Computer Support Blog

Much of the technological innovation that makes life easier does so through its application to retail and improving the connection between buyers and sellers. Utilized in a number of different ways, technology has completely changed the way people do business. CloudTags is a new startup that looks to take advantage of tech in retail and improve upon it in a unique way.
It does this by linking retailers and customers in both online and offline shopping to create a so-called “connected store” using a combination of smart tags, sensors and devices.  This helps retailers to create more effective solutions for customer issues and increase customers’ overall satisfaction with the shopping experience.  It is a step forward in mobile technology that makes shopping, whether at home or in-store, faster and easier than ever before. Read more »

Retailers will do just about anything they can to be able to most effectively engage customers, and these customers are constantly seeking a better shopping experience.  Point Inside is a startup that seeks to help shoppers with their retail experience while utilizing that experience to aid retailers as well.  As its creators describe it, it is an app helps mobile shoppers search, plan, and complete their in-store shopping trips with digital in-store product location solutions.  In doing so, it helps businesses better engage shoppers and encourages them to continue shopping in the future as recurring customers. Read more »

Anyone who travels on a regular basis has faced the issue of downtime due to delayed or stopped flights, among other reasons. This can lead to a great deal of boredom and frustration that can sometimes last for several hours. The intent behind the Flyinstyle mobile application is to create new opportunities for travelers to connect with airport merchants in order to find retail, dining and service promotions. This way, stores located in airports can receive the benefit of capturing sales that they might otherwise miss. What it essentially does is turn time typically used uneventfully and unproductively into time better spent for travelers, while presenting the retail industry with new opportunities for promotion and engagement of customers. Read more »

Despite the fact that human bodies come in an unlimited variations of shapes and sizes, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many people to find clothing that fits them appropriately.  Many mainstream clothing outlets sell clothes designed specifically for one or two body types.  Buying online is also risky since users don’t have the option of trying clothes on first.  Cool product in technology Fitbay wants to be the solution to this problem by presenting users with a customized online marketplace that only offers clothes to a user that will fit him or her.  Fitbay wants to act as a personal online shopping place where worries about choosing the right size are no longer something for shoppers to concern themselves with when looking for new items.  Users create personal profiles on the Fitbay site and the company uses their data to populate their personal online stores only with clothes that fit them.  Anyone who has a problem creating an account on this cool product’s website may need assistance from a computer support professional. Read more »

Finding affordable clothing that still maintains a strong sense of someone’s personal style and looks great is not as easy as most people would imagine.  Many who have a particular sense of style often have to sacrifice those preferences due to financial setbacks or issues of availability.  Cool person in technology Katrina Lake wants to make finding one’s personal style and being able to flaunt it as simple as becoming a member of a subscription service.  Lake’s company Stitch Fix provides what is, essentially, personal fashion consulting by subscription.  Users pay Stitch Fix a monthly fee of twenty dollars and receive a box of five clothing items to try on for themselves every thirty days.  Customers decide what items to send back and which to keep.  They only pay for the items they decide to hold onto and simply return what they don’t want. Read more »

Consumers often get special perks, discounts and other rewards for their membership in certain organizations and clubs.  The AARP notably provides many discounts and perks for its members, but they are hardly alone.  Other organizations such as university alumni associations and professional groups such as the AMA also provide their members with special benefits.  Of course, individual brands, retail stores and credit card companies also offer members of their loyalty programs many bonuses to entice customers.  The issue with consumers having access to so many of these perks is that they forget the advantages they have.  It is not difficult to lose track of all one’s bonuses and potential rewards, which leads to spending money that one would not have to if her or she were more aware of their perks.  Cool person in technology Greg Hammerman created Larky to help people be more aware of the rewards to which they are entitled.  Larky is a mobile application for the iPhone that connects with all of a user’s membership accounts and automatically reminds them when there is an opportunity to use a perk.  Customers who experience connectivity issues getting their memberships to synchronize with Larky may need iPhone repair to restore connectivity.  Read more »

For many people, working from home and being able to sell items on sites like Amazon and eBay would be a dream job.  However, it’s not as simple as it sounds.  Marketing is a major concern, as is keeping track of how all items appear across different online sales channels.  Cool person in technology Jason Nadaf has created a platform that helps online business owners to unify their sales approach easily.  Nadaf’s program SureDone helps people sell their inventory across numerous online sales channels all at once without wasting time posting the same item on many different sites.  Nadaf’s platform lets users create one universal listing to ensure the same information and photos are on every site where a product appears.  Users can use SureDone to add new listings whenever they want or automatically edit current listings with new information.  Rather than having to update many different channels, sellers can update all their listings from just one page. Nadaf’s platform puts listings on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and Google Shopping. If product listings aren’t updating properly with SureDone, a small business owner may want to contact a computer support provider to learn the cause of the problem. Read more »

Independent retailers always have many hurdles to deal with when trying to set up complicated POS systems that can be costly and time consuming.  Small businesses often run into technical troubles or have difficulty maintaining their POS systems and the transaction data collected by it over time.  Cool product in technology Bindo wants to give small businesses a leaner solution to inventory and POS systems.  With Bindo, POS data is securely stored in the cloud and storefronts can operate with just an iPad and a few accessories.  With Bindo’s use of mobile technology and cloud data, small retailers have a simpler solution to finding a fully functional POS system that serves their needs.  Bindo’s POS system works through Apple mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad rather than through any complicated computer system.  Rather than struggle to fix a system when it goes down, Bindo users have the option of simply contacting a mobile computer support company. Read more »

Brands of all types have made social media marketing a priority in the last several years.  From large corporations to small mom-and-pop businesses, companies have turned to sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram to promote their product and remain in the public eye.  Social networking has become an important part of strategy for many companies in the current environment of the business world.  However, social media presence works primarily as a way to remain in the public consciousness and less so as a direct route to sales or new customers.  Soldsie is cool product in technology that may start changing that situation for many businesses.  With Soldsie, companies can sell their items and services directly from their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.  Rather than link to outside promotions or simply post marketing material, businesses can pull in new customers right on their social media pages and sell their products directly.  With Soldsie, brands can use Facebook not just as an avenue for advertising and branding, but potentially as a direct source for revenue as well.  Any companies unsure of how to manage their social media pages should make sure they have good business IT support before using this cool product. Read more »

Small independent retails stores local chains face an uphill battle when trying to compete with national chains and large corporations.  Bigger companies can hire large teams to manage social media and email campaigns on the web for branding and marketing purposes. However, many small retail businesses do not have the personnel or time to dedicate to online marketing.  Cool person in technology Ted Teele founded his company SnapRetail to help independent retail stores maintain an online presence without having to dedicate many resources to the task.  Teele’s company provides stores with a social media and email platform that uses well-known promotional tactics and marketing concepts to provide small retail businesses with email and social media campaigns that they can set up easily. SnapRetail actually gives shop owners pre-created promotional templates and social media posts that only require minor customization.  Shops can schedule these prefinished emails and social media posts for weeks at a time using the SnapRetail dashboard.  Using Teele’s product, one person can manage long-term online campaigns with minimal effort and time involved.  Any storeowners who are unclear on the basics of social media sites will want to speak to a business computer services company to learn about the issue before trying Teele’s service. Read more »