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In brick-and-mortar grocery stores, brands pay extra for prime placements, like eye-level shelves or aisle end-caps. The logic is simple: If you want to sell products, it helps to be where shoppers are already looking. For ecommerce businesses, the prime real estate is Google.

Google platforms attract a staggering number of users. According to 2025 Statista data, Google handles more than 79% of daily desktop search traffic, while Gmail commands 75% of the American email market. And that’s not even counting YouTube’s 122 million daily active users.

Google Merchant Center is a centralized hub for managing your product ads on Google. You can use it to promote products across multiple Google platforms, helping improve your brand awareness and increase sales.

Here’s more on the relationship between Google Merchant Center and Google Shopping, Google Merchant Center’s features, and how to upload items to your product feed.

What is Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center is a free tool that lets ecommerce and brick-and-mortar store owners create and manage their product listings and enable shoppable features across various Google platforms.

The Merchant Center provides the information Google uses to create featured product snippets—with images, pricing, and availability—that appear in Google search, maps, images, shopping, and ads. It also sends your information to YouTube so you can create ads there as well.

Google requires a valid Gmail account and an active business website to access Google Merchant Center. Creating an account is free, but you must pay to run ad campaigns.

How to add products to Google Merchant Center

1. Link your online store
2. Sync your ecommerce platform
3. Add products from an ecommerce website
4. Upload product files (optional)

You can choose from multiple Google product uploading methods depending on where you sell (online, in store, or both) and your inventory techniques. Here’s how to get started:

1. Link your online store

First, create a Google Merchant account by linking your online store. You do not need to have a physical retail location to connect your ecommerce store to the platform.

2. Sync your ecommerce platform

Google Merchant Center integrates with third-party ecommerce platforms like Shopify. To connect your accounts, install the Google & YouTube app in your Shopify dashboard (or the equivalent integration in your ecommerce platform), then follow the prompts to link your Merchant Center account. After connecting accounts, you can continue to manage product listings within your ecommerce platform; Google syncs information and applies updates to your product feed every 24 to 48 hours.

3. Add products from an ecommerce website

You can let Google pull products straight from your ecommerce website by enabling automatic product detection in the Merchant Center. To make this work, your product pages need structured data markup (using ecommerce schema markups) so Google can read key details like price, availability, and descriptions. Once your site is verified and connected in the Merchant Center, Google can crawl those pages and automatically add items to your product feed.

After setup, Google will automatically add products to your feed. This method can save time if you regularly introduce new products. You’ll find full requirements and step-by-step setup instructions in Google’s help guide.

4. Upload product files (optional)

There are a few ways to add products manually:

• Multiple products at once. To add multiple products at once, upload a tab-delimited spreadsheet or .xml file. When you log into the Merchant Center, there’s a Products section in the left-hand menu where you can choose Feeds and then add a new primary feed. That’s where you’ll select “Upload” as your input method, name your feed, and then upload your file. It’s efficient if you already manage your inventory in a spreadsheet.
• Individual products. Select manual upload to add individual items to your product feed. With this method, you input product information directly into Google Merchant, one product at a time. This process may be inefficient for creating large product feeds, but it can be a convenient way to supplement your other uploading efforts. If one or more products failed during your initial upload, manual updates may be an easy way to add them to your feed.
• Google Sheets templates. To use this method, click the “Use a Google Sheets template” option under the data sources menu, then follow the prompts and fill in the blanks for each product. You can use a single Google Sheet for ongoing inventory maintenance. After the initial setup, Google Merchant automatically updates and syncs any new products added to the document.

Note that manually updated files must follow Google’s product data specifications; missing info or inconsistent formatting can lead to delayed approval.

Core features of Google Merchant Center

After uploading products to Merchant Center, you can initiate and track performance for several different types of placements and ads. Here’s an overview:

Google Shopping ads

Google Shopping ads appear in the designated Google Shopping tab, on search engine results pages (SERPs), and in the shopping tab on YouTube. Google uses information stored in your Merchant Center account to determine ad placement, automatically displaying listings to relevant users based on keywords in the product description.

