Shopify announces new POS app — with a key feature for businesses looking for easier pickup options during coronavirus

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Shopify has announced an overhaul of its point of sale app.

As a point of sale tool, the app is mainly designed for in person selling at either brick and mortar stores, pop ups or temporary or mobile locations.

With many businesses closed or limited right now due to coronavirus, it might seem like an odd time to launch a new POS app, but the app also introduces new features for selling online with in store pickup.

This type of transaction is becoming more popular — and will likely continue to be used heavily in the coming months as countries lift coronavirus restrictions.

It’s also worth noting that store and curbside pickup were already becoming popular before coronavirus, so it’s a worthwhile avenue to explore for many businesses.

Shopify’s new POS app makes this easier, allowing for both curbside or in store pick up (as permitted by local regulations). This includes alerts for staffers to pick and pack pickup orders placed online.

For physical stores without an online presence, investing in online ordering with pickup could be a good move as timeframes for reopening after the pandemic are shifting — and even when they start to be lifted, there may be less foot traffic than usual (plus, it can often be continued into the future as an additional convenience for shoppers).

The new POS also makes it easier for store owners to install apps to add functionality needed for their business.

While only a handful of POS apps are available now, moving this feature to be more tightly integrated with the system, including from the home screen, could lead to big growth.

The new app also adds better, more fine grained control over what employees have access to what features — as well as improved reporting and analytics. There are also improvements to how creating and managing customer profiles work.

Shopify POS can run on smartphones, tablets as well as more traditional hardware and can be tied into accessories such as scanners, receipt printers and cash drawers.