Shopify POS: The Complete Guide to Selling In Person with Shopify

Shopify is not just for online stores. With Shopify POS, you can sell in person at retail locations, pop-up shops, farmers markets, and events. All from one unified platform that keeps your inventory, customers, and sales data perfectly in sync.

Whether you already run a Shopify store online or you are starting fresh with a physical retail space, the Shopify point of sale system gives you everything you need to accept payments, track inventory, and manage your business from a single dashboard. This guide covers how it works, what it costs, and whether it is the right POS system for your business.

What Is Shopify POS?

Shopify POS is a point of sale application that lets you sell products in person using your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. It connects directly to your Shopify admin, which means every sale you make in person automatically updates your online store inventory, customer records, and sales reports.

Think of it as the bridge between your online and offline sales channels. A customer buys a product at your pop-up shop on Saturday morning, and your online store reflects the updated stock count within seconds. No manual adjustments. No spreadsheet reconciliation. Everything stays in sync automatically.

The Shopify POS app is free to download and comes included with every Shopify plan. However, there are two tiers with very different feature sets, and understanding the difference is critical before you commit.

POS Lite vs POS Pro: Features and Pricing

Shopify offers two versions of its retail POS system. Choosing the right one depends on how seriously you are investing in physical retail.

POS Lite (Included Free)

POS Lite comes bundled with every Shopify subscription at no extra cost. It covers the basics you need to start selling in person.

• Accept credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cash
• Unified product catalog synced with your online store
• Customer profiles that merge online and in-person purchase history
• Basic staff management with unique PINs
• Order history and basic reporting
• Discount codes and custom discounts at checkout
• Integrated refund and exchange processing
• Email or SMS receipts

POS Lite works well for businesses that sell in person occasionally. If you do a handful of markets per month or run a small pop-up, this covers your needs without any additional monthly spend.

POS Pro ($89/month per location)

POS Pro unlocks the full suite of retail management tools. This is the tier built for dedicated brick-and-mortar stores and serious retail operations.

• Everything in POS Lite, plus:
• Unlimited staff roles with granular permissions
• Smart inventory management with demand forecasting
• Low stock alerts and purchase order suggestions
• Detailed retail analytics and staff performance reports
• Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS)
• Buy in store, ship to customer
• Local delivery management
• Custom printed receipts
• Exchange and return workflows with receipt lookup
• Daily sale reports by register, staff member, and location

The $89/month price tag is per location. If you operate three retail stores, that is $267/month on top of your Shopify plan. Worth noting: Shopify Plus merchants get POS Pro included at no additional cost, which makes the Plus plan more attractive for multi-location retailers.

How Shopify POS Works

The real power of the Shopify POS system is unification. Your online store and your physical store are not separate businesses. They share a single backend.

Unified Inventory

When a product sells online, your POS inventory updates. When a product sells in store, your website stock count adjusts. You can also assign inventory quantities to specific locations, so your warehouse stock stays separate from what is on the shelf at your retail store.

Unified Customer Profiles

Every customer who buys from you gets a single profile regardless of where they shop. Their online orders, in-store purchases, contact information, and marketing preferences all live in one place. This makes personalized marketing and loyalty programs far more effective.

Unified Reporting

All your sales data flows into Shopify Analytics. You can see total revenue across channels, compare online vs. in-person performance, and track which products sell best at which locations. No need for separate reporting tools or manual data merging.

Setting Up Shopify POS: Step by Step

Getting started with Shopify POS takes about 30 minutes. Here is the complete walkthrough.

1. Make Sure You Have a Shopify Plan

POS Lite is included with every Shopify plan (Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Plus). If you do not have a Shopify account yet, sign up for a plan first. You can start a free trial to explore the system before committing.

2. Download the Shopify POS App

Install the Shopify POS app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Log in with the same credentials you use for your Shopify admin. The app will pull in your product catalog, customer data, and settings automatically.

3. Add a POS Location

In your Shopify admin, go to Settings and then Locations. Add your physical store address. This creates a separate inventory pool for that location, which is essential for accurate stock tracking across channels.

4. Assign Products to the POS Channel

Not every product in your online store needs to appear in your POS. Go to each product (or use bulk actions) and make sure the Point of Sale sales channel is enabled. You can also adjust which variants are available at which locations.

5. Configure Payment Settings

Enable Shopify Payments for card transactions if you have not already. This gives you the lowest processing rates for in-person sales. You can also enable cash payments, gift cards, and custom payment methods like store credit.

6. Connect Hardware (Optional)

Pair your card reader, receipt printer, barcode scanner, or cash drawer through the POS app. Shopify sells its own hardware, but the app is also compatible with select third-party devices.

7. Customize Your POS Layout

The POS app lets you create a custom home screen with tiles for your most popular products, collections, and quick actions. Spend a few minutes setting this up. It dramatically speeds up checkout for your staff.

Hardware Options Overview

Shopify offers a range of first-party POS hardware. Here are the key options.

• Shopify POS Terminal: An all-in-one countertop device with a built-in card reader and customer-facing display
• Tap & Chip Card Reader: A compact wireless reader that connects to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth
• iPad Stand: A retail-grade stand that turns your iPad into a sleek countertop register
• Barcode Scanner: Speeds up product lookup and checkout at high-volume locations
• Receipt Printer: For businesses that need physical receipts (most customers prefer email or SMS)
• Cash Drawer: Connects to your receipt printer and opens automatically after cash transactions

You do not need any hardware to start. Your phone or tablet with the POS app and a Tap & Chip reader is enough for most sellers. Scale up to a full countertop setup as your retail operation grows.

