Shopify POS is a versatile marketplace solution that helps enhance customer experience and truly implement an omnichannel strategy.

“Know your customer and you will know your business” is an old saying that has not lost its relevance over time. A key factor in identifying clientele and providing better service is the marketplace, Point of Sale (POS), which integrates seamlessly into both physical and digital store environments.

Shopify POS is a marketplace solution that offers merchants comprehensive tools for customer identification, payment processing, integrating store and online shop, inventory management, and reporting. It is a versatile system that allows you to manage your company's sales both in the online shop and the brick-and-mortar store with one easy-to-use application.

The POS provides a unique opportunity to seamlessly integrate the sales processes of the online shop and physical store. The POS can be used on a smartphone, allowing every store employee to have a cash terminal with them at all times.

At this point, the reader may think that this is just another salesman's empty words. What does all this really mean in English? Let’s open the topic with a practical example.

Morning preparations

In a central location amidst the city buzz stands the fictional motorcycle centre Kiihdytyskymppi. The company has an online shop and a store, offering a wide range of motorcycles and related gear. The business is run through the store: the store and warehouse are one and the same space.

In the morning before opening, the owner of Kiihdytyskymppi, Jarkko, opens the Shopify POS app on his phone. He goes through the morning shift “checklist” to ensure the store is ready for opening: aisles are tidy, products are properly shelved, and there is no litter on the floors. He clicks through the list and opens the store.

Passion for customer service

The first customers of the day enter the shop. Jarkko greets them eagerly and chats with them about their motorcycle hobby.

While guiding his customers, Jarkko uses his phone to identify them through the name or phone number in the POS. He immediately sees the customers’ latest orders and the loyalty system points and sales recorded.

Jarkko introduces products and provides further information based on details recorded in the POS. This information can include compatible products, promotional items, or specific product features. Jarkko records the product selections directly into the POS, forming the customers’ shopping baskets from the entries.

Promoting sales and offers

Jarkko notices that a customer is interested in a new line of motorcycle attire. Using the Shopify POS app, he offers tailored deals and discounts according to the customer's interest, facilitating their decision-making. From the customer’s data, Jarkko notes that the customer has spent over €1,000 in the year and decides to give them a 15% discount. He adds this discount to the shopping basket with a click of a button.

A little competition among salespeople always brightens the day. The sales can be registered in the POS by salesperson, allowing Jarkko to already celebrate his lead in a friendly contest. Jarkko has also set sales-specific commission levels for all salespeople in the POS.

Inventory management and order processing

When a customer makes their choice, Jarkko uses the Shopify POS app to check the product availability in real-time. If an item is not available, he can still make the sale and arrange for postal delivery to the customer's home. With Shopify POS, any purchase made in-store can be easily converted into an online shop order with the push of a button.

Transaction and customer engagement

A customer completes their purchase, and Jarkko accepts the payment using the Shopify POS app. Payment options for the customer include cash, card, MobilePay, invoice, gift card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or any combination of the aforementioned methods.

If a client is not yet part of the store's loyalty program, Jarkko offers them the chance to join. Signing up is just a button press in the POS.

Product exchange or return

A customer arrives with a defective product. Jarkko can easily verify the order and associated products using the POS. The returned item is logged into the system, and a replacement is provided, with inventory records automatically updated accurately.

With the POS, it is also possible to refund money (cash/cards/online payments) to the customer. Recording transactions in the POS is seamless, whether the customer transacted online or in physical store.

Summarising the day

At the end of the day, Jarkko reviews sales reports and analytics from the Shopify POS app. If a cash register is in use, Jarkko can count it using the POS. The POS cash register calculator is a handy tool that reduces the risk of human error. Shopify POS offers comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that aid in better understanding business trends.

Also read: A quick glance at Shopify's new features

Advantages of Shopify POS over traditional cash systems

The example character Jarkko is fictional, but his workday and challenges are taken directly from real life. Here’s a recap of features that make Shopify POS an attractive alternative compared to traditional cash systems:

• Versatility: Shopify POS is more versatile than a traditional cash system as it integrates the sales processes of the online shop and physical store into one combined system. Gift cards and discount coupons work seamlessly in both the online shop and the store. Shopify POS enables a unified service experience for both the customer and the merchant.

• Real-time inventory management: Shopify POS integrates with Shopify online shop, enabling real-time inventory management. You can think of the POS as a separate interface for your online shop. Product inventory balances update automatically from sales made in the online shop and physical store, reducing overstocking or stockouts.

• Customer data and personalisation: Shopify POS stores customer information, such as purchase history and contact details. This allows for personalised service, such as offering recommendations or sending special offers, which in turn improves customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Reporting and analytics: Shopify POS includes comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that help merchants make better business development decisions.

• Flexibility and scalability: Shopify POS suits both small individual shops and large retail chains. It offers various pricing options and expansion opportunities.

• Device independence: The POS is not fixed to a counter – it is wherever you and your sales team are. POS also works at trade shows. You can sell your entire product range at exhibitions because you can easily create online shop orders using the POS.

• Costs: The price of Shopify POS ranges from zero to 89 euros per month per location. One location can have an unlimited number of cash terminal points or POS apps in use. The POS application itself is free.

Cash point anywhere – the symbiosis is here

Easy access for customers, optimised use of space, the opportunity to advertise while queuing, as well as general supervision, are a few traditional reasons for placing the cash point near the entrance of stores.

However, the world is changing rapidly, so could now be the time to challenge the age-old static cash and advisory practice? What if the cash point could be exactly where your customers happen to be? What if each of your store's salespeople could carry their own cash point? Could customers be easily identified during the sales phase before the cash point, offering them highly personalised service?

There are many kinds of symbioses: between plants and insects, animals, microorganisms, and even humans and bacteria. Shopify POS is a symbiosis in the business that unites the store and the online shop: with Shopify POS, you offer a better customer experience and truly implement your omnichannel strategy.

Interested? Would you like to hear more about the benefits and functionalities of Shopify POS? Contact us!