How Shopify is extending its e-commerce UX to brick-and-mortar retail stores

After unveiling a new point of sales system to their American clients this past autumn, Ottawa-based ecommerce software solutions provider Shopify is now bringing its card reading technology to the Canadian business owner.

Now the more than 5,000 Canadian-based Shopify retailers can use the same software that powers their digital storefronts in the real world.

“You can sell in store, you can sell on the go using our mobile phone app, and you can sell online using one system,” said Adam Mcnamara, vice president of product at Shopify, during the company’s recent pop-up event in Toronto. “What we’ve managed to do is bridge the gap between online retail and in-store retail in a way that’s approachable by small business owners.”

Retailers using the POS system for in-store payments, which attaches to any Apple mobile device, will now be able to put their business online and accept credit card payments with the push of a single button. At the same time digital retailers will be able to accept cash and card payments at pop-up shops and brick and mortar storefronts using the same software that powers their online storefront.

Mcnamara believes that at $49 a month for unlimited payments and locations, and credit card rates as low as 2.1 per cent, the Shopify POS system will have no problem competing with similar payment processing systems such as Square, which charges retailers a flat 2.75 per cent on all transactions with no monthly fees. He also believes the lower price point will translate into a better shopping experience for consumers.

“For the customer, lower prices to accept credit cards translates into lower price to sell products, so we’re hoping to bring down the merchant’s overhead so they can run a really streamlined, polished business, which translates into savings for the people who shop there,” he said.

Other features, such as automatically emailing receipts to customers and faster payment processing have the potential to improve the retail shopping experience for customers, but the real selling point for Canadian small businesses is the ease of having all their vital sales information in a single location.

“It’s the same interface, it’s the same setup for inventory and product and customers and orders, all managed in one place,” said Mcnamara.  “From a merchant’s perspective, I understand my business better, managing outstanding orders and coordinating by customers becomes easier — it’s a quality of life improvement.”

While negotiations with Canadian banks forced Shopify to provide the service in the United States first, Mcnamara is excited to bring the POS system back to where it all began.

“We’re a Canadian company, and we’re really proud to finally bring Shopify Point of Sale back home to Canada now that we’re worked with the banks to allow us to accept credit cards here as well,” he said.

Photos courtesy Andrew Williamson