Computer shops
Ecommerce and repair tracking for computer shops
A computer shop is really two businesses sharing a counter: selling hardware, where you are up against the online giants, and repairs, where you are not up against anybody but yourself.
Workshop - 28 jobs
Auto status updates on
An illustration of the kind of screen this builds towards - yours is built around how your computer shop actually runs.
The reality
Where the time and money goes in a computer shop
"Is my laptop ready yet?"
Every repair generates two or three chasing calls, each one taking somebody away from the bench. Multiply by thirty jobs on the go and it is a serious drag on the workshop.
Competing on price with the big retailers
You will not win on a headline price for a standard laptop. You win on advice, on being local, on having it today and on sorting it out when it goes wrong - none of which most shop websites mention.
Customers cannot find the right part
Somebody needs RAM that fits their machine. If they cannot filter by compatibility they will go to a site that lets them, even at a worse price.
Stock does not match the shelf
Selling something you have already sold in the shop is the fastest way to lose an online customer permanently.
Custom builds are a long email thread
A customer wants a gaming PC to a budget. Specifying it back and forth by email takes days and often ends in nothing.
The approach
How we'd fix it
The repair side is where the quickest win is. Every job gets a reference and a status page - booked in, diagnosed, awaiting parts, awaiting approval, ready to collect - with an automatic text when the status changes. That removes most of the chasing calls at a stroke, and it makes the shop look considerably more organised than the one down the road with a paper job book.
On the sales side, the aim is not to beat the big retailers on price. It is to be the obvious choice for people who want it today, want it fitted, or want to talk to somebody who knows what they are talking about. That means proper spec filtering and compatibility so people can find the right part, honest stock levels, click and collect prominently offered, and a custom build configurator that turns a three-day email thread into a specification and a price in ten minutes.
What we build
Built for computer shops
Repair job tracking
A reference and a status page per job, with automatic updates at each stage, so the chasing calls stop.
Approval for extra work
Diagnosis and cost sent to the customer with photos, approved from their phone, so machines stop sitting on the bench waiting.
Spec and compatibility filtering
Filter by socket, capacity, form factor or by machine, so people find the part that actually fits.
Click and collect
Buy online, pick it up today - the one thing the big online retailers cannot offer, and the thing that brings people into the shop.
Custom PC configurator
Pick components with compatibility checked as they go, get a price and a build time, and pay a deposit.
Trade-in and refurb management
Trade-in valuations requested online, and refurbished stock listed with its own condition grading.
What changes
The difference it makes
- The workshop stops being interrupted by status calls
- Repairs move faster because approval happens in minutes, not days
- Local customers buy from you because they can have it today
- Custom builds get specified and paid for in one sitting
In practice
A worked example: the status page
A shop with around thirty repairs on the go at any one time worked out that it was fielding somewhere near fifty chasing calls a week. Each one was short, and each one took somebody off the bench, found the job, checked the status and went back to what they were doing.
A status page per job with automatic texts at each stage removed nearly all of them. Customers get told when the diagnosis is done, when parts are ordered, when it is ready - before they think to ring. The workshop got a meaningful chunk of its week back, and the shop started getting reviews mentioning how well informed people felt, which was not the point but was a useful side effect.
The systems behind it
What this is built from
Everything on this page is put together from the same handful of systems, shaped around how computer shops actually work.
Ecommerce Solutions
Sell online properly: a catalogue that is easy to manage, secure payments, stock that stays accurate, click and collect and delivery.
Booking Systems
Take appointments day and night, hold deposits up front, keep every staff calendar straight and cut no-shows with automatic reminders.
Questions
Computer Shops - the questions I get asked
Can customers track their repair themselves?
Yes, and it is usually the change that pays for the whole build. Each job gets a reference and a status page, with automatic texts as it moves from booked in to diagnosed to ready. Most shops are fielding dozens of chasing calls a week, and nearly all of them stop.
How do we compete with the big online retailers on price?
You do not, and you should not try. You compete on having it today, on fitting it, on advice, and on being somebody a customer can walk back in to see if it goes wrong. Click and collect is the sharpest version of that - the one thing a warehouse two hundred miles away cannot offer.
Can customers find parts that fit their machine?
That is what proper filtering is for - by socket, capacity, form factor or by make and model of machine. It is the single most common reason people buy a part from a large site rather than a local shop, and it is entirely fixable.
Can we offer custom PC builds online?
Yes, with a configurator that checks compatibility as the customer picks components, shows a running price and gives a realistic build time. A deposit is taken at the end. It converts far better than the usual back-and-forth email thread, mostly because it happens while the customer is still enthusiastic.
Will it keep stock in step with the shop?
If your till system has an API, yes - the two can be kept in step so something sold over the counter comes off the website immediately. If not, stock is managed in one place and the shop works from that. Either way the aim is that you never sell online something that went out of the door an hour ago.
Similar businesses I work with
All industries →Retail Stores
Sell the range that will not fit on the shelf, let people reserve and collect today, and turn online browsing into footfall.
Car Dealerships
Stock that goes live in minutes, test drives booked online, and part-exchange and finance enquiries that arrive already qualified.
Cafes
Pre-orders that beat the morning queue, loyalty without the cardboard card, and catering enquiries that stop being a phone call.
Run a computer shop? Let's have a look at it
Tell me how things work at the moment and I'll come back with a clear, fixed quote - and an honest view on whether it's worth the money. No pressure and no jargon.