Although retailers are coming up with more savvy ways to build their business using digital technologies, bricks and mortar outlets are lagging behind other sectors, such as finance, to digitise their services.
Although many high street retailers have been forced to embrace new tech, such as chip and pin tech for taking card payments and in many case, also accepting contactless payments too, take up for other advanced services is still low.
But time are a-changing and retailers need to adapt to changing market conditions. Consumers are expecting retailers to be digitally savvy and using apps on mobiles and tables can significantly reduce the strain on staff too.
Apps such as automated stock systems, accounting software and customer experience or CRM platforms are making the retail industry a lot more manageable, even if staffing resources are a little strained. Connected POS systems that integrate with your website to take sales online are also becoming easier to set up and use.
But what is really making a difference n the retail industry is using apps to understand buying behaviour, connecting the dots between what customers are interested in, what they're buying and which of your products they may be considering for future purchases.
All this can happen thanks to the availability and plummeting cost of the cloud. Cloud-based apps make it much more convenient to do business both in person and online across all sectors, but for retail, it can put you in front of your competitors, allowing you to put convenience at the centre of everything.
But if you’re completely clueless when it comes to technology, but you know you need to make changes, where do you start? With so many apps available, how do you sort the wheat from the chaff?
However you need to digitise your retail business, we've selected the best apps to superpower your retail business and launch it into the 21st century.
Lightspeed POS
Lightspeed POS is one of the most attractive inventory and POS management applications across devices we've ever seen. It looks as sleek as iTunes, with a beautiful slideshow-style interface for viewing your entire inventory in one place.
It's also, crucially, a POS too, allowing you to take payments for items in your store, with big, bold graphics and easy to tap options to make the purchase experience seamless for both you and your customers. A full range of payment integrations are supported so you can use your preferred payment partner and it works on iPad, iPhone and on-terminal for your preferred set-up.
Everything syncs up between your physical and online store, so you can be rest assured what Lightspeed POS says you have in stock is accurate, whether people are using your website to buy or not. And if you have multiple stores, everything will stay in order, wherever your sales happen.
The app also offers detailed sales analytics and customer loyalty features to help you grow your business by making great decisions and offering bonuses to high-value customers.
Price: From £69/month for up to 5 people (1 terminal)
URL: Lightspeed
Why download? An all-in-one POS system for businesses with inventory control, reporting and customer loyalty programmes to leverage your retail business
SalesPad Cloud
SalesPad Cloud is an extension of QuickBooks Online, allowing retail businesses to keep on top of their inventory, employees, and business using a single tool that works across POS, mobile and computer.
Its POS element means you can track transactions in-store, with frontline employee management available from the same screen. Built-in card processing means customers' data will stay safe and secure without the business having to worry about PCI compliance, while its warehouse barcode management tool means you can make sure orders are fulfilled and inventory levels are at a sustainable level for any online orders and for the shop floor.
The third element of SalesPad Cloud is the purchasing, inventory management, and order processing platform on desktop, helping you manage back-office functions from wherever you are and automatically synching with the warehouse and in-store elements.
Everything integrates with Quickbooks, with a familiar interface too, enabling you to keep on top of your business's accounts as well as order management with as little fuss as possible.
Price: From $85/month for 1-5 users
URL: SalesPad Cloud
Why download? SalesPad Cloud makes it simple to keep on top of your in-store sales, warehouse, and business from one place and it integrates with Quickbooks too!
ShipStation
If you're an online retailer, it's pretty likely you'll need to partner up with a company to help you ship your products to your customers. One thing's clear in the online shopping world: customers want their goods to arrive fast and in perfect condition and this is where ShipStation comes into play.
it's an e-commerce fulfillment platform that not only tracks your inventory but also enables the printing of shipping labels and organisation of couriers to get your goods winging their way to the customerS quick as a flash.
You can set everything up so it's automated, meaning you can save time organising how your goods get to the customers and more time on product development and strategy to get your retail business flying.
In the UK, ShipStation's partners are FedEx, UPS, DHL and if you use Amazon to sell your goods and are registered for Prime delivery, that's supported too.
Price: From $9/month
URL: ShipStation
Why download? ShipStation will vastly improve the way you ship your goods, automating the entire process.
Vend Register
Vend Register (previously Vend POS) combines an iPad-powered EPOS that can be completely customised for your business, with loyalty features to keep your customers coming back. The checkout process is seamless using Vend. When a customer comes to the cash desk, you just select the product, tap pay, choose whether the customer wants to pay with cash or card and the transaction is complete.
Vend Register also allows you to search for a past transaction by customer name, phone number or email address, so you can easily link transactions to customers, helping your CRM and customer loyalty efforts too.
You can track sales and how much money you've made from customer transactions, plus it'll work offline too, so even if your internet goes down, you can still process payments.
