Electronic point of sale applications have now been in operation for long enough to permit the development of some imaginative systems. At EPOS 80, the first Congress on automation at the point of sale, held in June in London, a half‐day session on “The Real Benefits of EPOS” was included in the programme. It consisted of an overview by Brian French, a presentation on the management of stock by David Hill, an examination of the use of POS in labour scheduling by Robert Selen, and it concluded with “a market researcher's viewpoint” by Norman Staples.