Square just upgraded its mobile dashboard app to help merchants make real-time decisions

Square is bringing its analytics platform to mobile, allowing Square merchants to track their sales data segmented by item, time and location. The Dashboard app's purpose is to give business owners access to their company's performance on the go. Square already offered its clients the ability to peruse through performance metrics, however, the stats weren't available in an app. The app could help merchants make real-time decisions related to re-stocking inventory, extending their business hours, and re-staffing.

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Square's dashboard app is another value-add feature that can help Square in two key ways:

• Merchant loyalty - Square's core product, the Square reader, is inexpensive which means it isn't hard to give up in favor of another point-of-sale device. To reduce client churn, Square has constantly been adding ancillary services that help merchants run their businesses. Features like Dashboard can add value to a merchant's relationship with Square which increases dependency.
• Greater payments volume - Square's merchant services can help clients run their businesses more effectively, which in turn can lead to higher sales. For example, Square Dashboard's sales data can help an owner optimize their business hours to maximize sales. This ultimately benefits Square, because their readers are processing more payments volume which means increased transaction revenue.

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