For example, suppose you’re an ecommerce company that sells shoes. When a user searches for “black running shoes men,” Google could automatically show your ad because it matches keywords in your product title and description, without you needing to manually target that specific search phrase.

Free listings

Free listings, similar to organic search results, are featured product snippets that appear in search results and on the Google Shopping tab when users input a relevant query. Google’s bots crawl product details stored in your Google Merchant Center account and surface results when the item description aligns with customer searches.

Local inventory ads

Local inventory ads are served to consumers located near your physical store location. They appear when a user conducts a product-related search query. Brick-and-mortar stores can use local inventory ads to promote their products online. These ads often display a message like “in store, 5 mi” or “pick up today.” Basic local inventory ads are free, but you can also pay for promoted placements.

Performance Max campaigns

Performance Max campaigns serve ads across all Google touchpoints, including YouTube, Search, Maps, Images, Gmail, and display. This tool uses Google’s AI technology to customize ad placement and keyword bidding strategy based on owner-determined campaign goals. Launching a Performance Max campaign requires syncing your Google Ads account and Google Merchant Center account.

Dynamic remarketing for retail

With dynamic remarketing for retail, you can target specific users with product ads based on their past browsing behavior. This add-on is available to online retailers with linked Google Ads and Google Merchant accounts.

What is a Google Merchant Center product feed?

Your product feed is your primary product database. Google’s site crawlers use this data feed to understand what you’re selling. It helps determine relevance and placement by matching details from your product feed to user search queries. Google also uses product feed information to populate featured snippets, displaying the product title, price, and image from your feed.

Users upload merchandise data to create feeds. Following Google’s product specification guidelines ensures your listings are accurate and reach the right consumers. Each item must include a unique ID, name, description, landing page URL, and image link.

What are Google Merchant Promotions?

The Promotions feature lets you display special offers across Google by making a single update in the Merchant Center. If you apply a 10% discount, for example, Google Shopping Ads and Free Listings both reflect the new price and a description of this discount. This feature is available as an add-on if you meet the following criteria:

• Product offers must be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, or the US.
• You may not be affiliated with an ecommerce marketplace or platform where multiple independent retailers sell products.
• You must maintain an active Merchant Center account with a claimed, live URL and at least one active product.

When Toral Patel left Estée Lauder to join the clean body care brand Kopari Beauty in 2021, she knew she was stepping into a different world. Toral took joining Kopari as an opportunity to transform how the indie beauty brand approached influencer marketing. She knew it was time to move beyond transactional partnerships to build what she calls “authentic community.” Kopari would benefit from this fresh perspective.

It only took her three years to prove that leaning into community would fuel growth. In 2024, Kopari had one of the highest conversion rates in prestige skin care for influencer marketing, growing the brand into an eight-figure business. The secret wasn’t only about getting the right creators to work with you or throwing the biggest events. Toral created a system that turns what used to be one-off collaborations into months of profitable content, shared across multiple channels.

Here’s how she did it—and how you can apply her framework to your own business.

Starting with product truth, not marketing spin

Toral’s first move at Kopari was to dig into the why of what made people love the product.

“You really have to believe in your product and that your product is differentiated,” Toral says. “All you want for [influencers] to do is to try the product, because if they love it … it will make its way into multiple pieces of content.”

Really listening to what your customers are saying, unbidden, requires a certain level of patience. The second part of active listening, using that information to inform actions your brand takes, requires you to be brutally honest with yourselves about what your customers think versus what the company wants the customer to think. “Internally, what you think is a differentiator may not be what the creator community or your customers find to be the most compelling benefit about the product,” she notes.

For Kopari, this meant pinpointing qualities like ease of use and the distinctive glow its SPF products created on skin. These were benefits creators wanted to showcase in their content, not the brand’s overarching clean beauty message. Lucky for Kopari, this user-originated messaging translated well to social media. 

