In the heat of the kitchen, communication is everything.  Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, introduces its next-generation Kitchen Display System (KDS). This solution was forged on premise in the fast-paced reality of high-volume kitchens, designed to restore order, efficiency, and keep restaurant staff happy.

With 81% of Americans dining out at least once a month and the foodservice industry contributing to 51% of food waste in the US, restaurants are increasingly turning to technology for solutions to cut costs, improve accuracy, and enhance customer satisfaction. Lightspeed KDS combines the best of human-driven service and automation, enabling restaurants to stay on top of orders, optimize workflows, and reduce both paper and food waste. 

“Kitchens can be chaotic, but with the right tools, they don’t have to be. Lightspeed KDS helps teams thrive, even under pressure,” said Adoniram Sides, SVP of Hospitality at Lightspeed. “With instant updates communication between front-of-house and back-of-house significantly improves, restaurants reduce waste, and diners get even better service. Whether managing online orders, pickup, or dine-in, KDS ensures all orders are seamlessly communicated to the kitchen. Paired with Tableside, front-of-house staff can update kitchen operations from anywhere, keeping everything on track during the busiest shifts.”

How Lightspeed’s KDS Solves Critical Kitchen Challenges

Based on a recent survey conducted by Lightspeed of 400 restaurant workers (aged 16+) across the US and Canada, Lightspeed identified major operational challenges that many restaurants face. Here’s how Lightspeed’s flexible KDS addresses these issues:

• Miscommunication: 62% of restaurant staff reported frequent miscommunication between front-of-house and back-of-house teams, resulting in delays and increased stress. Lightspeed KDS provides real-time updates on any device, including displaying diner names for personalized service, ensuring teams stay in sync, minimizing mistakes, and boosting efficiency.
• Last-minute order changes: 56% said last-minute modifications are the primary challenge during service that disrupt their workflow followed closely by misunderstood orders (43%), competing priorities with the kitchen (41%) and front-of-house staff (41%). KDS instantly reflects these changes, allowing kitchens to adjust on the fly and maintain accuracy.
• Competing priorities: Almost a quarter of restaurant teams (23%) struggle to balance dine-in and delivery orders, creating bottlenecks in the kitchen with 1 in 5 (19%) stating the current technology makes it difficult for them to perform their jobs effectively. Customizable workflows in KDS help prioritize orders, streamline the process and keep things running smoothly during peak times.  
• Reducing waste: By going paperless and automating order accuracy, Lightspeed KDS helps minimize paper waste and reduces food waste, helping restaurants operate more sustainably. Paper receipts alone account for an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of waste in the US.  

“The greatest value of KDS is how it eliminates distractions, allowing chefs to focus on cooking, staff to focus on service, and the kitchen to run smoothly,” said Juan Pablo Mendez, Owner of Mimi’s Restaurant, a Lightspeed customer utilizing KDS. “After a brief transition, my team was asking for more stations, and now even the waiters want one to track orders and timing. KDS provides clear, real-time instructions—it’s been a game-changer.”

Lightspeed KDS  isn’t just a display; it bridges front-of-house and back-of-house seamlessly. Orders from  Tableside, powered by Tap to Pay, or the unified POS flow directly into the kitchen for smooth execution. The system is compatible with a wide variety of hardware, allowing flexibility for restaurants. With advanced coursing functionality, KDS helps kitchens prioritize and  efficiently manage courses, ensuring orders are completed on time, even during peak hours.

Now available to all Lightspeed Restaurant merchants across North America, Europe,  and beyond, the KDS reduces errors, fosters better coordination between kitchen and service staff, and boosts overall efficiency—delivering an uninterrupted dining experience from order to delivery. 

Lightspeed powers the world’s best–restaurants and hospitality businesses, including: Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (La Malbaie), Taverne Atlantic (Montréal), Daniel Boulud Group (NYC), Alinea Group (Chicago), L’Osteria (Europe). Lightspeed Restaurant is currently available in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

Explore the transformative features of Lightspeed KDS on our website, or experience its powerful capabilities firsthand at https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/kitchen-display-system.

New product updates focus on providing merchants with a deeper understanding of their–and their competitors–businesses

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today highlighted some of the key product innovations launched in the past quarter to support the Company’s customer base in retail and hospitality.

Focused on improving business effectiveness and operational efficiency, the releases in the past few months have streamlined business management to help create faster workflows, predict sales opportunities and compare the health of their business against industry benchmarks.

“This past quarter we’ve delivered on some exciting and cutting-edge technology innovations,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lightspeed. “Whether you’re a retailer looking to better capitalize on product sales opportunities, or a restaurateur who needs to better understand their business in context to your peers, we’ve opened up real opportunities to improve business performance and maximize sales.”

Lightspeed’s Q2 innovations brought a number of new products and feature sets across the retail and hospitality industries, including: 

Retail

• Increased sales opportunities and better inventory management with Retail Insights

Launched globally in August, Retail Insights allows Lightspeed customers to close the gap on missed sales opportunities by using historical and real time data to forecast demand which factors in stock-outs, and create purchase orders ahead of demand.

• Keep your sales, and peace of mind, with Offline Mode

With Offline Mode, Lightspeed Retail merchants can continue to run business as usual even during outage situations. When a terminal detects that the internet connection has been lost, Lightspeed’s POS will be prompted to enable offline mode to process payments. Merchants can manually enter the sale amounts and have the customer pay using a card payment like normal. The payment will be stored on the terminal until the internet connection has been restored. All stored payments will then be transferred to Lightspeed for processing and merchant portal payments will be updated accordingly.

• Automatic Order Distribution to Multiple Locations

Distributing stock from a purchase order to multiple locations can be challenging. With Lightspeed Multi-Location Ordering, retailers can now create one purchase order for multiple locations and after receiving it at a warehouse automatically create transfers to distribute the stock out.

• Instant Payouts for Retailers Comes to the UK

Cash flow is the most crucial part of running a business. With the launch of Instant Payouts to UK merchants, eligible Lightspeed merchants will be able to access funds immediately after the transaction–even on weekends and holidays–and manage daily expenses, pay suppliers and invest in growth opportunities. Instant Payouts is already available to Lightspeed Retail customers currently based in the U.S.

Hospitality

• Groundbreaking AI-driven Benchmarks & Trends for the Hospitality industry

Through the power of machine learning and AI, Benchmarks & Trends gives restaurateurs the insights they need to help boost revenue, streamline operations, and gain a competitive edge in a crowded dining landscape.

• Spot trends faster with the new Sales Summary page

Leveraging improved data visualization, customers can now better understand what’s happening with their business, identify sales trends and pinpoint where losses are happening. This visual guide clearly outlines the busiest periods throughout the week and provides insights into what’s affecting performance.

• Happy Hour on Order Anywhere

Extend POS happy hour pricing to Order Anywhere. This feature allows businesses to dynamically adjust their menu pricing, allowing guests to take advantage of happy hour pricing ordering online from their table.

• Menu management made easy through bulk actions

Customers can manage their menu faster than ever with new bulk actions in the item library. Assign static categories, accounting groups, production instructions, etc. Archive or unarchive up to a hundred items at a time. 

• Issue partial refunds directly from the POS

Partial refunds directly from the POS are now enabled for all merchants. This feature gives users the flexibility to refund specific items, service charges and tips, making it easier to provide excellent customer service.

eCommerce

• Endless opportunities with custom sections for the Instant Site

Merchants and partners can now develop and design new sections for Lightspeed eCommerce Instant Site. Giving merchants and developers the tools to build unique customer experiences tailored to their business or design an online store that matches their vision and takes their brand to the next level.

Lightspeed powers the world’s best restaurants and retailers including:  Taverne Atlantic (Montréal), Tony’s Chocolonely (Amsterdam), Alinea Group (Chicago), L’Occitane (New Zealand), and  Kei (Paris).

For more information, see https://www.lightspeedhq.com/.

60% of golfers ages 18-34 said they actively follow golf courses on social media

64% of golfers discover new courses on social media with an additional 7% who always use this channel to find new courses they want to play

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the unified commerce platform powering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today released data that highlights the need for golf courses to maintain a strong online presence in order to grow their business. According to new survey data from Lightspeed, 75% of golfers believe it’s important or very important for golf courses to offer a good website experience, and nearly half (49%) say a strong online presence is important or very important.

“With golfers increasingly using digital channels to engage with courses, having a well-optimized online presence can help drive bookings and customer loyalty – this is why we offer Digital Marketing Solutions (DMS) as part of Lightspeed Golf,” said David Hope, General Manager, Golf at Lightspeed. “Our data shows that golf courses embracing digital marketing strategies like DMS are seeing significant results, from heightened visibility to increased rounds and sales.”

The data also shows that social media engagement and website performance can contribute to a course’s ability to attract new players and keep regular golfers coming back. Lightspeed Golf data reveals that the longer courses are live with DMS, generally the more success they can have in driving engagement, sales and bookings. After their initial three months, courses that were live with DMS between 90 and 180 days saw a 64.6% increase in Facebook reach and a 142% increase in website sessions. 

Courses that have partnered with Lightspeed’s Digital Marketing Solutions have seen significant growth in online interactions, translating into real-world benefits like increased bookings and greater customer retention. With the rise of social media and online discovery, the traditional methods of attracting golfers are evolving. Golf courses that aren’t leveraging digital marketing are missing out on an opportunity to connect with both new and returning customers.

“Digital marketing isn’t just about visibility; it’s about creating meaningful connections with golfers and driving engagement,” added JD Saint-Martin, President of Lightspeed. “As we see more players discovering courses through online channels and social media, Lightspeed’s tools are designed to help operators harness these trends—whether through targeted campaigns or personalized offers—to drive bookings and grow their business.”

Unlock your golf course’s full potential with Lightspeed’s Digital Marketing Solutions here —empowering you with the tools and insights to elevate your digital marketing strategy. 

Methodology

The information in this press release is partly derived from a  survey of more than 300 North Americans conducted throughout June 2024 by Lightspeed using third party survey vendor User Testing. Information herein is also derived from data from courses powered by Lightspeed’s Digital Marketing Solutions for the period of July 2022 to September 2024.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today announced the launch of its latest groundbreaking suite of features, Benchmarks & Trends within Lightspeed Restaurant, now available to American restaurateurs. 

In Lightspeed’s 2024 State of Hospitality Report, which tracks trends across the industry, 49% of surveyed restaurateurs reported facing growing competition, and 74% are actively seeking ways to streamline operations with technology. Benchmarks & Trends addresses these needs by giving restaurant owners a deeper understanding of their own performance and how they measure up against local competitors. This cutting-edge tool uses machine learning to give restaurateurs the insights they need to help boost revenue, streamline operations, and gain a competitive edge in a crowded dining landscape.

“Running a restaurant is about more than just great food—it’s about making informed, strategic decisions every day,” said Adoniram Sides, SVP, Hospitality at Lightspeed. “For years, we’ve been helping restaurateurs turn data into growth opportunities through Advanced Insights. With Benchmarks & Trends, we’re taking that a step further, offering clear insights that restaurateurs crave. Lightspeed is pioneering an AI-driven tool to US restaurants that gives them the level of essential market information they need to outperform the competition.”

Lightspeed Restaurant POS is, on average, 40% faster than other leading restaurant POS systems in North America. It continues to be a leader in the industry with this breakthrough suite of features. By providing hyper-localized, real-time data, Benchmarks & Trends allows restaurateurs to see exactly where they excel and where adjustments could drive greater success. 

What Benchmarks & Trends offers to restaurateurs:

• Tailored insights: Get a clear view of how your restaurant compares to others in your area. Whether it’s sales, pricing, or customer favorites, these personalized benchmarks give you insights that go beyond general industry averages.
• Meaningful comparisons: Measure your performance against peers using data that accounts for business size and adjusts daily, giving you relevant insights whether you’re running a small café or a larger establishment.
• Smart forecasting: Access up to four weeks of historical data and machine learning-driven forecasts, helping you anticipate trends and make informed decisions with confidence.
• Streamlined operations: Identify peak hours, optimize staffing, and keep everything running smoothly to ensure the best possible experience for your customers.

Trusted by Michelin-starred restaurants and thousands of leading establishments worldwide, Lightspeed is dedicated to empowering its customers with the tools they need to grow.

Ready to see how Benchmarks & Trends can elevate your restaurant? Access it directly through your Back Office or click here for a personalized demo.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today announced its newest product launch, Retail Insights, to provide retailers with a comprehensive set of data-driven tools to better understand their inventory and sales opportunities. This innovation allows Lightspeed customers to close the gap on missed sales opportunities by using historical and real time data to forecast demand which factors in  stock-outs, and create purchase orders ahead of demand.

