Shopify is primarily known for e-commerce. But as soon as you open a physical store, a pop-up store, attend trade shows, or offer click and collect, one question becomes central: how do you maintain the same inventory, customers, promotions, and orders across all channels, digital or physical, while still taking payments quickly and efficiently? This is precisely the role of Shopify POS, Shopify's point-of-sale system, designed to seamlessly connect the physical and online worlds.
In this guide, we'll get into the specifics: what Shopify POS does daily, how it's deployed, the hardware and network prerequisites, how to choose between POS Lite and POS Pro, and most importantly, how to leverage it to create a fluid omnichannel experience (reservations, in-store pickup, ship from store, in-store returns, etc.).
What exactly is Shopify POS (and why is it not "just a till")?
A classic point of sale processes payments. Period. Shopify POS goes further: it's designed to be an in-store extension of your Shopify store. In practice, this means your catalog, variants, prices, taxes, inventory, customers, promotions, and order history all live in the same place, and the store doesn't become a "parallel world" that's impossible to reconcile at the end of the month.
This also enables customer journeys that seem obvious to the customer... but are often painful in the back office when systems don't communicate: buying online and picking up in-store, buying in-store and having it delivered, returning a web purchase in-store, or resuming a cart started in-store to finalize it later online. Shopify even highlights these journeys directly in its presentation of Shopify POS.
Shopify POS Lite vs. Shopify POS Pro: The Difference That Changes Your Organization
A common mistake is to compare POS Lite and POS Pro solely "on a list of features." The real question is: to what extent does your physical activity need rules, reporting, team management, and processes?
Shopify POS Lite: The essentials for taking payments and syncing
POS Lite is included with Shopify plans and provides the necessary foundation for in-person selling. On the official app page, Shopify describes POS Lite as included, and POS Pro as a monthly subscription per location.
POS Lite is particularly suitable if you make occasional sales (pop-ups, markets, trade shows), have few sales assistants, or if your store is a "showroom" that processes payments without complex operational logic.
Shopify POS Pro: The retail tool for when the store becomes a real channel
POS Pro is designed for permanent stores, with teams, procedures, management needs, and often multiple locations. Shopify indicates that POS Pro provides additional retail features (transactions, inventory, reports, staff management) and is activated with an additional monthly cost per location.
On the Shopify POS app page, Shopify displays POS Pro at 79 euros per month per location (price shown on the product sheet).
There is also an annual plan with a discounted monthly price for a 12-month commitment, displayed at 69 euros/month/location on the dedicated page.
Simple benchmark (very practical)
If you start thinking, "each sales assistant needs specific permissions," "I want reliable store reports," "I want to streamline returns, exchanges, and order preparation," "I want identical workflows across multiple points of sale," you are already in the logic of POS Pro.
Quick Reference Table (no jargon)
| Topic | POS Lite | POS Pro |
|---|---|---|
| In-store payments & sales | Yes | Yes |
| Additional subscription | No (included) | Yes, per location |
| Detailed team management (roles) | Basic | Advanced (POS roles and permissions) |
| Advanced retail functions (as needed) | Limited |
More comprehensive (pickup, workflows, etc.) |
Technical foundations: locations, application, and unified inventory
Before discussing hardware, you need to understand the foundation of Shopify POS: your locations. Shopify structures physical sales around locations (stores, warehouses, pop-ups), and the POS subscription (Lite or Pro) is chosen per location in the admin.
This detail is crucial because it determines:
- Stock availability by location;
- Order preparation (pickup, ship from store);
- Performance per point of sale;
- Team permissions (who works where);
- And accounting consistency.
Simply put: if your store inventory is not correctly linked to a location, you might have a till that takes payments... and a deteriorating customer experience (unexpected stock-outs, impossible click and collect, false delivery promises).
Shopify POS hardware: what you really need (and what's optional)
Shopify POS works on iOS and Android, but not all devices are compatible. Shopify publishes a compatibility FAQ, with precise version and model requirements (e.g., iPhone 7 or newer running iOS 15.1 or higher, iPad depending on generation, etc.).
The bare minimum: a device + a way to take payments
In its documentation, Shopify recommends first choosing hardware based on your needs (cards, cash, or both), then optionally adding retail hardware (scanner, printer, cash drawer).
If you sell simple products, with a moderate average cart value and low foot traffic, an iPad or iPhone with a card reader is often enough to get started correctly.
