Does anyone else find it extremely frustration that Shopify POS does not provide a standard loyalty program within POS…. All other POS systems (clover, light spreed, square). It doesn’t make sense when you have tons of small purchases and all these apps on Shopify go based on order account we’re paying hundreds of dollars a month for a loyalty program. It makes no sense. Has anyone had trouble with this?
Topic summary
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Issue: A retailer expresses frustration that Shopify POS lacks a native, standard loyalty program, unlike competitors (Clover, Lightspeed, Square). They find this especially problematic for stores with many small purchases.
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Context: POS (point of sale) is the system used to process in-store transactions. A loyalty program rewards repeat customers (e.g., points or discounts) and is expected to integrate directly at checkout.
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Concern: Available Shopify loyalty solutions rely on third‑party apps tied to order accounts, leading to added complexity and costs. The user reports paying hundreds of dollars per month for loyalty functionality.
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Request/Status: The poster asks whether others have experienced similar issues. No solutions, decisions, or consensus are provided; the discussion remains open with key questions about cost-effective, integrated loyalty options still unanswered.
1 Like
Not really… I think a loyalty or points program should be part of the business personality, not part of Shopify store functionality.
Maybe you can help me out. Which app are you using for your in person sales?
I use Essential because it’s easy, it looks nice, and it’s reliable. Smile.io for p.o.s.
Squareup Loyality is additional cost…
I switched from Squareup to Shopify. I would never return to Square, go on their forums and read about all the problems they have. For example, POS and Online does not push sync and sometimes takes hours to update.
Btw, Squareup Loyality starts $60 cad per location.
You have to understand the concept of the Shopify ecosystem. It has always worked on the basis that the core system is a low monthly cost (and actually amazing value) to provide e-commerce and stock capabilities. The model is then shared success based through shop pay so the more you take the more Shopify makes from it’s card fees. Then on top of that the vast range of functionality merchants of all different types might require are provided through the app store.
The key to this is that each app is a specialist in a niche, so the likes of Smile excel as that is all they do…… Loyalty. The same with Omnisend, they excel at omnichannel marketing. For Shopify to deliver what you are asking for they would need a whole new development team to specialise in that area. That would put your costs up and you would not get the expertise of a company who are passionate about loyalty and the success of it’s customers, like Smile.
There is of course an argument that some app sectors are over priced but that can depend on the complexity of the functionality and the level of integration required initially and to maintain.
Overall we would recommend to any merchants to go with a specialist in that area and work with them to deliver the best solution for your business. They are often will to provide a huge amount of training and assistance to help make your business a success.
Silly this does not exist natively