“Retail is transforming at a rapid pace, and retailers need the most advanced insights to be able to keep up with the demand from their customers, suppliers and staff.  We are excited to be releasing these incredibly powerful features tailored specifically for our retail customer’s needs,” said Dax Dasilva, CEO & Founder of Lightspeed. “Through Retail Insights, our customers will be able to clearly view product insights, sales, inventory reports, and generate quick purchase orders to streamline their business operations, allowing them to plan ahead for increased sales opportunities.” 

Lightspeed’s Retail Insights is a robust, easy-to-use and innovative tool that adapts to diverse catalogs, a number of suppliers, multi-locations and fast-moving trends. Retail Insights launches with a rich application of features, all designed to provide a seamless business management experience.

 These include:

• Missed items sold / Estimated items sold: Merchants can take into account past out-of-stock periods when ordering so that they can more accurately order and avoid missing sales.
• Forecasting for non-seasonal replenishment: Merchants will have the ability to view suggested order quantities that consider past sales volumes and stockouts when deciding what to order, minimizing the need to create manual estimations.
• Easily create purchase orders from reports: Merchants can easily select the items they wish to order, directly from inventory reports and create draft purchase orders with the suggested order quantities – saving time and avoiding having to toggle between screens.
• Detailed inventory and sales reporting: Visual reporting allows merchants to track daily, weekly or monthly reporting at a glance, while deeper insights in inventory management reports provide better understanding on product performance and costs in detail. 
• Customized reporting: Merchants can customize and save inventory, sales, tax and payments reports to their specific requirements. Merchants can further drill down on their business performance to make strategic decisions on promotions, staffing and product selection.

Retail Insights is now available to Lightspeed clients in the retail space globally and is one of many advancements the Company is making in its continued innovation and growth aiming to offer customers the best possible POS experience. 

For more information, see https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today highlighted some of the innovative solutions that have been launched to support its global retail and hospitality customers. These innovations tackle critical challenges facing merchants today such as cost management, supply chain issues, customer loyalty and streamlining the customer experience. 

“When we look at launching new products, it’s critically important that we are delivering maximum value to our customers, and solving their most complex problems,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lightspeed. “By delivering products that solve the more complex and mundane issues our merchants face, we can improve their overall operational experience and help them get back to focusing on what matters most, their customers.”

Lightspeed’s Q1 innovations brought a number of new products and feature sets across the retail and hospitality industries, including: 

Retail

• Providing retailers with a better understanding of landed costs 

Retailers need to be critically aware of how much it costs to actually deliver a product to their consumer’s doorstep. With Landed Costs, merchants can capture expenditures like discounts and costs of ordering inventory, like shipping and import duties. Through this data, retailers can ensure they are accurately pricing their products and maintaining a healthy ratio of profitability in their business. 

• Enhanced inventory management and auditing

New product enhancements on both mobile and desktop allow retailers to have a much more streamlined approach to their inventory management. Merchants can record stock adjustments when and where they find them so they can keep their inventory records up to date, and prevent damaged, expired or missing inventory from being sold or ordered from their other outlets. In addition, new Product Bin Locations allow merchants to record, edit and view specific locations of products, empowering staff to quickly find products when packing orders, saving time and increasing productivity. This is especially helpful to large retailers with high inventory, or smaller retailers looking to scale. 

• Increased B2B Capabilities in NuORDER Assortments

NuORDER by Lightspeed launched new capabilities within NuORDER Assortments, a cutting-edge solution that revolutionizes the way brands plan assortments. With the new capabilities, brands will be able to add “Proposer” roles used for sharing assortments with brand partners that should have visibility to products and brand product data, ensuring buyers and brands can confidently collaborate within the platform while protecting their data. Buyers can also send select Assortment data as an initial “Order Intent” to the brand via the NuORDER platform and can track what was shared via tagged Version History.

• Seamlessly integrated product reviews

Lightspeed provides a new seamless way for merchants to automatically collect, manage, and take advantage of online customer reviews. This new feature eliminates the need for merchants to spend time chasing down customer feedback and allows them to effortlessly publish reviews to enhance their store’s online credibility and drive higher conversion rates.

• Introducing Lightspeed’s omnichannel Loyalty Program

In this competitive consumer landscape, merchants need to have an omnichannel approach to customer loyalty. Lightspeed’s enhanced loyalty program blends online and offline loyalty experiences, allowing merchants to provide consistent customer service across all platforms. Customers can effortlessly earn and redeem online and in-store points, ensuring they remain consistently engaged with the brands they love.

Hospitality

• Lightspeed expands Tableside to the UK & Canada

After previously launching in the U.S., Lightspeed continues to roll out new regional launches of its innovative Tableside solution, launching in the new markets of Canada and the UK. Tableside allows restaurant staff to take orders and process payments directly at the table from just an iPhone, leveraging Tap to Pay on iPhone. This new innovation allows restaurants to streamline operations to focus on creating exceptional dining experiences. 

• Making delivery easier with Lightspeed’s partnership with Uber Direct & Uber Eats 

Previously announced in May, Lightspeed is proud to partner with Uber to offer cost-effective and flexible ways to help merchants reach more customers and build brands. Merchants can easily list their menus on Uber Eats, or offer on-demand delivery with their own branded websites leveraging Uber’s world-class courier network via Uber Direct.  

• Quebec WEB-SRM certification 

After launching the Company’s flagship Lightspeed Restaurant product in Quebec last quarter, the Company is proud to announce it has been fully certified by Revenu Québec to support the new WEB-SRM requirement, demonstrating the Company’s commitment as a reliable partner to help merchants maximize success and facilitate merchants’ fiscal compliance within the province.

• Tap to Pay on iPhone launches in France and Australia

Merchants using Tap to Pay on iPhone present a consistent and trusted payment experience to customers. Lightspeed customers in France and Australia join merchants in the UK, Netherlands, Canada and the U.S. who can now accept contactless payments from contactless credit or debit cards, Apple Pay, Apple Watch, and smartphones with other digital wallets — right on iPhone and without any extra terminals or hardware. 

Lightspeed powers the world’s best restaurants and retailers including: Birkenstock (Australia), Alinea Group  (Chicago), Air Canada (Canada), Neal’s Yard (London), L’occitane (New Zealand), and Kei (Paris). Lightspeed Retail is currently available in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more information, see https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. and Uber today announced a new North American partnership to directly integrate Uber Direct and Uber Eats marketplace into Lightspeed’s platform.

Through the partnership, Lightspeed will have built-in integrations with the Uber Eats marketplace and Uber Direct, Uber’s white-label delivery facilitation service, enabling Lightspeed merchants to: 

• List their menu offerings on and take orders from the Uber Eats marketplace, which is accessed by millions of monthly active platform consumers; and 
• Take orders from their own branded website through Lightspeed’s Order Anywhere, then access delivery via Uber Direct, allowing them to pay only the associated delivery fee without the added cost of developing their own custom delivery fleet.

The combination of solutions enables merchants to satisfy their customers’ delivery demands,  tap into new markets through the Uber Eats marketplace and reduce overhead on direct-to-consumer orders with Lightspeed Order Anywhere and Uber Direct. 

“We are incredibly excited to be announcing this strategic partnership with Uber, as we believe it unlocks incredible value for our hospitality customers,” said JD Saint-Martin, President of Lightspeed. “The restaurant industry continues to face significant challenges with staffing and increasingly narrow revenue margins. This partnership is an opportunity to provide our customers some relief in the form of a world-class delivery network and cost savings plan. We believe this is only the first step in a long-term relationship with Uber.”

“On-demand delivery is now a core expectation for consumers, with 75% of them expecting express delivery as an option, and merchants are taking note,” said Bernie Huddlestun, Head of Uber Direct for the US and Canada. “We’re proud to partner with Lightspeed to offer restaurants solutions that meet their customers’ needs and encourage repeat orders, while giving restaurants the flexibility to offer seamless delivery experiences in the way that works best for growing their business.” 

This integration is now available to Lightspeed Restaurant customers in North America with additional markets to follow.

• To find out more about Lightspeed’s integration with Uber Eats visit: https://www.lightspeedhq.com/integrations/ubereats/
• To find out more about Lightspeed’s integration with Uber Direct visit: https://www.lightspeedhq.com/integrations/uberdirect/
• To find out more about Lightspeed’s Order Anywhere visit: https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/order-anywhere/. 

Lightspeed powers the world’s best–restaurants and hospitality businesses, including: Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (La Malbaie), Taverne Atlantic (Montréal), Daniel Boulud Group (NYC), Alinea Group (Chicago), Big Mamma (Europe), Kei (Paris). Lightspeed Restaurant is currently available in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

For more details, please refer to the press release.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today announced a new strategic partnership with the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association (MBAGCOA), who represents over 70 premium golf courses in Myrtle Beach, which is renowned as one of the world’s most popular golf destinations.  

Through this partnership, Lightspeed will serve as a strategic solutions partner of the MBAGCOA, providing industry-leading retail and restaurant solutions seamlessly integrated with Omni Golf’s tee sheet technology. This integration empowers golf facilities within the MBAGCOA network to personalize their operations, creating unforgettable experiences for golfers.

“Lightspeed has invested almost a decade in understanding the Myrtle Beach market,” explained Matt Welliver, Director of Business Strategy for Lightspeed Golf. “Our software’s capabilities and depth of integration not only enhance operational efficiency but also ensure that the customer experience is tailored to their needs and preferences.” 

Since 1978, the MBAGCOA has acted as the operational focal point to help standardize policies, develop programs, and coordinate projects for Grand Strand golf course owners. The association represents over 70 golf courses.

This partnership coincides with the commencement of the golf season in Myrtle Beach and the highly anticipated Myrtle Beach Classic tournament from May 9-12, 2024, the first-ever PGA Tour event in Myrtle Beach’s history.

“Lightspeed offers an enhanced experience for our golf course operators, with technology that can support the region’s next phase of growth,” stated Tracy Conner, Executive Director of MBAGCOA. “We chose Lightspeed not just for their exceptional software but equally for the remarkable team behind it. Their dedication and expertise were paramount in ensuring an unparalleled level of service.” 

This partnership reaffirms Lightspeed Golf’s commitment to providing golf industry leaders with world-class technology solutions, enabling these businesses to deliver top-notch services and drive growth. With Lightspeed Golf, operators can sell effectively in the pro shop and online using a retail POS and ecommerce platform, elevate their food and beverage offering, and integrate with best-in-class tools via a cloud-based, open API.

To read the press release, click here.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform empowering merchants to provide the best omnichannel experiences, today highlighted the multitude of products and services shipped in Q4 to increase scalability through data-driven insights, and improve the experience of our merchants’ customers. 

“When we look at the most impactful means of supporting our merchants, we’re constantly driven by finding new opportunities to help them scale, optimize, and personalize the customer experience,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lightspeed. “In Q4 we shipped a number of exciting new products that help our customers better access their data, predict their supply demands, and create a more seamless experience for their customers. It’s through innovations like these that our merchants are able to save countless hours and reduce overhead costs as they look to scale upwards in a competitive environment.”

Lightspeed’s Q4 innovations brought a number of new products and feature sets across the retail and hospitality industries, including: 

Retail

• Margin-based Pricing: To make it easier to manage and track product profitability, Lightspeed has introduced margin-based pricing. Retailers can now use margins to edit prices, and Lightspeed Retail will automatically calculate the right markup and price based on the desired margin for each product and its variants.

• Identifying Stockouts: Lightspeed data shows that the top 5% of retail products are out of stock more than 21% of the time. Retailers on Advanced and Enterprise plans can now take into account historical stock-out periods to identify sales trends and missed opportunities so they can order accurately and avoid missing sales. This will help them reduce the number of out-of-stock days and adapt their ordering based on how quickly their products truly sell through.
• Enhanced Order Tracking with Apple Wallet: This integration enables retailers to provide customers with seamless order tracking directly through Apple Wallet, eliminating the need for consumers to sift through emails or visit third-party sites. Real-time updates and automated notifications enhance visibility into order statuses, reduce customer inquiries, and save valuable time, allowing retailers to focus on other essential tasks. By streamlining the post-purchase experience, retailers can drive customer loyalty and increase sales.
• Payment Links: Making it easier for customers to pay anywhere, at any time. Merchants can now send a link with their receipt to enable customers to pay for their on-account purchase. Merchants are notified in real time when a customer payment has been completed. 