Vend Register uses a drag and drop UI when you're setting it up, making it simple for everyone to configure, whether you're tech savvy or not and if you're worried you'll need to switch payment provider, you won't have to, because Vend Register has partnered up with the majority of merchant service providers, so you can continue as you were, just with a much easier way of managing the checkout process.
Price: From £49/month
URL: Vend
Why download? Vend is a fully-integrated POS and customer loyalty platform with an easy to use interface, developed specially for iPad
Square Point of Sale
Square Point of Sale helps you take payments efficiently from customers, whether they want to use chip and pin, contactless or mobile payments, such as Apple Pay, on your own mobile or tablet.
You'll need a Square Reader to be able to take payments, but as soon as you're set up, you'll easily be able to take payments and be reassured they'll be in your bank account instantly. If you're not totally convinced, you can check your bank account from the app to make sure funds are transferred before handing over the goods.
You can also use the app to keep track of sales and inventory in real time making this one of the best mobile POS apps out there and analytics mean you can share your performance with the rest of the business in real time.
Price: App free, charged 1.75% per transaction
URL: Square POS
Why download? Much more than just a payments app, Square POS helps you track inventory and share performance with others.
PollDaddyMarketing & Instore Analytics
If you have a bricks and mortar store, it's important to find out why your customers are visiting, what they're looking for and what they value from shopping on the high street. PollDaddyMarketing and Instore Analytics will help you find all these things out and more. It enables you to ask customers questions as they come through the door using any mobile device - both with and without an internet connection.
The surveys can be tailored to your particular business, making them highly relevant and helping you collect the information you need to make your business a success. Any responses you get from your customers can be quickly analysed so you can work out what you should be improving about your shop and how to further enhance the customer experience.
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
URL: PollDaddy
Why download? Bricks and mortar stores are becoming extinct against online stores, so it's vital to make your shop stand out from the competition. Finding out what your customers want is essential and PollDaddy allows you to do this easily, from any device.
Boutique Window
If your stores are mostly brick and mortar, but you want to launch into the big, wide world of digital sales, Boutique Window makes it simple for you to set up your own online shopfront, showcasing your merchandise to the world.
Although it's not the most attractive app, it syncs with your calendar and social media accounts too, so not only can you keep up to date with everything going on in your hectic life as a retailer, it will also show you the updates you have planned for your complete online experience.
Price: From $19 a month (approx £13.50 a month)
URL: Boutique Window
Why download? For those trying to put their retail stamp on the digital world, Boutique Window is a great starting point for everything you need to launch into the digital age.
Collect
Collect allows you to target your marketing to attract new customers that might not have naturally come across your business, using a loyalty programme. Collect also allows retailers to set up rewards for those who keep coming back or spread the word about the company and with integrated marketing, you can automate processes to better target your audience, with information and offers that are relevant to them. All apps are web-based and are not yet available on mobile or tablets so you're limited with mobility, but the suite is a perfect toolkit for any retail business.
Price: From $19 a month, per store (approx £13.50 a month, per store)
URL: Collectapps.io
Why download? Collect can manage your entire purchase process, from attraction right through to marketing and the creation of brand advocates.
Counter
Counter helps you keep on top of your inventory, right from your iPhone or iPad. You can scan in any barcode and find out how much stock you have, check your inventory and process deliveries and transfers from one place, making it an important tool for anyone running a shop selling third-party goods.
It recognises most barcodes and data matrix codes and all the data is available to view in a CSV file, meaning you can import the information into other applications that support it, such as accountancy programmes, databases or even just Excel if you want to take a look at it.
Price: Free download
URL: Vend
Why download? Counter is simple to use, recognises most barcodes and presents everything in a multifunctional csv file
Deputy
Deputy saves you time, effort and money. You can easily create, edit, update, delete and assign things to your employees. You can cut yourself some slack and actually focus more on engaging your customers and growing the business further because this app lets you and your employees know the demands of shifts and time in a simple, neat and easy to read manner. Employees can use the app to swap shifts and log attendance, pick up schedules, request for leaves and notify you of any changes in the work plan. The finance department can automate payroll processes too, making the workplace more productive and pleasant to be.
Price: Free trial for 30 days then paid service (subscription required)
URL: www.deputy.com
Why download? Deputy simplifies the whole employee management lifecycle for retailers and other companies where shift workers need to be managed.
Hootsuite
The most successful retail businesses not only use social media to promote special offers and new arrivals, but it's also an indispensable customer service tool to help keep your customers happy. Hootsuite means you can control all your social media accounts in one place, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, liaising with your customers in real time to make sure nothing goes amiss. The interface is fully customisable, meaning you can see the information that's most important to you (such as replies, direct messages or scheduled messages) so you can address anything in seconds.
