From market stalls to national chains, shops are where most people meet the economy every day. The ones doing well sell in several places at once without losing track of a single item.
Retail is often the first business someone starts and the first job someone gets. The money spent in a local shop pays a wage, a rent and a supplier, usually within a few streets.
The World Bank counts nine in ten businesses worldwide as small or medium-sized. Walk down any high street and you can see it: most of the doors belong to people, not head offices.
Four pressures, in plain words. Where a published figure backs one up, we show it with its source.
People browse on a phone, ask on WhatsApp, pay at the counter and expect delivery the same day. A shop now has to be one shop in all of those places, with one stock count behind it.
5.5 billion people, 68% of the world, were online in 2024. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024, 2024
Counter staff now pack online orders, answer chats and post to social media. The WEF expects a large share of core skills to change by 2030, and a retail rota feels that first.
39% of workers' core skills are expected to change by 2030, and skill gaps are the top barrier to transformation for 63% of employers. World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025, 2025
About a third of the world is still offline, according to the ITU. Shops that serve both, with a till that keeps working without a connection and a store that loads on a basic phone, keep every customer.
2.6 billion people, about a third of the world, were still offline in 2024. In low-income countries only 27% use the internet. ITU, Facts and Figures 2024, 2024
Customers and cities are asking for less packaging and fewer failed deliveries. Batching orders, choosing couriers carefully and holding the right stock cut cost and waste together.
The small operator and the large one share the same trade, but not the same headaches.
A product is created once and sold online, in store and to trade buyers, with the same price rules and the same stock.
Reorder points, batches and transfers between locations, so a sale in one place shows everywhere straight away.
Labels, tracking pages and cash-on-delivery reconciliation that match the order, not a separate spreadsheet.
Points that work at the till and online, review requests after delivery, and replies that go out the same day.
A shop is one channel. Its online store, counter, stock and delivery are apps on that channel, sharing one catalogue and one customer list.
| App | What it does | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Online Store | Sell products online with catalog, orders, payments and hyperlocal delivery. | Free |
| Point of Sale | Point of sale for your counter with barcode billing, card and contactless, synced with your online store. | Free |
| Inventory | Multi-warehouse inventory with batches, reorder points and stock transfers. | Free |
| Total per channel, per month, before tax | Free | |
Add or remove apps at any time. An app removed mid-month is billed only for the days it was installed. Every price
Book couriers, print labels and track parcels and returns across major UK and US carriers.
Points, tiers and referral rewards that bring customers back.
Collect Google and on-site reviews, reply fast and show the best ones on your website.
B2B wholesale: price lists, quotes, credit limits and distributor orders.
Email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns with audiences, templates and journeys.
The first set above costs Free a month per channel before tax. The same apps scale to many brands without switching product.
Each step is a real screen in the panel. Stop whenever you like; everything waits for you.
Free, with passkeys and 2-step verification.
Its legal name, registration and VAT or EIN number, so invoices are right from the first month.
One per brand or line of business, with its own name, website address and team.
Add your catalogue once. Both use it.
Remove any app later; it is billed only for the days it was installed.
Figures are quoted as the source publishes them, with the year of publication. App prices are our own, in pounds per channel per month before tax.
Create your User ID, add your business and open a channel. Install the apps you need and pay for them after the month.
