If you’ve been in the ecommerce space for a while, you might be underestimating Shopify POS. 

While Shopify has been a mainstay in the ecommerce space for almost 20 years now, it has recently been making major strides to improve its products and services to power the larger players in the retail industry; more than ever before. 

Many mid-market and enterprise merchants have long thought that Shopify POS was a product tailored for small businesses, simply looking for a quick way to manage and checkout their single store customer base, but that just isn’t the case anymore. 

If you haven’t had a look at what Shopify POS offers for mid-market and enterprise merchants with more complex ecommerce systems in a while, you might have been missing out on a growing suite of features built to help you handle your more complicated setups with ease. Here’s everything you need to know about Shopify POS’s revamped set of features. 

What is Shopify POS?

Shopify POS, or Point of Sale, is a comprehensive system designed to seamlessly bridge the gap between online and physical retail stores. It empowers businesses by offering a unified platform for managing sales, inventory, and customer interactions, creating a streamlined experience for both customers and retailers. 

With a unified backend and a suite of hardware and software tools built to ensure everyone on your team is on the same page, no matter where they are –  or at which location your inventory is stored, Shopify POS aims to take the stress and guesswork out of running a large-scale retail operation.

The Power of Shopify POS

Here at Blue Badger, we often see retailers coming to us looking for solutions to the same problems: businesses are wanting simplicity, coordination, and support. With Shopify POS, those pain points don’t have to be a problem anymore. Here’s how: 

1. Enhanced Inventory and Multi-Location Management

Shopify's point of sale system now provides even more comprehensive inventory management tools. Whether you run a single store or thousands of locations – yes, that’s right! Shopify now supports retailers with over 1000 locations – the revamped Shopify POS allows you to easily manage your stock, no matter where you are, or where it needs to go. 

Real-time inventory updates and low stock level alerts keep you in control and your customers satisfied. It's like having a digital inventory assistant that works around the clock. Plus, if you notice any discrepancies, a quick once-over with a barcode scanner will get your inventory matching your records in no time.

The POS’s stock performance grading system gives you insight on which products are popular and worth reordering, and which are gathering dust on your shelves, making managing your inventory smarter. Shopify even has a sale suggestion page to let you know which products aren’t selling so you can release cash and inventory with sale item suggestions.

Omnichannel Sales Enablement

Because of Shopify’s granular inventory management and tracking, Shopify POS enables omnichannel selling so that you can meet your customers wherever they are, be it online, at your brick and mortar store(s), or a mix of both:

• Buy online, pick up in store: save time with click-and-collect/BOPIS so that customers can take advantage of speedy curbside pickup. 
• Browse in store, buy online: send customers an email with items they looked at but didn’t purchase in store to drum up more interest. 
• Buy in store, ship to customer: don’t let limited inventory cost you a sale. Customers can now buy online and receive their purchase at home when it’s available to ship. 
• Streamlined exchanges and returns: return or exchange merchandise from any store, regardless of where the purchase was made, and enjoy instantly updated inventory for all. 
  

2. Customizable Hardware Options with Shopify POS Go

The Shopify POS system is a fully integrated blend of software and hardware ensuring that retail stores with a Shopify POS integration are getting the best, most advanced solution available to them. 

Now, you have the flexibility to choose the hardware that best suits your store's unique needs. From barcode scanners and receipt printers to cash drawers and card readers, Shopify offers a variety of hardware solutions that seamlessly integrate with the system. This means you can create a tailored point-of-sale setup that optimally serves your business. All this is made possible with the addition of the POS Go, a handheld, wireless POS terminal, to Shopify’s fleet of hardware tools. 

The POS Go’s integrated barcode scanner and card reader make the checkout experience feel frictionless for customers and staff, who no longer need to carry multiple devices to close sales on the sales floor. 

Where the POS Go really shines though, is it’s portability and ability to work anywhere with a WI-FI connection. It can support multiple stores with a single back office, making it the perfect tiny device to bring to conventions, pop-up shops, markets, etc. Just allocate the inventory, hand it to a team member, and you’re ready to go. 

3. Personalized Synced Customer Experiences and Profiles

In today's retail landscape, it's not just about selling products and accepting payments; it's about creating personalized customer experiences. Shopify POS understands this, and its latest update empowers retailers to do precisely that. 

While the Shopify POS hardware is impressive enough, where the entire system and suite of features really stands out lies in the overall customer experience. 

At the point of sale, you can access synced customer profiles and purchase histories through emails and phone numbers, enabling you to provide tailored recommendations and customized shopping experiences. Keep track of contact information, purchase history, lifetime spend, customer notes, tags, shipping address, taxes, and marketing preferences. The result? Stronger customer relationships, increased loyalty, and customers who keep coming back.

