Most retail software fails on the sales floor rather than in the demo. A tool can look brilliant in a pitch deck and still end up unused because it asks associates to change everything at once.

Sometimes when you're building a product, it's not about creating something completely novel (adoption would be terrible). Instead, it's better to first consider the obvious, "low-hanging fruit" problems that your customers can't solve on their own. We learned this lesson firsthand in the early days of Endear.

Before we started building anything, we spent a lot of time speaking to our target audience. It became clear very quickly that retail associates had a lot of logistical obstacles and hurdles that stood in the way of how well they could do their jobs. Try as they might, without any tech solution, many of our future users were stuck in the stone age of physical notebooks, pen, and paper at the same time that their customers were flocking to e-commerce.

Endear is all about moving retail forward, but we also knew that overlooking pre-existing pain points that may have seemed small on the surface could limit user interest. A solution to a pre-existing problem is often more welcome than an entirely new approach to a job that also comes with a learning curve.

The immediate problems we solved are not the reasons a brand is interested in using Endear, but we believe they are part of why adoption is so rapid.

Below, you'll find the 12 problems we've tackled, from the first ones we heard in store back rooms to the newer ones we're solving with AI. After that, we'll cover what Endear CRM reviews say, who Endear is (and isn't) built for, and answers to the questions retailers ask us most. First, a quick primer on what Endear actually is.

Key takeaways:

• Endear is a retail CRM and clienteling platform that joins POS and e-commerce data into one customer profile for store associates.
• Its early fixes include order history from every channel, real-time segments and attribution that credits associates for online sales.
• Newer problems are handled with AI: AI Notetaker saves visit details and the AI Opportunity Engine gives associates a daily outreach queue.
• In Endear product reviews it rates 4.4 out of 5 on Capterra and 4.8 on the Shopify App Store. Some reviewers want deeper reporting.
• It fits mid-sized brands with roughly 5 to 200 locations where relationships drive sales. High-volume, low-touch big-box retailers are a poor fit.

What is Endear?

Endear is a retail CRM and clienteling platform for brands with physical stores. It connects your POS and e-commerce data into one customer profile, then gives store associates the tools to reach out by email, SMS, and WhatsApp, track the sales they drive, and use AI to decide who to contact next.

In plain terms: it helps your store team build real relationships with customers and get credit for the sales that follow, wherever those sales happen.

Problem 1: Limited number of clients to clientele

It has become harder and harder for stores to rely on organic foot traffic in order to reach their monthly goals. With that in mind, many associates take it upon themselves to clientele so that they can better predict and ensure both traffic and sales. The problem we saw early on is that without a retail CRM like Endear, associates only felt comfortable reaching out to customers they were closest with: ones who had expressly asked to be contacted about a specific product, or ones who shopped so often that it was only natural to have their contact info.

That meant that any time something newsworthy happened at a store, most associates would repeatedly reach out to the same dozen or so clients. And of course, all of these conversations lived within an associate's personal phone if they were texting with that customer.

Endear's Solution: A proper Retail CRM

Just because a customer is shy doesn't mean they don't want to hear from you or your retail team. For the first time, store associates can use actual data (contact info, geographic location, shopping frequency, product preferences) to determine who to reach out to based on the content they want to share.

By broadening the size of the audience store associates can reach, Endear also lets associates target the right customers for each message rather than sending everything to the same few people.

Problem 2: No awareness of other stores' clienteling activity

The beauty of a strong brand is that your customers will seek out your store in every city they visit. That means that as you open up more locations, customers may build unique relationships with each of your store teams. While that's great news overall, you run the risk of overwhelming customers. Getting a note about your brand's latest product drop from three different salespeople makes for a pretty lousy experience.

Endear's Solution: Consolidate outreach history

In Endear, every store is represented by a team, but all the teams exist within one Endear account. This structure means we can tell every user the last time a customer in their brand-wide CRM was contacted, and by whom. Associates can even see messages that their colleagues in other cities sent to make sure no one is repeating what the customer has already heard.

While customers like having a unique relationship with each store, having a tool like Endear means that your brand can still make sure the customer is getting top-notch service without getting bombarded.

