Regional Support: Selling in Person (UK)

[Victor]

Learn more about selling in person and using the Shopify POS system while running your Shopify store in the UK.

This thread is part of the Regional Support threads offered for merchants in the United Kingdom. To see which other topics are available, you can visit the UK hub here.

The Shopify Point of Sale (POS) system is available for merchants in the United Kingdom to use.

Unifying your online and in-store selling has many advantages. It can help you save time by managing your inventory in a single place, and also create opportunities for more sales and re-engaging your customers, regardless of where they buy.

Shopify offers two POS app subscriptions to fit your business needs, and you will have the flexibility to decide which POS subscription works best for each of your locations. POS Pro offers the unique features you'll need to run a brick-and-mortar store, and is priced at $89 USD per month, per location. POS Lite is built for selling on-the-go at markets and fairs, and is included as standard with all Shopify subscriptions. We offer a features page that breaks down the features and functionalities of both options.

The Tap, Chip & Swipe Reader offered in the hardware store integrates with Shopify Payments, meaning you can use the gateway to process both online and in-person sales simultaneously. You can also use an external reader to process payments via a third-party gateway.

If you have a question or comment to make about selling in person with Shopify in the United Kingdom, please post it below.

[Victor]

Hi @tlh1719,

You are correct in saying that you would not be able to connect the WisePad 3 Reader to your Android device, as this is for iOS devices only, and that we do not currently offer other card readers in the UK at this time. You would therefore need to enable custom payments in Shopify POS and use a third-party terminal to accept card payments from customers at your trade fair events. Using a third-party reader still means that the order details—such as the number, line items and customer information—will all still be saved within your Shopify admin for tracking purposes, but the payment itself will be processed by the payment gateway that has provided you with the card reader.

My understanding is that Sumup and iZettle are POS systems in and of themselves, so would likely be best used as alternatives to Shopify POS rather than alongside it.

Please also be aware that the WisePad 3 Reader can be used with most iOS devices, including both iPhones and iPads, so if you or someone involved with the business did have one of these devices you could use it to process payments with the reader.

[JuliaCH]

Hi Victor

I am finding it hard to get a clear answer about  transactions fess for PRO. 

If we subscribe to PRO for $89/month and use Shopify Payments, as we currently do for our online store, can you tell me what the transaction fee would be for an in person purchase using (i) a debit card, and (ii) a credit card. 

I need to compare to cost of using the POS compared to our current system. 

many thanks

julia 

[Victor]

Hi @JuliaCH,

Thank you for getting in touch. If you are using Shopify Payments to accept card payments in the UK, either online or in person, you will not pay transaction fees. There are different card processing fees depending on what your plan is, and whether you're selling in person or online, which are detailed on our UK pricing page.

As an example, if you were using our Basic plan ($29 USD p/m) then you would pay 2.2% + 20p for a credit card transaction processed online with Shopify Payments, whereas the in-person rate would be 1.7% + 0p. The in-person rate applies to both credit and debit cards, and these fees are dependent on which subscription you have for your Shopify store, not which retail plan you are using (POS Lite or POS Pro). You can view a breakdown of the differences between POS Lite and POS Pro on the Shopify Help Center.

If you'd like to tell me what sort of business you run, I'd be happy to discuss our POS options and going into more detail about the features we offer. Please also let me know if you have any other questions.

[JuliaCH]

Thanks for the quick reply!

We are currently using the Basic plan. You say 2.2%+20p for credit cards online and 1.7% in person for credit AND debit cards.

Does this mean than online there is no fee when using a debit card?

[Victor]

Hi @JuliaCH,

My apologies, I did not clarify that properly—the online rate of 2.2% + 20p per transaction for Shopify Payments on the Basic plan applies to both credit and debit cards used at checkout. The 1.7% rate for in-person sales also applies to credit and debit cards.

I hope this now makes sense but please let me know if you've any other questions about our pricing or the Shopify POS.

[Greg0ry]

Hello, is anyone using Shopify POS to run a retail store in the UK? 

Thankyou

[Victor]

Hi @Greg0ry,

Thanks for getting in touch. If you'd like to tell me more about your retail business and what features you're looking for, I'd be happy to talk to you about Shopify's POS system and how it might suit your needs.

You can view an overview of our POS offerings here, including the sort of features that are included and the associated costs. A more detailed breakdown can be also be found on the Shopify Help Center, while you can also review the hardware that integrates with Shopify POS over on the UK hardware store .

[linzal]

Hey, am I right in thinking the card reader in the Shopify Hardware section is only compatible with iOS and there is not yet a card reader Shopify can supply that is compatible with Android?

We have a few fayres coming up and would really like to utilise the POS Lite solution but not sure how we could capture payment? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Victor]

Hi @linzal,

Yes, that is correct. The Wisepad 3 Reader is the only card reader we currently offer to UK merchants and it is only compatible with iOS devices, and not Android ones. 

You are still able to process payments using an external card reader that is compatible with your Android device and can mark it as a custom payment within Shopify POS. The order will be marked as paid within Shopify but the payment will be processed by the external reader, and details of the transaction will be accessible through your account with the payment provider who has provided the reader. Many payment processors will offer terminals for rent which might be the best option for you if you're only going to be accepting in-person payments on specific days.

[Graham78]

Any idea when Shopify POS Go Hardware will be available in the UK?

[Victor]

Hi @Graham78,

At this time, Shopify POS Go is only available to merchants in the United States and Canada and it is not slated for an imminent release in other regions at this time. However, this may change in future and we appreciate you taking the time to let us know this is something you'd be interested in using in the UK. 

I'd recommend checking in with the Shopify changelog periodically as any expansion in availability for POS Go will be posted here. You can view the other POS hardware we have for UK-based merchants on the UK Hardware Store.