Hospitality

• Major enhancements to Order Anywhere: Enhancements to Lightspeed Restaurant’s online ordering platform include order history and account management for diners of Lightspeed merchants, enabling quick reordering, improving repeat guest business, as well as new reporting features for Lightspeed merchants to track payments through Lightspeed Restaurant’s Scan and Pay functionality.
• AI-powered configuration recommendations: AI powered recommendations allow Lightspeed Restaurant merchants to skip the tedious process of finding prior settings when modifying their menus, streamlining the process and saving valuable time.
• New third party software integrations: New hospitality integrations launched in Q4 include TheFork (La Fourchette), a leading global reservation platform; Dirmeier, an automated drink dispensing system; and new support for Lightspeed restaurants to reconcile deposits between parties in the global restaurant tech ecosystem.

Lightspeed powers the world’s best brands and retailers, including: Saks, Nordstrom, Brunello Cucinelli, Rag & Bone, Kendra Scott, Barbour, Tecnica, Arc’teryx and Shiseido.

About Lightspeed 

Powering the businesses that are the backbone of the global economy, Lightspeed’s one-stop commerce platform helps merchants innovate to simplify, scale and provide exceptional customer experiences. Our cloud commerce solution transforms and unifies online and physical operations, multichannel sales, expansion to new locations, global payments, financial solutions and connection to supplier networks.

Founded in Montréal, Canada in 2005, Lightspeed is dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD). With teams across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the Company serves retail, hospitality and golf businesses in over 100 countries.

For more information, see www.lightspeedhq.com.

Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

MONTREAL, March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE | TSX: LSPD) proudly launches its flagship Lightspeed Restaurant in its home province of Quebec, equipping restaurateurs with smart, intuitive solutions that empower them to scale their operations, turning challenges into opportunities for innovation and success. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs who wish to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

In the backdrop of a challenging period for Quebec’s restaurant industry, marked by significant financial pressures and operational hurdles, Lightspeed Restaurant emerges as a pivotal solution. Insights from The Quebec Restaurant Association’s insights reveal a tough landscape, with noticeable downturns and increasing operational costs in 2023. Yet, the resilience of the sector shines through, with anticipated growth rebounding to $18.7 billion in foodservice sales by 2026.

Regarded globally, Lightspeed Restaurant is trusted and engineered for complex, multi-location businesses around the world. Its key features, designed for efficiency and growth, addresses critical needs within the industry: 

• Advanced Insights: harness real-time customer data for on-the-spot operational adjustments, leading to increased guest satisfaction and optimized team performance,  instrumental in navigating staff shortages.
• Automated inventory management: tackle rising food costs head-on by reducing waste with precise tracking and cost analysis, as every ingredient contributes to your menu creations.   
• Order Anywhere: allow guests to order directly from the comfort of their seats or online, simplifying service and paving the way for an elevated dining experience.

“Reflecting on Lightspeed’s journey from its inception in Montreal to becoming a global beacon of innovative commerce solutions fills me with immense pride,” shared Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. “Our dedication goes beyond technology; it’s about fostering a thriving ecosystem for Quebec’s restaurant industry, offering intuitive tools that cater to the unique needs of restaurateurs. Our commitment is to elevate and transform local businesses, ensuring they not only navigate but thrive amidst a dynamic landscape.”

In conjunction with the launch of Lightspeed Restaurant in Quebec, and to further bolster the Company’s commitment to local businesses, Lightspeed proudly partnered with the sixth edition of the Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise. This annual award recognizes Quebec’s culinary greats, as determined by their peers. Lightspeed will be hosting the 2024 Lauriers nomination ceremony at its headquarters today on March 25, 2024.  

Lightspeed powers Quebec’s–and the world’s best–restaurants and hospitality businesses, including: Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu (La Malbaie), Taverne Atlantic (Montréal), Daniel Boulud Group (NYC), Alinea Group (Chicago), Big Mamma (Europe), Kei (Paris). Lightspeed Restaurant is currently available in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

Dive into the transformative features of Lightspeed Restaurant on our website. To witness its powerful capabilities, see www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant.

To read the full press release: see here

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announced today the launch of Lightspeed Scheduling—an all-new booking management tool released to golf course operators. Lightspeed Scheduling enables golf facilities to serve a broader audience and drive additional revenue by easily taking bookings for as many off-course services as they need, straight from Lightspeed’s one-stop golf management platform. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs who wish to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

The release of Lightspeed Scheduling comes at an opportune time for North American courses.  With the surging demand for off-course golf activities in recent years, approximately 70% of Lightspeed Golf customers currently have booking needs that extend beyond the golf course. With its specific focus on off-course booking, Lightspeed Scheduling makes it far easier for courses to offer additional services, market them online, manage reservations and create a seamless experience for staff and customers.

“We are incredibly excited about the official release of Lightspeed Scheduling and for the opportunities it creates for the courses we work with,” said David Hope, General Manager, Lightspeed Golf. “Our job as their technology partner is to provide tools that help them solve their unique operational challenges, adapt to industry changes, improve customer touchpoints and scale their businesses. We believe the addition of Lightspeed Scheduling to our core Lightspeed Golf platform helps courses do just that, as well as gain an edge over their competition.”

The surging demand for off-course golf

Thanks to venues like Topgolf and the growing commercialization and accessibility of simulator technology, off-course golf is altering the way millions of people enjoy the game. This growing popularity is a welcome trend, as it creates both new avenues to the game and new ways to enjoy golf beyond traditional 9- or 18-hole rounds. From the addition of simulator bays and dedicated putting courses to enhanced driving range experiences and beyond, it presents golf facilities with new opportunities to scale their operations and add new services that customers will love. 

According to a report by the National Golf Foundation (NGF), the number of off-course golf participants (27.9 million) surpassed on-course golf participants (25.6 million) in 2022. The NGF also reports that the amount of Americans participating in simulator golf has grown 73% since 2019.

Lightspeed Scheduling makes booking off-course services faster, simpler and smarter

Thousands of golf facilities across North America currently offer a wide array of additional services that require a simple means of booking and scheduling: simulator bays, driving ranges, club fittings, golf lessons, racket sports, corporate events, accommodations and more. Lightspeed Scheduling helps golf operators take and manage bookings for these types of services with software specially designed for golf facilities and configured to their specific needs. 

An advanced, fully-integrated scheduling tool: Instead of time-consuming, disorganized, error-ridden workarounds, Lightspeed Scheduling is native to Lightspeed’s existing golf course management platform and provides a high degree of flexibility and customization. 

Easy for staff and management: Golf course operators need simple, automated tools to keep up with the demands of peak season bookings. Lightspeed Scheduling makes it simple to create and manage all of their service calendars, view any schedule at a glance, take bookings, and communicate with customers whether they’re at the pro shop counter or not. 

Easy for customers: Customers should be able to book the services they want whenever, wherever. From 24/7 online booking and payment to automated email notifications, Lightspeed Scheduling keeps the booking process simple across all service calendars.

Reporting and analytics: Golf facilities must be able to monitor the ongoing impact of their additional services on their bottom line. Lightspeed Scheduling leverages Lightspeed’s Business Intelligence tools to generate easy-to-read reports on payment, customer and booking data.

Lightspeed Scheduling is currently available to Lightspeed Golf customers in a private beta.

Lightspeed powers the world’s best businesses, including: Kemper Sports, Landscapes Golf Management, GreatLIFE Golf, Advance Golf Partners, Tobacco Road Golf Club, Cape Kidnappers, TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley and other incredible golf merchants across the globe.

Dive into the features of Lightspeed Scheduling on our website. Lightspeed’s team will also be onsite at the 2024 PGA Show from January 24 to 26 at booth #3929.

About Lightspeed 

Powering the businesses that are the backbone of the global economy, Lightspeed’s one-stop commerce platform helps merchants innovate to simplify, scale and provide exceptional customer experiences. Our cloud commerce solution transforms and unifies online and physical operations, multichannel sales, expansion to new locations, global payments, financial solutions and connection to supplier networks.

Founded in Montréal, Canada in 2005, Lightspeed is dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD). With teams across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the company serves retail, hospitality and golf businesses in over 100 countries.

For more information, see www.lightspeedhq.com.

Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announced today a new partnership with GreatLIFE Golf, an industry-leading Multi-Course Operator (MCO). Through this partnership Lightspeed will provide courses in GreatLIFE’s portfolio with custom technology solutions that are tailored to their unique operational needs. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs who wish to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

The collaboration marks a milestone in the golf technology landscape and highlights Lightspeed’s continued commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions for the golf industry. 

“We are thrilled to welcome GreatLIFE Golf into the Lightspeed family,” said David Hope, General Manager, Lightspeed Golf. “Our two organizations share a commitment to providing flexible, innovative solutions to the golf industry that empower owners and operators. It’s through this commitment that we saw a natural alignment. With this partnership in place,  it marks a step forward in our shared vision for accessible, technology-driven golf experiences.”

GreatLIFE Golf manages an extensive portfolio of 56 locations across the United States. GreatLIFE is moving forward with Lightspeed at its 14 clubs in the Kansas City market, with plans for further implementation across additional sites. This partnership solidifies Lightspeed’s position as a technology partner of choice for renowned MCOs in the golf industry, adding GreatLIFE to an esteemed list of collaborators, including Landscapes Golf Management, Advance Golf Partners, Kapalua Golf & Tennis, Ron Jaworski Golf, OKI Golf, KemperSports, and MCG.

The partnership is especially noteworthy given Lightspeed’s commitment to public, accessible golf—a shared commitment with GreatLIFE, whose mission is to enrich the lives of families and communities through golf, fitness, and healthy lifestyles.

Unprecedented Flexibility with Open API

The standout feature that led GreatLIFE to choose Lightspeed was the platform’s flexibility enabled by its cloud-based, open API. GreatLIFE seamlessly integrated Lightspeed’s POS solutions for Retail and Restaurant with their preferred direct booking engine, GolfBack. This level of customization, combined with Lightspeed’s multi-location capabilities and best-in-breed partner ecosystem, makes it a powerful choice for complex MCOs looking to elevate their operations.

Also central to GreatLIFE’s decision was Lightspeed’s onboarding support, dedicated account management and product adoption specialist teams. Given GreatLIFE’s commitment to maintaining a high standard of customer service across its broad customer base, they required a partner who could deliver the same. From onboarding to post-launch services, Lightspeed’s team are industry experts who collaborate closely with customers to ensure their success.

“I appreciate Lightspeed’s commitment to helping not only GreatLIFE Golf operate at a high level, but our industry as a whole,” said John Brown, CEO, GreatLIFE Golf. “Lightspeed is a great partner to have in our portfolio and we also feel that Lightspeed will work to continue to push technology in golf further.”

Lightspeed powers the world’s best businesses, including Founders Group International, Landscapes Golf Management, KemperSports, TPC Myrtle Beach, Cape Kidnappers and Kapalua Golf & Tennis.

Read the full press release here.

NuORDER Assortments will streamline buying plans across brands, departments and teams

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. has been selected by David Jones, Australia’s leading premium department store curating the most exclusive global and local brands, as part of its Vision 2025+ strategy to digitize its merchandising and buying process. Launching in January with the women’s international and designer ready-to-wear categories, David Jones will utilize NuORDER Assortments to digitally preview collections, curate assortments and complete orders in collaboration with their brands. 

This partnership will accelerate David Jones’ digital transformation efforts and replace manual, time consuming processes like data collection, sizing and order writing. Buyers will have more time to focus on creating a premium world-class shopping experience. David Jones will no longer need to rely on manual spreadsheets, instead the buying team will be able to utilize pre-populated data, automated roll-ups, and real-time collaboration tools to deliver a more sophisticated omnichannel assortment. 

NuORDER by Lightspeed’s innovative technology will give David Jones the ability to easily view and analyze their assortments across brands, categories, and attributes. Buyers will now be able to take a more customer-centric approach to the range planning process to ensure they are delivering a premium product offering both online and in-store. 

Using the platform’s robust tagging and rollup capabilities, David Jones buyers will be able to collaborate with leadership and teams across the organization to review investments in key initiatives, such as exclusives, enhancing their ability to create distinct assortments for their customers.

“David Jones is committed to delivering an unparalleled omnichannel shopping experience for customers,” said Bridget Veals, General Manager Womenswear, Footwear and Accessories for David Jones. “Adopting the NuORDER Assortments technology as our new digital buying process will ensure that our teams provide customers with access to a well-planned premium shopping experience online and in stores while also enhancing our collaboration with brands.”

