Shopify POS Lite: Sell In Person With Shopify For Just $1/Month

This review will provide a comprehensive review of Shopify POS Lite and help you decide whether this POS plan is good enough for your store.

Key Takeaways

• Shopify POS Lite offers a great starting point for businesses seeking to unify their online and offline sales channels.
• While Shopify POS Lite is a robust and cost-effective solution for smaller businesses, it’s worth considering the advanced features of Shopify POS Pro, like multi-location inventory management and detailed sales reporting, that can offer valuable insights to fuel your business growth.

How much Does Shopify POS Lite Cost Per Month?

Shopify POS Lite is included with every Shopify plan at no additional cost. The cost will depend on the Shopify plan you choose: The pricing for each plan is as follows:

• Basic Shopify: $39 per month
• Shopify: $105 per month
• Advanced Shopify: $399 per month.

How to Get Started With Shopify POS Lite?

To get started with Shopify POS Lite, here are the steps:

Step 1: Visit Shopify.com and sign up for a Shopify account for free or start a free trial without the need for a credit card.

Step 2: Begin setting up your e-commerce store by following the foundational steps provided in the Shopify admin dashboard.

Step 3: Choose the Shopify subscription plan that suits your needs best. As soon as you’ve picked a plan, you’ll gain immediate access to Shopify POS Lite. During a Shopify free trial period, you can discover its user interface, features, and install POS apps without any financial obligation. If you choose to proceed with Shopify after the trial, they offer an enticing promotion: a monthly charge of just $1 for the initial three months..

It’s important to mention that Shopify occasionally provides promotional offers and discounts on their subscription plans. For the most up-to-date information on these promotions, take a look at the Shopify’s pricing page.

Shopify POS Lite Fees

In addition to the monthly subscription charges, there are also other fees associated with selling in person with Shopify POS Lite. These include:

Hardware

To streamline your POS operations, you may consider purchasing Shopify POS hardware, which includes the following options:

• Cash Drawers: Prices range from $139 to $159, providing a secure location for cash, coins, and checks.
• Card Readers: Available for $49, they support various types of cards, including credit, debit, and contactless payments.
• Receipt Printers: Depending on connectivity options and features, these cost between $289 and $399.
• Barcode Scanners: Available from $229 to $329, these scanners are designed to speed up the checkout process.

Transaction & Credit Card Fees

When accepting in-person payments at your physical location, it’s important to be aware that there are associated costs, including transaction and credit card fees. The specific fees will vary based on your current Shopify plan

There are no transactions fees if you use Shopify Payments, Shopify’s in-house payment service, but a credit card processing fee does apply to all in-person purchases made using the Shopify point of sale card reader and a mobile device.

Basic Shopify:

• US credit card rates: 2.7% + 0c
• Transaction fees: 2% if you use a third-party payment gateway

Shopify:

• US credit card rates: 2.5% + 0c.
• Transaction fees: 1% if you use an external payment gateway

Advanced Shopify:

• US credit card rates: 2.4% + 0c.
• Transaction fees: 0.5% if you use a third party gateway.

Shopify POS Lite Features

Shopify POS Lite provides merchants with a robust POS system that effectively manages products, facilitates payment acceptance, and fosters customer relationships

Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is crucial for any retail store. On Shopify POS Lite, the system tracks inventory levels and updates them as sales are made. Multi-location inventory is also possible, allowing for the creation and allocation of inventory across various sales channels and locations. Plus, you can assign existing barcodes to products or create new ones for efficient inventory tracking and faster checkout.

Staff Management

While the free Lite plan doesn’t offer as many features for staff management as the Shopify POS Pro version, it does provide Staff POS PINs. These unique pins allow staff members to log into the POS system, enhancing security and accountability.

Checkout Flexibility

Shopify POS Lite offers various checkout features that enhance the customer’s buying experience. These include custom discounts, order notes, and custom sale options, enabling the creation of customized line items to swiftly bundle items and establish a specific price.

Additionally, there is a camera barcode scanner feature that utilizes the camera on an iOS device to scan product barcode labels

Customer Profiles

With the Lite plan, you can create customer profiles with every in-store or online purchase during checkout. These profiles contain contact information, purchase history, customer notes, tags, shipping address, taxes, and marketing preferences. This feature allows you to provide personalized service and carry out targeted marketing campaigns.

Payment Options

The Shopify POS Lite plan supports a wide range of payment options. You can accept popular payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, and Google Pay using the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader. There is also an option to create custom payment types such as external terminals, checks, IOUs, or gold coins, increasing the flexibility for your customers.

