Lightspeed Retail Multi-location / Shopify ecomm Integration

[Joanna9]

Hi,

I have 4 brick and mortar stores with Lightspeed Retail.  As a part of our omnichannel strategy, we are looking to develop eCommerce business. We tried Lightspeed eCom but it doesn't provide a solution to ship from each store based on the Zip Code and doesn't have availability of popular payments methods.  It also show in a weird way products that are in matrixes.  It does have templates that would give us what we need and organize the products the way we need.   

For the reasons I mentioned, we are looking into Shopify.   My challenge here is to synchronize with Lightspeed. I talked with Accumula and it seems like a good but very expensive solution  but that still doesn't allow to ship based on the Zip Code (local delivery) and curbside pick up.  It means we need another application to do that (which adds to the cost and complexity).  

We also want to be able to organize the product the way it makes sense for us as well as have a way to interact with a customer (not only live chats, but also cross selling, up-selling and giving a customer suggestions on cross-seling with products in our retail stores).   

Any thoughts on what to look for and who to work with?

[PaulNewton]

That's actually a lot of moving parts. you should probably search the shopify experts directory for a local developer|shipping expert and either get a consult or do discovery. Just generating the shortlist of options would take awhile.

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@Joanna9 wrote:

For the reasons I mentioned, we are looking into Shopify.   My challenge here is to synchronize with Lightspeed. I talked with Accumula and it seems like a good but very expensive solution  but that still doesn't allow to ship based on the Zip Code (local delivery) and curbside pick up.  It means we need another application to do that (which adds to the cost and complexity).  

To be safe please clarify "curbside pick up" aka (in )store pickup your curb or the customers curb aka delivery?

There are many ways to do either situation, the problem is it might not necessarily also integrate with any automatic fulfillment apps/platforms/services.

option categories: shipping option hack, a shopify app, custom carrier service, custom app, and checkout customization for shopify plus plans.

Inventory:

To begin,  shipping location can be manually chosen during fulfillment.

To aid selection an easy frontend theme customization would be adding geoip service used to then add a best guess location to the order notes|attributes.

How to change fulfillment priority and process orders at locations || Shopify Help Center 2018 

Otherwise shopify bases selected location inventory availability not customer location.

Unless you do something such as create location specific products&variants(like if you had global webstores) then use  frontend geolocation to enforce customers only getting local items for an area but that's problematic for anyone who'd be buying a gift so customer|payment location != final shipping location.

To automate based on zipcode you will need a fulfillment app or custom app to set that location.

https://apps.shopify.com/search?q=zipcode

There are a lot of micro steps such as ensuring the proper inventory&availability is shown to customers on the frontend or ensuring there's a priority system when a location does not have enough inventory.

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@Joanna9 wrote:

We also want to be able to organize the product the way it makes sense for us

Any thoughts on what to look for and who to work with?

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Shopify's admin is setup in a specific way, most apps work in a specific way, "Your way" strongly indicates you need a custom application for the backend including custom carrier service.

Either that or an expensive ERP that has such flexibility for back office inventory control.

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@Joanna9 wrote:

have a way to interact with a customer (not only live chats, but also cross selling, up-selling and giving a customer suggestions on cross-seling with products in our retail stores).   

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App store is littered with apps for those categories to even shortlist it you'd need to add some requirements to narrow down the options

[beehexa_phan]

Hello,

are you still looking for a solution?

I believe our shopify integration solutions can help.

Please feel free to contact us for a free demo and trial

Best Regards,

Phan

[Roostcollection]

Hello Joanna,  We have a 99% Brick and Mortar (one location) business. We have been with Shopify for 9 months now. There POS system in my opinion is a carry over from there online platform with band aids on it, all to get more revenue from Brick and Mortar businesses. I suggest you ask the customer service person what to do in the  bullets I've listed. Returns is a big problem. If you do switch use land receipt printers. WiFi constantly looses connection, thus makes register useless.

I have been very vocal about these problems. The comments I get from customer service is always the same, We'll let the developers know (the black hole), Never have I heard back.

One thing I have noticed is the word "workaround" that's the guru's solution. Or use a third party app to fix what shopify failed to do. Thus more monthly costs, and fingers pointing when it doesn't work and your stuck in the middle with no solution.

I'm surprised I haven't been asked to leave. But for now I've invested in the system with time and money. This is my perspective and experience.

Interestingly I have been looking at Lightspeed.

Shopify has to fix on POS but doesn't understand the basic needs of a Brick and Mortar Business.

