Every sale tells you something: which products move on weekends versus weekdays, which have been collecting dust since February, which customers came back three times this quarter and which only showed up for a markdown. For many retailers, that information is already sitting in their point-of-sale system. They just haven’t made a habit of reading it. That’s worth changing.
“For small businesses, sales data should do more than summarize the past – it should help inform smarter decisions about the future,” said Wally Mlynarski, chief executive officer of Elavon. “As payments continue to evolve, becoming faster, more connected and increasingly digital, success will hinge on how well businesses turn everyday transactions into actionable insight. Those signals can help small businesses operate more efficiently, adapt more quickly and stay aligned with where customer expectations are heading.”
As data tools become more accessible and easier to interpret, retailers who pay attention to what their sales are generating are making sharper stocking calls, running promotions that actually move inventory and reaching customers at the right moment with the right message. The competitive edge Mlynarski describes is more accessible than it sounds.
Uncover the signals hiding in your sales data
Your transaction data reveals more than end-of-day totals. It starts with knowing where to look. Once you know what you’re looking for, seemingly small operational changes start to seem obvious and become easier to leverage.
“First thing to note is what’s selling and not selling,” said Juan Castro, senior vice president and head of small business West sales for Elavon, a division of U.S. Bank. “You don’t want to buy more of what’s not selling.”
That advice applies to high level inventory categories all the way down to sizes. “If most shoppers are buying extra-large, you don’t want to waste resources buying medium,” says Castro.
Timing matters just as much as your physical inventory. “What’s selling is just as important as when it’s selling. That’s a huge opportunity,” added Joe Flaherty, senior vice president and head of small business East sales for Elavon. Knowing when demand naturally spikes means promotions can be timed to meet customers when their interest peaks.
Slow-moving inventory deserves attention, too. “It’s not just how much a unit costs,” Flaherty said. “It’s how much shelf space it’s taking up that could be filled with products that will actually sell.” According to Retail Dive reporting, retailers are prioritizing investments in analytics and customer insights that demonstrate clear ROI. Knowing what to cut, it turns out, is just as valuable as knowing what to stock.
Use real-time data to make real-world decisions
Knowing what’s selling is useful, but it’s real-time updates that make the difference between missing or making a sale. To make this point, Castro describes a food vendor he works with, operating multiple locations at county fairs across California. Their top-selling item is a pineapple bowl with chicken and shrimp, which they knew from their POS data. “A fair may run for 30 days, but you’re probably only going to get that customer for the one day they paid the ticket,” Castro said. “If you run out of best-sellers, you totally missed that sale.”
The same risk plays out across multiple channels. “Small retailers are often selling in-store and online out of one warehouse — two doors, products flying out both simultaneously,” Flaherty explained. “The last thing you want is to tell a customer who bought an item online that it’s out of stock.” Real-time inventory visibility prevents that.
See not just what sold, but who bought it
Customer data takes it a step further: not only what to stock, but who to reach and when.
When purchase history and visit frequency are visible in one place, opportunities get more specific: a refill notification on a lotion a customer bought weeks ago; a promotion timed to when they typically shop. That kind of outreach lands differently than a generic sale announcement because it feels relevant, not random. McKinsey research finds that 78% of consumers say personalized offers make them more likely to repurchase.
Lola Moitoso and Tai Vieira, co-founders of Shoppe Thirty One Boutique, run an online and pop-up retail business where real-time analytics are central to their weekly product drops. “Real-time data is what we’re really looking for on drop day,” said Vieira. “[Our] platform shows us how many live visitors we have and exactly where they go. If lots of people are clicking on the same item, we know we may need to restock. And the back-end analytics show our profit margins and how we’re trending compared to our last drop.”
To make these real-time insights actionable, retailers like Moitoso and Vieira need more than just data – they need a platform that brings everything together. That’s where integration comes in. Part of what makes that visibility possible is having their payments and online store on one integrated platform — Elavon Business Solutions, in partnership with Wix — so sales activity, inventory, and customer data move together.
Move from “what does my data say?” to “what do I do next?”
Modern POS platforms are increasingly designed to close that gap — surfacing best-selling products, flagging when to run a promotion, and helping owners stock more efficiently, without requiring them to become data analysts. That built-in intelligence is especially valuable for small and medium-sized retailers who are already stretched thin.
For retailers already using data‑rich systems, Mlynarski encourages a deeper understanding of what their platforms are revealing. “When business owners take the time to understand the data they’re capturing, it becomes much easier to spot opportunities and challenges early,” he said. “Modern payments platforms are designed to make that insight accessible, not overwhelming.”
For those evaluating a new platform, Mlynarski advises starting with a clear view of the business, not the technology. “The most important question isn’t how you accept payments – it’s where you want your business to go,” he said. “Payments data can support that journey through better visibility into customers, inventory and the tools that help drive growth.”
“A strong payments partnership isn’t about selling features,” Mlynarski added. “It’s about helping small businesses align technology to their goals, so they can make confident decisions today and build for what comes next.”
An integrated setup can make running a data-powered business far easier — and more profitable — than most small retailers expect.
The right sales data can make your business decisions smarter and simpler. Get the tools to do it all in one place. Explore Elavon Business Solutions for retail.