Reporting and Analytics

Shopify POS Lite provides a dashboard overview which can give you a glance at your entire business operations, both online and in-store. It includes sales totals, visitor data, and a real-time view of your inventory levels. Also, there are retail sales reports that allow you to view, analyze, and export sales data by staff members, location, time period, or customers. However, detailed daily sales reports and other specialized reports are only available in the Shopify POS Pro plan.

Benefits of Using Shopify POS Lite

Affordability

The first and perhaps most significant benefit of Shopify POS Lite is its affordability. Included with every Shopify plan, the POS Lite serves as a cost-effective entry point for businesses seeking to establish a retail presence without significant initial expenditure. In fact, small businesses and startups often operate on tight budgets, and savings on software like this can be redirected towards other operational or marketing needs.

Moreover, the free Shopify POS Lite plan includes key functionalities like tracking inventory, creating customer profiles, accepting various payment methods, and applying discounts, all without any additional costs. This offers substantial value and allows businesses to operate efficiently without a high initial outlay or recurring monthly fees.

Ease of Use

Shopify is renowned for its user-friendly interface, and the Shopify POS Lite plan is no exception. This POS system is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, reducing the time and effort required for staff training.

This simplicity extends to setting up the system as well. Users can easily add products, organize them into collections, and manage their inventory across multiple locations. Ease of use translates to time savings, which for a small business, is an invaluable benefit.

Seamless Integration with Shopify’s Ecommerce Platform

Shopify POS Lite seamlessly integrates with Shopify’s ecommerce platform, making it an ideal choice for businesses that operate both online and in physical retail spaces. This means you can manage all your sales, whether they come from your online store or your brick-and-mortar store, from one centralized location.

Inventory is automatically synced across all your sales channels, meaning an item sold in-store will be immediately deducted from your online inventory, reducing the risk of overselling. This is a massive advantage for retailers, as managing inventory separately for online and offline sales can be a complex and error-prone process.

Access to Customer Data on-the-go

With Shopify POS Lite, you can access customer data wherever you are. This can help you offer personalized service and build strong relationships with your customers. It allows you to create customer profiles with every purchase and keeps track of their contact information, purchase history, and marketing preferences.

Moreover, Shopify POS Lite is designed to work on tablets and mobile devices. This gives you the flexibility to not only sell from anywhere but also to access valuable customer information at your fingertips, helping you make more informed decisions about product selection, marketing strategies, and customer engagement.

Limitations of Shopify POS Lite

Shopify POS Lite serves as an excellent tool for retailers starting their journey in the ecommerce domain. However, as your business expands and complexities multiply, there are several elements that Shopify POS Lite simply cannot deliver on. These limitations can, in fact, translate into substantial missed opportunities for revenue, growth, and operational efficiency. Let’s delve into these aspects and see how they directly relate to the Shopify POS Pro’s advanced functionalities.

Limited Reporting and Analytics

The Shopify POS Lite version offers only basic reporting functions. In contrast, Shopify POS Pro is equipped with comprehensive analytics, offering a 360-degree view of business operations.

Detailed insights into sales, products, staff performance, and customer behavior are indeed critical when devising strategic business decisions. A McKinsey study reveals that data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain those customers, and 19 times as likely to be profitable.

However, this gap in the Lite version can limit your business’s ability to optimize processes and maximize profitability.

Restricted Staff Management

With Shopify POS Lite, you can’t access advanced features such as defining staff roles and permissions, requiring manager approvals, and attributing sales to staff members. These features, available in the Shopify POS Pro version, not only enhance your operational security but also empower you to gauge your team’s performance and identify potential areas for improvement.

Limited Multi-Location Inventory Management

The POS Pro plan provides several advanced features beneficial for businesses operating across multiple locations. By excluding capabilities like demand forecasting, inventory analysis, and detailed inventory reports, the Lite version may potentially lead to inefficiencies, mismanagement, and stock discrepancies.

According to a report from IHL Group, stockouts, overstocks, and returns cost retailers $1.75 trillion per year worldwide. This underscores the value of effective inventory management that the Shopify POS Pro version offers.

Limited In-Store Customer Experience

Features such as “Buy in store, ship to customer,” “Local pickup and delivery,” and “Buy online, exchange and return in store” help enhance the customer shopping experience by offering increased flexibility. Such options are becoming increasingly important in today’s retail landscape where consumers expect an omnichannel shopping experience. According to a report from the Harvard Business Review, omnichannel customers spent an average of 4% more on every shopping occasion in-store and 10% more online than single-channel customers.

However, these advanced features are only available on the Pro plan.

Lack of Hardware Support

With the Pro plan, you get a 2-year warranty on Shopify’s first-party POS hardware and the ability to track Shopify POS hardware connectivity from within the app. This sort of reliability and peace of mind can be crucial for businesses that heavily depend on their POS system. The absence of such support in the Lite plan could lead to potential interruptions and unexpected costs, impacting customer satisfaction and the bottom line.

