Software developer Lucid has launched Pocket Shop, a PCI-compliant, integrated tablet and smartphone retail solution, designed for direct sellers, sales representatives, service engineers, caterers, or anyone involved in face-to-face sales, operating away from the office, using a tablet or smartPhone. The company says that Pocket Shop offers an off-the-shelf retail solution for a low monthly cost with a huge range of configuration options, to suit a wide range of businesses, normally associated with software costing thousands of pounds. Pocket Shop is charged oiut at £6 per user per month.

Pocket Shop provides the administrator with an online management portal and a centrally-managed product catalogue with bulk import or line-by-line editing capabilities. Users can create bespoke special offers and offer codes, including the redemption of barcoded vouchers using the device’s in-built camera. Prices can be presented to the customer, inclusive or exclusive of VAT, and the solution can cope with mixed-rate sales. Pocket Shop uses open interfaces so can easily be integrated into a corporate’s core infrastructure if required.

The solution features an integrated basket and checkout, with a bolt-on option for integrated mobile Chip and PIN payments via an eMerit smartphone-based chip and PIN system, with the back end hosted by HSBC. It delivers email and SMS VAT sales receipts within seconds to the customer.

Lucid non-executive director, David Hinc says the solution is ideal for field sales teams (think Avon and other direct sales operations); service engineers who need to charge for spare parts and/or labour; and for traditional retailers looking to deliver a more personal sales experience where a sales agent advises a customer on the shop floor with the help of a tablet.

“Pocket Shop was developed in tandem with our work with (mobile) networks looking to provide a tablet-driven queue buster solution for their retail estates,” said Hinc. “It is ideal for any sized business that wants to present a professional catalogue in a face-to-face sales environment. The centrally-managed catalogue ensures that range and availability are maintained in real time, and the Desktop Management portal provides a wealth of information to the business back in the office. We’ve been astounded at the interest that we’ve received from diverse market verticals, including restaurants who want to present their menus and take payment on a tablet at the table.”

Pocket Shop is available initially for Android devices, with an iOS version due shortly, followed by other operating systems early in 2013. Pocket Shop is being marketed via channel partners in the mobile, convergence and IT reseller sectors, with Vodafone Platinum and O2 Centre of Excellence Partners such as Totel Solutions, Welcomm Communications and GK Telecom already signed up as resellers or distributors.