Price: From free
URL: Hootsuite
Why download? To have a successful retail business, you'll need to keep on top of all your social accounts to spread the word. Hootsuite allows you to do just that.
Kevy
Kevy helps you move data from one place to another and combine it with other sources, to help you make the most of the information you hold. For example, you can combine your customer database with information from your sales tracking software into Mailchimp to send out bespoke emails to everyone in your database with little effort, or merge everything in Salesforce. Everything can be completed in just a few clicks, making it effortless to market your business with increase relevance, which will result in more repeat sales.
Price: From $250
URL: Kevy
Why download? If you’re a small business, making everything work efficiently is key. Kevy does this perfectly.
MagicPlan
Space is an ongoing concern for almost every retailer. MagicPlan helps you manage your space more effectively by creating a digital layout of your store. But that doesn’t mean fudging estimates or performing meticulous checks with a tape measure. MagicPlan creates its digital layout from photos you take of your store using the app. From there it is a simple case of adding objects, annotations and attributes to generate reports or complete estimates. Highly praised by user worldwide, this app is one key tools for every small retailer.
Price: Free (in-app purchases)
URL: Sensopia
Why download? Quickly create professional floor plans to preview the layout of your retail environment in a new configuration, and check if you physically have the space for new units.
MailChimp Subscribe
If you've been using MailChimp to send out newsletters, emails, and catalogues, MailChimp Subscribe is definitely going to increase the monkey power to your retail and marketing efforts, by helping you build attractive and relevant sign-up forms. MailChimp Subscribe works offline, so amassing emails while you are on the go, busy in the middle of a conference or meetings about next year’s merchandise without effort. It’s a cute and exciting application that allows you to show your company’s persona, by customising your fonts, buttons, styles, and background for all your campaigns.
Price: Free (subscription required)
URL: mailchimp.com
Why download? It’s simple, funky and makes e-catalogues and emails simpler to send out.
PayPal Here
Paypal Here allows fast and secure transaction from any place. It allows you to transact with cash, credit card and Paypal payments on your mobile, iPad and Paypal dongle if you’re using one in your small business. As a retailer, you’ll be able to find out the details of every shopper including their location and purchase history, thus equipping you to communicate with your customer in a personalised way with tools such as recommendations. You can send a receipt via the app (email and text) and also know your product’s sales history and trends, straight from the PayPal Here app.
Price: Free (service charges apply)
URL: www.paypal.com
Why download? PayPal Here makes accepting a wide range of payments simple from anywhere in the world and means you can keep track of everything going through your books.
RetailNext
RetailNext is an in-store analytics solution centre that gathers, organises and analyses the masses of retail data your company holds, providing you with valuable and actionable insights. These can, in turn, be easily understood by all stakeholders in the business and will help convert your one-off customers into long-term brand advocates. You can also gain insights into staffing and POS systems, payment details and so much more with RetailNext.
Price: Free
URL: retailnext.net
Why download? Easy to understand and actionable insights will improve staff management, brand loyalty and increase your consumer base.
SalesVu POS
SalesVu POS is a capable POS app for iPhone and iPad. The app includes a kiosk mode for listing products or services, and tax deductions, deposits and gift card reading can all be applied to transactions going through its system. The system’s backend includes logs for customer history, social marketing automation, invoicing and recurring billing, and promotional and time-based (ie happy hour) discount tracking. Functionality can be purchased for the app and card reader – which can be supplied by SalesVu – a-la-carte and starts form $25 a month per location for unlimited devices.
Price: Free (subscription applies. 15-day trial offered)
URL: SalesVu
Why download? SalesVu makes your storefront run without the hassle of managing everything separately
Shopify POS
Shopify POS allows you to manage your retail business on the move, including taking payments for products sold online and instore and sending receipts instantly to customers digitally. Everything syncs with your inventory in real time and enables you to track all your sales whether you're using your mobile, desktop or tablet. There are hundreds of apps you can add to your integration and customise the installation to perfectly suit your business type.
Price: Free
URL: Shopify
Why download? For small businesses, Shopify allows you to take payments wherever you are - whether at a show, pop up shop or on your way to a meeting.
Xero
Handling your accounts probably isn’t a task you relish after a long working week. Xero is an accounting app for iOS and Android devices that allows you to manage the majority of your accounting needs from a single device. You can upload receipts, track expenses, and chase overdue invoices, all through Xero’s simple and concise interface. It has support for importing your bank, debit/credit card and PayPal transactions – and also supports Apple Pay, via the iZettle mPOS platform iZettle. The service has been lauded by small businesses in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and beyond.
Price: Subscriptions start at £9 a month
URL: Xero
Why download? An accounting service that helps you get a handle on your business finances thanks to a combination of core accounting features automated for common tasks.
