Retail doesn't just move fast. It outpaces those who can't adapt. But here's the truth: speed alone won't save you.
Today's retailers are caught in a perfect storm. Rising operational costs eat into margins. Customer expectations evolve overnight. Tech stacks grow more fragmented with each "quick fix" solution. And somehow, you're supposed to make strategic decisions while putting out daily fires.
Keeping up isn’t enough. You need to be ready to see past the horizon and take on whatever comes next—whether that’s a change in buyer behavior or the next big tech innovation.
This summer, Shopify POS delivers exactly that. We've reinforced the POS to meet the pressure and pace of modern retail business. This means flexible, future-ready tools, operations built for speed but optimized for strategy, technology that reduces overhead instead of adding to it, and unified systems that keep you ahead of what's next.
From boosting staff productivity to creating the seamless brand experiences customers expect, we've built Shopify POS to help you make strategic moves, not just fast ones. We’ll show you how.
Table of contents
The merchants winning today understand a simple truth: the future belongs to those who deliver unified experiences without sacrificing speed or efficiency. They stay ahead with platforms built for tomorrow's challenges, while competitors scramble to handle today's demands.
Shopify POS V10: Redesigned for the real world
We've redesigned the POS app with one goal in mind; make the day to day experience easier for retail staff. Every element serves a purpose: making sales faster, training simpler, and customer service better.
This major usability milestone delivers concrete productivity gains. Your staff now completes transactions in fewer taps. New team members reach proficiency in hours instead of days. And customers spend less time waiting.
Included in the redesign, we’ve now added a smarter search that finds products as fast as customers can describe them. Clearer cart layouts making it easier to scan and scroll. The streamlined interface removes distractions so staff can focus on what truly matters—delivering an exceptional checkout experience.
We tested every workflow with actual retail teams. The improvements aren't just about aesthetics. They're measured in minutes saved, errors eliminated, and dollars earned.
Ship and carryout: One transaction, two destinations
You know the scenario: a customer wants five items, but you only have three in stock. Traditional systems force you to choose between a partial sale, multiple checkouts or a disappointed customer. Ship and carryout orders eliminate this problem entirely.
Customers take what's in-store for immediate checkout, and you ship what's missing, all in a single transaction. Your customer leaves happy with what they need today, and you capture the full sale while building loyalty for what arrives tomorrow.
The operational benefits go beyond single transactions. Ship and carryout enables smarter inventory management too. Keep leaner stock in-store while still meeting customer demand. This cuts carrying costs and frees up cash flow for strategic investments.
For customers who expect seamless shopping experiences, you deliver exactly what they want: the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of in-store service. You set a new standard for retail flexibility while competing effectively against digital-first competitors.
🛍️ Ready to offer your customers this flexibility? Start your free trial and eliminate the “we don't have it here” conversation forever.
Brand theming: Your POS, Your POV
Your brand deserves to shine at every customer touchpoint, especially during checkout. Custom branding for POS transforms this critical moment from a generic transaction into a powerful brand experience.
Brand theming lets you customize your customer-facing displays with your logo, brand images, text and color palette, ensuring every aspect of the checkout reflects who you are.
Whether customers view their transaction through the Shopify POS Terminal or an Android device, they see more than just prices and totals. They see your brand colors, your product images, and your distinctive style. This creates a bridge between your business and your customers exactly when they're most engaged.
👀 Want to see how your brand could look on our redesigned checkout display? Talk to a Shopify retail specialist today.
Multi-entity management: Streamline global operations
Running a global retail operation shouldn't hinge on multiple disconnected systems. For Shopify Plus and Enterprise Commerce merchants, multi-entity support simplifies how you manage cross-border commerce and financial operations.
With multi-entity support you can sell from multiple business entities in a single store, across both online and through Shopify POS. That means one single Shopify instance that keeps my view and financials all within a central source of management.
Multi-entity support gives you four key advantages:
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Process payments in local currency using Shopify Payments accounts.
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Received payouts to local bank accounts, avoiding foreign exchange and international transaction fees.
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Maintain financial separation between regions while using a simplified, centralized system.