Problem 3: Store-only order history

When we spoke to associates about what details were most important about their customers, logically they told us it was their order history. But they also told us that a lot of the time, they could only see what a customer purchased at their exact location. Sometimes reviewing this data was so cumbersome that many took to recording their top customers' purchases on their own (in a notebook or Google Sheet).

The inefficiency of this approach was one thing. What frustrated us even more was that a customer's order history was there, in one way or another; it just wasn't being shared with retail teams.

Endear's Solution: Omnichannel purchase tracking

By integrating with a brand's e-commerce and POS system, we're able to give each user a comprehensive list of every item a customer has ever purchased (even before they installed Endear), no matter where the transaction occurred. At a minimum, this order history prevents associates from recommending items the customer has already bought. But the upside is much bigger than that.

Most importantly, associates can track a customer's true lifetime value and use these insights to better determine which customers are at risk of lapsing and which are the most engaged. Teams also now have all the data they need to understand what types of items or price points a customer is interested in purchasing in-store vs. online, and can find out if customers have different styles based on where they are located or what season it is.

Problem 4: No access to assets

Brands that sell online invest heavily in high-quality product photos. They capture every product in different layouts and on different models so that e-commerce customers have an endless supply of content to inform their purchase, now sometimes even in the form of video! But before we came along, these assets were exclusive to e-commerce (admittedly, not always by choice).

It may not have been clear why a retail team would need these assets. Customers were seeing the product in person, so why would associates need access to product photos? Plus, manually uploading every asset to a shared folder was too inefficient to manage long-term.

Associates often need to use this type of imagery in order to entice customers to come visit in the first place. But without access to these high-production images, they would instead send pictures of clothes on hangers or selfies of themselves in the products. They'd send these images one after another, sometimes a dozen at a time. Of course, these products were not linked: no title, no price, no information whatsoever.

Endear's Solution: Lookbooks & linked products

Endear's first built-out product was our Lookbooks module, now called Shoppable Stories, which allows any user to put together a landing page of curated products to suit a single customer or group of customers' preferences. Created in mere seconds thanks to a live feed of a brand's assets, these collections automatically include product titles and pricing, and auto-link to the products' e-commerce pages.

For our users, the ability to create a Story or even simply insert a product into their outreach with all this data attached dramatically speeds up the recommendation process, making it easy to provide this level of curation for a wide audience. This structure also speeds up the customer's decision-making process and limits the number of steps to purchase.

Problem 5: Stale data

When we asked potential users how they determined which customers to contact, many said that they would receive a static report at the beginning of the month from the corporate team. Then over the course of the month, they'd gradually reach out to these customers.

Here's the problem: between the time it takes to compose this report, distribute it to stores, and then actually reach out to customers, the data is stale and does not allow the sender to confidently use any of the insights in their outreach.

Endear's Solution: Real-time integrations & dynamic reporting

There's no doubt that thanks to POS systems and e-commerce platforms, there's almost too much data to take into consideration when practicing clienteling. But Endear's segments enable store associates to put together dynamic lists of customers for a specific purpose, such as sending thank-you notes. Segments update in real time based on new customer behavior so that associates can keep up with activity as quickly as it takes place.

Some of our most popular filters to layer together include a customer's most recent purchase location, what items they've ordered, or even what promo codes they've used.

Problem 6: Store-only commissions

Store associates dedicate a lot of time and effort to motivate a customer to purchase something. However, their capacity and enthusiasm is capped by an unnecessary limitation: their commission potential. Until Endear, most associates were disincentivized to encourage online purchases because they wouldn't get credit for the sale and, as a result, would also miss out on commissions.

If an associate is not willing to generate a sale, even if it means it happens online, neither they nor the brand they work for are truly reaching maximum performance. Without the opportunity to benefit from online purchases, there's very little motivation for an associate to work with customers interested in shopping online.

Endear's Solution: Omnichannel attribution

The in-store-only commission structure should be a relic of the past. But it has stuck around largely due to a lack of technology, not a lack of interest. When we ask potential customers if they offer commission for online sales, we hear all the time, "We wish we could, we just don't know how."

