Shopify POS (Point of Sale) is Shopify’s system for selling products in person at physical locations like retail stores, pop-up shops, markets, and events. It runs as a mobile app on iOS and Android devices and connects directly to your Shopify Admin, keeping inventory, orders, and customer data synced between your online and in-person sales channels.
If you sell both online and in person, Shopify POS keeps everything in one system instead of running separate platforms.
Why It Matters
Running separate systems for online and in-store sales creates problems. Inventory gets out of sync, customer data lives in different places, and reporting requires manual reconciliation. Shopify POS eliminates these issues by using a single backend for all sales channels.
When a customer buys a product in your physical store, Shopify automatically updates inventory across your online store and any other sales channels. When that same customer shops online later, their purchase history and loyalty data are already there. This unified view of your business makes inventory management, customer relationships, and financial reporting much simpler.
Retailers who sell across multiple channels need unified data. Shopify POS provides that without requiring separate inventory or customer management systems.
Key Features
Unified inventory. Your product catalog and stock levels sync in real time between online and in-store. Sell a product at a pop-up shop and your product page online immediately reflects the updated inventory count.
Customer profiles. Every in-person transaction builds a customer profile with purchase history, preferences, and contact information. This lets you send targeted marketing and track customer lifetime value across all channels.
Flexible payments. Accept credit cards, debit cards, contactless payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay), and cash. Shopify offers its own card reader hardware or integrates with third-party payment gateways.
Staff management. Assign roles and permissions to staff members. Track individual sales performance, manage multiple staff PINs, and control who can issue discounts or process refunds.
In-store pickup. Offer buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). Customers purchase through your website and collect their order at your physical location. This drives foot traffic and reduces shipping costs.
Shopify POS Lite vs. POS Pro
POS Lite comes free with every Shopify plan. It includes basic in-person selling features: product browsing, payment processing, receipt printing, and inventory sync. This is enough for occasional in-person sales at markets or events.
POS Pro costs $89/month per location and adds advanced retail features: staff roles and permissions, detailed inventory management with purchase orders and transfers, in-store analytics, unlimited store staff accounts, and omnichannel selling features like ship-to-customer from store. Dedicated retail stores should use POS Pro.
Hardware Options
Shopify sells its own POS hardware including card readers, tablet stands, receipt printers, barcode scanners, and cash drawers. You can also use compatible third-party hardware. The basic setup is an iPad or iPhone with the Shopify POS app and a Shopify card reader. For a full retail counter, add a tablet stand, receipt printer, and cash drawer.
Common Use Cases
Retail stores. Full-time physical stores that also sell online. POS Pro gives you the inventory management and staff tools needed for daily retail operations.
Pop-up shops and markets. Temporary selling locations where you need a mobile checkout system. POS Lite with a card reader on your phone works well for these situations.
Events and trade shows. Sell merchandise or take orders at conferences, craft fairs, or brand events. The portability of a phone-based POS setup makes this practical.
Showrooms. Display products in person but ship from your warehouse. Use the POS ship-to-customer feature so visitors can buy without carrying inventory on site.
How It Connects to Your Online Store
Everything flows through your Shopify Admin. In-store sales appear alongside online orders. Analytics show revenue and performance across all channels. Discount codes work in both online and POS contexts. Customer segments update with both online and in-person purchase data.
This means your SEO and marketing efforts that drive online traffic also benefit from in-store data. You get one unified view of your business performance rather than stitching together reports from different systems.
If you sell in person at all, even occasionally, Shopify POS turns your phone into a fully synced checkout terminal connected to your entire Shopify ecosystem.
