Honest comparison
mPower vs Cloud Retailer.
A general retail platform that pivoted to beverage in 2019, locked into its own required payment processor — versus 15+ years built exclusively for beverage retail, with your choice of payment partner. Here’s what actually matters when you put them side by side.
Where Cloud Retailer is strong, we say so.
At a glance
Two very different paths
A late pivot changes what a platform was built to solve.
Cloud Retailer started in 2004 as a value-added reseller for Microsoft's Retail Management System — general retail POS, not beverage-specific software. When Microsoft discontinued RMS, the company spent years building its own replacement, releasing Cloud Retailer 1.0 in 2017.
It wasn't until 2019 that the company pivoted to focus exclusively on beer, wine, and liquor retailers. mPower has never been anything else — every year since 2009 has gone into beverage retail specifically: seasonal shifts, distributor quirks, state-by-state compliance.
There's also the processing question. Every Cloud Retailer plan requires a specific processor — Proof Payment on the Basic and High Volume tiers, or Straight Up Pay exclusively on the Dual Pricing plan, which isn't compatible with TSYS, Heartland, or First Data. mPower gives you a choice of three integrated payment partners, so you pick what fits your volume and margins instead of what the software requires.
Cloud Retailer spent fifteen years as a general retail reseller. We've spent all of ours on beverage retail.
Two tracks
- 2009mPower ships — built only for beverage retail
- 2017Cloud Retailer 1.0 launches, replacing discontinued Microsoft RMS
- 2019Cloud Retailer pivots to focus exclusively on beverage retail
- TodayBoth focus on beverage retail exclusively — mPower since 2009, Cloud Retailer since 2019
Where each one leads
The honest breakdown.
Six places the two systems genuinely differ — starting with what Cloud Retailer does well.
Where Cloud Retailer is strong
A hybrid cloud-and-local architecture that keeps registers running through internet outages, plus genuinely broad delivery integrations — DoorDash, Instacart, Uber Eats, Shipt, CityHive, and Bottlecapps all connect natively.
AI that learns your store
Generic forecasts are a starting point. mPower’s AI learns the patterns of your specific operation — margin erosion, slow movers, reorder timing based on your actual velocity — and adapts to how you think about your business.
Processing: your call vs required
Multi-location at scale
Inter-store transfers, consolidated purchasing, location-level pricing, cross-location analytics — supported for over 15 years across real multi-store chains. That’s not a feature bullet; it’s thousands of edge cases already solved.
A mature product suite
Web office, handheld inventory apps, delivery integrations — included standard on every plan. Cloud Retailer's Android app and advanced inventory tools are locked behind its High Volume and Enterprise tiers.
Team tenure you can check
Side by side
The comparison, in one table.
Cloud Retailer earns real checkmarks here. The differences are in depth, choice, and time in the field.
| mPower | Cloud Retailer | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for beer, wine & spirits | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI-driven inventory & insights | ✓Learns your store | AI-driven forecasting only |
| Automated invoice reading | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-location management | ✓Transfers, consolidated reporting | 1-4 locations; 5+ needs Enterprise |
| Payment processing choice | ✓Three integrated partners | Proof Payment required |
| Offline-capable POS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web back office | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile / handheld apps | ✓ | Android app (High Volume+) |
| Built-in ecommerce | ✓Delivery integrations | ✓ |
| In business since | ✓15+ years | 2017 |
The bottom line
Which one fits your store?
Choose mPower if…
- You want to pick your processor — and keep the freedom to switch
- You want AI tuned to your store — margins, slow movers, reorder timing
- You run (or plan) multiple locations and need proven tooling
- You want the full surface — handhelds, web office
- You want published pricing and 15+ years behind the product
Consider Cloud Retailer if…
- You want Dual Pricing to eliminate card fees, even if it locks you into Straight Up Pay
- You need deep delivery integrations out of the box — DoorDash, Instacart, Uber Eats, Shipt
- You run a single location and the $75/mo Basic tier covers what you need
Fifteen years of edge cases, solved alongside real stores — every one of them spent on beverage retail, not on a pivot partway through.
See mPower
for yourself.
Schedule a demo and we’ll walk through your specific setup — locations, delivery needs, current pain points, all of it. No pressure, no generic sales pitch.
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See mPower next to the rest.
Honest, side-by-side breakdowns against the systems beer, wine & spirits retailers actually evaluate.