Shopify POS is a powerful solution built to help you sell in-person, online, or go completely “omnichannel”. Shopify already powers more than 4.4 billion websites globally, processing $79.5 billion in average order value in 2022.
According to DemandSage, Shopify also pulled in $5.6 billion revenue in 2022, has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion and a workforce of more than 7000 people working to make the juggernaut of the eCommerce platform even better.
The likes of Kylie Jenner, Adele, David Beckham use Shopify to run their online stores and Shopify is used in over 179 countries globally.
What is Shopify POS?
Shopify’s New POS ecosystem makes use of powerful POS software, a fully customizable POS terminal, and fully integrated hardware to power your retail business (offline, online, or both).
Here, there, and everywhere.
It’s a lot more than just hardware and software together, of course. Remember I used the word ecosystem?
Shopify POS works as a smart, fully-integrated, and dynamic back office, while rubbing off some superpowers for your retail brand.
Here’s an overview of Shopify POS, what it does, and how it works:
Shopify POS Features
Shopify POS literally turns itself into a venerable hub of your retail business. Quickly make sales and manage inventory, staff, orders, and more.
Shopify POS inherently becomes a part of your inventory management and eCommerce business management workflow.
Because it’s Shopify, all of your customer data, customer orders, repeat purchases, order history are managed and synced automatically. You also get to manage inventory levels depending on products in inventory, out of inventory, sold, returned, exchanged, transferred, and so on.
Shopify keeps every element of your store at your fingertips so you can work faster and always have a clear view of your business.
Shopify POS also works regardless of the number of physical locations you have retail stores in or where you sell. This includes warehouses, retail stores, kiosks, temporary pop shops, and so on. This is on top of selling online — the typical eCommerce setup.
The key features of Shopify POS include:
- Comprehensive, well-integrated and smart system to manage retail businesses
- Complete store management
- An intuitive and fast checkout
- Fully integrated payments
- Mobile POS hardware along with other hardware to complete omnichannel selling
- Inventory management that syncs in-store and online
- Create and manage Complete customer profiles with order history
- Establish Custom staff permissions
- Works with several other Shopify features such as Shopify automation, Shopify Email, Free Shopify Marketing tools, paid Shopify apps (on Shopify App store), and more.
Here are some Shopify POS store features, in more detail:
Marketing with Shopify POS
Shopify POS marketing features make some of those repetitive, marketing related jobs a wee bit easier (and you can automate some of them).
Email Marketing
By now, you already know that email marketing for Shopify is powerful. For that reason, Shopify already has Shopify Email. Or Shopify integrates with virtually every email marketing program out there if you intend to use a third-party solution such as ConvertKit, MailerLite, MailChimp, Klaviyo, and others.
If you’d do the simple act of putting the wheels in motion for lead generation, you’d be well on your way to build a virtual pipeline of potential customers.
Thats it. No growth hacks needed.
Your email list grows. Your emails are sent to an audience that’s already familiar with your brand. Customers buy when they are primed and ready to buy.
Merge Product Reviews
Offline product reviews? Online product reviews? Compliments you get about your brand or products on the fly (elevator reviews)?
Encourage your customers to leave reviews for your products. Then, use these reviews (and just unstoppable love) as social proof for your business. Use these reviews on Google search results, as a part of Google Ad extensions, within the store (put up those posters), or online (showing front and centre on your Shopify eCommerce store)
Enable Local Pickup & Buy In Store (ship later)
Not everyone wants online delivery (for a host of reasons such as being temporarily domiciled in a particular location, lack of time to arrange for online deliveries, and so on).
That’s when order-to-pick-up comes into play. Give more options to your customers to shop from by enabling Shopify POS local pick up Pro — a feature using which you can manage and fulfil orders directly from your Shopify POS.
Buy in Store, Ship To Customers
This also allows you to take advantage of a related offer called “Buy in Store, Ship to Customer” where customers can make purchases (the traditional way) in your physical store and have these products shipped home. Make sales and ship directly to customers depending on inventory and product availability.
Further, taxes and applicable shipping rates are automatically applied at checkout (more on checkout below).
Buy Online, Return or Exchange in Store
In the spirit of making it ridiculously easy for customers to shop with your brand, Shopify POS allows you to roll out an exchange program. Let customers exchange products purchased online at a physical location nearby.
Or even at another location they are closest to. Inventory will be updated instantly while your customers don’t have to stitch heaven and earth together just to exchange products.
Send Cart, Product QR Codes
With Shopify POS, send out en email (or SMS marketing messages) pre-loaded with a page showing items customers were interested in, but did not purchase at store. Think of this as “retargeting, for physical stores”.
A few other Shopify POS add even more value to this process: Use Product QR codes to products so customers can use smartphones to scan QR codes, learn, and then purchase.
Smart Inventory Management
Smooth operations of your Shopify store is a mandate. Putting out fires while running your business is the last thing you need.
Purchase orders, Demand Forecasting, Low Stock Reports
Create purchase orders for sale of products (for vendors and suppliers) easily. Plus, get purchase order suggestions based on recent product performance, stocking of products based on seasonality, predict demand for products and plan inventory, and more.
