Boots has become the first retailer to usher in the Sales Assist app, developed via a collaboration between Apple and IBM. The Walgreens Boots Alliance pharmacy chain has installed the app across its entire UK store network, (approx. 3,700 iPads), according to a report published by ZD Net.

The app enables sales assistants to share product information and reviews to shoppers via an iPad, as well as check stock levels throughout local stores and order items for delivery.

The app can also identify trends based on sales in store, as well as suggest complementary or similar items to the product in question using the product database on Boots’ website.

“On a business case level, we want to make sure we don’t disappoint customers when they come to Boots to buy something. So our main objective is conversion ratio. Did they drop out at any stage in the journey? So a big KPI for me is end to end conversion,” Robin Phillips, Director of Omnichannel and Development at Boots told journalists at the official launch. “When colleagues have started to use the app and got the customers through to the end point, the conversion rate is super high, much higher than you’d expect.”

Further capabilities are planned for the app, such as the ability to process payments.