By Retail Insider
Montreal-based Lightspeed, the leading cloud-based provider of omnichannel point of sale software, solutions and support systems primarily for independent retailers and restaurants, has partnered with Ikeono to bring a suite of texting and workflow management features to independent businesses.
It’s another innovation brought to the market by Lightspeed, which has grown rapidly after a successful IPO earlier this year. Ikeono partnered with Lightspeed on a platform that Ikeono had originally conceptualized for bicycle retailers.
Ikeono was founded by bicycle retailer Brett Lang and his brother Dru Lang. “Ikeono was born in independent bicycle retail with features designed to be used by service, sales, and management,” said Brett Lang, who founded Tribella Sports Group in Denver in 2017. He said that he quickly realized that the industry required a better way to communicate.
Ikeono struck a strategic partnership with Lightspeed to roll-out the technology in major markets including Canada, the United States, and Australia. The platform has seen rave reviews from small business owners using the Ikeono technology. “We have so much more time since using Ikeono! All it takes is a click or two and our customers are notified via text. Bikes get picked up faster too. Ikeono is a huge win for independent bicycle shops,” said Dan Sirkin, owner of Solon Bicycle.
Ikeono features within Lightspeed Retail include the following:
- Sending and receiving SMS/MMS text messages using an existing business phone without leaving Lightspeed, including within customer profiles and work order screens,
- Automated messaging based on a Lightspeed work order status,
- Lightspeed Special Order integration to make Click and Collect easier,
- Text sale receipts and work order quotes to customers,
- Automated customer feedback loop to drive positive experiences to review sites and allow businesses to handle negative experiences quickly, and
- An Ikeono Apple iPad app that brings texting integration to Lightspeed iPad POS.
As part of the Lightspeed/Ikeono partnership, more innovations are planned. Those include:
- The ability to manage Facebook Messenger within Lightspeed Retail with Ikeono,
- The introduction of an easy to install website texting widget that allows customers to contact retailers quickly and efficiently, and
- iPhone and Android apps to take a retailer’s communications on the go.
Lightspeed Retail has been adding various features that help independent retailers with this including negative inventory reports, a home data-driven dashboard, vendor returns, and newly supported images, dimensions, and formats. Lightspeed says that this helps it deliver unparalleled inventory management control, offering retailers added insight into how a business is truly performing.
As it continues to innovate and strike up partnerships Lightspeed also just announced this week that it has acquired Australia-based Kounta Holdings Pty Ltd, a rapidly growing, cloud-based POS solutions provider to small and medium-sized businesses operating within the hospitality industry. Combining with Kounta will strengthen Lightspeed’s resources to provide even greater customer experiences as it expands into the Asia-Pacific region, while gaining the talent and expertise needed to accelerate Lightspeed’s mission of becoming the leading global POS platform for small and medium-sized businesses.
“Kounta’s impressive track record is thanks to its team, and we are excited to welcome them into the Lightspeed family,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. “When smart minds collaborate, our merchants are the main beneficiaries of the resulting innovation, ultimately enabling SMBs around the world to reach their full potential through our technology.”
PHOTO: LIGHTSPEED 
PHOTO: LIGHTSPEED
Mr. Dasilva was recently recognized as one of Canada’s Top CEOs in 2019 by Globe and Mail’s Report on Business, having been declared ‘Innovator of the Year’.
Montreal-based Lightspeed is a cloud-based commerce platform powering small and medium-sized businesses in over 100 countries around the world. It’s considered to be an ‘all-in-one solution’ that includes smart, scalable, and dependable point of sale systems, helping restaurants and retailers sell across channels, manage operations, engage with consumers, accept payments, and grow their businesses. Lightspeed has grown to over 800 employees, with offices in Canada, USA, Europe, and Australia, and its platform is now in 51,000 customer locations. The company issued a highly successful IPO in March of this year.
*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com
