The Best Android Retail Management Mobile Apps

Update (07/04/17): This post has been updated to reflect changes to pricing and app features.

Ordering takeout, splitting the bill with friends, and managing monthly expenditures aren't the only tasks that you can complete with handy, time-saving, and efficiency-boosting apps. Retail management apps are becoming smarter and more powerful, and retailers have been doing away with traditional retail hardware in favor of Android retail management apps to manage and grow their businesses.

Mobile retail management apps are often easier for cashiers and salespeople to use than traditional hard-wired POS systems or inventory management hardware, since they rely on smartphone and tablet technology that people are already familiar with. Android retail management mobile apps offer many of the features that small business owners need to run their stores, but without the high setup costs.

With small businesses in mind, we've come up with a list of POS apps for Android that cover everything from order management, to inventory management, helping you concentrate on knocking those sales-figures out of the park.

Price: Shopify's Android app is free with a Shopify account, which starts from $14.00 per month.

Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms on the market, supporting almost 250,000 retailers selling their wares online. Shopify's Android retail management app is designed to help you manage your orders and products, collaborate with your team, and monitor sales from your smartphone or tablet. The app also allows you to customize your storefront, contact customers, and view sales reports and trends.

One reviewer in the Google Play store says:

"Why can't I leave 10 stars. Since the recent super improvement to this it's now flawless."

Price: The app is free with a Pepperi account, which starts at $48.00 per month on a subscription basis.

Pepperi is a mobile sales suite, designed specifically for on-the-go sales reps and managers. Pepperi's Sales Rep Android app enables in-the-field salespeople to manage mobile ordering, track sales orders, prepare sales reports, and manage contacts. With its route and activity planning function, users can plan which in-store activities (like stock-taking or customer satisfaction surveys) each salesperson should perform, as well as schedule and route-plan store visits.

Says one Pepperi user in the Play store:

"The app is backed by an excellent support and implementation team. Our deployment was one of the easiest integration projects I've ever seen. Decreased paper reliance and improved workflow efficiencies were realized almost immediately".

Price: Square's Android POS app is free with a Square account. Square is available on a freemium basis, with a flat-rate model of 2.75 percent per card swipe, and 3.5 percent + $0.15 per manually entered transaction.

With over 88,000 ratings on the Play store and a staggering overall score of 4.6 out of 5 stars, the Square Register POS Android app is well worth checking out. Square's features allow you to send and track invoices, track real-time inventory, and manage employees, as well as having the original POS function.

A user in the Play store raves about Square, saying:

"[Square] Increased my business and revenue with the ability to accept credit card payments. Inexpensive hassle free service. I can't complain."

Price: The app is free with an Orderhive account, which starts from $50 per month.

Orderhive is a multichannel inventory management application. The Orderhive app for Android lets you track the status of orders, track real-time shipments, sort and filter orders, and receive discounted rates for shipping with USPS.

One Play store reviewer says:

"Superbly easy and intuitive. Quick plug and play solution that solves all your worries of cash to order cycle in the eCommerce world. Very easy to understand the interface and manage operations efficiently."

Leave us a comment below to let us know which apps have been useful for managing your retail business, or leave a review of your favorite solution.

Looking for a full-fledged inventory management solution? Check out some of the most popular inventory management solutions on the market:

• NetSuite Inventory Management

• Zoho Inventory

• TradeGecko

• Stitch Labs

• Finale Inventory

This article was originally published in July 2013.