7 new features that justify an Oracle Xstore POS Upgrade

Aug. 2025 – Updated to include Oracle Xstore POS Version 25

A modern Point-of-Sale (POS) solution has become essential for delivering the seamless digital experiences customers expect in stores today. For many retailers, the challenge lies not in recognizing the importance of an upgrade, but in determining if, when, and how to upgrade their existing POS system. Beyond the investment of money, time, and resources, other considerations, such as added functionality, operational impact, and minimizing disruption, play a critical role in a Point-of-Sale upgrade decision. 

SkillNet, the global leader in Oracle Xstore POS implementation and upgrade services, is regularly engaged by retailers worldwide to evaluate whether moving from a current Xstore version to the latest release makes business sense. Drawing from hundreds of successful implementations and upgrades, we have identified key factors and the new features that retailers should weigh when shaping their upgrade strategy. 

How to decide whether to upgrade a POS system?

For many retailers, the biggest barrier to upgrading a Point of Sale (POS) system is not just the cost, but the complexity of understanding the full scope of effort. In the past, retailers often relied on long discovery sessions with consulting partners, sometimes lasting three to five months, to identify customizations, review business processes, and determine what would need to change. 

Large retailers often lack clear institutional knowledge of their POS landscape. As teams change and documentation gets lost, the reasons for past customizations or process changes are unclear. This leaves decision-makers uncertain about whether an upgrade is worth the investment. 

To address this, SkillNet uses a structured methodology that evaluates both business impact and technical feasibility. This approach ensures retailers gain clarity on benefits, risks, and effort before making an upgrade decision. 

SkillNet’s POS Upgrade Assessment

Our methodology combines technical analysis with business alignment: 

• Functional Design review 
• Technical Design review 
• Product extensions code review 
• Validating customizations to identify which prior custom features are now available out of the box in the target POS release 
• Facilitate several work sessions with business and IT teams to capture current and future requirements. These sessions often include: 
  • In-store demos of current functionality 
  • Pain points review   
  • High-level architecture documentation review 
  • Review alternative cloud options  
  • Q & A sessions as needed 
• Demonstration of new functionality 

Once these activities are completed, we provide an Upgrade Decision report that gives retailers a clear view of the benefits, costs, risks and timelines.  With this foundation, they can make confident, informed decisions about when and how to upgrade. This methodology works across POS solutions, but this article focuses on the benefits of Oracle Xstore POS upgrades. 

Using SkillNet’s AI Accelerator to fast-track your upgrade estimation

SkillNet has developed an AI tool which can expedite the upgrade discovery process for the latest Oracle Xstore POS Versions. The tool can quickly and accurately identify deviations from the base code. This tool helps identify legacy customizations, extensions, and enhancements and also helps identify gaps in business processes. 

While the new tool may not completely eliminate the discovery process, it will greatly reduce the time, effort, and price. It also greatly reduces the pain point in estimating the upgrade budget. 

Key New Features that Justify an Oracle Xstore POS Upgrade

Retailers today face constant pressure to deliver faster, more seamless, and more personalized in-store experiences. To meet these demands, Oracle Retail Xstore POS has continued to evolve with every release, introducing powerful capabilities that help retailers overcome labour shortages, strengthen compliance, and elevate customer engagement. 

Below are the standout enhancements introduced in recent releases (versions 23, 24, and 25) that make a compelling case for upgrading to the latest version of Xstore POS.

Feature 1: Smarter Self-Checkout Experiences

Self-checkout in Oracle Xstore POS has advanced rapidly over the last three releases. Originally introduced as an alternate customer-led checkout option using existing registers or kiosks, the feature now supports multiple devices, streamlined UIs, and non-cash payment types.  

Version 23 onwards, Oracle introduced a flexible self-checkout interface that works with existing registers or kiosks, enabling customers to scan items and pay without cashier assistance, perfect for addressing labor shortages. 

 
Version 24 onwards, this functionality has expanded support to new geographies, enabling localized compliance and consistent customer experiences. The support got expanded to more countries, including Australia, China, South Africa, and Switzerland, offering localized compliance and usability improvements. 

Version 25 release takes it further with airside duty-free and tax-free functionality for airports, loyalty program enrolment at checkout, on-screen consent for data privacy, an intuitive numeric keypad, and rolling-close support for 24/7 operations.

Feature 2: Streamlined Tax-Free Shopping

Global retailers can now issue tax-free invoices integrated with providers like Global Blue and Planet. Version 24 enhances this process with faster transaction handling, better eligibility checks, and silent mode processing for smoother service. These improvements help retailers serve international customers more efficiently while ensuring compliance.

Feature 3: Globalization, Legal Compliance and Country Accelerators 

Pre-built country configuration bundles make it easier to meet fiscal regulations, from tender types to invoice layouts. Over successive releases, Oracle has added advanced tax ID checks, harmonized receipt tax recaps, cross-border return taxation, and flexible invoice threshold settings. New support for Italy’s RT Server and retirement of legacy Brazilian formats further streamlines compliance.  

In general, compliance with local regulations and laws helps reduce risk exposure and penalties. Retailers don’t have to extend the existing functionalities to address these laws for the country packs provided by Oracle. 

Feature 4: Mobility and Temporary Store Operations

Xstore now supports mobile-only store configurations, allowing associates to use shared peripherals and receive live updates without complex device management. Retailers can also set up temporary or pop-up stores for events, malls, or outdoor venues, connecting via remote servers to process sales anywhere.

