THE USE OF MINI‐COMPUTERS IN RETAILING: A rapidly growing market Available to Purchase

One of the reasons for the dramatic growth of the mini‐computer market is the realisation on the part of retail managements in both small and large companies that this type of equipment is versatile, powerful and relatively cheap. In this article Mike Eccles defines a mini, discusses the problems of buying and selection, and examines some specific retail applications. The author is a management consultant with Gil Jones & Associates, specialising in management information systems for retail organisations. He has recently been engaged in a programme of research into the growing importance of the mini‐computer in retailing. His findings will be published in full later this year in a Report. Mike Eccles will be presenting a paper on this subject at the forthcoming OnLine Conference on Retail Data Processing, to be held in London on June 2–3.