With the low stock reports feature in Shopify POS, you can also predict inventory and sales while getting timely warnings of low stock — based on volumes you move off the shelf, lead time (or TAT) for each supplier or vendor.
Transfers, Inventory Analysis, Stock Adjustments
Inventory available in one location but not available in another? Use Shopify POS smart features like transfers and request transfers of products from other locations. Keep track of what’s moving in and out of your stores, transfer status, and changing inventory levels across locations.
While you are at it, decide which products should be reordered (and the required quantities), products that are slow to move off shelves (but taking up valuable space), and also a stock performance grading system to make it easier to plan product inventory.
Inventory Counts, Inventory Receiving, Stock Adjustments, & Inventory Reporting
Do you know your inventory counts and stock levels at any point in time? You could easily miss that. Now, you don’t.
With Inventory counts feature, just use a barcode scanner to match inventory to records. Meanwhile, identify trends (what’s selling, what’s moving fast, what products need restocking?) and get future reports about inventory levels (across locations — for multi-store brands).
Likewise, use a barcode scanner to perform inventory counts for inbound inventory while stocking up. Stock adjustments can help you stay vigilant and keep track of small changes made to your inventory levels.
Seamless & Efficient Shopify POS Checkout
Building on top of the excellent checkout that Shopify already has (and with several ways to boost conversion rates on checkout), Shopify POS checkout comes with several handy features that make it a breeze for your customers to purchase.
Send custom emails or SMS receipts as soon as customers purchase. Apply relevant discount codes or promo codes for your online business (or traditional retail). Take your smartphone and/or tablet straight to your customers to help them complete transactions on the spot with the Checkout anywhere feature.
Need custom printed receipts for sales? With Shopify POS checkout you can customize your printable receipts with dedicated URLs, URL destinations reachable via QR codes, store URL, promotions, and more.
Track custom requests or special requests (notes from customers) and other details and attach notes to specific orders with the order notes feature. Want to sell more and boost the Average Order Value? Use the Custom Sale feature on Shopify POS and bundle products together or use custom line items to make an instant offer.
Take advantage of other POS checkout features such as returns, Camera Barcode Scanner, offline cash transactions, and automated tax calculation (based on store locations or who you sell to online).
Products & Product Management
With Shopify POS, managing products is easy. Categorize products based on product collections (and use smart collections to sort automatically by price, inventory level, vendors, type of products, promotions, and seasons.
Track and share status of your inventory with your team (as products get stocked, restocked, or when inventory gets depleted). Assign existing barcodes to products and create new barcode labels. Keep track of multi-location inventory (including online sales, warehouses, other stores, and more.
Assign SKUs, add product variations, add multiple variations (based on size, color, and weight) — Shopify POS can handle unlimited products (with variants for each).
Manage Customers with Shopify POS
Managing customers well precedes what you might do with excellent customer support, using scripts for customer support, or automating customer support.
Without a way to manage customers better, there’s no one for you to provide support to. Need tips? Read some best practices for customer support
Create customer profiles (for all sales in-store or online). Maintain rich customer profiles (with contact information, purchase history, lifetime spend, notes, shipping addresses, taxes applicable, marketing preferences, and more).
You can also reach out to your customers by contacting customers straight from your POS — by email, phone, and SMS.
Build customer loyalty and lasting relationships by launching reward programs, loyalty programs, or maybe just by just staying in touch.
With Shopify POS, updating marketing preferences and assigning tags is easy (which also helps you and your team internally to search for customers along with their preferences and notes).
Reporting & POS Analytics
With built-in Shopify POS reporting and analytics, you get a dashboard view of your business (on a single page) — with numbers and KPIs pertinent to your business (for multiple retail stores and online stores).
Get product reports that tell you which products are selling and those that are not with Product reports. Keep tabs on cash with improved tools for accurately tracking expected balances, cash receivables, day deposits, and more.
Get access to retail reports (including staff-driven sales, location-based sales, sales for particular time periods, and so on.
Other types of reports include discount reports, cashflow reports, complete financial reports (which will feature returns, taxes, payments, receivables, sales, revenue, and others).
Shopify Payments
Payments are the moment of truth — where most businesses (eCommerce or otherwise) slip through cracks.
The principles of frictionless payments are, well, “frictionless” and “options” with “failsafe methods of payment enabled”.
Enough with principles.
With Shopify POS, accept popular payment methods right away (depending on where your business is located). If eligible, accept popular payment methods like credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others — you can do all of this by using the Shopify Tap & Chip Card reader.
Expand payment options to BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later). Add Shopify Pay Installments giving in-store customers flexibility to pay in installments (interest-free payments or monthly payments).
With Shopify POS and Shopify Payments, you only pay low transaction fees per transaction to process payments.
There are no monthly fees or hidden fees (except for Shopify pricing plans you are on).
Shopify payments also allows for auto-reconciliation, gives you access to financial reports and others (see above) to show you when you get paid and how much.
Process chargebacks, stay on top of cash-flow management, partial payments, and more.
You can also split payments (accept two or more payment types), sell physical or digital gift cards for your store, accept gift cards, email gift cards, and allow customers to add digital gift cards to Apple wallet.
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