Before investing in an influencer strategy, spend time understanding why people genuinely love your product. Survey existing customers, analyze reviews, use social listening, and pay attention to how people talk about your brand—whether or not you’re in the room. Starting from a place of authenticity, responding to what customers are already saying about you, allows you to grow your customer base organically. And, this type of feedback loop will make every subsequent partnership more effective.

Building relationships, not just campaigns

While many brands focus on maximizing reach per dollar spent, Toral took the opposite approach at Kopari. She prioritized depth over breadth, creating meaningful connections with a smaller group of creators rather than casting a wide net.

“We really keep them more intimate,” she says about Kopari’s creator events. “Not in any way to be exclusive—our brand really prides ourselves in being inclusive—but more so because we do want to actually get to know everyone that’s there in a deep and meaningful way.” This philosophy extends to how they structure partnerships. Instead of one-off sponsored posts, Kopari supports year-long relationships with creators who genuinely use and love their products. They started by tracking which creators included Kopari products in their “get ready with me” content without being asked—a strong signal of product love.

One standout example is Kopari’s partnership with Ella Halikas, CEO of Confidence and a curvy model who advocates for women of all sizes. Rather than just booking her for a standard product post, Kopari collaborated with her to host confidence sessions—first as part of an intimate creator event, then, later at a larger community pool party in LA.

The campaign resonated so strongly that members of Kopari’s community flew from out of state to participate. It was so successful that content from the event continued generating value across multiple channels for months. “It showed how we can work together with our creators in a different capacity than what you might expect or see every day,”: Toral says.

For entrepreneurs with limited budgets, this relationship-first approach can be more accessible than traditional influencer marketing. It all starts with identifying microinfluencers who are passionate about your product category. 

Creating content flywheels, not just single assets

Beyond creating individual posts after Kopar’s events, Toral creates what she calls a “content flywheel,” where single pieces of creator content get leveraged across multiple channels and time frames.

When Kopari did a photo shoot with Ella, they didn’t just use the images for the initial campaign launch. One photo became an in-store display, which Ella then promoted to her community, encouraging fans to visit stores and tag both her and Kopari when they spotted the display. The result was organic user-generated content that extended the campaign’s reach far beyond the original investment.

By planning for multiple uses upfront, Kopari maximized the value of every creator relationship. TikTok videos were repurposed for paid ads, Instagram posts were adapted for email campaigns, and even casual creator content was considered for in-store displays. 

Structuring both its marketing content and UGC with clear usage rights allowed Kopari to plan for versatility when it came to using this content as marketing collateral. Rather than thinking “We need a TikTok video,” it approached creators with “We need content that can work across TikTok, Instagram, paid ads, and potentially in-store displays,” Toral shares. 

For other brands, this means negotiating broader usage rights upfront and briefing creators on the multiple ways their content might be used.

Measuring what matters, but still thinking long term

One of the biggest challenges in influencer marketing is attribution—proving that creator partnerships actually drive business results. Toral’s approach combines multiple data points rather than relying on any single metric.

Kopari tracks traditional metrics like earned media value (EMV), video views, and engagement, but also looks at broader indicators like organic traffic to the site, direct traffic, and post-purchase surveys asking customers how they heard about the brand.

And, while Kopari has certain metrics in place, the team recognizes that community building requires a longer-term perspective than metrics seen with traditional performance marketing. While paid ads might drive immediate sales, influencer relationships are about staying top of mind while building community and advocacy over time.

So, understanding that partnerships might fail to show immediate return on investment (ROI), doesn’t mean there is no value to building community and brand equity. The confidence sessions with Ella, for instance, were as much about reinforcing Kopari’s brand values around body positivity as they were about driving immediate sales.

Making every relationship mutually beneficial

Underlying Kopari’s success is the fact that creator partnerships benefit both parties. Rather than only asking creators to promote products, Toral always looks for ways to support creators’ own goals and passions.

