Shopify's Point of Sale System

Very little is ever discussed about the brick-and-mortar solution brought by Shopify. With the Covid-19 pandemic push to get online, with a massive surge to have a Shopify store, the relaxing of the pandemic rules and regulations is re-opening physical stores, leaving many businesses with two separate systems - one for the online store, and the other for the physical retail store. If this is you, you might be interested in consolidating to one system that will take debit cards and credit cards.

Managing Online and Retail

There are several aspects that double up the work when using a till system as well as an online store's order system simultaneously.

• Inventory Management: When sales occur on both ends, reconciling the inventory can be challenging and usually puts the online sales at risk of being over-sold. Avoiding the hassle of customer service to reaching out to the client and letting them down on the bad news is usually something to avoid.

• Financial reporting: To tally up the sales of the day, week, a month between the till and the online store gets to be a bigger chore. With various payment processing to factor in already, the last thing you want to be left with is a reconciliation of dates/products/payments to do a reasonable job of accounting.

• Cash Drawer: If you are worried that the online store's POS would not handle cash, it does. Most small businesses in a brick-and-mortar retail outlet will do cash for customer experience and convenience.

Benefits of Shopify's point of sale

While the items above are obviously items that are overcome by having one system, you have additional benefits in which you can expand your marketing as well as offer great customer service through emailing receipts, offering gift cards as well as live chat while at the store. Loyalty programs can be offered which can drastically improve brand equity and returning clients. The POS software allows you to track all this both online and at the Retail store level, with the benefits of the online store to be enhanced by additional tools from the Shopify App Store. The cloud-based POS system acts as an extension to your online store, making your retail business more efficient and streamlined.

Banking and Financials

With your checking account receiving your transactions through one system, setting up reports, and preparing your finances for tax filings gets to be a lot easier. Everything is captured through Shopify, and you can check through online banking deposits. Everything is itemized, credit cards, cash, returns, products, gross margin, and net income. There is even an App to connect directly to your accountant's QuickBooks/Xero software.

Improve Customer Experience

While we touched on better offerings and services, the ability to focus more on the client's needs than operating a till the Shopify POS is sleek and efficient in capturing the sale and providing a receipt. With gift cards and loyalty programs, it is a sleek system with the incentive to browse and pick out your products and feels like you belong without any hassle when you checkout in the store - in Retail or Online. The Point of Sales (POS) presents itself as a tablet on a table pedestal and is clear of clutter or a bulky till taking up room.

Additional Sales

With Shopify's point of sales system, you have additional purchasing models being offered:

• Buy online and pick up at the store: Curbside purchasing has been popular in the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Buy in-store and ship to a customer: You get to see it and feel it before you can send a gift.

• Buy online, return/exchange in store: Easy and flexible, saves on RMA's and it is quicker for the customer.

• Browse in-store and buy online later: You see it, you like it - take a picture of it, and purchase it later.

It seems obvious and easy for customers to do business with you. With today's smartphone shoppers, your customers don't just come in, shop, and go - there are many considerations and needs incorporated into the sale and the more flexible you are, the greater the attraction of the audience to do business with you.

Solid Hardware and Powerful Software

A lot of POS hardware and software can bring headaches to operate. Shopify's POS interface is tuned for the merchant, and with the online store in place, it is just a connection away. The hardware delivers a fast and responsive interface, with your payment processor set up right away. With less time spent on a till, and more time with a customer the experience is definitely going to improve.

Conclusion

The Shopify point of sale is a way to make your operation more efficient, managing better your inventory and sales all the way through reporting them. At the end of the day, you have your customers to focus on, and the products that serve them well. Minimizing chores as well as doing reconciliations where time is not well spent is a focus for most store owners. If you need to know more about Shopify's POS - give us a shout at wish@thegenielab.com