When the store picks up: scanner, printer, cash drawer
As soon as you have volume, speed and reliability matter more than "aesthetics." A scanner reduces variant errors, a printer streamlines checkout, and a cash drawer becomes relevant if you regularly accept cash. Shopify details these hardware categories (readers, scanners, printers, etc.) in its "hardware" guides.
POS Go: The "mobile seller" option (very retail)
Shopify also offers POS Go, an all-in-one mobile device (POS station + scanner + card reader), designed for in-person selling without needing multiple accessories. Shopify describes POS Go as a dedicated device for fast and reliable sales.
This is particularly useful in stores when you want to take payments anywhere (e.g., in a queue, in a pop-up store, or at an event), while maintaining Shopify traceability.
In-store payments: Shopify Payments, readers, Tap to Pay... and the real issue of network connectivity
A successful POS experience relies on a trifecta: payment methods, network stability, and backup processes.
Shopify Payments and country availability
Many payment features (and some hardware) rely on Shopify Payments, which is only available in certain countries. Shopify maintains an official list of supported countries. I can reassure you right away: it is available in France.
If you are in another country, even before ordering hardware, this is an essential check: the correct reader and options vary by region.
Tap to Pay: taking payments without a reader (when available)
Shopify POS allows accepting contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone (and in some cases Tap to Pay on Android). For iPhone, Shopify specifies activation within the POS app and reminds users of security elements (e.g., preventing screenshots during PIN entry, as applicable).
Apple also publishes an official page listing the countries and regions where Tap to Pay on iPhone is available (and compatible providers).
Network: the underestimated point that loses money
In several troubleshooting pages, Shopify reminds users that under normal conditions, Shopify POS needs to connect to the internet (Wi-Fi or cellular data) to process payments.
And when a store is on a corporate network (firewall, filtering), Shopify recommends specific settings, particularly related to Stripe's network requirements (the Shopify Payments processor).
What if the internet goes down?
Shopify has a feature called offline payments, activatable in the admin, which allows you to continue accepting certain card transactions when the internet connection is lost, within precise limits (per-device limits, Wi-Fi conditions, reduced functionality).
It's not "magic": the idea is to maintain activity during an outage, then synchronize/capture later when the connection returns, with operational restrictions. This is exactly the kind of detail that differentiates an installation "that works on a desk" from a system ready for a Saturday afternoon in a store.
Real omnichannel with Shopify POS: what you can truly orchestrate
This is where Shopify POS can make a difference compared to a disconnected till: you are no longer managing "two businesses," but one business with multiple touchpoints.
Click and collect: managing in-store pickup from the till
Shopify documents the management of "pickup in store" orders from Shopify POS, via smart grid tiles and a dedicated workflow.
The business benefit is immediate: your store teams see, prepare, notify, and hand over the order without juggling multiple tools, reducing delays and errors (and improving customer satisfaction).
Ship from store: selling in-store, delivering from available inventory
Shopify highlights "ship from store" functionalities for processing orders and printing labels, directly within the POS ecosystem.
This is a powerful lever when your store has dormant inventory: instead of refusing a sale because "we don't have the size," you can offer delivery from another location, or ship from the store to the customer.
Email cart: converting in-store hesitations into online sales
A very real case: the customer hesitates, lacks time, or the product is not available on site. Shopify POS offers "Email cart," which sends the customer a pre-filled cart and a link to online checkout; Shopify specifies that this feature is available for POS Pro locations.
This mechanism is excellent for "saving" sales without forcing a purchase, while maintaining cleaner retail attribution.
Smart grid: customization that transforms till speed
Shopify POS is often referred to as a till. In reality, the in-store experience greatly depends on the operator interface: how to find a product, how to apply a discount, how to initiate a return, how to open a pickup order, etc.
Shopify calls the home screen a smart grid and allows you to create and manage smart grid templates from the admin, particularly to maintain consistency across multiple points of sale.
Shopify also describes an "in-store experience editor," a centralized tool to customize the smart grid, locked screen, customer screen, and receipts, without having to configure everything on each device.
In the field, this is an error-prevention weapon: you highlight the actions actually used by your sales assistants, you reduce training time, and you standardize processes (which is vital as soon as you have turnover or multiple stores).
Team management: clear permissions, traceability, and fewer frictions
As soon as there are multiple sales assistants, the question is no longer "does it process payments?", but "is it controllable?". Shopify explains that each POS staff member can have a unique PIN code to log into the application, and that with POS Pro you can create custom POS roles with permissions (refunds, discounts, cash register tracking, etc.).
