Main issue: Shopify POS allows selling items with zero inventory, unlike the online store where out‑of‑stock sales can be blocked. This occurs even with “Continue selling when out of stock” disabled and regardless of the “physical product” setting.
Current behavior and impacts: One reply states it’s not currently possible to block POS sales at zero stock. Another notes the POS does display a zero‑inventory warning, but relying on staff to notice is error‑prone and leads to overselling.
Operational pain points: Staff must sift through unavailable items on the POS, slowing checkout and causing confusion (especially for items without barcodes). Users report POS menus showing out‑of‑stock items and difficulty finding the correct item.
Requested improvements:
Recent update: An email mentioned new POS improvements adding stronger out‑of‑stock warnings. However, POS still permits the sale and does not hide the item; users want a configurable hard block.
Status: Unresolved/ongoing. No confirmed solution to prevent POS sales at zero inventory; users are seeking workarounds or alternative systems.
Maybe. About a week ago I got an email about some system improvements - including more warnings if an item is out of stock. It still doesn’t prevent selling the item ( it is definitely not hidden) but it sounds like it will be harder to ignore the out of stock situation. I think a simple config setting is needed, but - baby steps.
When I get some time I will check it out. Let me know if you need more info.