10 Best LMS for retail training in 2024

In retail’s fast-paced reality, training is crucial to keep operations up and running. The right learning opportunities keep teams engaged and customers happy. But with the challenges that come with the industry, it can be hard to find the time to plan, build, and deliver effective training.

Learning management systems (LMS) are game-changers for streamlining retail training, handling everything from onboarding new hires to staying compliant with ease. Discover the 10 best LMS for retail training in this comprehensive guide.

What is LMS in retail?

Retail businesses use LMS platforms to create, distribute, and track employee training processes. A retail learning management system is an excellent way to seamlessly train teams across stores, departments, and locations. It also guarantees that retail employees are well-prepared to face diverse customer needs.

An LMS for retail training is an effective tool for getting new hires up to speed on store policies, product lines, and point-of-sale (POS) systems. But it’s as effective for seasoned employees who may need training on new products and seasonal promotions. 

It’s important to maximize retail LMS software in delivering ongoing training for communication, sales techniques, and workplace safety. The right LMS will also allow you to standardize and track training to monitor employee progress, identify strengths, and work on points of improvement. All of these lead to higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.

Check out this list of leading LMS options that you can use to elevate your retail training and enhance your team's performance.

1. SC Training (formerly EdApp)

SC Training lands the top spot on this list with its powerful LMS features designed to make training a breeze for retailers and teams within the industry. Built with convenience and quality in mind, it houses features that will surely transform workplace learning for retail businesses.

SC Training is a one-stop training hub for all your training needs. Upon onboarding, you can add the new team member as a user to your organization. From there, you have the power to set due dates, training paths, and completion criteria with easy course management.

Choose a ready-made course from their library and have instant access to training on loss prevention, POS systems, and over 1,000 more. You can also use its intuitive creator tool and choose from 80+ templates to create content on new cashier training, product launches, or upcoming sales events.

If your teams are spread out across multiple locations, SC Training is a mobile-first platform that makes courses accessible regardless of time or location. Plus, it’s created to fit the busy schedules of retail employees. This means that lessons are only 3 to 5 minutes long, and they’re highly targeted for maximum retention. 

Cost: Free (up to 10 users)

Key features:

• Easy course management
• 1,000+ ready-made courses
• Intuitive creator tool
• Mobile-first
• Highly targeted, quick lessons

Improve customer satisfaction with SC Training. Sign up today!

2. Trakstar Learn

With Trakstar Learn, your employees can access e-learning retail courses filled with interactive quizzes, videos, and other media formats. You can also create content from your existing files by simply uploading it to this retail LMS. 

You also don’t have to worry about manually sending out reminders as it sends out an automated email to keep employees informed about retail staff training updates. Trakstar is accessible on a computer or through your team’s Android and iOS mobile devices.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Interactive quizzes
• Multimedia courses
• Automated email reminders

3. AcademyOcean

Up next on this list of the best retail LMS platforms is AcademyOcean. It has an easy-to-use interface, with a progress tracking and reporting dashboard that lets you monitor your employees’ progress. You can also use it to launch independent training portals for every area of your retail business—all in one account.

If you have existing business software in use, Academy Ocean can easily be integrated into your customer relationship management (CRM) tool or your human resource information system (HRIS). This lets you streamline processes and enhance communication across departments without disrupting your current workflows.

Cost: Starts at 300 USD/month

Key features:

• Intuitive interface
• Progress tracking and reporting dashboard
• Independent training for each area

4. eloomi

eloomi gives you access to curated learning plans and courses and has integration capabilities with top HRIS tools. It houses content on sales essentials, product training, team leadership, and more. It also lets you create personalized learning paths depending on department, role, or skill.

This LMS for employee training allows you to create your performance management process. This means you can plan your one-on-ones, align individual and team goals, and automate scheduling and reminders depending on your organization’s needs.

Cost: Starts at 3 USD/user/month

Key features:

• Personalized learning paths
• Integration with HRIS tools
• Customized performance management process

5. Apprendoo

Apprendoo has a social learning feature that supports collaboration and discussion for your teams regardless of location. It also fully exists on the cloud, meaning your teams don’t have to install anything to get access to training.

This LMS for retail training has an innovative interface with automatic task management functions. Plus, it’s a mobile-ready platform embedded with CRM and HR software. It also has gamification and microlearning features to support retention.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features: 

• Social learning for collaboration
• 100% cloud-based
• Automatic task management

6. Skill Lake

Skill Lake is an LMS platform that lets you store protocol guides and product manuals in one place. It also supports multiple learning modes so your teams can learn in their preferred mode, be it self-paced, instructor-led, or blended.

It’s also one of the few tools on this list that offers AR/VR experiences. If you have teams in various parts of the world, this LMS has multi-language support so your teams can have access to content in their preferred language.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• Multiple learning modes
• AR/VR experiences
• Multi-language support

7. Axonify

Axonify uses microlearning and AI to inform its learning content. It has a centralized and searchable information hub that keeps training materials within reach for your teams. They also offer gamified training content to boost employee engagement and improve knowledge retention.

This platform also allows you and your teams to easily communicate with push-targeted communications on their mobile devices. Lastly, its training measurement feature gives regional and frontline managers access to evaluation metrics that help them identify coaching opportunities.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Key features:

• AI-powered content
• Searchable information hub
• Gamified training

8. Learning Lab

The Learning Lab is another LMS for retail and wholesale brands. It boasts tools that allow you to create branded training content and is also fully customizable without any coding required. It also supports real-time feedback with its discussion forum and social learning features.

Learning Lab is a primarily audio and video-based LMS, with features such as video assessment, live recording, audio feedback, and more. It also has integration capabilities with platforms including  Zoom, Stripe, and Google Analytics. 

Cost: Starts at 1255 CHF/month

Key features:

• Branded training content
• Real-time feedback
• Audio and video-based

9. Thrive

Next, we have Thrive. With its AI-powered content authoring, you can use simple prompts to create training content on various retail topics. It also lets you track user engagement and completion rates so you can adjust your strategy and identify skill gaps as you go.

One of the unique features that Thrive offers is its WhatsApp Coach. Users simply have to send a message or a question through WhatsApp and they’ll have access to answers in an instant. Thrive also supports various content formats including quizzes, articles, videos, and links that can be embedded seamlessly into the platform.

Cost: Starts at 19,650 USD

Key features:

• AI-powered content authoring
• User engagement tracking
• WhatsApp chatbot

10. Totara

Lastly, we have Totara. It vows to be a fully customizable LMS with a modifiable open code. It offers a tailored experience where you can cater to different groups through exclusive learning environments. Plus, its intuitive interface lets you select a theme according to your branding needs.

This LMS gives you access to important learning data to see learner progress and compliance rates. It also supports single sign-on for platforms like Google and Microsoft.

Cost:

Key features:

• Customizable open code
• Exclusive learning environments
• Single sign-on for Google, Microsoft