mdolla: Apps to Save Time and Increase Sales for Retailers

With so many retail apps out on the market, it’s hard to decide which one(s) to pick. Luckily this quick guide can help. Check out the latest retail apps to better streamline your business, saving you time, and increasing your sales:

POS Systems

We’ve been told that POS (Point Of Sale) apps are the future of retail.^[1] There is a number of apps claiming they are for point of sale systems, but all are not created equal. And truth be told, the software you select will depend on your operating system and personal style.

Among the top picks are:

Vend

Cloud-based, Vend is available for iPads, Macs and PCs, and is a simple system that allows retailers to operate anywhere using varied printers, cash drawers and barcode scanners. The software features inventory management, reporting and analytics, customer loyalty tools and sales insights.

Revel

Revel is designed specifically for iPads and offers a cloud-based full point of sale system for retailers of all types, from bakeries to bookshops. It features inventory management, multiple user capability, customer relationship management and detailed analytics.

ShopKeep

Featuring sales management, staff tracking, inventory reporting and customer information, ShopKeep is also cloud-based software designed to manage retail stores either remotely or in-house. ShopKeep is available across Apple, Windows and Linux platforms, and offers retailers features such as a portable register via iPad, and alerts when stock items run low.

PayPal Here

Blurring the lines between point of sale and payment processing is PayPal and their POS app Paypal Here. Available for iPhones, Smartphones, iPads and Android tablets, PayPal Here is free to download, charging per transaction instead. It allows retailers to accept payments via credit card, debit card and check using either swipe or chip card reader hardware. Meanwhile, the app boasts a series of features including inventory management, multiple user capability, and sales reporting.

Square POS

Square is also a crossover between POS app and payment processor. It allows retailers to take payments using a swipe card reader that accepts chip and pin payments from credit and debit cards, or via a contactless card reader that handles contactless payments including Apple and Android Pay. Like PayPal Here, the app is free to download and fees are incurred per transaction. It features inventory management, sales data, staff handling, and receipts.

Shopify POS

Shopify started out in the online realm but soon made headway into brick and mortar stores courtesy of Shopify POS. Available for iPads, iPhones and Androids, it handles inventory, orders and sales history in real time while providing detailed analytics, and also accepts payments.

Accounting

So you’ve picked a POS app, set up your iPad, secure tablet enclosure and all…now it’s about the dollar at the end of the day, which is why accounting software is the next important app to tick off on the download list.

There are a plethora of software companies and apps devoted to accounting including the big names like QuickBooks Online and MYOB On The Go, but cloud-based app, Xero is also a great alternative. Many of these heavyweights allow for easy integration with your POS app, so read the fine print to see who’s compatible with whom.

Staffing

Sick of drawing up schedules, crossing out names and engaging in the weekly battle of who can do what shift at what rate and when? Well, this is where apps like Deputy are here to help. Available for Android devices, iPads and even the Apple Watch, Deputy enables managers to create staff schedules and share them with their workforce via text, email or the web. Staff, using the system, can check their roster, request leave, indicate unavailability and even swap shifts, while another feature lets staff know when there is a shift open for work. It can also record shift starts and finishes, and track breaks.

Marketing

Every business requires marketing of some sort whether it’s a web presence, social media or Facebook page. The sector is catered with a host of apps including standouts like WordPress for website creation, but a great app for e-marketing is undoubtedly Mailchimp. This is a web-based app that doesn’t require downloading software and is dedicated to email marketing campaigns by assisting users to send bulk emails to clients, customers and interested parties.

The Final Word

Finding the right app to suit your retail business is no small undertaking, as the market is filled with different tools to make running a shopfront simpler. Using these apps can certainly improve your retail business, and these trends are changing retail for the better!^[2]

Featured photo credit: Rami Al-Zayat via unsplash.com