“We are thrilled to partner with David Jones, a leading Australian retailer known for their premium customer experience, to digitally transform their merchandising process,” said Danielle Fairfield, Head of Retail for NuORDER by Lightspeed. “NuORDER will provide David Jones with the tools they need to advance their Vision 2025 strategy with a digital-first approach.”

NuORDER by Lightspeed powers the world’s best brands and retailers, including: Saks, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Brunello Cucinelli, Rag & Bone, Kendra Scott, Barbour, Tecnica, Arc’teryx and Shiseido.

Read the full press release here.

New video thought leadership series features insights from the world’s top retail and hospitality entrepreneurs

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. today announced the launch of its Luminaries thought leadership series. The first episode, shot in Miami, features Life House hotels’ Corporate Head of Food and Beverage, Peter Litvinenko. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

Illuminating conversations with the industry’s best

Lightspeed Luminaries is a video thought leadership series that celebrates the best of the best in business, examining what sets the individuals behind great brands apart from the pack. Covering hospitality, retail and golf, each episode features a visionary Lightspeed customer who’s making waves in their industry, with the aim of sharing their insights and experience with other business owners.

Episode 1: Connecting brand and operations with Life House’s Peter Litvinenko

In episode one of Luminaries, we travel to Little Havana in Miami, Florida to visit Lightspeed customer Life House, which specializes in contextually designed boutique hotels across the United States. Shot throughout their Little Havana location in Miami, Florida, the premier story sees Peter Litvinenko, Head of Food and Beverage, explaining the importance of a symbiotic relationship between operations and marketing. 

“Life House’s mission is to make travel accessible to a larger group of people,” notes Litvinenko. “Hotels can be expensive; they tend not to be approachable. People are drawn to Airbnbs or boutique hotels because they are a reflection of the neighborhood’s character. We target this style of property and work with them, adding a level of sophistication with technology. That’s our secret sauce.”

Founded by Rami Zeidan in 2017, Life House takes a personal approach to travel. Each location celebrates the neighbourhood it resides in through the smallest of details. From hiring locally to curating a scent for each location, Life House weaves its story throughout each of its spaces—giving guests a home away from home that makes a lasting impression.  

“What Life House has achieved is a model for modern brands,” notes Lightspeed CEO JP Chauvet. “They’re making travel accessible, creating spaces that are infused with local charm, and that don’t compromise on providing an elevated experience. Peter’s experience and attention to detail is an important part of that. Lightspeed is proud to be part of their strategy, supporting their impressive growth across the United States.”  

“We were looking for a POS partner that could grow with us,” explains Litvinenko. “We looked hard at who had the ability to take on different integrations, work with different partners in our ecosystem and also open up the API to work with  our PMS software. What sticks out for me is just how well we’ve grown together with Lightspeed.”

Lightspeed sets the spark 

Celebrating the insights and hard-earned experience of industry titans, Luminaries is a series that speaks its name—delivering inspiration, influence and insights. A resource to other industry leaders, these videos feature the best in the business exploring topics and themes relevant to the challenges facing business owners today. Look out for more from Lightspeed’s Luminaries series coming in 2024.  Episode one is now available on YouTube.

Read the full press release here.

Speed, simplification and customization sit at the core of these product enhancements, letting merchants save time and focus on what matters to scale their business

Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed Commerce Inc. is announcing a roster of new product features recently released to merchants.  

From AI-powered menu creation to self-serve assortment planning and continued expansion of Lightspeed Payments, each new feature has been custom-built with one goal in mind: eliminate mundane tasks that bog down retailers and restaurateurs, making it easier and more efficient to run their businesses. 

“Merchants start businesses out of passion, not because they love spending hours on inventory, reconciliation, or schedules,” said Ryan Tabone, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Lightspeed. “Our job as their technology partner is to empower them with the tools that simplify how they operate, so they can focus on their customers and scale their business. This latest round of new product features is the start of a string of functionality that gives them that ability, as well as an edge in their respective markets.”

Lightspeed Restaurant leverages AI, data and insights to help restaurateurs make smarter decisions, faster:

Smart Items: the AI secret ingredient to building a chef’s-kiss menu in seconds

New seasons means time for new menus. But what used to take hours of inputting and updating the POS now takes seconds with Lightspeed Restaurant’s newest launch: Smart Items. This transformative solution:

• Generates compelling product information
• Creates captivating images to match
• Auto translates the menu into multiple languages to service the languages you operate in

Whether restaurateurs are managing an extensive 100-item menu or starting from scratch, Smart Items can save them valuable time: up to 30 minutes per 100-item menu, or even hours and days for those building content from the ground up.

Advanced Insights levels up with Magic Menu Quadrant and Staff Performance Tools

Lightspeed Restaurant’s proprietary Advanced Insights tool just got a powerful boost with two features, now available on our flagship product globally: 

• Magic Menu Quadrant, offering merchants insights into popular items and those that encourage repeat dining.
• Staff Performance tools help managers optimize their front-of-house team’s performance, from increasing order sizes to cross-training.

When it comes to seeing these features brought to life, Jarred Drown, Owner of Terrace Bay Hotel and Freshwater Tavern in Gladstone, Michigan shared that “Lightspeed’s Magic Menu Quadrant helps us expand while turning a profit on every order.” What’s more, Francine Joseph, Business Manager from Boukan in Toronto, Canada said that “One of the greatest features we have now that we didn’t have before is capturing customer data. We always encourage our staff to capture, especially our loyal customers, repeat customers, because they’re spending money here and what we want to be able to do is reward that.”

Lightspeed Retail simplifies purchasing and planning for sophisticated retailers and brands:

Speed up vertical and target assortment planning 

Brands that operate their own retail stores can reduce manual work (and the frequency of data-entry errors) by using NuORDER Assortments to optimize inventory allocation, identify merchandising gaps, and make more informed range planning decisions. 

“Implementing NuORDER Assortments meant more accurate roll ups and a clear process to write smarter buys,” said Stephanie Gin, Director of Buying, Brunello Cucinelli. “We now get an immediate visual of the assortment thus making it much easier to analyze and review. The tool has replaced all manual processes and has become essential to our buying process.”

For multi-brand retailers, NuORDER Assortments now allows both merchants and brands to efficiently load and manage financial or allocation targets, which enables them to compare their assortment against planned spend and making it easier to see where they are over and under invested. As they write their units, buyers can review how their totals measure against their targets for different departments, categories or other product groupings.

Additionally, onboarding new brands to NuORDER Assortments is completely self-service, allowing for automated mapping of their product schema into an assortment schema and enabling the brand to configure their setup.

Millions of products, thousands of brands, now available across all major Lightspeed Retail verticals

With Lightspeed Retail’s B2B Catalog expanding across all major verticals such as Fashion & Apparel, Sporting & Outdoor goods, Bikes, Toys & Crafts, Home & Lifestyle, retailers can now add product info from millions of products from thousands of popular brands straight to their product catalog. This is significantly quicker than adding products manually, and merchants can ensure that all product info, images, descriptions, UPC and more are correct and verified from the supplier, making it quicker than ever to start selling new products.

Create, schedule, track, and sell service offerings directly inside Lightspeed Retail 

After a successful beta launch, our Services Module is now available on Lightspeed Retail everywhere. Better yet, it now lets merchants include backordered items. This module is best served by retailers with service components like bikes, sporting goods, jewelry.  

Lightspeed Payments continues to expand availability globally

Lightspeed remains dedicated to simplifying complex processes for their merchants on all fronts, including Lightspeed Payments. Unified into both flagship products—Lightspeed Retail and Restaurant—Lightspeed Payments continues its global expansion:

• • Lightspeed Payments is now available for eligible merchants via Lightspeed eCom in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Belgium.
  • Lightspeed Payments is now available on Lightspeed Restaurant in Belgium and the Netherlands.

With these launches, Lightspeed Payments is now available in Australia, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands, United States and United Kingdom, making international transactions more accessible and convenient for businesses of all sizes. Learn more about Lightspeed Payments on the Company’s Lightspeed Retail or Lightspeed Restaurant websites. 

Lightspeed powers the world’s best businesses, including Playbill (USA), W Cosmetics (Australia), Les Jumelles (Antwerp), Imagine Exhibitions, Melissa Joy Manning (New York), Neal’s Yard Remedies (London), Joel Robuchon Group (Global), Alinea (Chicago), Zilte (Antwerp), Le Chalet de la Forêt (Brussels), Gustoso Group (Germany), Kei (Paris), and Da Terra (London).

Read the full press release here.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announces to all current customers worldwide that it will meet or beat their existing third party payments processing rates when switching over to adopt its unified payments and POS platform, or else exempt customers from mandatory adoption of the platform and corresponding transaction fees¹. Previously this ‘Meet or Beat Promise’ was only available in North America. 

In April 2023, the Company announced the launch of its unified Lightspeed Payments & POS platform, asking all eligible customers to sign up for its one cohesive and comprehensive product offering, which sees Lightspeed Payments embedded directly into their POS. This offering has been successfully rolled out in North America, and has started to launch in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

“Now feels like the right time to roll out our ‘Meet or Beat Promise’ globally,” explained JD Saint-Martin, President of Lightspeed. “We’ve heard great feedback from customers who see tangible benefits to their business by adopting Lightspeed Payments and POS. We’ve proven that we can offer better payment processing rates for the majority of merchants who switch. And we want to make sure that customers around the world can experience this too.”

Since the launch, the Company has seen overwhelmingly positive results from thousands of customers around the world who made the switch and are seeing the benefits that one unified suite of tools brings to their business. For example, Silo and Crate Brewery in London, UK, have experienced a 10% revenue increase on their busiest days and save 3 hours per week on reporting since adopting Lightspeed Payments. City Bird, a Detroit-based gift shop and gallery, saw, for each customer, an 80% reduction in checkout times.

“From the time we decided to switch to Lightspeed Payments to the time we were set up and ready to sell, it was less than 24 hours. Since then, we’ve saved so much time at checkout thanks to the fully integrated system. It’s just so simple and user friendly,” stated Tyan Parent, Owner of Le Brande Groupe in Montreal, Canada. “I can now travel and still be connected to our data, make better informed decisions and correct mistakes from anywhere for all three stores, directly on my phone. We switched for the efficiencies, and that’s been the biggest value, but as a bonus we’re now paying less in fees too.”

This highlights the ways in which Lightspeed Payments & POS is a single, powerful platform that streamlines operations, provides a seamless merchant experience and helps businesses scale. Additional indicators of success with unified Lightspeed Payments & POS customer adoption include the Company’s close rates remaining relatively consistent and customer churn in North America remaining within historical ranges, all for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

“We also know that we’re the ones asking our customers to make a change, and change is hard. But we are so confident in our offering that we want to lower as many barriers as possible for our merchants, so they can experience the same convenience, time savings, and potential revenue growth that merchants have seen when they switch to Lightspeed Payments,” said JP Chauvet, CEO of Lightspeed. “That’s why I’m so excited to announce our global rollout of our ‘Meet or Beat Promise’: If we can’t beat or at least match your current payment processing rate, we will not charge a monthly transaction fee for using a third-party payments provider, and will not require you to adopt our payments platform.”

In addition to this, the Company is providing free payment terminals for each register, free on-site installation, and contract buyouts to cover any early termination fees from existing processors. Eligible customers who switch to Lightspeed Payments will also unlock benefits such as: 

• Powerful insights into how to optimize their business. Embedding payments processing directly into the POS gives Lightspeed the power to unlock unique data and insights. We serve those back to our customers through our Advanced Insights tool to help them make faster, smarter business decisions, like which meals drive the most repeat visitors and which categories are selling fastest.
• Streamlined bookkeeping and support. No more multiple bills and multiple numbers to call for help. With one dedicated account manager, our customers benefit from streamlined operations and white glove support so their POS, hardware and payments needs are covered under one roof. 
• Hassle-free reporting saves time, reduces risk of fraud and manual errors. Customers will now have one consolidated reporting sheet in their hands, saving them hours of reconciliation per week. It also reduces the risk of errors, giving them more precise reporting and their staff fewer manual tasks to complete.
• Faster releases of product launches that will help businesses scale. Lightspeed is investing its resources into new features, analytics and insights that will help customers grow their business, save them time and give them peace of mind. Investing efforts in a single payments offering has accelerated the speed of delivery and unlocked a variety of enhancements in the last quarter, including next day & instant payouts², Tap to Pay on iPhone, and enhancements to Lightspeed Capital.

