels, businesses gain better visibility of stock movements, avoid costly order cancellations, and reduce excess carrying costs.

“Every inaccurate stock record is a hidden cost, cancelled sales, excess carrying costs, or frustrated customers.”

Labor Optimization and Automation

Labor remains one of the largest controllable expenses in retail and foodservice. The National Restaurant Association’s 2024 Technology Landscape Report found that 76% of operators said technology provides a competitive edge, while 73% reported greater efficiency from new tools.

The same report noted that 47% of operators plan automation initiatives to address labor shortages, with automated scheduling and kiosk ordering topping the list.

Case studies underline the savings:

• QR-code payments save ~30 seconds per transaction, equating to more than 1,000 staff hours for a chain with 125,000 customers.
  
  

• Self-order kiosks reduce labor costs to 11–15% of sales and cut order error rates below 1%.
  
  

Epos Now highlights that handheld ordering and kiosks can help restaurants speed up table service and reduce reliance on front-of-house staff by streamlining ordering directly from guests to the kitchen.

Payments, Fees, and Chargeback Reduction

The U.S. accounts for 10% of global chargeback volume, projected to hit 146 million disputes worth $15.3 billion by 2026. Friendly fraud, where customers dispute legitimate charges, makes up about 79% of chargebacks. Each dispute takes an average of 46 days to resolve, consuming staff time and tying up revenue.

At the same time, 93% of cardholders say digital receipts are valuable.

Epos Now highlights that instant digital receipts and automated reconciliation are among the most effective tools in reducing chargeback risk. By automatically linking every transaction with a receipt and staff ID, merchants shorten resolution times and minimize lost revenue.

“Every unresolved chargeback not only costs the transaction value but weeks of staff effort.”

Shrinkage and Loss Prevention

Shrink, losses from theft, fraud, and error, remains a growing concern. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported a 93% increase in shoplifting incidents and a 90% growth in dollar losses between 2019–2023.

Self-checkout lanes, which the ECR Retail Loss Group found account for 23% of unknown loss, have been scaled back by some chains.

In 2025, Auror reported that U.S. retailers saw a 9% increase in retail crime value, with the top 10% of offenders responsible for 68% of total losses. Their average event value of $890 dwarfs the median theft of $51.

Epos Now emphasizes that audit trails linked to staff IDs deter internal theft while integrations with CCTV and fraud analytics platforms reduce exposure to organized crime.

Omnichannel Integration with OpenCart

Customer expectations continue to shift toward mobile and contactless ordering:

• 70% of limited-service restaurant customers are comfortable ordering via smartphone apps.
  
  

• 68% of limited-service customers prefer mobile/contactless payments.
  
  

For OpenCart store owners, connecting online catalogs to in-store POS ensures that customers always see accurate stock availability, whether they order from a phone, kiosk, or checkout counter.

Epos Now’s OpenCart integration enables a single inventory pool across ecommerce and physical sales, reducing cancellations, building trust, and strengthening loyalty programs.

The 2025 YTD data shows that U.S. retailers and restaurants still leave significant money on the table through inaccurate inventory, inefficient labor use, chargeback disputes, and rising theft. Yet across these areas, POS and EPOS technology is already proving effective at cutting costs:

• Real-time inventory sync prevents costly overstock and cancellations.
  
  

• Automation tools save staff hours and reduce errors.
  
  

• Integrated payments minimize chargebacks and fees.
  
  

• POS-linked loss prevention curbs theft.
  
  

• Omnichannel integrations with OpenCart align online and offline experiences.
  
  

As one of the world’s leading POS providers, Epos Now demonstrates how modern EPOS platforms are no longer just transaction processors but strategic cost-control systems. For U.S. businesses under pressure, the choice is no longer whether to invest in POS technology, but which leader to trust in driving efficiency and profitability.