Cash registers are facing ever-increasing demands, which the stationary retail trade has to meet. A cloud-based software solution can help. When it comes to software, APIs have become ubiquitous. They are the foundation of software development, are important for networked IT infrastructures and are gaining enormous importance, especially in retail.
What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface and is a fundamental concept that allows different software components and software resources to interact and communicate with each other. APIs, like Snabble's, rely on the REST architecture, which uses the principles of the Internet to provide web services. What makes this special is that APIs follow the fundamental concept of abstraction. Abstraction provides a way to organize the complexity of a process and thereby simplify complicated tasks.
What the Snabble API can do
The frontend represents the user interface for the actual processing logic, also called backend. The user interface is there to receive data entered by the user (for example the scanning process) and forward it to the backend for processing. In this example, the scanned code is transmitted to the backend via the API. The backend processes the information and delivers the corresponding product data back to the frontend via the API. The frontend then has the option of displaying the received product data to the user.
In addition to interacting with the end customer, retailers can quickly and easily feed the Snabble Checkout Cloud with their own product data, pricing data and promotions in real time via the Snabble API. This ensures that customers on the sales floor always find the latest assortment, current prices and promotions in the Snabble app.
The detailed documentation, coupled with the free availability of the Snabble APIs lead to an easy and fast provisioning of the Snabble Checkout Cloud with all necessary data.
Advantages of using Snabble APIs
An overflowing amount of complexity is put into a clear interaction set with the help of APIs, which can be used to build upon. The smartphone as a constant companion, contributes to the fact that the use of API becomes more important than ever. Even small companies with a digitalization strategy are taking advantage of the many benefits of APIs:
- Integration: APIs are used to integrate new applications into existing software systems. Since not every functionality has to be written from scratch, it increases the development speed enormously.
- Innovation: Companies need to respond quickly and support the delivery of innovative software solutions. Changes and enhancements can thus be made at the API level without having to rewrite the code.
- Extension: APIs represent a unique opportunity for companies to meet the needs of their customers across different platforms. For example, loyalty cards can be stored in the app or promotions and coupons can be applied to items or the total shopping cart based on defined conditions (relative or absolute).
- Easy maintenance: The API acts as a gateway between two or more systems. This way, future changes in the code of one component do not affect the other.
- Reliability: System-level resilience is guaranteed by the microservice architecture.
What opportunities does Snabble's cloud-based software solution open up?
APIs simplify the integration of new applications into an existing architecture. As a company, it is enormously important to be able to react flexibly to the constantly changing conditions of the market. To remain competitive, rapid development and deployment of innovative services is essential for increasing efficiency and productivity. Businesses working with Snabble benefit not only from increased customer satisfaction, faster checkouts and higher shopping carts, but also from the flexible adaptability of a holistic software solution, paving the way for the future of commerce.