Ultimately, adopting Unified Payments and POS means more time back for merchants to concentrate on improving the experience for their customers, and better data to drive business growth. Customers interested in taking advantage of Lightspeed’s Meet or Beat Promise can learn more by visiting our Lightspeed Retail or Lightspeed Restaurant websites, or reaching out to the Company’s support team at +1-844-799-5773.

1. Full details of Lightspeed’s “meet or beat” policy are available here.
2. Payout timing depends on business type (Retail or Restaurant). Instant payouts available to US customers only at the moment.

Bars open last October 31 saw a 15% increase in total sales and a 26% increase in total number of tickets, suggesting a busy Halloween Tuesday this year

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. released new data* showing that last year’s Monday night Halloween gave a big boost to bar and takeout sales. The numbers, which are based on a sample of thousands of restaurants and bars powered by Lightspeed across North America, suggest a busy Halloween Tuesday may be on the horizon this year. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

Here are some key findings.

• La-La Land loves Halloween. Bars in Los Angeles were busy on Halloween night. They saw a 107% increase in sales compared to the previous Monday. Jacksonville came in second with a 65% jump from one week to the next. Brooklyn closes out the top three with a 46% bump. 
  • Coming in at the other end of the spectrum were Columbus, Key West and Minneapolis, where bars saw the sharpest decline in sales. Lightspeed data shows a 46% drop in Columbus and Key West, while Minneapolis saw a 49% slump in bar tabs.

• When Halloween is on a weekday, takeout orders surge. On Halloween, restaurants across all categories—fast casual, casual, upscale or fine dining—saw an 11.37% increase in takeout sales compared to the previous Monday.  As October 31 lands on a Tuesday this year, restaurants can plan ahead to make the most of this takeout bump.

• Shots and mixed drinks are the “boos” of choice. In bars across North America, spirit sales grew by 68% on Halloween night 2022 compared to the prior week. Cocktail sales saw a 34% top up, whereas wine sales decreased by 17%.   While bars that plan to stay open on Halloween night can stay ahead of the curve by stocking up on the hard stuff, it appears many consumers still fear spilling wine on their costume.

• Across the United States, pumpkin still reigns supreme in the spooky season. It’s especially beloved in the Northeast, where sales of pumpkin related items grew by 3,164% in October compared to July. In the South, sales of pumpkin goods surged by 2,824% compared to a 1,737% hike in the Midwest and a 1,216% increase on the West Coast.
• In a particularly pronounced case of pumpkin appreciation, Portland, Maine saw a whopping 46,275% increase in sales of pumpkin related items in October compared to July.

The data likely comes as no surprise to bars and fast casual restaurants, who are prepping for a Halloween spike with events, promotions and increased staff. “We are ready for it,” says Rohit Sharma, General Manager and Operations Partner at Bar 404, a speakeasy in downtown Toronto. “There will be a lot of guests coming at the same time, [and we] want to make sure we have more hosts to accommodate [everyone].” Sharma also encourages employees to get in on the fun, creating seasonal cocktails and wearing costumes to work. 

Speaking to the uptick in business on Halloween night, Peter Dougherty, General Manager of Hospitality at Lightspeed Commerce, acknowledged that it’s always been a popular holiday for bar-goers. “If last year’s numbers are any indication, restaurant and bar managers who are open for business on Tuesday nights should make sure they’re properly staffed on October 31. What’s especially interesting for bars is how much of the ticket increase is driven by spirits and cocktails, with beer sales only rising slightly, when we’ve seen off-premise sales primarily driven by beer.” Overall Dougherty sees the data as an opportunity for hospitality businesses. “With Halloween and the return of pumpkin season, our customers can really flex their creativity. We’re seeing some amazing menu items,” he notes. “I’m not just talking about baked goods. We’re seeing pumpkin horchata, pumpkin espresso martinis and a huge amount of complex, spiced beers—it’s incredible.”

Lightspeed’s Advanced Insights can help bars and restaurants anticipate busy nights. It identifies the most profitable hours and best-selling menu items so managers can optimize scheduling and menu planning. 

Lightspeed powers the world’s best bars, including: Death & Co (Los Angeles), Mace (New York), Katana Kitten (New York), Service Bar (Washington, DC), Recess (Chicago), Collective Arts (Hamilton), Vin Mon Lapin (Montreal), Cloakroom (Montreal), David Rocco Bar Aperitivo (Toronto), Cubitt House (London), Maybe Sammy (Sydney), Sunshine Brewery (Gisborne) and In den Ouden Vogelstruys (Maastricht).

Read the full press release here.

*Methodology

Lightspeed analyzed internal data from thousands of hospitality businesses powered by Lightspeed Restaurant across North America. The analysis reviewed check size and other data points across cohorts of bars, casual, fine dining, upscale and fast casual hospitality businesses. In particular, Lightspeed focused on various sales changes from one Monday to the next when looking at Halloween itself. In addition, when analyzing pumpkin trends, Lightspeed compared data from July 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022. 

From Dubai to Miami to Shanghai, JRI and Lightspeed join forces to deliver elevated dining experiences around the world

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. is thrilled to announce that it has entered into a preferred partnership with the iconic Joël Robuchon International group of restaurants. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

It’s no secret that every JRI location runs like a well-oiled machine. To match that exceptional level of service, JRI needed a  global unified payments and point of sale solution that could deliver exceptional results at their restaurants, no matter where they’re located around the world. Insert Lightspeed: the cloud-based platform with the necessary global presence and powerful insights—not to mention singular flexibility—that fit JRI’s vision. 

Lightspeed and JRI share the same core principles: excellence, simplicity and consistency. As the late Chef Robuchon said, “To make a grand meal, you have to make it simple.  To look simple is very complicated.  You need the highest quality products, the best equipment and you have to keep the focus on the original flavor of the product.”  Whether guests are enjoying an unforgettable experience in one of JRI’s new unique concepts, having an elegant meal at an illustrious L’Atelier Robuchon or making a quick stop at a sophisticated Deli Robuchon, Lightspeed’s platform brings a simple, seamless experience to staff and customers.

“I grew up watching Joël Robuchon’s cooking shows. This is incredible. It’s such an honor,” said JP Chauvet, Lightpseed’s CEO. “Chef Robuchon built an empire. His restaurants were awarded 31 Michelin stars. It’s still a world record. His whole cooking philosophy—centered on the customer—echoes Lightspeed’s mission to deliver something that appears to be simple but is, in fact, incredibly complex.”

“As we continue to expand to multiple locations around the world it is essential for our future success that we partner with a company like Lightspeed to ensure we customize, streamline and effectively manage all our locations,” said Richard Clark, CEO at JRI. “I am personally very excited to be partnering globally with Lightspeed and look forward to a successful, collaborative partnership.”

JRI joins a growing list of Michelin-starred restaurants using Lightspeed to deliver unparalleled dining experiences, including Alinea (Chicago), Clover Hill (New York), Zilte (Antwerp), Le Chalet de la Forêt (Brussels), Restaurant 212 (Amsterdam), Kei (Paris), Anne Sophie Pic (Lausanne), JAN (Munich) and Da Terra (London).

Read the full press release here.

Lightspeed’s latest updates are helping sophisticated businesses stay ahead of the curve. With enhanced tracking abilities, merchants can streamline scheduling, inventory and orders to save time and focus on what matters

 Lightspeed Commerce Inc. is announcing the launch of advanced features designed to streamline merchant operations: Time Clock, Shipment History and Automated Ordering. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

Lightspeed Retail makes it easy for sophisticated omnichannel businesses to stay on top of everything with these new features:

• Time Clock brings punch-in-and-out to the POS so staff remain focused on selling while retailers can streamline payroll processing, monitor employee attendance and ensure accurate pay through third-party integrations.
• Shipment History allows merchants to track shipments received against placed purchase orders, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation.
• Automated Ordering simplifies complex inventory issues by leveraging Lightspeed Analytics to automate reordering processes.

“Our current economic climate makes running a retail business extra challenging,” says Ana Wight, GM of  Retail at Lightspeed. “These latest updates are designed to make day-to-day operations for merchants more efficient. They give business owners their time back, so they can focus on what counts: connecting with customers.” 

Hello Time Clock, goodbye manual timesheets or switching apps 

This new feature eliminates the need for antiquated time tracking systems or using many unintegrated apps which increases training and compliance costs.

• Punch in and out: Time Clock records start and end times to provide a clear attendance record. 
• Accurate, efficient tracking: paper timesheets or Excel spreadsheets can be time consuming and rife with errors. Time Clock keeps time tracking precise with a single solution. 
• Seamless integration: Time Clock is integrated into Lightspeed Retail which eliminates the need for employees to shuffle between different systems to record their time. Instead, Lightspeed Retail can keep retailers’ payroll systems up-to-date.
• Streamline payroll processing:  with its trusted record system within the platform, Time Clock helps merchants make sure staff is paid accurately when integrated with partners.  

More shipments than purchase orders? That’s no problem with Shipment History 

“[With Shipment History] we can easily see what has been checked into our inventory on a certain purchase order” says Tim Phares, Manager at Active Endeavors, an outdoor equipment retailer in Davenport, Iowa. Merchants who use Lightspeed Retail to place purchase orders can now track the inventory they receive–even when it arrives in multiple shipments. 

With Shipment History,  retailers can track what was received against what was ordered–and make sure they only pay for what arrives.

• A single source of truth: Shipment History lets you keep track of orders, whether they arrive in one fell swoop or in multiple packages.
• Build an archive: each purchase order has a clear shipment history. 
• Streamlined processes: Shipment History saves time and reduces the risk of errors, particularly when it’s time to reconcile invoices. 

Maintaining the delicate balance of supply and demand with Automated Ordering

Powered by Lightspeed Analytics, Automated Ordering generates a list that suggests what to order, when to order it–and in what quantities. Automated Ordering analyzes data to determine what’s been selling well and forecasts when stock needs to be replenished. It eliminates the guesswork.

These are the latest in a string of innovative updates from Lightspeed. Recently, Lightspeed has also announced: 

• NuORDER Assortments
• Unified Payments
• Gamechanging features like:
  • B2B Catalog
  • Scanner App
  • Price Management across locations and customer groups 
  • Advanced Marketing
  • Enhanced eCom
  • User Permissions

You can find out more about Lightspeed Retail’s powerful features by visiting  https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/.

Read the press release here.

Lightspeed Restaurant now drives more efficiencies in hospitality thanks to streamlined ordering and payments on smartphone devices, Advanced Insights, Intelligent Tip Management, advanced APIs, and robust offline capabilities

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for
merchants and restaurateurs around the world announced today the release of the latest version of its powerful restaurant solution: the Next Generation of Lightspeed Restaurant. This update, now available in the United States, revolutionizes restaurant operations by offering faster ordering and payments options on smartphones and by leveraging the power of data.

New functionalities include:

• ‘Pay at Table’ – Uniquely designed by Lightspeed, this simplifies group dining with smart
  and easy check splitting
• ‘Tap to Pay’ on iOS – Increases table turns by transforming every smartphone into a
  payment terminal
• ‘Scan and Pay’ – Boosts order value by allowing guests to order or close a check themself
• Self-serve Capital – Helps restaurants fund their next stage of growth
• Tip Management – Builds staff loyalty with great tip management
• Enhanced APIs – Gives access to data to customize the Lightspeed experience
• Advanced Insights – Unlocks a previously unavailable layer of business intelligence

“We are helping US restaurants reimagine the way they run their front of house operations, not only to improve efficiency but to help drive additional revenue and change the guest experience for the better,” says Peter Dougherty, GM of Hospitality at Lightspeed. “Lightspeed is on a mission to radically change the restaurant industry, empowering restaurant operators with real-time insights at their fingertips.”

Streamline Ops to Serve Customers Faster
Lightspeed Restaurant helps business owners optimize their time so that they can spend more of it focused on their customers.

• The speed of the Lightspeed Restaurant platform means orders from the server to the
  back of house staff are on average 40% faster* than the competition.
• Improvements to how customers order and pay thanks to the seamless experiences offered with ‘Pay at Table’, ‘Tap to Pay’, and ‘Scan and Pay’ means restaurant operators can say goodbye to unnecessary waiting as guests dine, order, and pay – all from their seat.
• Tip Management means that operators can maximize server earnings with intelligent tip
  suggestion and reporting.
• Enhanced APIs means that external systems can easily integrate into the platform allowing for real-time inventory management.
• A strong offline mode ensures business continuity, even without internet connectivity.

Access to Capital
In the current challenging economic environment, restaurant operators are looking for more options to secure funds. Lightspeed Capital is now easier to access thanks to self-serve Capital embedded within the platform. Qualified restaurant owners can now easily get connected to Lightspeed’s merchant cash advances via in-app functionalities.