Feature 5: Customer and user Experience Upgrades

Version 24 introduced a modernized UI using Oracle Redwood design principles across all form factors, enhancing clarity, cleaner layouts, ease of navigation and responsive design. Dashboards for customers, items, and associates now present consolidated, actionable data for faster decision-making. The customer-facing display has been refreshed to show live transaction details, personalized messages, and QR codes for promotions. Deal Engine Deferred Calculation applies optimal discounts after all items are added, reducing recalculations and improving speed. A clean, intuitive UI with fewer clicks and clear navigation reduces checkout time, which customers value highly. Modern UI design supports self-checkout kiosks and mobile POS, making it easy for customers to scan, pay, and leave quickly. A better UI can surface promotions, offers, or loyalty points in a non-intrusive way, creating a more engaging and rewarding experience. contrast modes, multilingual support, and touch-friendly layouts ensure inclusivity for diverse customer groups. Intuitive UI allows new associates to learn the POS quickly. Smart shortcuts and simplified workflows reduce manual steps. Uniform design across desktop POS, handhelds, and kiosks ensures associates don’t need to re-learn different systems 

In addition to Xstore’s native dashboards, SkillNet offers RetMON, a real-time retail analytics solution that provides deeper insights into POS transactions, customer behavior, and operational KPIs. With RetMON, retailers can move beyond reactive reporting to proactive decision-making, ensuring every store upgrade translates into measurable business impact. 

Feature 6: Omnichannel Return and Payment Flexibility

Recent versions support Customer-not-present payments, which enable telephone order processing. Courier Returns (from Version 24) allow searching and processing of return orders from delivery partners. Touch-free Buy Online Return In Store (BORIS) automatically refunds to the original payment method when supported by the same payment provided.

Feature 7: Operational Efficiency and Cloud Readiness

The System Upgrader introduced from Version 24 consolidates updates for Xstore, Xenvironment, and Xservices into a single package, reducing complexity. Cloud deployment continues to offer benefits like automatic updates, robust security, and reduced infrastructure overhead, ensuring retailers remain agile and future ready. 

Along with Oracle’s native capabilities, SkillNet’s StoreHub middleware can further accelerate this journey. It simplifies integration between Xstore and surrounding retail systems (payments, loyalty, inventory, OMS), ensuring upgrades and cloud deployments don’t get stalled by complex integrations. Many clients use StoreHub to modernize their store ecosystem alongside an Xstore upgrade. 

Additional Benefits

Besides the features outlined, there are several additional benefits from a POS system upgrade:

• New updated features to meet country specific regulations, by using country accelerators 
• Reduction in maintenance for customizations that may be redundant with new functionality 
• Improved security and updated 3^rd party solutions (i.e. more recent version of Java) 
• Adoption of new best practices that come with new features 
• Continuous upgrade to omni-channel strategy includes an option to maintain the ‘Customer Failed to Pick up’ orders.

Costs

Upgrade costs depend largely on the extent of customizations. Oracle Retail does have a streamlined upgrade process available if you have implemented Xstore POS just out of the box functionality.  The reality is that most clients have some sort of customization that will require testing before deploying a POS solution.

Risks In Not Upgrading

Every retailer needs to weigh increased functionality against the risk of losing Premier Oracle support and the costs of upgrading and not upgrading.  Support sunset schedules vary by version, so aligning upgrade timing is essential. 

Many of our clients have procurement departments that develop this Cost-Benefit Analysis, but for those that do not, SkillNet is able to provide these additional financial analysis services. 

Upgrading to the latest Oracle Xstore POS version isn’t just about staying supported. It’s about unlocking powerful new capabilities that enhance the customer experience, boost operational efficiency, and strengthen compliance. 

SkillNet’s proven methodology ensures your upgrade journey is smooth, strategic, and successful. Whether you’re on-prem, mobile-first, or moving to the cloud. 

We have been able to upgrade Xstore in as quickly as 4 months, but for some retailers with heavily customized systems, the timeline will probably be longer.  One of the major activities that may drive the timeline for a heavily modified system would be system integration testing and user acceptance testing.  Both activities will require participation from your organization, so it may not be the case that you can throw extra bodies (from a third party) to accelerate these timelines. 

SkillNet is a premier Oracle Retail Solutions and integration partner.  We have also supported clients in their on-prem to cloud journeys. Apart from Xstore expertise, SkillNet also supports other Oracle Retail Products such as Omnichannel, Merchandising, Planning & Optimization, Supply Chain, Brand Compliance, Insights & Science. 

Beyond POS upgrades, SkillNet brings proven accelerators like StoreHub for seamless store integration and RetMON for advanced retail analytics. These solutions ensure that an Xstore upgrade is not just a technical refresh but a transformation that improves customer experience, operational agility, and business visibility. 

Version	GA Date	Premier Support Ending
Xstore Office and Point of Service 18.0	December 2018	December 2023
Xstore Office and Point of Service 19.0	December 2019	December 2024
Xstore Office and Point of Service 20.0	December 2020	December 2025
Xstore Office and Point of Service 21.0	January 2021	January 2027

Check out the blog – Step-by-step guide for Oracle Retail Xstore POS upgrade.

SkillNet is an Oracle Retail Solutions and Integration partner. We also support Retailers in creating seamless omnichannel journeys. Apart from Oracle Xstore expertise, SkillNet also supports other Oracle Retail Products such as Omnichannel, Merchandising, Planning & Optimization, Supply Chain, Brand Compliance, Insights & Science.

Based on our Oracle Xstore POS expertise, SkillNet has developed a set of IP-based accelerators. These tools help retailers accelerate their digital transformation programs and optimize their Oracle Xstore POS solutions.