New Xero App Launcher helps get more apps to small businesses
Global small business platform Xero has announced App Launcher, a new way for customers to launch and sign in to their favourite Xero App Store apps within Xero.
It's the first key feature update to Xero's App Store since its launch in August 2021 and is now available to Xero's three million subscribers globally.
The App Launcher allows users of the Xero platform to launch connected apps via a dropdown tab within the navigation of their My Xero dashboard. The company says customers will also be able to open the Xero App Store via App Launcher to help find new apps to solve their business challenges.
"By enabling our customers to find and launch their apps from within Xero easily, we're providing a more seamless, integrated user experience that helps small businesses and their advisors get their work done faster and more efficiently," says Xero's Nick Houldsworth, EGM Ecosystem.
"We're always looking for ways to bring apps closer to our customers, as we know small businesses that use more apps are more successful. We're also passionate about getting our developers apps into the hands of small businesses because we've seen the positive impact connected workflows can have on a business and their teams."
According to new research by Xero and Accenture, Picking up the pace: Trends in Small Business Technology Adoption, showed that app usage was generally indicative of more resilient sales and jobs growth. The top 25% of app using businesses reported annual sales uplifts (compared to non-users) of 4.4% to 8.7% (depending on the country).
Xero says this effect increases significantly when using five or more apps. Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience showed that organisations using five or more apps grew their sales by 4.3%, compared to a drop of 3.4% for those without any apps installed. This is also reflected in the Xero App Store's successful launch, which has seen traffic more than double from August 2021 to 31 January 2022 (108%) compared to the same period the previous year.
App Launcher is the first of several new features Xero has planned to expand its App Stores reach in 2022.
"Our mission is to build a network of third party innovation for small businesses that extends the value of Xero beyond what we build or own," says Houldsworth.
"App Launcher is another channel for partner success that we hope will entice new developers to join the Xero App Store and create the next killer app that will, in turn, help extend the value of the entire Xero platform.
