Retailers who operate both an online WooCommerce store and a physical retail location face a common pain point: keeping inventory in sync across both channels. WooCommerce POS required a third-party plugin (WooCommerce POS, Hike POS, Square for WooCommerce) to handle in-store sales, and stock sync was often unreliable. Shopify POS is deeply integrated with Shopify's online store — they share the same product catalogue, inventory, and customer database by default. This guide covers the Shopify POS setup, hardware options, and unified inventory management.

Shopify POS plans

Plan	Cost	Key features
POS Lite	Included with all Shopify plans	Basic POS, in-store sales, limited staff accounts, no advanced reporting
POS Pro	£69/month per location	Advanced inventory, unlimited staff with permissions, exchanges, custom receipts, daily sales reports, smart inventory forecasting

POS Pro is typically necessary for retailers with real inventory management needs. POS Lite works for very simple pop-up or occasional retail scenarios.

Unified inventory: online + in-store

This is Shopify's core advantage over WooCommerce + POS plugin combinations:

Single product catalogue: Products created once in Shopify admin. Available in both online store and POS automatically.
Multi-location inventory: Each physical location is a "location" in Shopify. Inventory is tracked per location — you can see "20 units at High Street store, 50 units in online warehouse."
Online vs in-store stock: You can configure whether online orders can draw from in-store stock (useful for click-and-collect) or keep inventory pools separate.
Real-time sync: When a sale is made in-store via POS, Shopify immediately deducts from the location's inventory. Online customers can't oversell what the store just sold.
Stock transfer between locations: Transfer inventory between your store and warehouse directly within Shopify. WooCommerce POS plugins often required external spreadsheet management for this.

Shopify POS hardware

POS app: iOS (iPad, iPhone) and Android. Download from App Store / Google Play. Your staff sign in with their Shopify staff account.
Card reader (UK): Shopify Card Reader (tap, chip + PIN, contactless) — connects via Bluetooth. Works with Shopify Payments.
Shopify POS Go: Dedicated handheld device (scanner + card reader in one). Useful for stockroom scanning and floor sales.
Receipt printer: Star Micronics printers officially supported. Thermal receipt printers connected via Bluetooth or network.
Cash drawer: Standard cash drawer triggered by receipt printer.
Barcode scanner: Any Bluetooth HID barcode scanner works with the POS app. Useful for quick product lookup by barcode.
Payment processing: Shopify POS requires Shopify Payments for card payments in the UK. Third-party terminals (not Shopify hardware) are not supported for in-person card payments without Shopify Payments.

Staff accounts and permissions

Shopify POS Pro: granular staff permissions per location
Common permissions: can process sales, can apply discounts, can process refunds, can access reports, manager override for voids
PIN-based staff login: each staff member has a PIN for the POS app (separate from Shopify admin credentials)
Staff sales tracking: POS Pro tracks sales per staff member — useful for commission-based retail
Manager approval: configure which actions (large discounts, voids) require manager override

Click-and-collect (BOPIS)

Buy Online, Pick Up In Store is increasingly expected by retail customers:

Shopify native: "Local pickup" shipping option at checkout — customer selects your store location as pickup point
Fulfillment: order appears in Shopify POS as a pickup order. Staff marks it ready when prepared. Customer receives "ready for pickup" notification.
Multi-store: if you have multiple locations, customer can choose which location to pick up from
Inventory check: Shopify verifies stock at the selected pickup location before confirming the option is available

Customer profiles and loyalty in POS

POS can look up customers by name, email, or phone number and attach the sale to their customer record
Purchase history is unified: in-store and online purchases appear together in the customer's order history in both Shopify admin and the customer's online account
Loyalty apps (Smile.io, Loyalty Lion): most Shopify loyalty apps integrate with POS — points earned in-store appear in online account and vice versa
Customer tagging from POS: POS Pro allows adding customer tags from the till, enabling post-sale marketing segmentation

Migrating from WooCommerce POS

Data migration

Products: Already handled as part of WooCommerce → Shopify product migration. POS inherits the same catalogue.
Customers: Export WooCommerce customers to Shopify. In-store customers without online accounts can be imported from WooCommerce POS customer data (varies by POS plugin).
Order history: Historical in-store orders from WooCommerce POS can't be imported into Shopify POS (Shopify doesn't support bulk historical order import). Keep WooCommerce access for historical records.
Inventory counts: Export current inventory levels from WooCommerce. Set opening inventory levels in Shopify before going live on POS.

Hardware considerations

Existing WooCommerce POS hardware (receipt printers, cash drawers, card readers) will need to be replaced with Shopify-compatible hardware if they're not on the supported list
Exception: most Star Micronics printers are Shopify-supported — if you have one, test it with Shopify POS before purchasing new hardware
Card readers: WooCommerce POS card readers (Square terminals, SumUp) won't work with Shopify Payments. You'll need Shopify's own card reader.

Shopify POS migration checklist

Set up Shopify Payments — required for in-person card payments via Shopify POS
Create location(s) in Shopify admin: Settings → Locations → Add location
Assign inventory to each location for all products
Install Shopify POS app on store iPad/iPhone
Order Shopify Card Reader (UK); test payment processing
Configure staff PINs and permissions per location
Set up receipt printer and cash drawer (Star Micronics or supported hardware)
Configure local pickup shipping option for click-and-collect
Test full POS sale flow: scan product → apply discount → take payment → print receipt → confirm inventory deducted
Test click-and-collect: online order → staff marks as ready → customer pickup
Install loyalty app (Smile.io) and verify in-store points earn/redeem works
Export and archive WooCommerce POS order history before decommissioning
Train staff on Shopify POS app: key flows (sale, refund, exchange, customer lookup)

The most immediate operational risk in going live with Shopify POS is card payment downtime. WooCommerce POS merchants often have backup payment methods (cash, manual card imprint) but rarely test them. On launch day, the most likely failure point is the card reader connectivity (Bluetooth pairing issues, Shopify Payments not yet fully verified). Test card payment processing at least 48 hours before going live, and have a backup plan — whether that's a separate Square terminal for emergencies, or a "card only / card payments suspended" contingency. The inventory sync failure mode is less critical on day one (you can manually adjust counts later); card payment failure stops sales entirely.

Shopify pos & retail integration after WooCommerce (2026)