Harnessing the Power of Advanced Insights
Lightspeed Restaurant is an industry-leading, lightning-fast solution that offers comprehensive, data-driven insights to help businesses navigate the complex landscape of restaurant operations.
Exclusive features include:

• Server Performance: Empower staff with feedback that improves services and boost
  earnings through performance insights.
• Menu Performance: Use data to discover the dishes that keep customers coming back by
  using a proprietary data matching algorithm to link customer preferences to their profile.
• Time Optimization: Make data-backed staffing decisions to drive peak efficiency.
• Logbook: Keep a finger on the pulse of restaurant operations, even when you’re not there, by automating and connecting restaurant staff together across shifts with a virtual log book.

Read the full press release here.

* Based on internal testing in August 2022 of industry peer check management and other workflows.Lightspeed Restaurant POS requires on average 40% fewer clicks for completing check splitting, discounting and other basic POS workflows than certain industry-leading POS systems in North America. Results outside such internal testing could vary depending on location and other factors

Embedded financial services offering facilitates growth and innovation for ambitious retail and hospitality businesses

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. has expanded Lightspeed Capital, its merchant cash advance program, to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Quebec. Bolstering Lightspeed’s embedded financial services offering, the launch aims to empower businesses with flexible funding in the face of rising inflation costs and turbulent economic conditions. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs who wish to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

“Businesses are the backbone of our communities, and Lightspeed’s goal is to make owning a successful business easier than ever,” said Asha Bakshani, Chief Financial Officer at Lightspeed. “We are thrilled to have expanded the Lightspeed Capital offering throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Quebec. This expansion aims to empower merchants who want to invest in their business. Our goal is to help alleviate roadblocks that traditional funding channels may require so our merchants can continue to focus on what matters most: growing their business while providing the best customer experience.”

Retail and hospitality entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Quebec can welcome a new era of business funding with Lightspeed Capital’s merchant cash advance program. Lightspeed Capital empowers business owners with its unique approach to funding:

• Simple Application: A quick, seamless and stress-free application process for merchants with no personal credit checks
• Flexible Funding: Working capital is available in as few as 2 business days and can be used for any business need, from inventory and equipment through to staffing
• Transparency & Stability: Flat-fee pricing, and no high or shifting rates, allows business owners visibility and peace of mind
• Empowering Growth: Merchants have access to the cash flow they need to expand and take their business to the next level

Capital that can be trusted

On the heels of Lightspeed Capital’s successful launch in the United States, the Lightspeed Capital cash advance program for merchants has taken on new territories, heading to Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Quebec. The program is revolutionizing how traditional business funding works. Exclusively available to Lightspeed Retail and Lightspeed Restaurant users, it boasts the added benefit of personal insight into their specific business needs. Lightspeed’s existing relationship with merchants makes for easier eligibility, underwriting and risk mitigation.

How does Lightspeed Capital work?

• Cash Up-Front: The cash advance program provides working capital up-front to grow and support the merchant’s business
• Predictable Payments: Merchant payments are a percentage of their daily sales; they pay more when their business is doing well, and less if things are slow
• Secure Fees: Flat fees mean merchants don’t have to worry about fluctuating rates
• Clear Communication: Merchants receive notification, in app or by email, that outlines how much they’re eligible for as a cash advance and the flat fee
• No Deadline, No Interest: Merchants remit at the speed of their business. With no strict deadline, merchants can gradually pay the advance as a percentage of their daily transactions

“We had already taken out large loans to open a second store and we didn’t want to sign up for anything additional that might affect our business credit,” said Lightspeed customer Robert Stokes, Techzone Geelong. “The fact that Lightspeed Capital doesn’t count as a loan or impact our business credit reporting really helped take some weight off of our shoulders.”

For business owners, trying to secure funding can be stressful and time consuming. Lightspeed removes the roadblocks and frustrations that merchants face from traditional sources, making access to capital simple, secure and stress-free. The Lightspeed cash advance program is tailored to merchants to support and strengthen their operations and fuel their ambitions. Now with even more Lightspeed users in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Quebec being eligible, more merchants will have the freedom to transform their businesses.

“We believe real-time access to capital is one of the largest challenges facing merchants today,” said JP Chauvet, Lightspeed CEO. “This expansion of Lightspeed Capital provides a simple, streamlined opportunity for our merchants to invest in their business. Our goal is to help turbocharge their operations … all through a single, integrated commerce solution.”

Lightspeed powers the world’s best businesses, including: Playbill, Arctic Spas, Ildico, Elite Supps, Leica Camera, Imagine Exhibitions, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Filson Canada, Melissa Joy Manning, Neal’s Yard Remedies, W Cosmetics, L’Osteria, Mamma, and Kei.

Read the full press release here.

New solution enables brands to upgrade assortment planning with an online platform built to help solve all merchandising needs in a visual, collaborative digital environment

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. launches NuORDER Assortments, a groundbreaking solution that revolutionizes the way brands plan assortments. The cutting-edge technology allows them to visualize, merchandise and plan their assortments—all in one collaborative online environment. NuORDER Assortments gives brands the capability to optimize their assortment to plan for the right mix of products in the right place at the right time. The ability to develop a more localized assortment ensures customers can find what they’re looking for, helping reduce markdowns and increase overall margins.

Traditionally, brands struggled to assort their own retail stores due to manual processes and disconnected data systems. These outdated practices result in continuous updates and errors, leading to inefficiencies and wasted resources. NuORDER Assortments allows brands to bid farewell to cumbersome procedures and embrace a streamlined, collaborative online environment that empowers them to visualize, merchandise, and plan assortments across multiple storefronts more effectively. 

“Our new assortment planning solution is a gamechanger for brands,” said Heath Wells, General Manager, B2B at Lightspeed. “Enabling them to visualize what each store assortment will look like, combined with the ability to slice and dice data  by any product attribute to make more informed decisions, is really something that’s never been done before. NuORDER Assortments empowers brands that own and operate multiple retail locations to optimize their inventory allocation, identify merchandising gaps, and make more informed decisions—all in one unified platform. This technology has been successfully utilized by our esteemed retail partners, including Nordstrom, Saks, and Macy’s, and we’re excited to bring its benefits directly to brands themselves.”

NuORDER Assortments offers tangible benefits to brands that own and operate their own retail locations, streamlining the pre-season assortment planning process and leading to significant time savings. Early adopters of the solution have reported a 55% reduction in time spent on fixing errors, a 40% reduction in time spent on sizing, and an impressive 60% reduction in time spent on manual data entry.

“Implementing NuORDER Assortments meant more accurate roll ups and a clear process to write smarter buys,” said Stephanie Gin, Director of Buying, Brunello Cucinelli. “We now get an immediate visual of the assortment thus making it much easier to analyze and review. The tool has improved collaboration between the merchandising and planning teams, they are now able to analyze and pull live data  throughout the writing process. The tool has replaced all manual processes and has become essential to our buying process.”

Key features will enable brands to:

• Identify & Fill Merchandising Gaps: Conduct visual style-outs with increased visibility. Roll-up and review plans by store or any product attribute.
• Improve Internal Collaboration: Buying, planning, and allocation teams can share and edit assortments in real-time. 
• Streamline Product Allocation: Use pre-set size curves and bulk distribution to more accurately allocate products across stores.
• Boost Productivity: Spend less time on manual data entry.  Robust ERP and backend integrations feed up-to-date product data into the platform.

“We are thrilled to introduce NuORDER Assortments to the market,” added Wells . “To date, the NuORDER by Lightspeed product offering has focused on developing innovative technology to streamline the wholesale buying and selling process. NuORDER Assortments is our first direct to consumer solution, expanding our product offering to revolutionize the way brands merchandise their own stores. Now, brands can transform their planning process, gain valuable insights, and drive more efficient and profitable assortments.”

Read the full press release here.

The rollout of new Lightspeed Retail features such as B2B Catalog and the Scanner App helps established businesses maximize margins and serve customers faster, amidst growing inflation and staffing shortages

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. launches a series of new omnichannel features in its flagship Lightspeed Retail platform to help high GTV merchants weather the turbulent economy. Powering the world’s best businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and become a go-to destination in their space.

New best-in-class Lightspeed Retail features for sophisticated omnichannel businesses:

• B2B Catalog: A transformative integration unique to Lightspeed that gives bike retailers access to supplier inventory data to help streamline product management, with plans to expand to other verticals
• Scanner App: Turns iOS and Android devices into a powerfully simple inventory management tool, enabling easy stock look-up, counting and order fulfillment 
• Price Changes: Maximizes margins and helps retailers stay agile with easy pricing updates across outlets 
• Advanced Marketing: Merchants now have access to a full omnichannel marketing suite integrated with their POS and ecommerce solution to ensure their marketing efforts are driving sales
• Enhanced eCom: New features include improved data visibility and funnel management to help merchants increase ROI, expanded internationalization capabilities to unlock markets across borders and omnichannel payments
• User Permissions: Advanced security and viewing options give owners flexibility and peace of mind while empowering their teams with the right level of visibility
• Unified Payments: Seamless POS and Payments integration captures valuable data, helps reduce fraud and errors through supporting hardware and boosts efficiency by simplifying bookkeeping and onboarding

“Lightspeed is the solution for today’s ambitious retail business owner—and the pain points they’re facing,” says Ana Wight, GM of Lightspeed Retail. “Our advanced omnichannel tools streamline processes across channels and locations, allowing sophisticated merchants to focus their time and energy on what they do best. And with Lightspeed’s move to one flagship retail platform, our best-in-class development team is now even better positioned to continually innovate and evolve our product.” 

Innovative Inventory Management 

Lightspeed Retail’s advanced inventory management features help omnichannel and multilocation retailers with complex inventory gain visibility and efficiency across their in-store and online operations. Lightspeed’s transformative B2B Catalog gives retailers direct access to brand product details, drastically reducing time spent on inventory. The integration is currently available to bike retailers, and will expand to additional verticals in future. In-store tools such as the Lightspeed Scanner App make it easier across the board when receiving and fulfilling orders. “The stocktake process for us used to involve a lot of spreadsheets,” explains Paul Stephens, Head of Data & Technology at Neal’s Yard Remedies. “Now with Lightspeed, people can use devices to scan easily and update the stock record.”

• One-Click Uploads: Empower staff with easy access to omnichannel supplier catalogs to unlock key flows.
• Business Bird’s-Eye-View: Access extensive product information needed by both staff and management from leading suppliers. 
• Stock Lookup: Allows business owners to scan products and see stock inventory across outlets for insight into restock or transfers.
• Fulfilling Orders: Scan items in as they are picked for online orders that are fulfilled by in-store stock.
• Receiving Stock: Save time on inventory with B2B Catalog. Scan in and receive products using a quick-add model, easily importing product details (including images and descriptions) from supplier catalogs to get the products on the shop floor and never miss a sale.
• Stocktake: Gain efficiency with multiple team members using the barcode scanner to count stock and leave notes for managers receiving and updating inventory levels.
• Lists: Create product lists by simply scanning products and sending as a PO or export to CSV.

Advanced Omnichannel Marketing Tools

The new Advanced Marketing module for Lightspeed Retail connects sales data with unique customer profiles, unlocking powerful insights so merchants can optimize their marketing and boost sales, both online and in-store.

• Advanced Customer Segmentation: Merchants can better understand who their customers are, what they want, and how they shop.
• Seamlessly Connected In-store and Online Marketing: Retailers can now sync sales data from their POS and ecommerce tools, and link them to unique customer profiles.
• Detailed ROI and Campaign Reporting: Merchants can now leverage their data to sell smarter with personalized, AI-assisted campaigns.

Expanded Ecommerce Features

New Lightspeed eCom features enable merchants to unlock new revenue streams, increase the ROI of online marketing and advertising efforts, expand to new international markets and easily manage their ecommerce store through their mobile device. 

• Internationalization Tools: New eCom features enable retailers to expand across borders, from a fully translatable storefront and custom checkout fields to multilingual SEO fields to help boost site rankings in new markets.
• Data Visibility and Funnel Improvements: It’s now easier and faster for merchants to connect customer data with Google, helping to offset the cost of customer acquisition, while UTM parameter history helps focus advertising efforts to maximize ROI.
• Pre-Order Improvements: Lightspeed has streamlined their pre-order functionality enabling retailers to quickly and easily add a new revenue stream and manage and sort pre-orders. 
• Enhanced iOS and Android App Features: Lightspeed eCom users can now manage orders on-the-go with greater ease, setting order reminders by phone and accessing instant delivery details in one place.

