Video interview software for retail, where the store manager is also the recruiter
Video interview software for retail hiring takes the first-round conversation off the store manager's day. Applicants for sales associate, cashier and stock roles record short answers on a phone, and the manager gets back a ranked list with transcripts and a score against the store's own criteria. VoxScreen runs that on a permanent free plan for 50 candidates a month, with unlimited open roles and no charge for extra reviewers, and never rejects an applicant automatically. It is built for stores and small chains. A national retailer with a requisition workflow and an applicant tracking system of record needs a larger platform.
Where screening breaks down
In retail the person who hires is the person who runs the store. A posting for a sales associate brings in fifty applications in a week, and the manager who has to read them is also covering the till because someone called in sick. Screening gets done on a break, from memory, or not at all.
What decides a retail hire is hard to see on an application. Availability is on the form. Whether someone will approach a customer, stay calm when a refund is refused, or tell the truth about a till error is not, and those are the things that separate a good hire from a three-week one. They come out in two minutes of talking, which is exactly what there is no time for.
Across several stores the problem multiplies quietly. Each manager screens their own way, to their own standard, and the area manager finds out how well by counting who left in the first month.
How a round runs
- Write one interview per role and reuse it in every store. VoxScreen drafts questions and criteria from the role, and the same criteria then apply everywhere.
- Put the link in the posting and on the door. Applicants answer on a phone the day they apply, with no account and no app.
- Answers come back transcribed, scored per criterion and ranked. No score removes anyone, so a manager can still pick the applicant in ninth place whom they know from the shop.
- Give store managers and the area manager access. Reviewers are free and unlimited, and two people scoring the same answers is the quickest way to find out whether stores are hiring to the same bar.
- Finish in person. For floor and till roles that means a short conversation and a paid trial on the shop floor.
What it replaces
Reading fifty applications on a break
Applications say who is available. Recorded answers say who can talk to a customer, and a ranked list with transcripts takes less time to go through than the pile did.
A different interview in every store
One set of questions and criteria per role means a hire in one store was judged on the same things as a hire in the next.
Automatic knock-out questions
Availability filters remove people a manager would have made room for. A sort order keeps everyone in view and leaves the decision with a person.
What it costs at your volume
Plans differ in one thing: how many new candidates you add in a month. A candidate counts once, the first time their email address is added, and never again. Everything else is the same on every plan.
| Situation | New candidates a month | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| One store, one opening, 45 applicants | 45 | Free | $0/mo |
| Five stores each replacing two people | 450 | Starter | $39/mo |
| Holiday hiring across a region | 1,800 | Premium | $149/mo |
The tools you're probably comparing
Retail teams tend to compare on four things: whether a store can run a real opening for free, how long a trial lasts when it can't, the first paid month, and whether the plan limits how many roles can be open at once across stores.
| Tool | Free plan, not a trial | Free trial, if there is no free plan | Entry price | Active jobs included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VoxScreen Our product | Yes, 50 candidates a month | Not needed. The free plan has no end date | $39/mo | Unlimited, on every plan |
| Truffle | No | 7 days / 30 credits, no card | $49/mo | Not stated on their site |
| Hireflix | No | 1 month | $75/mo | Unlimited |
| Hirevire | No | 7 days, no card | $49/mo | 1 on Essentials |
| Spark Hire | No | Not stated on their site | $249/mo | 5 monthly, unlimited annual |
- Truffle. Sources: hiretruffle.com/pricing · VoxScreen vs Truffle
- Hireflix. Sources: hireflix.com/pricing , help.hireflix.com · VoxScreen vs Hireflix
- Hirevire. Sources: hirevire.com/pricing · VoxScreen vs Hirevire
- Spark Hire. Sources: sparkhire.com/pricing · VoxScreen vs Spark Hire
When this is the wrong tool
- Your problem is the size of the application pile, and you want it sorted before anyone records. Truffle screens résumés and prices that as its cheapest step. VoxScreen starts at the interview. VoxScreen vs Truffle
- Seasonal peaks bring more applicants in a month than the Premium allowance. Hireflix sells unlimited responses at a flat price. VoxScreen vs Hireflix
- You want applicant tracking, video interviews and reference checks from one vendor on one contract. Spark Hire sells all three. VoxScreen is only the interview step. VoxScreen vs Spark Hire
- You're filling a single role from a handful of people who dropped in a CV. Talk to them at the counter. The setup isn't worth it for six applicants.
Interview questions for these roles
Each guide gives the questions in full, with what a strong answer sounds like and a scorecard to rate against. No sign-up.
Management and stock
Common questions
Will applicants for a shop floor job do a video interview?
Most will when it is three or four questions on a phone with the time limit shown up front. Some won't, and for a role with fifty applicants that is tolerable. Allow voice-only answers, and call anyone you particularly wanted who didn't complete it.
How does it help with seasonal and holiday hiring?
Plans are monthly, so you can raise the candidate allowance for the peak and return to the free plan in January. A candidate counts once, the first time their email is added, so last year's seasonal staff can be invited again without using the allowance.
Can every store manager have their own login?
Yes, at no cost, on every plan. The limit to know about is that everyone on the account sees every store's roles and candidates. There is no per-store separation.
Does the AI reject applicants who are not available at weekends?
No. It doesn't reject anyone for any reason. It scores each answer against the criteria you wrote and sorts the list. If availability matters, ask about it and read the answer.
Is it suitable for store manager roles?
As a first round across a large field, yes: every candidate answers the same scenarios and two people can score them separately. For a short list of experienced managers, start with a conversation.
Does it connect to our HR or workforce system?
By REST API and webhooks, included on every plan. There are no ready-made connectors for retail HR systems. Many small chains run it standalone with one link per role.
Try it on a real role
Set up an interview in five minutes, send one link, and read the ranked results. The free plan takes 50 candidates a month and needs no card.
Start free