On the backend, you’ll have access to tags that allow you to search and filter based on what your business is looking to achieve, and tailor your marketing campaigns to real customer data be it by phone, SMS or email.  

Streamlined and Customized Checkout Experience

Online customers can now experience a seamless flow with a smart grid that adapts in real-time based on their actions within the cart, while mistakes during checkout can quickly be accommodated with easy-to-cancel orders and voiding payments in a snap. Whether your customers are online or shopping at a B&M, they can enjoy the same perks and level of service.

• A Tailored Experience: Manage, save, and retrieve shopping carts effortlessly, ensuring a swift and efficient checkout process. Plus, tailor your printed receipts to include details like your website URL, store hours, promotions, and policies, offering a custom experience at every touchpoint. 
• Custom Pricing for All: Apply discounts, promo codes, or use gift cards for both your online and retail business, making every purchase a rewarding experience, no matter where you shop. The system automatically calculates taxes based on your store's location, with the option to disable taxes or set custom rates for specific products or orders.
• Everything Your Customer Needs: Keep track of special requests and order details by attaching notes to orders, ensuring that every customer's needs and preferences are met. Additionally, the system supports partial payments and split tenders, making complex transactions a breeze. 

All of this leads to faster, more efficient checkouts and happier customers. Shopify POS provides you with all the tools you need for a simple and efficient retail experience.

4. Retail Staff Roles and Permissions

Set up custom roles with special permissions to make sure your team has just the right access and control. You can even decide when they might need the boss's nod for things like giving discounts or creating special bundles. Plus, you can easily add and oversee staff with full POS access (without all the admin responsibilities).

You can also attribute sales to specific staff members, which can be a real morale booster with commissions and bonuses! For added security and tracking, you can also set up unique PINs for each staff member to use to log into the POS system.

5. Unlimited Catalog

With the POS app’s limitless catalog, you can expand your product offerings by adding an unlimited number of products and their variants to your POS system, ensuring a comprehensive inventory for your customers.

For organized management, categorize your products by type, season, promotions, or any other relevant criteria, and utilize the smart collections feature to automatically sort products by vendor, price, and inventory levels, so all your offerings are easily accessible.

When it comes to product variations, Shopify POS allows you to include multiple options such as size, color, or materials, each with its own designated price, SKU, weight, and inventory details. This flexibility ensures you can cater to diverse customer preferences effectively.

To streamline inventory tracking and expedite the checkout process, you have the option to assign existing barcodes to products or generate new ones to enhance the overall operational efficiency of your business and help with inventory management. 

6. Unified Reporting and Analytics

Integrated analytics combine your in-store and online sales data. Make informed decisions backed by comprehensive insights into your sales, products, and staff performance—all conveniently presented in a daily report generated through your Shopify POS system.

Gain a holistic view of your entire business at a glance, both online and in-store. Dive into the nitty-gritty by viewing, analyzing, and exporting sales data by factors like staff members, locations, specific time periods, or customer preferences.

Shopify POS simplifies the process of accurately tracking your cash register drawer's expected balance, ensuring smooth end-of-day deposits directly from the system. Gain a deeper understanding of when you can expect your funds from in-person and online sales. While at month-end, get a comprehensive snapshot of your inventory, allowing you to track daily sales quantities and percentages with precision.

And for a thorough financial review, generate comprehensive reports covering sales, returns, taxes, payments, and more. 

Conclusion

Group your point-of-sale and ecommerce systems under the same umbrella for a seamless workflow in all your locations – whether in person, or virtual, and generate unified analytics for a true 360 view of your entire operation with Shopify POS’s powerful suite of features.

Enhanced inventory management, multi-location support, customizable hardware options, streamlined checkouts, and personalized customer experiences are just a few of the many advantages it offers. Whether you run a single store or a chain of retail locations, Shopify POS can help you streamline operations, boost sales, and create exceptional retail experiences.

If you’re ready to take the leap into the Shopify ecosystem, Shopify also offers full migration support with Shopify Plus, training resources and 24/7 customer support to ensure that your business is set up and ready to go without ever having to start from scratch.

As a certified Shopify Plus Service Partner, Blue Badger offers everything you need to get your business up and running with Shopify POS, and even extend/supercharge it with custom apps tailor-made for your business requirements. Offering services like design and development of custom themes, strategy, conversion rate optimization, performance marketing, and more, let us help you build an ecommerce ecosystem that you can rely on. Get in touch with us today to learn more.