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Link POS and online sales to the correct entity automatically, ensuring clean financial records and transparent order attribution.
For merchants with locations in multiple countries, this feature eliminates a significant operational headache. Your POS transactions and online sales process through the same entity within each country, maintaining proper financial and tax records while providing a seamless customer experience.
Smarter checkout moments: Turn transactions into relationships
Your cash wrap finalizes sales and shapes customer relationships. We've enhanced both capabilities. Smarter checkout features now let your staff create persistent discounts on draft orders, manage store credit seamlessly, and transform routine payments into strategic moments that drive loyalty and repeat business.
Discounts on draft orders
Give your staff the power to price with confidence before the cart hits checkout. They can create quotes that remain exactly as promised when the customer returns to complete their purchase. This builds trust while giving you more control over your pricing strategy. No more awkward moments when the final price doesn't match what was quoted earlier.
Issue store credit
Turn refunds into future sales. Instead of processing cash refunds that leave your business, issue store credit that keeps revenue within your ecosystem. Credit attaches directly to customer profiles for easy tracking and redemption. This simple shift can dramatically increase the lifetime value of customers who might otherwise have taken their refund elsewhere.
SMS opt-in at checkout
Capture SMS permissions when customers are most engaged. A single tap during the transaction gives shoppers the option to join your text marketing list. This happens right within the normal checkout flow, whether initiated by staff or selected by the customer on the receipt screen.
SMS marketing creates a direct, high-engagement channel to reach customers where they're already spending their time—on their phones. By integrating opt-in right at checkout, you turn routine transactions into marketing opportunities without disrupting the customer experience.
These features work together to turn your retail locations into relationship-building engines. Every transaction provides an opportunity to deepen connections and create pathways for ongoing engagement.
Better search: Find anything, instantly
Nothing kills a sale faster than a staff member awkwardly hunting for products while customers wait. Search delays create friction that costs you money.
Our improved search functionality transforms product discovery with intelligence that matches modern expectations. Even with thousands of SKUs and complex variant trees, staff locate exactly what they need instantly. The system handles misspelled product names, partial searches, and quickly surfaces the most relevant items based on context and popularity.
These search improvements prove particularly valuable for retailers with:
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Seasonal inventory that changes frequently
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Products with similar names or attributes
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Large catalogs that intimidate new staff
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Complex variant structures (sizes, colors, styles)
When combined with the redesigned POS interface, search becomes effortless and intuitive. Staff focus on customer relationships instead of wrestling with complicated inventory systems.
🔍 Have specific workflow requirements? Talk to our retail specialists about custom solutions that fit your business perfectly.
Built-in extensibility: One platform built for what's next
Most POS systems lock you into their vision of retail. Shopify POS hands you the keys. Shopify POS is extensible by design, giving you control other systems simply can't match.
UI extensions empower you to create custom workflows that match your unique business requirements and goals. More importantly, it allows you to brand your in-store experience differently to stand out from the competition, staying ahead of the curve. You build the exact capabilities your business demands, and it looks, feels and performs like a native Shopify POS feature, making it a totally seamless experience for staff.
Our new Direct API access unlocks backend customization possibilities previously impossible in retail systems. Your technical team can build deeply integrated solutions connecting your POS to any part of your operations, from inventory to loyalty programs and beyond.
This extensibility creates tangible competitive advantages. When market conditions shift or customer expectations evolve, you pivot immediately without waiting for vendors to catch up. Your POS becomes a launchpad for innovation rather than a constraint on possibilities.
This is what future-proof commerce actually means: technology that amplifies your vision instead of restricting it.
Unlock the future of commerce
This is just the beginning. While retail evolves at breakneck speed, Shopify continues pushing commerce forward by anticipating what merchants need before they know they need it.
The future of commerce is smarter, more connected, and more evolved than what most platforms offer today. It's commerce that understands success comes from moving strategically with tools that enhance human capability.
Shopify POS meets you wherever you are in your journey: whether evaluating your first unified commerce platform, expanding an existing operation, or reimagining what's possible for your retail business.
The tools to transform your retail operation are available now. The question is when you'll start using them to gain competitive advantage.
