What is a POS for fashion retailers?

A POS (point of sale) is the system where transactions occur between the retailer and the customer. In the fashion and garment industry, a POS system helps manage sales, track customer preferences and optimize stock levels, ensuring a seamless shopping experience and effective inventory control. POS systems are crucial in retail as they facilitate sales, manage inventory and provide valuable data insights. Clothing stores commonly use POS systems to manage operations efficiently and streamline payments. POS payment works by processing transactions through various payment methods, recording sales and updating stock in real time. POS systems like Lightspeed also double as inventory management software.

How do clothing stores keep track of inventory?

Clothing stores keep track of inventory using POS systems that record stock levels, track sales and update data in real time. Retail stores often use barcodes and RFID tags for precise tracking. Inventory checks can occur weekly, monthly or quarterly to maintain accuracy. For clothing stores, the perpetual inventory control method, which continuously updates inventory records, is recommended. The simplest way to track inventory is through an integrated POS system like Lightspeed, combining sales and inventory data for real-time updates.

How do I make an inventory list for clothes?

To make an inventory list for clothes, start by listing all items in your store, including details such as item name, category, size, color and quantity. You can get inventory for your clothing store by sourcing from wholesalers, manufacturers or fashion markets. To keep an inventory of your clothing, use a reliable system like Lightspeed, which integrates inventory management with sales data for real-time updates. When creating your own inventory, categorize items by type and assign unique identifiers or barcodes. The amount of inventory you should have depends on your sales volume, storage capacity and demand trends, but it’s essential to maintain a balance to avoid overstocking or understocking.

What is the best inventory management software for a clothing store?

We think the best inventory management software for a clothing store is one that offers comprehensive features tailored to retail needs, like Lightspeed. More simple POS systems like QuickBooks can manage inventory, but lack the specialized features found in dedicated retail inventory systems like Lightspeed. Excel can be used for basic inventory tracking, but is not an inventory management software.

Clothing store POS

The clothing store POS system that lets you sell with style

Manage your inventory, customers, sales channels and more with Lightspeed's apparel inventory management software and all in one point of sale.

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Why Lightspeed's clothing and shoe store POS system?

Apparel inventory management software

Easily organize, track and manage products with variants and sizes

Ecommerce for selling everywhere

Online marketplaces, social media, your own site—be where your customers are

Built-in purchasing and supplier marketplace

Get connected to thousand of top apparel and shoe brands and manage orders in your POS

Customer service tools and profiles

Make every shopper feel like a regular with tools to empower your employees

Clothing inventory management across all your stores and channels.

Improve your product organization and keep merch moving with Lightspeed Retail's stock management software.

Easily check on your inventory to ensure your shelves are always well-stocked
Import products individually or in bulk to track and manage products efficiently
Track details like sizes or colors, and use custom fields for unique product attributes
Reduce shrink and admin errors with built-in inventory counting features

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apparel shop, in the foreground retail interface

Sell across all channels, online and off, with an omnichannel clothing store POS.

Whether they're shopping in store, online or on social media, Lightspeed Retail gets you in front of your customers.

Sell on your website or on online marketplaces with robust ecommerce tools
Showcase your products and drive sales on social platforms like Instagram and Facebook
Enjoy flexibility with order fulfillment by using tools like click-and-collect or shipping
Manage your inventory and sales from one convenient platform

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Automate your apparel buying and receiving with Lightspeed clothing store POS.

Lightspeed B2B allows you to add thousands of products from popular fashion suppliers directly from your POS and import purchase orders in a click directly to your POS.

Access millions of brands and products across thousands of suppliers using the B2B Catalog
Import supplier-approved product information including description, images and UPC in a single click
Leverage NuORDER by Lightspeed to shop from thousands of top fashion brands and import your purchase orders directly to your POS

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Harness your business' power with built-in reporting.

Stay ahead of the curve, with meaningful insights from customer behaviour to managing margins.

Track your performance with real-time reports for sales, inventory and employees
See peak hours with centralized data for in-store and online, that lets you adapt accordingly
Access reports from anywhere with timely, accurate and mobile-friendly reporting
Flexible reporting empowers you to customize by time period, customer type and more

Get data

Powerful fashion insights are just a tap away.

Want to know who your best shoppers are, and how to keep them coming back? Boutique POS system software from Lightspeed keeps you on top of customer management.

Use real-time sales reports togain an accurate view of apparel sales, velocity and profitability
Get a handle on peak hours and sales periods to keep your boutique well-staffed
Access your reports from anywhere—save, schedule or send to key stakeholders
Improve operational efficiency with proactive and precise stock management
Minimize losses with suggested order quantities based on top trends, past stockouts and missed sales

Talk to an expert

I was on my old POS for about a year and a half before I was like, there's got to be something better. Lightspeed stood out. It has everything you want and everything you want to know about your business.

Lisa Bobb, Owner, Squash Blossom Boutique

Everything you need to process sales and get paid in one place.

Accept any amount, with any card, from any issuer, all at one predictable rate. No third-party accounts, no hidden fees—just fast and secure integrated payments.

Clear and simple pricing (no hidden fees)
Accept payments from all major credit and debit cards, Apple and Google Pay
Get paid securely with PCI compliance and end-to-end encryption

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Top retail tools available with Lightspeed point of sale

Increase customer loyalty and retention with marketing automation.

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Showcase your in-store inventory on Google to help drive foot traffic to your store.

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Track hours, create schedules and manage labor costs with this employee management tool.

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Quickly launch email marketing campaigns by syncing your customer data with Mailchimp.

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Considering the switch to Lightspeed?

Switching to Lightspeed is easy. From data migration to hardware and payments setup, our industry experts will support you each step of the way.

Get fast 24/7 support
One-on-one onboarding
Dedicated Account Manager to answer every question

customer service agent wearing headset standing beside a computer monitor

Sleek and sophisticated point of sale display with recipt printer and portable handheld payment device.

Retail POS hardware? We've got it.

Whether you're stationing your POS on the counter or walking around with an iPad, Lightspeed will help you find the right retail hardware setup. Your perfect wireless experience awaits.

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