But with Endear, store associates can email and text with customers, send them products, and rest assured that no matter where the customer purchases, they will receive recognition for their contribution. Over time, we've continued to improve our attribution model, also enabling brands to customize the exact terms of what should "count" as having driven a sale, based on level of engagement (clicks, opens, responses) and days to convert.

Problem 7: Data protection

The more associates rely on their own devices, the less protected customer data becomes and the less control a brand has over what is said to its customers. And while turnover at any company is inevitable, the big problem for stores is that when an associate leaves, they may be taking customer relationships, contact info, or new developments with them. Depending on what an associate has access to, there may be even riskier outcomes at stake.

Endear's Solution: Trackable activity

Endear's centralized messaging inbox makes it easy to assign clients to associates, but should an associate leave, Endear also makes sure the entire conversation history stays with the brand. Admins can deactivate users at any time, and new users can take over pre-existing conversations and make sure that customers don't get left hanging.

Problem 8: Store reporting

When we spoke to retail decision-makers, one question we frequently asked was, "How do you know what your store teams are up to on a daily basis?" We took a look at some of the reports that store managers were sharing with regional managers or directors of retail. Those reports were primarily made up of anecdotal stories about customer interactions or general impressions of traffic.

This type of reporting makes it nearly impossible to compare different stores' performance or track changes over time.

Endear's Solution: Store analytics

With Endear's Insights and analytics, an admin or decision-maker can get an instant understanding of how each location is faring, based on its total message sends, conversions, and dollars driven overall. With this reporting, managers and admins can set realistic goals and expectations around daily user activity.

Problem 9: Performance reviews

Finding time to sit down with every member of your retail team to review their performance on a regular basis can be a challenge. But the problem for associates is that it can often be hard to gauge how they stack up compared to their peers. Without a way to keep tabs, their performance can often come down to one number: total in-store sales.

That can be a very limited view of someone's contribution, and can also be very discouraging for the individual if they have no course of action through which to improve.

Endear's Solution: Benchmarking & leaderboards

With Endear's platform, every associate can see how many messages they have sent per week, and what is typical for the team overall. These insights can make it easier for both the associate and the manager to address potential issues early on, and provide more time for additional training and support if an associate is not reaching their goals.

These performance metrics can also help a manager determine an associate's strengths and decide what responsibilities to give which salespeople. Most importantly, it enables associates to take ownership of their performance and progress over time.

Problem 10: Store visit notes that never make it into the CRM

Here's a newer problem, and one we hear from nearly every retail director we talk to. An associate spends 20 minutes with a customer, learns that they're shopping for a wedding in June, prefers a slimmer fit, and hates anything in yellow. Then the next customer walks in.

Where does that knowledge go? Into a notebook, a notes app on a personal phone, or (most often) nowhere. When that associate is off, on vacation, or moves on, every detail walks out the door with them. The next associate greets a loyal customer like a stranger.

Endear's Solution: AI Notetaker

AI Notetaker lets associates capture visit details by voice, typing, or a photo of a handwritten note, and syncs them to the customer's profile automatically. No long forms, no end-of-shift data entry. The context stays with your brand, and whoever helps that customer next can pick up right where the last conversation left off.

Problem 11: Not knowing who to contact today

Even with a great CRM, associates still face a blank screen every morning. Who should I reach out to? What should I say? Your top performers have instincts for this. Everyone else waits for a corporate list (see Problem 5) or falls back on the same dozen regulars (see Problem 1).

The result is that outreach quality and volume vary wildly from store to store, and a lot of high-intent customers never hear from anyone.

Endear's Solution: AI Opportunity Engine

The AI Opportunity Engine gives each associate a daily queue of high-intent customers, based on signals like purchase history, browsing behavior, and lifecycle moments, paired with brand-aligned message drafts. Associates can review and send in seconds, or automate entirely.

Think of it as handing every associate your best seller's instincts. Endear reports that one specialty retailer earned $35 in attributed revenue for every $1 spent on actioned opportunities from AI Opportunity Engine outreach.

Curious what that queue would look like for your stores? Request a demo and we'll walk you through it with your own use cases.