Price Management

Lightspeed Retail now gives customers the power to easily update pricing across multiple outlets, staying agile in response to inflation and rapidly evolving supplier pricing. Retailers with the ability to change pricing are able to better respond to industry and economic trends to maximize their margins—a particularly valuable feature for high-end and multilocation retailers, where small tweaks can make a big difference. 

New Security and Permissions Capabilities

Lightspeed’s security capabilities mean retail owners and operators with expanding teams can ensure everyone has access to what they need, while keeping confidential information and system of record data safe and secure. New features give retailers:

• Ease of information and flexibility in share controls allowing retailers to adjust permissions for different staff roles 
• Access on the go to all operational workflows for teams and locations
• Flexible user permissions to empower staff from sales to operations
• Adaptable limits to customers’ personal profiles
• Report access from any location at any time to optimize visibility 

Unified Payments & POS

Lightspeed’s unified platform reduces complexity for retailers by streamlining support, simplifying bookkeeping and providing deeper insights through reporting. Focusing on a single, best-in-class omnichannel payments solution allows Lightspeed to innovate and bring new value to customers faster. 

• Daily visibility of cash flow reconciliation within your POS 
• Supporting hardware helps to reduce fraud and errors 
• In-app uploads for AML documents to boost efficiency and speed up onboarding

“Lightspeed having unified payments makes stuff a lot easier on my end,” says Atticus Conway, Manager at Electric Movement, a Chicago-based e-bike retailer and service shop. “With us only having to run one batch at the end of the day, it gives me more face-to-face interaction with our customers. We’re looking for high efficiency,” continues Conway, “and efficiency equals dollars.”

Read the full press release here.

Lightspeed Restaurant empowers ambitious businesses to make data-driven decisions on how to do more with less and drive more revenue

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale and create exceptional customer experiences, will be showcasing new features on its flagship hospitality platform, Lightspeed Restaurant, at the 2023 Restaurant Canada Show April 10-12.

“Since showcasing the brand new Lightspeed Restaurant at last year’s RC Show, we’ve definitely taken things up a notch,” said Peter Dougherty, GM Hospitality, at Lightspeed. “As we continue to add more value for our ambitious customers, we’re excited to demonstrate how our expanded offering empowers restaurateurs to make confident, data-driven decisions to optimize their operations.”

Revamped with best-in-class modules, such as Lightspeed Advanced Insights,  fueled by transaction data captured by Lightspeed Payments, and  savvy integrations including OpenTable, Lightspeed Restaurant is helping  independent restaurateurs around the globe do better with less. The easy-to-use system provides clear and actionable insights that restaurant operators can leverage to make the right decisions faster,  such as which menu items will turn a guest into a repeat customer. Restaurant operators will find everything they need to help save time and money, drive  revenue and scale their business.

The one-stop commerce solution for businesses with big ambitions, Lightspeed Restaurant, will be on display in the Tech Pavilion at Booth #1227 at the Enercare Centre. Product experts will be offering live demonstrations of features like Advanced Insights, Order Anywhere, Automated Inventory, Lightspeed Payments and more.

Lightspeed powers the world’s best restaurants, including: Five Guys (Canada), Daniel Boulud Group (NYC), Alinea Group (Chicago), Canlis (Seattle), Big Mamma  (Europe), Kei (Paris)  and Maybe Sammy (Sydney), and is now available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia.  Click to see Lightspeed Restaurant in action.

Read the full press release here.

Lightspeed Restaurant experiences a change of scenery, delivering votes, decisions, and more in one-of-a-kind reality show

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale, and create exceptional customer experiences, has partnered with Netflix on a new reality series, “Pressure Cooker,” released today.

In the first culinary competition of its kind, Pressure Cooker follows 11 chefs, living under one roof, as they navigate gastronomic challenges while managing the politics and social dynamics of the group. As their own judges, the contestants will showcase their craft while strategically competing for the favour (and votes) of the other chefs. A “virtual host,” in the form of Lightspeed’s flagship hospitality solution, Lightspeed Restaurant, delivers news of the next challenge, opportunity, or obstacle.

“We’re thrilled to see Lightspeed Restaurant take on a personality of its own, as the ‘host’ of this saucy new series,” said Peter Dougherty, General Manager, Hospitality, at Lightspeed. “As the culinary industry continues to transform, we’re excited to be part of this new take on back-of-house competition. We’re even more excited for viewers to get a glimpse into what Lightspeed Restaurant can do.”

Smart POS solution, Lightspeed Restaurant, comes to life to communicate tasks and act as the chefs’ voting station, ultimately transmitting the decision of who will stay and who will go. The chefs will need to impress their peers with culinary and leadership skills alike, as they compete for votes, and the grand prize of $100,000. 

In addition to its newfound celebrity, Lightspeed Restaurant provides the following key merchant resources to help restaurant owners back data-driven decisions about how best to run their business: 

• Advanced insights:
  Lightspeed Restaurant informs operators what turns customers into regulars, who their best wait staff are and why and makes them feel like they’re on the floor every day even across multiple locations.
• Speed and automation for the front of the house:
  Optimized by years of user testing, Lightspeed Restaurant is easy to use and train on, key for hiring and retaining staff and running smoother shifts in busy environments.
• Comprehensive integrated inventory:
  Track and automate inventory without breaking the bank. Know exactly how much product was sold, how much is still on hand, and how much is needed from a supplier for the next order.
• Innovative ordering and payments with Order Anywhere:
  Fully integrated with Lightspeed Restaurant, Order Anywhere provides contactless ordering and payments for dine-in, and commission-free ordering for takeout, with the flexibility to either pre-pay online or pay at pick up, while avoiding expensive third-party fees. 
• Real-time data:
  Restaurant owners, chefs and managers receive a daily email detailing everything they need to know before doors open, and a shift prep email detailing reservations, VIP guests, and notes for the service ahead.

Pressure Cooker is now streaming on Netflix. Learn more about Lightspeed Restaurant here.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale, and create exceptional customer experiences, has today announced the initial launch of it’s flagship hospitality product, Lightspeed Restaurant in the Australian market – a unified hospitality commerce and point-of-sale (POS) platform to power Australia’s restaurant revival.

Unveiling at Fine Food Australia, and coming soon to Australian businesses, Lightspeed Restaurant, an industry-leading cloud platform, combines an innovative POS, contactless integrated payments, online ordering, advanced inventory, industry leading analytics and more; enabling operators to run smarter, more efficient restaurants. The local launch of Lightspeed Restaurant integrates cutting edge technology to build a single product that incorporates the best features of Australian leading Kounta and the breadth and sophistication of Lightspeed’s market leading capabilities, and comes as Australia’s world-famous dining industry continues to defy economic pressure.

Data from a subset of Australian restaurants, cafes and bars using Lightspeed in July found that year-over-year revenue was up 50.3% in restaurants, 48.5% in bars, and 25.7% in cafes compared to the same month in 2021. Remarkably, July was the sixth successive month of year-over-year growth*. 

Peter Dougherty, General Manager of Hospitality, at Lightspeed, said: “Bringing Lightspeed Restaurant to an Australian market famed for the vibrancy of its hospitality sector is an exciting moment for Lightspeed. Restaurants have rapidly accelerated their digital transformation in recent years, and today merchants can’t compromise when it comes to technology. Lightspeed Restaurant allows Australian restaurant owners to take control of seat level ordering, multiple service environments, complex printing setups, and more, all through a single commerce platform – providing the solution they need to meet and exceed the needs of their customers, empower their team and overcome the challenges of today.”

Key features of Lightspeed Restaurant include:

• Advanced insights: Lightspeed Restaurant informs operators what turns customers into regulars, who their best wait staff are and why, and makes them feel like they’re on the floor every day even across multiple locations.
• Comprehensive integrated inventory: Track and automate inventory without breaking the bank. Know exactly how much product was sold, how much is still on hand, and how much is needed from a supplier for the next order.
• Speed and automation for the front of the house: Optimised by years of user testing, Lightspeed Restaurant is easy to use and train on, key for hiring and retaining staff and running smoother shifts in busy environments. 
• Innovative ordering and payments with Order Anywhere: Fully integrated with Lightspeed Restaurant, Order Anywhere provides contactless ordering and payments for dine-in, and commission-free ordering for takeout, with the flexibility to either pre-pay online or pay at pick up, while avoiding expensive third-party fees. 
• Real-time data: Restaurant owners, chefs and managers receive a daily email detailing everything they need to know before doors open, and a shift prep email detailing reservations, VIP guests, and notes for the service ahead. 

Bluebonnet Barbecue, Melbourne’s iconic Texas-style BBQ venue, has been using Lightspeed Restaurant  in the initial launch phase. Bluebonnet’s Manager, Mikey Buchanan, said the platform gives the business a competitive advantage and the foundations to overcome challenges and provide better experiences for customers and employees alike.

“We’ve been looking for a platform like Lightspeed Restaurant for years. The access to real-time insights has given us a deeper, more accurate understanding of our business than we’ve ever had before. It’s incredibly powerful and sophisticated, but also user-friendly, which is so important in a transient industry where staff come and go. 

“Rather than using different systems for different business functions everything is on one system, driving operational efficiencies which benefit our team and, ultimately, our customers. We’re passionate about our craft and our customers, and with Lightspeed Restaurant we spend less time working on administration and non-revenue generating tasks and more time delivering the food and experiences that bring people together.” 

The initial launch of Lightspeed Restaurant in Australia follows the recent launch of Lightspeed Payments, an integrated, contactless payments processor that gives hospitality and retail businesses the ability to process customer payments directly from their point-of-sale. 

Read the full press release to learn more.

*The anonymised data was collected from the monthly revenue figures and year over year growth of restaurateurs using Lightspeed restaurant products from January 2021 – July 2022.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale, and create exceptional customer experiences, today announced the expansion of its systems integration partnership with OpenTable (part of Booking Holdings Inc.,), a leading restaurant platform and provider of online restaurant reservations. 

The rich integration between OpenTable and Lightspeed enables the two systems to communicate in real-time, streamlining the core information restaurants need to run an efficient floor all in one place. Those using the Lightspeed and OpenTable systems integration can better understand diner behavior and spending, get up-to-the-minute updates on table status, and track revenue in real-time, harnessing the power of both systems. 

The partnership expansion comes as restaurants continue to face a difficult operating environment with rising costs and staff shortages, putting a new emphasis on the need to drive efficiencies, without compromising the guest experience. 

Restaurants using the integration can benefit from:

• Improved table turnaround times with up-to-the-second updates, so hosts know the status of every table. 
• Automated check creation once a meal is completed. 
• Quickly viewing information on past visits including average spend, previous order info and more, allowing staff to provide a greater level of customer familiarity and hospitality. 
• Interactive reports available anytime, anywhere, giving restaurateurs real-time access to restaurant performance, revenue, and more.

“Lightspeed restaurants are always looking to help provide the best possible guest experience. This partnership gives management and staff in-depth guest details for every reservation,” said Lightspeed Hospitality GM Peter Dougherty. “OpenTable is an industry-leading restaurant platform, and we’re proud to bring more resources like this to our customers around the world.”

“Our integration partnership with Lightspeed gives restaurants even more tools to help provide exceptional hospitality while protecting their bottom line,” said Susan Lee, Chief Growth Officer for OpenTable. “We’ve seen success in Europe, and we look forward to bringing these capabilities to more owners and operators across North America.”

The new flagship Lightspeed Restaurant and the OpenTable integration are must-have tools for the busy summer ahead in hospitality. To learn more about the OpenTable partnership, click here. 

How Craft House Improved Sales and Table Turn Time with Lightspeed & OpenTable

Blake Mellgren, chef and owner of Craft House bar and restaurant in Dana Point, California has seen success with the integration: “The big driver for us was the ability to keep track of guests through the whole dining experience, and quantify those experiences.” 

Now that many restaurants see turn times as a key opportunity to optimize the ROI of each shift, Mellgren says: “Instead of having to walk through the restaurant and status everybody, which wastes time, the host knows exactly where the meal is. Using the OpenTable and Lightspeed integration helps create a better workflow so everybody is on the same page, allowing us to be one step ahead.” 

Using the OpenTable and Lightspeed Restaurant integration has also helped Mellgren have a better sense of his VIP guests’ preferences. “Seeing in the Lightspeed and OpenTable integration what your customers are ordering on a regular basis is a nice feature. We may not know them as a regular yet, but you can access that data if you want to connect the dots and it’s all at your fingertips,” said Mellgren.