Best Use Cases for Shopify POS

The Shopify retail POS system is flexible enough for a wide range of selling scenarios. Here is where it shines.

Brick-and-Mortar Retail Stores

This is the core use case. If you run a physical store (clothing boutique, home goods shop, specialty food store), Shopify POS gives you a modern register system that ties directly into your online presence. Customers can browse your website, find what they want, and pick it up in store. Or discover something in store and order a different size online later. The experience feels seamless because the backend is truly unified.

Pop-Up Shops

Pop-ups are where Shopify POS Lite really earns its keep. You need a lightweight setup that works anywhere: a phone, a card reader, and a product catalog that is already loaded. No complex hardware installation. No separate inventory system. Set up in minutes and start selling. When the pop-up ends, every sale and customer record is already in your Shopify admin.

Markets and Events

Farmers markets, craft fairs, trade shows, and festival booths all work perfectly with the mobile POS setup. The Tap & Chip reader handles contactless payments, and you can process transactions even with spotty internet thanks to the app's offline mode (it syncs when you reconnect).

Restaurants and Cafes

While Shopify POS is not a dedicated restaurant management system (it lacks table mapping and kitchen display features), it works well for counter-service restaurants, cafes, juice bars, and food trucks. Quick menu-based checkout, tipping support, and simple inventory tracking make it a solid choice for food businesses that do not need full-service restaurant tools.

Multi-Location Businesses

With POS Pro, you can manage inventory across multiple locations, transfer stock between stores, and compare performance by location. Each store gets its own staff, its own inventory counts, and its own reporting. Everything rolls up into one admin dashboard.

Shopify POS vs. the Competition

There are plenty of POS systems on the market. Here is how Shopify stacks up against the biggest names.

Shopify POS vs. Square

Square is the go-to for businesses that sell primarily in person. It has a free tier, simple hardware, and strong standalone POS features. But Square's ecommerce capabilities are basic compared to Shopify's. If you already sell online (or plan to), Shopify POS wins because your online store and POS share the same powerful platform. Square requires you to manage two separate systems that sync imperfectly.

Shopify POS vs. Lightspeed

Lightspeed is a strong retail POS with deep inventory management and reporting tools. It is popular with larger retailers. However, Lightspeed's ecommerce platform is less mature than Shopify's, and its pricing can escalate quickly. Shopify offers a better balance of online and offline selling for most businesses, especially those where ecommerce is a significant revenue channel.

Shopify POS vs. Clover

Clover offers attractive hardware bundles and solid in-person selling features. It is often sold through merchant service providers, which means pricing and support quality vary. Clover's ecommerce integration is minimal. If omnichannel selling matters to you (and in 2026, it should), Shopify is the stronger choice. Clover works best for businesses that sell exclusively in person and never plan to go online.

Who Should Use Shopify POS?

Shopify POS is the right choice if any of these describe you.

• You already have a Shopify store and want to start selling in person without adding a separate POS system
• You sell at events, markets, or pop-ups and need a lightweight mobile checkout solution
• You are opening a retail store and want your in-person and online sales to share one inventory and customer database
• You want omnichannel features like buy online/pick up in store, ship from store, or local delivery
• You value simplicity and do not want to manage multiple platforms, logins, and data syncs

Shopify POS is not ideal if you need advanced restaurant management (try Toast or Square for Restaurants), if you sell exclusively in person with zero interest in ecommerce (Square's free tier may be simpler), or if you need deep B2B wholesale POS features.

Common Questions About Shopify POS

Do I need a Shopify online store to use POS?

Technically, yes. You need a Shopify subscription. But you do not need to have a live public-facing store. You can use Shopify purely for in-person selling and keep your online storefront password-protected if you prefer.

What are the card processing fees?

In-person rates with Shopify Payments start at 2.7% + 0c on the Basic plan, 2.5% + 0c on Shopify, and 2.4% + 0c on Advanced. These are lower than online rates because in-person transactions carry less fraud risk.

Can I use Shopify POS without internet?

Yes. The POS app has an offline cash mode that lets you accept cash payments and record transactions without a connection. Card payments require a connection. When you come back online, everything syncs automatically.

Does Shopify POS support tipping?

Yes. You can enable tipping on the POS checkout screen with preset percentages or a custom amount option. Tips are tracked separately in your reports.

Can I use my own hardware?

The POS app runs on iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. For card readers, Shopify recommends its own hardware for the best experience, but the app is compatible with select third-party Bluetooth readers. Receipt printers and barcode scanners from supported manufacturers also work.

Can I accept gift cards with Shopify POS?

Yes. Physical and digital Shopify gift cards work at the POS. You can sell gift cards in store and redeem them for both online and in-person purchases.

Is POS Pro worth the $89/month?

If you operate a dedicated retail location with staff, POS Pro pays for itself quickly. The inventory management tools alone save hours of manual work each week. For occasional sellers at markets or events, POS Lite is more than enough.

The Bottom Line

Shopify POS turns your Shopify store into a true omnichannel business. One product catalog. One customer database. One set of reports. Whether someone buys from your website at midnight or from your retail counter at noon, the experience is connected and the data is unified.

The free POS Lite tier makes it easy to test in-person selling with minimal risk. And if your retail operation grows, POS Pro gives you the tools to manage staff, inventory, and multi-location operations without leaving the Shopify ecosystem.

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