Problem 12: Getting associates to actually use new tools

Ask any retail director what kills a new tech rollout and you'll hear the same answer: adoption. If a tool is hard to learn, lives only on a back-office desktop, or feels like homework, associates quietly go back to their old habits (and their personal phones).

Endear's Solution: A mobile app and free training through Endear Academy

The Endear mobile app for iOS and Android puts clienteling where associates already work: on the sales floor. They can add customers, take notes, reply to messages, send Stories, and check their performance from one device.

For training, Endear Academy offers free, on-demand video courses covering everything from a basic tour of Endear to working with audiences, messaging customers, campaigns, SalesChat, and modern retail sales. New hires can get up to speed without pulling your managers off the floor.

What do Endear CRM reviews say?

If you're researching an Endear product review, the best place to start is the independent review sites, where retail teams rate the platform after using it day to day. As of September 2026:

In the interest of fairness (and because you'll read them anyway), here's what critical reviewers raise. Some Capterra reviewers want deeper reporting and more flexible email templates, and a few have reported slow page loads. On the Shopify App Store, the most common complaint is that some advanced segmentation features sit on higher-priced plans. Check the pricing page to see what's included at each level.

The pattern across the positive reviews lines up with the problems above: associates find Endear easy to adopt, and brands use it to turn purchase history into personal outreach.

Is Endear right for your stores?

Endear works best when both of these are true:

• You have physical stores and an online store (or several stores) whose data doesn't talk to each other. That's the core problem Endear was built to solve.
• Relationships drive your sales. Apparel, jewelry, luxury, footwear, accessories, and home furnishings brands, where customers come back to people they trust, get the most out of clienteling.

Endear is purpose-built for mid-sized retail brands with roughly 5 to 200 locations, and it connects with the tools you already use, including Shopify and major POS systems.

It's probably not the right fit if you're a big-box retailer focused on high-volume, low-touch transactions, or a single store with a small, loyal following you already know by name. (A good notebook still has its place.)

Frequently asked questions

Is Endear a CRM?

Yes. Endear is a retail CRM built for store teams. It combines customer profiles, purchase history from POS and e-commerce, and outreach tools (email, SMS, WhatsApp) with clienteling features like Shoppable Stories, appointments, and associate-level sales attribution.

What is the difference between clienteling and CRM?

A CRM stores and organizes customer data. Clienteling is the practice of using that data to build personal, one-to-one relationships, usually led by store associates. Endear does both: the CRM holds the data, and the clienteling tools help associates act on it. Our guide to what a clienteling app is goes deeper.

I run a few brick-and-mortar stores. Is Endear the right product to connect our online and in-store customers?

For most multi-store brands with an online store, yes. Endear integrates with your e-commerce platform and POS so each customer has one profile showing every purchase, in-store and online. Associates can see that history, reach out, and get credit when a customer buys online after a store conversation.

Is Endear the best clienteling product for boutique clothing stores?

It depends on your setup. Endear is a strong fit for boutique apparel brands with multiple locations or an e-commerce store, especially on Shopify. If you run a single boutique without online sales, a simpler tool may cover your needs. The best way to judge is to see it working with your own customer data.

Is there an Endear app?

Yes. The Endear mobile app is available on iOS and Android, so associates can manage customers, message them, send Stories, and track performance from the sales floor.

What is Endear Academy?

Endear Academy is Endear's free online training hub. It includes video courses on getting started with Endear, the CRM, audiences, messaging, campaigns, SalesChat, and modern retail sales techniques.

Where can I read Endear reviews?

You can read verified Endear reviews on Capterra, G2, and the Shopify App Store. For brand-level results, see Endear's customer success stories.

Bring your store team into the modern era

Endear's mission is to help associates enhance the work they do so they can play an ever-growing role in a brand's success. With the right tools, a sales team can be as powerful online as offline, and make the difference between an average quarter and real growth with happier customers.

Whether it's the first problems we heard about (store-only order history, stale lists, commissions that stopped at the door) or the newer ones (notes that vanish, blank-screen mornings), the fix is the same: give your associates the data and tools to act like your best seller.

Request a demo to see how Endear can bring your team into the modern era.