Data helps you build a smarter, healthier business. The world’s largest retailers know this and keep tabs on their data by employing armies of analysts and using complicated tools. But that option is often pricey and tedious to set up.
Square helps level the playing field by integrating analytics into Square Point of Sale and Square Dashboard. It gives you access to sales trends, buyer insights, helpful charts and personalized data to help you run your operations efficiently. And it frees up your time so you can focus on growing your business and doing what you love.
Here are a few simple insights that can make a big difference to your bottom line.
1. Keep tabs on what you’re selling.
You may think that people are cuckoo for cronuts, but it could be that plain croissants are actually your bakery’s best-selling item. With Square Analytics, you see real-time charts that show you exactly which items customers are buying, so you can adjust your inventory accordingly.
2. Play to your strengths.
Do your most popular items sell out before the day is done? Keep track of your supply with inventory management tools so you can always restock in time and keep selling what your customers love.
3. Know your customers.
Where do your sales come from? Are repeat customers your bread and butter or do most sales come from people popping in for the first time? Our data tells us these patterns can vary wildly by industry. With insights provided by Square Analytics, you can go deep to gather a range of details about the consumer groups that are buying the bulk of your products. Then you can use this information to inform your social media and marketing campaigns to entice new and existing customers to come back.
4. Identify your top salesperson.
You can use data to keep tabs on your employees’ performance. When each employee’s shift ends, you can run a custom report to see how much he or she sold. And Square Analytics is mobile optimized, so you can also check in on your sales staff while on the go.
5. Adapt.
When business starts to shift, you should be the first to know. Daily reports can help you identify trends and make informed decisions. Seeing a rush of customers toward the end of each day? You might make more sales by staying open an hour later. Do sales of cold drinks correlate to the time of day? You might want to promote your cold-brewed coffee on a hot afternoon instead of early in the morning.
6. Get real-time insight.
You no longer have to sort through lists of sales in spreadsheets and create your own pivot tables just to get a clear picture of how your business is going. (If you’ve never made a pivot table before, you’re not missing anything.) Visit your Square Dashboard instead to see sales charts and widgets update with each transaction in real time.