Point of Sale (POS) refers to the system — both software and hardware — that processes customer transactions at a retail location. The "point" is the moment of purchase: a customer brings a product to the counter, the POS system records the transaction, takes payment, updates inventory, and prints or emails a receipt. For ecommerce brands, POS becomes relevant the moment they sell anywhere physical: pop-ups, flagship stores, trade shows, wholesale events, or partner retail locations.

What modern POS systems include

Software. The transaction-processing layer that records sales, applies discounts, manages tax, and connects to inventory and customer records.
Hardware. Card readers, receipt printers, cash drawers, barcode scanners, customer-facing displays, and the host device (iPad, dedicated terminal, or PC).
Payment processing. The gateway that authorizes card transactions, increasingly including contactless (Apple Pay, Google Pay), chip-and-pin, and tap-to-pay on phone.
Inventory integration. Sales recorded at POS update inventory in real time so stock levels stay synchronized between physical and online.
Customer data capture. Email collection, loyalty program enrollment, and customer history that links physical purchases to the same customer record as online purchases.
Reporting and analytics. Sales reports by SKU, location, employee, and time period.

What a disconnected counter costs you

The retail decision that carries money is not which tier to buy. It is whether in-store sales land in the same inventory and customer records as online sales before the doors open. Both failures bill you. Selling a unit at the counter that is already in an online cart turns a paid order into a refund and a support ticket. The quieter loss is retention: a customer who buys in person and never reaches the customer record never enters a lifecycle flow. Klaviyo's 2026 benchmarks, drawn from more than 183,000 brands, report automated flows producing nearly 41% of email revenue from 5.3% of sends, so the compounding return sits in automation and automation runs on records. Sell 500 units at a pop-up, capture no email addresses, and you have paid for demand you cannot sell to twice. Verify the sync before the lease, not after.

Shopify POS specifically

For Shopify merchants, Shopify POS is the natural choice — it's tightly integrated with the existing Shopify catalog, customers, and orders. Two tiers:

Shopify POS Lite. Included with all Shopify plans. Basic transaction processing, suitable for occasional in-person sales (markets, pop-ups, casual events).
Shopify POS Pro. Paid add-on (~$89/month per location). Full retail features: smart inventory, staff permissions, advanced reporting, store credit, exchanges, custom receipts. Suitable for permanent retail locations and serious wholesale event work.

Shopify POS hardware is sold through Shopify itself and third-party resellers. The hardware ecosystem includes Shopify-branded terminals, third-party card readers (Stripe Terminal, BBPOS), and standard retail peripherals (printers, scanners, cash drawers).

When ecommerce brands need POS

Permanent retail locations. Flagships, owned stores. Full POS with all features needed.
Pop-ups and short-term retail. Trade shows, holiday markets, brand activations. Lighter POS configurations work; mobile POS often sufficient.
Wholesale and trade events. Brands that take wholesale orders at trade shows benefit from POS-like systems even when not strictly retail-facing.
Partner retail with shared inventory. Some retail partnerships ask the brand to use the partner's POS or feed transaction data back to the brand's system.

Common POS considerations

Inventory synchronization. POS sales need to update inventory in real time so the website doesn't oversell. Most modern POS handle this; verify it's actually working before opening retail.
Customer data unification. The customer who buys in store should be the same customer record as the one who buys online. Brands that don't unify customer data lose the ability to do meaningful retention marketing.
Tax and compliance. Sales tax in retail is handled differently than online, with location-specific rates. POS systems should handle this automatically; verify before launch.
Hardware reliability. Card readers fail, printers jam, internet drops. Backup payment methods (manual card entry, offline mode, even cash) prevent retail disasters.

Before choosing between POS Lite and POS Pro, or shopping for card readers and receipt printers, it's worth reading through a full guide to how Shopify POS works, what it costs, and what hardware it needs, since the plan-tier and hardware decisions are usually made together rather than in sequence.