Starmount on the forefront of mobile sales technology

As industry analysts see it, plenty of big retailers in this country have Apple envy. They are both amazed at the sales volumes that Apple Inc. transacts in its stores and intrigued by how the computing giant does it. In its latest fiscal year, Apple reported its retail store sales exceeded $14 billion.

Aside from the big dollars involved, other retailers like the nifty way that Apple interacts with its in-store customers.

Apple stores let customers call a salesperson by using iPad tablets. That way, salespeople can quickly find customers with questions, even if the store is crowded (and Apple stores are often crowded). A few retailers are trying a similar approach — supplying salespeople with smartphones and tablets to better deal with customer questions.

It marks a big change in retailing, and Austin-based software company Starmount Inc. is among those developing the technology to make it happen smoothly. The industry calls this technology MPOS, for "mobile point of sale," but it's really about arming the salesperson with key product information needed to interact more effectively with customers.

The early version of Starmount's system, Engage, has been installed in more than 400 Urban Outfitters stores across the country. And the company is moving fast to work with more retailers and add capabilities to its system. Leading retailers are extremely interested in putting more smart mobile devices in their stores that will be integrated into their inventory control and product shipping systems, analysts say.

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