Pocket Retailer, a new business app that allows retailers to perform multiple complex calculations with the tap of a finger, is another fine example of very niche apps finding a perfect market on the iPhone.
While an app that allows users to plug in numbers to 13 retail-specific formulas in order to find out things like the right sale price for an item, or the margin a retailer is seeing on specific products, wouldn’t appeal to most people, it will appeal immediately to someone in the retail world. Anyone who has to deal with the financial aspects of at least one retail store on a daily basis will find much value here.
Certainly, not many of the formulas would be difficult to calculate without the app. “Price/Cost Analysis,” for instance, simply asks you the price and the cost of an item and then calculates the gross profit, mark-up percentages, and break even turns for the item. You could certainly do that math on paper, but using Pocket Retailer would shave a lot of time off of the job. Now, imagine 12 additional formula calculators in the same style and it’s easy to see how useful this business app can be.
If there is any fault at all to Pocket Retailer, it’s that it doesn’t provide any way to create a summary report of the data you’ve entered. In the example above, it would be great to be able to hit a button and get that exact data emailed to whoever wanted it. Being able to do the calculations quickly is nice, but having the results saved for use in other reports would be even better.
That oversight aside, this is an absolute must-have for anyone involved in the finances of a retail store. Even for those just interested in learning, each calculation has an info button that explains exactly what the function being performed means. If you have no idea what a break-even turn is, you will after using this app. And if you already know, then you should be downloading Pocket Retailer right now.
