Montreal-based cloud-based point-of-sale platform Lightspeed has introduced Lightspeed Analytics to its roster of products geared towards independent retailers. Lightspeed Analytics is designed to provide retailers with insights and recommendations into their sales, inventory, employee performance and customer behaviours, with an aim of providing retailers a competitive edge in their industry.
Lightspeed Analytics simplifies the gathering of data by making it accessible, understandable and actionable for business owners and store managers, and it provides insights into the following three aspects of a retail business:
- Inventory management — by eliminating guesswork while offering insight into which products are selling fast,
- Customer insights — by targeting customers based on their individual shopping history with relevant communications about new inventory, promotions and business updates, and
- Employee optimization — understanding your staffing needs and share data-driven feedback with employees to help improve their performance.
Lightspeed is levelling the playing field by offering solutions addressing areas that have typically been optimized for larger businesses. Technology centred around customers is imperative in today’s world and allows for a better experience for both retailers and consumers. The most important aspects of successful retail involve consistent in-store and online traffic, managing inventory and having the insights to know what decisions to make to drive profit.
“Access to complete analytics and business insights will empower independents with the tools they need to effectively grow, allowing our customers to dream bigger about the future of their business,” said Lightspeed Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva. “Lightspeed Analytics is simple to navigate and makes the value of data easy to understand, which will give our customers the time and ability to make smarter business decisions.”
Acting as a store-side data consultant, Lightspeed Analytics also acts as something of a ‘store-side data consultant’, allowing business owners to answer day-to-day management questions such as:
- Which items should I order more of, and which ones should I discontinue?
- Which items have I had too long and need to be marked down?
- What item am I out of stock in most often?
- How often do my best customers shop? and
- Do I have the right number of employees working on weekends?
“Analytics is going to save me a day a week of work,” said Jenifer Burnett, of Punchy’s. Mike Simmons of Bicycle Warehouse noted, “With Analytics, I now have the tools to successfully compete against the big box stores,” and “Lightspeed Analytics helps us see the overall health of our business,” added Mitsuko Osugi of Cook Culture.
Other notable Canadian Lightspeed customers who have recently adopted the Lightspeed Analytics tool include Skiis and Biikes (Collingwood, Mississauga, Toronto, Vancouver) and ETIKET (Montréal)
The cost is reasonable — Lightspeed Analytics costs US $150 per month, per location, and pricing varies based on number of stores. Devin Montgomery of Skiis and Biikes notes, “Once we saw how much time our buyers saved with Lightspeed Analytics, we were hooked. There was no way we weren’t going to invest in the solution.”
The company has also just announced a new chief marketing officer — Laith Murad. Mr. Murad has more than 20 years of experience in the industry and most recently, he was the CMO at PIRCH — a luxury retailer with 10 locations in the United States. During his time at PIRCH, Mr. Murad’s work on the brand won several awards, including Retailer of the Year, the Davey Award for best branding, and others. Prior to PIRCH, he served as Vice President, Marketing at Yahoo, where he was focused on growth strategies, as well as customer acquisition and retention.
“We are thrilled to welcome Laith to the Lightspeed team as a leader for our marketing and communications divisions, and a champion of our customer-centric approach,” said Lightspeed’s Dax Dasilva, “Laith’s vast marketing experience in the retail and technology sectors, make him an exceptional asset to the team as we expand our current marketing strategy and continue to engage thousands of new customers, on a global scale.”
Lightspeed offers users a powerful cloud-based point of sale system. It’s designed for retailers to sell anywhere – in-store, online or both, with the help of Lightspeed’s omnichannel platform. Lightspeed powers more than 45,000 retailers and manages $15 billion in transactions across 100 countries. In 2016, Lightspeed launched its omnichannel product, seamlessly merging in-store POS, eCommerce and mobile, allowing its customers to sell anywhere, at any time. In addition to retail solutions, Lightspeed Restaurant provides simple and efficient cloud-based software for cafés, bars, and full-service dining. Most recently, the company celebrated its 12th anniversary.
The company was founded in 2005 by Mr. Dasilva, beginning with four employees working out of a Montreal apartment. It now boasts over 500 staff in eight offices around the world. Lightspeed has quickly expanded its offering with a POS for restaurants, an eCommerce platform and an omnichannel selling solution, helping businesses streamline their operations and improve customer service by bringing together inventory, customer management, sales and analytics into a single platform.