This granularity is a real plus: you prevent a new sales assistant from applying excessively large discounts, processing returns without validation, or accessing sensitive settings. In retail, it's rarely a matter of distrust: it's primarily a way to make the organization robust.
Stock and inventory: the blind spot that causes 80% of "omnichannel" projects to fail
You can have the most beautiful store and the most beautiful till. If the inventory is wrong, omnichannel collapses.
Shopify offers Stocky, an inventory management application included with Shopify POS Pro subscriptions, which helps track stock levels, forecast needs, and suggest reorders.
Shopify also indicates that Stocky can be used directly from Shopify POS via interface extensions, so teams can perform inventory tasks without leaving the floor (checking stock, receiving a supplier order, transferring, etc.).
The business impact is very concrete: when inventory is "live" and maintained, you reduce lost sales, limit overstocking, and gain reliability on customer promises (pickup, delivery, availability).
Are you preparing a Shopify POS deployment?
Let's think of the store as a real extension of your Shopify
Locations, inventory, click and collect, ship from store, sales assistant roles, smart grid, hardware and payments: I can help you structure a coherent, reliable, and easy-to-use POS environment for daily operations.
Discuss your Shopify POS projectShopify POS deployment: the proper method (without unnecessary complexity)
A successful Shopify POS implementation looks more like an organizational project than an "app installation."
You start by clarifying your locations, as all inventory and reporting logic depends on them. Then, you install Shopify POS on compatible devices, checking iOS/Android prerequisites and supported versions.
You choose your payment strategy (Shopify Payments, compatible readers, possibly Tap to Pay if available), validating country eligibility and network robustness.
Finally, you customize the smart grid to align with real workflows, and you define staff roles consistent with your processes (discounts, returns, till closing, settings).
And most importantly, you test complete scenarios: a pickup, a return of a web order, a contactless payment, an internet outage, a product exchange.
Limits to be aware of (to avoid unpleasant surprises)
Shopify POS is very robust when you're operating "within the Shopify ecosystem." Limitations primarily appear when trying to replicate habits from older systems.
The first point is network dependency: Shopify clearly documents that some functions are limited offline, and that offline sales follow strict rules.
Furthermore, multi-store organization requires discipline regarding locations, transfers, and inventory: this is rarely a software problem; it's a process problem.
Shopify POS FAQ
Does Shopify POS work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Shopify POS is an application available on iOS and Android. Compatibility depends on models and OS versions, which Shopify lists in its FAQ.
What is the price of Shopify POS Pro?
On the official Shopify POS application page, Shopify lists POS Pro at 79 euros/month/location (and POS Lite included).
Shopify also offers an annual plan with a discounted monthly rate listed at 69 euros/month/location for 12 months.
Can Shopify POS process payments if the internet is down?
Shopify offers offline payments that can be activated from the admin, with limits and restrictions (Wi-Fi conditions, caps, reduced functions).
In practice, your backup plan should also include alternative methods (cash, custom methods), and most importantly, a properly configured store network.
Does Shopify POS manage click and collect?
Yes, Shopify documents the management of "pickup in store" orders directly in Shopify POS via a dedicated workflow.
Can a cart be sent to the customer so they can purchase online later?
Yes, with the "Email cart" function, which allows sending a cart and a checkout link. Shopify specifies that this is a feature available for locations with POS Pro.
Conclusion: Shopify POS, the right choice when you want an omnichannel brand (not two separate businesses)
Shopify POS is not just a payment tool. It's a unified commerce building block that truly comes into its own when you're looking to offer a consistent experience between your website and your store: aligned stock, recognized customers, smooth orders, omnichannel journeys, and location-based management.
If your retail is occasional, POS Lite may be sufficient for quick sales and synchronization. If your store becomes a strategic channel, with teams, processes, and performance objectives, POS Pro makes perfect sense when accompanied by a proper implementation of hardware, network, smart grid, roles, and inventory.
Do you want to deploy Shopify POS properly in your stores?
I'm Olivier Romero, founder of Agence Shop. We support brands that want to connect their Shopify e-commerce to their physical stores with a truly omnichannel logic.
POS Lite or Pro, locations, inventory, hardware, payments, staff rights and click and collect journeys: the goal is to build a robust system that simplifies team work and improves customer experience.
Discuss your Shopify POS deployment