Read the full press release to learn more.

Lightspeed Payments for Golf features new hardware and seamless, integrated payments technology from booking to the pro shop and hospitality services.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale, and create exceptional customer experiences, today announced the launch of Lightspeed Payments for Golf. This expansion advances Lightspeed’s commitment to bring seamless, integrated payments to its customers globally across products and industries. 

“Payment processing has historically been fragmented and costly for golf operators. Managing a business comes with a myriad of responsibilities, and operators see value in being able to consolidate where their services come from. Lightspeed provides a complementary set of tools and services that alleviate these pain points for modern golf courses and resorts,” said David Hope, General Manager, Golf. “Lightspeed Payments will help our customers streamline their online and physical revenue centers under one integrated payments technology while offering built-in reporting and administrative tools right in their POS.”

Lightspeed Payments is an easy-to-use integrated payment processing solution that empowers merchants with more insights about their business and customers while providing the ease and time savings of working with a single vendor across software with embedded payments. The continued expansion of Lightspeed’s integrated payments solution is core to their strategy of simplifying the customer experience.

“This expansion equips our Golf merchants with the same caliber of payment technology available to major global enterprises from directly within their Lightspeed commerce platform. This gives them more data, resources, and most importantly, time back in their day to focus on their business and their passion,” said General Manager, Payments Jona Georgiou. 

Key features of Lightspeed Payments for Golf include:

• Frictionless, faster processing at competitive rates: Save on payment processing fees across an entire golf operation (online or in-store, tee time bookings, pro shop, or hospitality).
• Comprehensive reporting and robust analytics that interact directly with Lightspeed Golf: access accurate, easy-to-read reports faster with native reporting.  
• Manage your business in one place: simplify your operations with a one-stop solution for payment processing and POS software to improve booking and check-in for staff and golfers.
• Receive free, personalized support from one provider.
• Reduce no-shows with the option to require pre-payment online. 
• Enhanced payment security backed by a global network: EMV, tokenization, and end-to-end encryption. A single source for operational support with chargebacks, fraud, and customer queries. Flexibility with a range of localized payment options, as well as access to Lightspeed Capital for those who qualify. 

Fairways Golf saved on POS operational costs by switching to Lightspeed Golf Payments

For over 10 years, Fairways Golf Membership has prided itself in being Ohio’s best value option for golfing. Offering accessibility for golfers at Mallard Creek, Pine Brook, Briarwood, and Hinckley Hills Golf Clubs, Fairways Golf Membership has a goal to grow the game of golf.

By signing up with Lightspeed, Fairways received a complete commerce solution that helps them operate their restaurant and pro shops all from a single provider. Additionally, with Lightspeed’s transparent payments pricing, Fairways was able to significantly reduce processing costs. Neil McGrew, Director of Sales and Marketing, knew he needed a POS that could manage four busy golf courses from the restaurant to the pro shop. Not only did Lightspeed cost significantly less than their previous system, but it allowed Fairways to offer fast and contactless transactions at every facility. “Lightspeed Payments’ new card readers are fast and easy to use—whether the card’s inserted or using the tap to pay feature,” said McGrew. “This is a benefit to help us run daily operations more efficiently to keep the experience enjoyable for all.”

As commerce becomes increasingly digital and consumer-driven, integrated payments are a cornerstone that connects systems and software to keep a business running smoothly. This integration allows omnichannel merchants to process payments quickly online and off, and streamline their business operations all from a single commerce platform, with premium analytics, reporting, reconciliation, and resources to win chargeback disputes and recover lost sales at no added cost.

Read the full press release to learn more.

Combining the power of the original Lightspeed Supplier Network and NuORDER by Lightspeed, the new Lightspeed B2B will connect thousands of the world’s best brands and retailers, empowering merchants to instantly order and seamlessly sell on any channel.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc., the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale, and create exceptional customer experiences, today announced the launch of the new Lightspeed B2B platform to North American fashion, outdoor, and sports retailers, with broader vertical and feature availability in the coming months. The launch of this transformative new solution will bring together thousands of the world’s best brands and retailers with a cutting-edge supplier network tool that integrates B2B orders directly into the point of sale (POS).

“After four years of owning a retail business, I’ve never been so excited for a retail product in my entire career,” said Lightspeed B2B user Christine Iksic, Founder and CEO of 3 Rivers Outdoor Co. “I’m so happy the Lightspeed B2B platform exists, and I’m going to tell every brand they need to just switch to Lightspeed B2B.”

This innovative, first-of-its-kind solution is the culmination of integrating technology from Lightspeed’s acquisition of NuORDER into the Lightspeed Retail platform. The Lightspeed B2B platform boasts thousands of brands, including Tom Ford, Coach, Theory, Black Diamond, and Outdoor Voices. Retailers will be able to use this platform to order directly from brands in the Lightspeed Commerce platform.

“We saw an enormous opportunity to transform how retailers work with their brands,” said Lightspeed CEO JP Chauvet. “With the technology and expertise brought in through the NuORDER acquisition, we’ve been able to create a truly transformational, integrated brand supplier network for the retail industry. We’ve completely re-invented the buying and inventory process for brands and retailers, and Lightspeed B2B is bringing them a robust, high-end brand network.”

Today, the wholesale supply chain between independent retailers and brands is riddled with inefficiencies and archaic processes. Both sides run systems completely independently and without any connection or integration of data – until now. Existing workflows do not meet the modern needs of retailers when it comes to inventory acquisition, management, and distribution, resulting in risks to revenue for all sides. Additionally, sell-through reporting is siloed, meaning brands have near-zero visibility into what sells to consumers. Without this visibility, brands cannot assist retailers by proactively helping with refills, exchanges, and anticipating the needs of the consumer.

The new Lightspeed B2B platform improves the connection between brands and retailers, automating the omnichannel retail experience, and liberating retailers from manual, time-consuming workflows. Lightspeed B2B reduces friction, saves time, and offers additional insights by putting a single network at the fingertips of brands and retailers.

Benefits of Lightspeed B2B for Retailers

• Accessible on-demand ordering. Digital catalogs available directly in the Lightspeed B2B platform make it easy to browse and order products from existing brand partners.
• Massive inventory and ordering time savings for retailers and omnichannel enablement. No more photographing or cataloging new inventory. Retailers place an order directly from their Lightspeed Retail platform and save time by having all order details, products, and inventory updated in their POS immediately, ready and available for sale in-store or online on any channel.
• Discover and connect with new brands as a verified retailer. Lightspeed B2B’s deep brand relationships bring in-demand brands directly to the back office of every Lightspeed retailer.

Benefits for Brands

• Robust data insights. Once the initial Lightspeed B2B rollout is complete, brands will get direct insight into sell-through data about their products across retailers in the Lightspeed ecosystem, bringing them closer to consumers with a direct feedback loop of product intel.
• Control catalogs and share important attribution. Easily share and maintain a brand catalog across the network of qualified Lightspeed retailers.
• One location for all orders. Once the initial Lightspeed B2B rollout is complete, brands will be able to receive orders from across the Lightspeed customer ecosystem all in one place.

“Wholesale retail ordering is a broken industry and we have always felt a responsibility to solve for both sides of the brand and retailer equation,” said Heath Wells, General Manager of the new Lightspeed B2B platform, and co-founder of NuORDER. “With this launch, we’re offering transformative value for brands and retailers that represents an inflection point in the history of retail. This new tool enables independent businesses to discover new products, gain insights that were previously unattainable, and gain access to product catalogs and integrated ordering on one network. The disruption of the last two years has cemented the need for independent retailers to leverage technology to remain agile and the new Lightspeed B2B Network is deeply in line with our mission to strengthen their operational resilience.”

The completed Lightspeed B2B will provide brands with robust tools to sell in real-time with real-time data and feedback about their products, accelerating feedback loops between consumers and brands so they can evaluate trends in real-time. Lightspeed B2B is now rolling out exclusively to Lightspeed Retail customers in North America in the fashion, outdoor, and sports verticals. Select retailers can access Lightspeed B2B directly from the Lightspeed Retail platform.

Read the full press release to learn more. 

Hospitality is BACK! The Lightspeed Restaurant team attended back-to-back events at Toronto’s Restaurant Canada show and the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago in May, and it was great to reconnect with our customers and see so many people back at hospitality trade shows. This was also our first opportunity to show off the new flagship Lightspeed Restaurant commerce platform, and the response was really exciting.

This year at NRA, I was joined on the main stage by customers Jarred Drown and Sam Barton of Terrace Bay. Terrace Bay was an early user of the new flagship Lightspeed Restaurant platform, and shared their experiences using technology, data, and advanced analytics to run a more efficient and profitable hospitality business. Terrace Bay is a hotel with a restaurant, coffee shop and banquet business that was purchased by Drown in 2016. He and his team breathed new life into the established business, but their key focus was to really make the restaurant its own brand, amplify that brand with consistent marketing, and really make their restaurant operations more efficient. Their previous POS partner was slowing them down – updates could only be made from the back office, and any issue required hours on the phone with customer support. Switching to Lightspeed Restaurant was a game-changer.

Just like every business, the last two years hit Terrace Bay hard. “In the spring of 2021, staffing was critically low to the point that we considered reducing our dinner service,” said Terrace Bay owner Jarred Drown. “We decided to change our strategy and start offering higher wages, healthcare, 401Ks, and shorter workweeks to our staff. To accommodate this, we had to raise our prices significantly to keep profits in line.” Terrace Bay also faced the same issue many restaurants currently face with rising food costs. Their solution was to diversify their inventory providers and work with local vendors, and to really make sure their service and ambiance matched current prices. “The costs are up across the board so we just have to raise prices,” said Drown. “You can only trim costs so much when you’re working with quality ingredients.”

To ensure their service is on point, the Terrace Bay team uses Lightspeed Restaurant’s custom reports to make sure their servers are turning tables faster, upselling, and providing high-quality service. They also used Lightspeed Restaurant PMix data and new cooking equipment to streamline kitchen operations so dishes are moving out of the kitchen faster, also contributing to improved table turn times, since more tables-per-shift mean higher revenues. They’ve also implemented Lightspeed pay-at-table devices and iPads to take orders and accept payment faster.

“With Lightspeed, the data is easier to access and customize than any other POS,” said Drown. “Every manager wants to push their staff in different ways, and Lightspeed’s custom reports help us drive incentive programs for the servers. Being able to look at each server individually is really helpful.”

Another key feature of their new POS technology is how much time they save every week on everything from updating menus, to bookkeeping and payments reconciliation. “In the past, we tried shopping around to find the lowest processing fees from a payments provider,” said Drown. “But with Lightspeed Restaurant, we’ve found it’s much more convenient to have everything in one place. When you’re dealing with refunds or chargebacks, having a fully integrated payment solution is the way to go. We love that Lightspeed offers that as an option. We’ve also leveraged Lightspeed’s tableside payment solution, which really speeds up service and helps us turn tables faster.”

Front of House and F&B Manager Sam Barton shared that the new system has saved her hours a week in managing menus and training, and has also saved hours a week for their bookkeeper who now has access to all of their sales data in one place. “With our previous POS vendor we did not have full access to manage the system remotely,” said Drown, “That’s been awesome for Sam to manage remotely and see those changes instantly. Lightspeed also has a full suite of operations for our hotel and restaurant dining as well as the coffee shop. It was the most flexible solution for our span of operations.”

The other key insights shared by Terrace Bay were around their robust marketing strategy. The team moved their marketing budget from TV and Radio to Facebook traffic ads, targeted within an hour radius of their restaurant, and changing every few weeks. “Many businesses see it as an expense rather than an investment,” said Drown. “But we weren’t afraid to invest because we knew it’d pay off.” Barton noted the team’s investment in really responding to every social media comment has also built their online relationship with customers. “We post more often and when people have questions we really answer, vs having a bot or canned response,” Barton said.

Drown and his team also invested in branding the restaurant as a stand-alone entity vs. just a hotel dining room. This creates more demand from local customers, and they are constantly evaluating their menu to make sure what they’re offering is unique to the area. Additionally, the business now offers and widely advertises free birthday dinners in exchange for an email sign up. This has helped them grow their email list to over 7,000 customers which is nearly 25% of the entire county! With this list, Drown and team reach out directly about events, specials, and new menu items.

We’re so grateful to all the customers, operators, and restaurateurs who stopped by our booths to say hello and check out the new Lightspeed Restaurant, and to Terrace Bay for sharing their knowledge and experience on the main stage.

-Peter Dougherty, GM, Hospitality