Q&A Brian Abplanalp Account Management & MidMarket Manager UK & EMEA Lightspeed

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Lightspeed is a unified electronic point of sale and payment platform serving the world’s best retail and hospitality companies in approximately 168,000 locations.*

Can you tell us a little about your background?

With ten years of experience in the technology industry, I have had the opportunity to work in both the UK and Australia. My passion is working with clients from small and medium-sized companies and companies that focus on change and innovation.

What does your company do? / What is your USP?

Lightspeed Commerce is a leading provider of cloud-based point of sale (POS), payments and e-commerce solutions tailored to the needs of all retail and hospitality businesses across a variety of industries, including retail, hospitality and golf.

Lightspeed provides a user-friendly system packed with advanced tools designed to help you provide the best possible experience for your customers.

What’s special about the platform and your approach?

Comprehensive, all-in-one platform: Lightspeed offers an integrated set of tools covering every aspect of business management, from sales and inventory to customer relationships and analytics, providing a unified solution for small and medium-sized businesses.

1. Scalability and Flexibility: Their solutions are designed to scale as your business grows, making it easy for small and medium-sized businesses to add new features and capabilities as needed. This flexibility allows companies to quickly adapt to changing market conditions and customer demands.
2. Industry-specific solutions: Lightspeed tailors its offerings to the unique needs of various industries such as retail, hospitality and golf, providing enterprises with the specific tools and functionality required in their sector.
3. Cloud-based technology: Lightspeed’s cloud-based systems offer the benefits of remote access, automatic updates and data security so that businesses can operate efficiently from anywhere.
4. User-friendly interface: Lightspeed products are known for their intuitive, user-friendly interfaces, making it easy for companies to train staff and manage operations without the need for extensive technical knowledge.
What advantage does it add?

These features make Lightspeed known for being user-friendly and data-driven. Offering a platform that can suit all types of users.

What does the product/service implementation actually look like and how can you measure success?

How do retailers use your systems to gain a competitive advantage and what do best practices look like? Can you share a case study with us?
Customers love Lightspeed for its ease of use and simple setup. Additionally, our open API allows for seamless integration with more complex ecosystems, offering flexibility and scalability for a variety of business needs.

Are there other companies you work with?

What challenges and opportunities do you see in UK retail for 2024 / What challenges do retailers face in 2024?
Today’s consumers demand a personalized, seamless shopping experience across both online and offline channels, requiring advanced POS capabilities and an omnichannel experience. This represents a significant opportunity for retailers to reach and engage a wider customer base than ever before.

How to face these challenges and turn them into successes?

To overcome challenges and turn them into successes with Lightspeed, we focus on several key strategies:
1. Advanced POS Solutions: We continually improve our POS systems to offer advanced features that enable seamless transactions, personalized customer interactions and real-time inventory management. This will enable retailers to meet the demands of today’s consumers for a seamless shopping experience.
2. Omnichannel Integration: Lightspeed provides comprehensive omnichannel capabilities, enabling retailers to seamlessly integrate online and offline channels. By unifying customer data, inventory and sales across all touchpoints, we enable retailers to deliver consistent and personalized experiences no matter how customers choose to shop.
What do you see on the horizon for you as a company?

As Lightspeed evolves, its focus on improving advanced reporting features marks an exciting milestone. By strengthening our analytical capabilities, we enable retailers to make informed and accurate decisions. This improvement maintains our signature ease of use, streamlining operations and saving end-users valuable time and resources.

You can watch Brain speak at THE FUTURE OF THE HIGH STREET on June 5 or send him a message HERE