Lack of Smart Inventory Management

Shopify POS Pro supports sophisticated inventory management, allowing you to manage inventory levels, reorder goods, and make purchase orders directly from the app. This feature is crucial for businesses with physical storefronts, enabling them to maintain and track stock levels effectively. On the other hand, POS Lite does not offer advanced inventory management capabilities.

Case Study: A Success Story with Shopify POS Lite

Daniel Vu, an artisan and founder of Daniel Vu Ceramics, faced a common entrepreneurial challenge: despite offering high-quality, beautifully crafted tableware, he struggled to attract customers and expand his online business. With the saturation of ecommerce platforms, gaining visibility among his target customers was not an easy task.

In search of a viable solution, Daniel decided to explore different avenues and started selling his products at craft fairs and local events. This move not only allowed him to reach a broader audience but also provided him with the opportunity to interact with his customers directly.

However, dealing with cash transactions and traditional card payments proved to be cumbersome and inefficient. Daniel needed a streamlined, easy-to-use solution that could manage in-person transactions efficiently and provide a seamless experience for his customers. This need led him to the Shopify POS system.

One of the features of Shopify POS that Daniel found particularly useful was the Tap to Pay on iPhone feature, which would enable Daniel to accept contactless payments directly through his iPhone, eliminating the need for separate card readers or additional POS hardware.

Using Tap to Pay, Daniel could quickly process payments and devote more attention to his customers. This positive experience translated into an immediate increase in sales at events. More than that, the exposure from these events significantly boosted traffic to his online store, creating a symbiotic relationship between his physical and online presence.

By leveraging the convenience and efficiency of the Tap to Pay feature on Shopify POS, Daniel was able to refocus his energies towards customer engagement and product development. This newfound efficiency translated into higher in-person sales and increased visibility for his brand.

Moreover, the real-time feedback that Daniel received during these events provided him with valuable insights into his customers’ preferences and expectations. This direct interaction with his customers helped him tailor his offerings and improve his product line.

The story of Daniel Vu Ceramics demonstrates the practical advantages of utilizing a robust POS system like Shopify. The integration of in-person and online sales through a single platform not only enhanced operational efficiency but also played a significant role in driving growth and increasing brand visibility. It’s a testament to how the right tools, such as Shopify POS, can help businesses overcome challenges and create opportunities for growth.

Who Should Use Shopify POS Lite?

Shopify POS Lite is a great tool for specific types of sellers and businesses. Here’s who should consider using this plan:

• First-Time In-Person Sellers: If you’ve been primarily selling online and are now thinking about trying in-person selling, Shopify POS Lite is an excellent choice. It’s a risk-free way to test the waters and get used to the process of managing in-person sales.
• Occasional In-Person Sellers: If your business occasionally sells a small selection of products from your online store in person, perhaps at a pop-up shop, trade show, or festival, Shopify POS Lite can facilitate these transactions seamlessly.
• Crafters and Solo Entrepreneurs: For businesses that are primarily operated by a single person, such as crafters or founder-run shops, Shopify POS Lite provides just the right level of functionality. With no in-person staff members to manage, the simplified feature set of the Lite plan is more than sufficient.
• Businesses Needing Quick and Minimal Setup: If you’re looking for a POS system that requires minimal setup and allows you to start selling quickly, Shopify POS Lite is ideal. It offers smart default settings that make getting started a breeze, saving you time and effort.
• Budget-Conscious Retailers: The free price point of Shopify POS Lite makes it a budget-friendly choice for small businesses and startups that need to keep overhead costs low.
• Businesses with Simple Inventory: If your inventory is straightforward without the need for complex inventory management solutions, Shopify POS Lite can handle your needs. Its tools are designed to manage less complex product lines effectively.
• Online Retailers Exploring Brick-and-Mortar Operations: If you operate primarily online and are considering opening a physical location, Shopify POS Lite offers an easy way to try it out. It integrates seamlessly with your online Shopify store, making the transition smoother.
• Businesses Looking for Seamless Integration with Online Stores: If you already run an online Shopify store and want a POS system that integrates seamlessly, allowing for real-time syncing of inventory, orders, and customer data, Shopify POS Lite fits the bill.

Shopify POS Lite: FAQs

Bottom Line

Overall, Shopify POS Lite can indeed be a profit generator for smaller operations. Yet, Shopify POS Pro stands as an enticing upgrade, offering a vast landscape of possibilities for growth, efficiency, and deeper customer connection.

Read more: Shopify POS (Point-of-sale): A comprehensive guide