Apps Every Retail Store Owner Should Use to Run Their Business

October 29, 2019 - 11 minutes read

Run your business more efficiently with these apps.

 

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“In my opinion, the future of mobile is the future of everything.”- Matt Galligan, Co-founder of Circa

 

Owning a retail store is rewarding, but with so much to do and so little time to do it, sometimes, getting through the day can be a challenge.

Fortunately, we live in a time where the technology exists to help even the busiest of store owners develop their brand while taking care of all essential daily duties both smoothly and seamlessly.

In today’s world, The Age of Information, we’re no longer bound by geographical boundaries. Rather than being chained to a desk, the evolution of mobile technology means that ambitious ecommerce business owners, like you, can remain productive while connecting with consumers at any time, anywhere.

There are a host of innovative applications out there designed to help busy online retail store owners run their business more efficiently. From managing your finances to understanding your customers and managing your inventory, digital apps are your friend.

On average, 51% of people use mobile apps for a variety of reasons between one and ten times a day—and as a business owner, so should you.

That said, here are six essential apps that you need to help you not only run but evolve your eCommerce empire over time—starting with your financial affairs.

 

Mint

 

An innovation from Intuit, Mint is an intuitive app that empowers busy eCommerce business owners to take charge of their personal and business finances with ease.

Offering a centralized space for streamlining both your personal and professional finances, Mint’s Quicken MyBusiness application will save you countless hours crunching numbers and shifting funds around.

Quicken MyBusiness is fully optimized for mobile, meaning you can streamline your financial activity while on the go. Also, with its straightforward functionality, the Mint app provides all the tools you need to track business mileage, store receipts, manage overheads, and make schedule C categorizations (if necessary) without breaking a sweat. This is a must-have financial app for all online retail store owners looking to keep their cash flow healthy while scaling their brand for success. 

 

Google Analytics (Mobile)

 


As an eCommerce store owner, you’ve probably heard of Google Analytics (GA). But did you know that it comes in a mobile app format?

GA is a tool with a number of useful applications across industries, online retail included. By harnessing the power of digital data and insights, you can gain a deeper insight into your customers’ wants, needs, preferences, and behaviors.

With a fully mobile-optimized dashboard, Google Analytics for mobile offers a navigable outlet for hands-on business owners while on the go. By tracking the right consumer metrics and setting up custom reports, you can identify what’s working and what’s not at a glance. Moreover, by gaining quick access to demographic data, you’ll be able to develop marketing communications that will resonate with your target audience, increasing your bottom line as a result.

Investing a small amount of time setting up GA for mobile and learning the basics will boost your online retail success while leaving you ample time to focus on other key areas of the business.

 

Hootsuite

 

Ninety-five percent of adults aged 18 to 34 are most likely to follow a brand via social networking. Based on this discovery alone, it’s clear that for your online retail store to succeed, you need a strong, consistent social media presence across platforms.

Hootsuite is an app-based social media management tool that allows you to track important engagement metrics while scheduling content across all of your business’s profiles and platforms (including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, Google Plus, and Foursquare) at a time when your prospects are most engaged.

Here are the main advantages of using Hootsuite to streamline your social media marketing efforts:

  • The app boasts a useful monitoring service that displays replies, mentions, and direct messages across all networks from one central, easy-to-use dashboard.
  • The platform’s collaborative tools allow you to work with your team and delegate replies, responses, and a host of additional tasks to particular staff members for increased output.
  • The app works seamlessly for Android, iOS, and Blackberry.

Not only does Hootsuite save time and increase social media output, but its engagement metrics offer a well-rounded view of your business marketing performance, especially when used alongside Google Analytics data.

 

Mention

 


Another excellent time-saving and social media marketing efficiency device, Mention is a worthwhile app in any eCommerce business owner’s toolkit due to its real-time tracking potential.

With Mention (as the name suggests), you can enter a keyword, term, or phrase related to your business and the platform will return real-time updates when it’s mentioned, across all social media platforms.

By honing in on relevant keywords and phrases, you’ll be able to monitor your competitors, get to know your audience better, and engage in meaningful conversations with potential customers at the times when they’re most engaged. Once upon a time, this was a time-consuming manual task that lacked efficiency. But, as Mention serves results direct to your mobile or desktop, growing your audience and increasing engagement through social media is swift and simple in equal measures.

 

WordPress Mobile

 


Content marketing is one of the cornerstones of ongoing eCommerce marketing success. By creating and delivering content that offers direct value to your audience, you will boost engagement and increase conversions on a consistent basis.

One of the best ways to boost your online retail prospects with content marketing is by launching a blog for your brand—and for this purpose, WordPress is one of the most effective tools around.

You don’t need to be a technical wizard to produce professional blog content with WordPress, and with a number of tools and add-ons at your disposal, creating content for your blog won’t take up all of your time.

WordPress for mobile means that you can upload, edit, and update content while on the go. It’s also possible to look at performance metrics with a quick glance and respond to any user comments wherever you may be in the world.

 

Agiliron’s Warehouse Management App

 


As an online retail store owner, unless you’re using a dropshipping business model, you’ll have a good deal of stock and inventory to manage. Inefficiencies in this area can cost you large amounts of time and money.

When it comes to eCommerce, proficient back-office warehouse management is key—and we’ve developed an application to make the process as efficient as possible. A homegrown innovation, our Warehouse Management app is designed specifically for tablets and mobile devices, allowing you to Pick, Receive, and perform Cycle Counts on your inventory with the swipe of a screen or the click of a button.

Moreover, this easy-to-navigate business app also comes equipped with functionality that allows you to create, optimize, and add images to products in your online store with ease. Further, our full end-to-end guide offers all of the tools and guidance needed to use every feature to its fullest potential while customizing the interface to your preferences. With our Warehouse Management app, you’ll maximize your business efficiency while giving yourself more time to develop your services and connect with customers (or get some well-earned rest).

 

“The most important impact on society and the world is the cell phone. Cell phones have actually been one of the primary drivers in productivity improvements” – Fabrice Grinda, Entrepreneur Business Insider contributor

 

Running a successful online store isn’t easy, but when you know how to run your business with efficiency, the rewards are incredible. There’s no shortcut to eCommerce success, but by using the right technology to your advantage, you’ll be able to ensure the continual evolution of your online store while striking a healthier work-life balance. This, in turn, will make you better at running your business.

For more eCommerce-inspired insights, check out our essential guide to driving revenue through the power of email.