MUST HAVE


• Ability to for simple manual returns at retail POS when a customer does not have any type receipt or know the actual name it was purchased under. Just like custom sales only reverse. Return, Select item, How to credit customer, Cash or gift card. This is so that the gift giver isn’t notified that that there gift was returned.
• Ability to do as many returns or exchanges on the sale as the merchant wants. Not just ONE
• How about a TAP & CHIP reader that is not bluetooth. Or just works. 8 months we've had 4. Constantly looses connection. Can't make a sale when you can't take a card! Purchased a second system to use the swipe reader, because it cost more to manually enter the card. Employee time as well.
• Vendor list under products. Basic info account #, Phone, Rep, Address, email......
• Ability to put an entire collection on sale at one time. Not one at a time. Or add the sale price to the initial product listing and be able to activate sale price by collection.
• Print pick ticket with sku#
• A (note) field on the product page so owners can make a note on something specific about the product they sell. i.e. where it is stored, shelf, or manufactures true name etc. We change the product name to protect our sources.
• Sell an online gift card and have the gift card go to the recipient with a note field attached on why they're getting the gift card.
• Ability to capture credit card sales when internet/power is down. Square and Clover have this ability.
• On the Home page in the admin, Post what shopify is working on. Updates to system, iPad etc. COMMUNICATION!!!!!!!!

[Rivertowninkery]

@Joanna9 

I am getting quotes from lightspeed now, because the new shopify POS is unusable in an actual retail setting.  How has using lightspeed been for your stores?

[SweetPaper]

@Rivertowninkery I have been using Lightspeed Retail for years + on their eCom platform for the past year. LS Retail POS far exceeds the capabilities of shopify's POS. I was considering switching to Shopify, but after a lot of research and playing around during a free trial, it doesn't have a lot of capabilities one needs in a retail setting.  That said, there a few things lacking in Lightspeed, but overall it's a more robust system. 

I do have a lot of issues with LS eCom though and am considering switching eCom platforms. 

[beehexa_phan]

what are the problems you are facing with LS ecommerce? I am curious @SweetPaper 

[SweetPaper]

We have a lot of shipping issues with Lightspeed ecom.

 - Both shipping integrations calculate the package dimensions in an odd way and our postage is always wrong.

 - We can't set a specific shipping cost for a specific item. 

Entering products into ecom is also cumbersome, so overall ease of use. 

They don't support gift cards, so a customer can only use gift cards in-store. 

[Pawsonchicon1]

I have been with lightspeed pos for 3 years and it is the best out there for the pet industry. I am also using their ecom site.

The reason i am looking at trying something else besided lightspeed ecom is the followed.

I have multiple stores and lightspeed ecom does not alow all or inventory to show up on the website. They make you choose one location. And that is a problem as some stores are bigger than the others and they have more product.

Also there is no radius for customers for delivery it will allow anyone to order from anywhere.  We do not ship we only deliver. 

Also for instore pick up or deliver if they pick one of the other stores we then have to move inventory from the store the ecom is assigned to and then we have to transfer the products back. this makes for a crazy inventory problem.

We also would like to offer where customers could get on a monthly delivery where they automatically get billed and we deliver it.  This is not an option,

I do like the fact that i am able to input new products into my lightspeed pos and then it pushes to ecom. And then when a customer purchases an item it goes from ecom to pos and charges them we do not have to do a step that makes you go into ecom find the order and then go into the pos system and ring up the item.

I also spent time with their ecom and built our website off their templet and i would like to not have to build or have someone build it like the one i have now.

Any advice would be great.

I would love to find a way to make all this work.  @beehexa_phan 

[beehexa_phan]

we can extract the qty data from your POS or whatever source and sync them into ecommerce - it is easy with our platform.

[skuplugs1]

Click to expand...

Hello,

If you are still looking for a solution to fulfill your requirement of multi-location inventory sync with local pickup, local delivery, and location-wise order sync?

You can try the SKUPlugs platform. I believe it will fulfill your requirement.

Lightspeed Shopify Multi-Location Inventory Sync
Lightspeed Shopify local pickup and local delivery 

Let us know to set up your 15 days free trial account.

Thank you

[Sonusaini]

Hello Joanna9,

Are you still looking for a solution?

You can try Octopus Bridge to connect your Lightspeed Retail Multi-location with Shopify seamlessly.

No Setup Fee and 21-day free trial.

To know more visit: https://www.24sevencommerce.com/lightspeed-pos-shopify-integration/ 

Thank you

Sonu Saini