The collaboration with Ella worked because it aligned with her mission of building confidence in women of all sizes. Kopari didn’t just pay her to post about their products—they also amplified her message and provided her with a platform to increase her reach. The events were also an opportunity for Ella to meet her community.

“If they’re really passionate about working out, host a workout event with that creator featuring your product and the brand, because the creator will be so grateful and happy to do so,” Toral suggests. 

This approach creates an opportunity to deepen the loyalty between the creator and the brand. When creators feel genuinely supported rather than used only for promotion, they naturally become stronger advocates for the brand. 

“You don’t have to jump into a big dinner event or a big splashy trip,” she notes. “If you do have a few really deep, strong relationships with some creators that have, even if they’re micros, … a really strong community, work with those creators.”

The strategy that transformed Kopari from a single-product company into an eight-figure business wasn’t built on massive budgets or celebrity endorsements. Instead, it was constructed on authentic relationships, strategic thinking about content leverage, and a deep understanding of what makes their products valuable.

The beauty industry may seem uniquely suited to influencer marketing, but the principles Toral developed at Kopari—authenticity, relationship-building, and strategic content leverage—apply across industries. Tune in to her full Shopify Masters interview to discover how she selects creators to work with, and produce content that resonantes beyond influencer audiences.

The liquor industry is big business. It’s estimated that US consumers splash $318.2 billion on alcoholic drinks every year, with approximately $186 billion of that expenditure going towards liquor bought from supermarkets and convenience stores. 

Now’s a great time to open your own liquor store. With a knack for stocking products that customers like and attention to detail, you can turn liquor into a profitable business. 

That said, the process of opening a liquor shop is more complicated than a traditional retail store. From navigating licensing requirements and zoning laws to protecting your merchandise, here’s the complete guide on how to open a liquor store—including the costs you might incur along the way.

How to open a liquor store business

1. Research and plan
2. Apply for licenses and permits
3. Choose a retail location
4. Design your liquor store layout
5. Consider inventory management
6. Choose a point of sale system
7. Create an online store
8. Hire retail staff
9. Market your liquor store

1. Research and plan your new liquor store

A business plan outlines the vision for your business and acts as a roadmap on how you’ll get there. While some entrepreneurs write off a business plan (or worse, write one and never reference it again), it can help avoid common pitfalls that business owners tend to make when opening their first retail store. 

The most important components of your liquor store’s business plan include:

• Your target market. Who will you target? Think beyond demographics such as age and gender to pinpoint the pain points and purchase motivations that your target market shares. For example, this might be busy professionals who like the social symbol of expensive wine at parties they host.
• Niche focus. What type of liquor store do you plan to open? Specialty stores can charge premium prices for higher quality beverages, but you could also niche down the type of product you sell—like Mexican tequila or wine specialty stores.
• Market analysis. How big is the target market in your desired location? What competitors already exist, and how can you differentiate your liquor store? A unique selling proposition gives shoppers a reason to visit your store over other liquor stores. 

“Starting with a retail store has been the best way for me to get grounded in the industry and become, in many ways, an expert on consumer preferences and desires,” says Douglas Watters, founder of Spirited Away.

2. Apply for retail licenses and permits

Liquor is a heavily regulated industry in the US, but regulations can differ state by state. In Utah, for example, the state government controls the sale and distribution of all liquor, while more relaxed regulations in California mean alcohol can be sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and privately owned stores.

Check your local laws regarding liquor licenses, permits, and operating requirements. Most require sellers to have a liquor license. This can cost as little as $40 or as much as $180,000 depending on the type of liquor you sell, how many licenses you need, whether it’s a quota state, and the local county.

You may also need generic business licenses, such as a seller’s permit if you operate in a state with sales tax. Again, these are regulations state-specific—some states have no sales tax while others have rates as high as 7.25%. Check with your local authority to determine your requirements, then work with a business lawyer who can help you ensure compliance. 

Finally, consider commercial retail insurance as an extra layer of legal protection. Monthly premiums for liquor liability insurance may be higher than other industries due to their naturally complex and heavily regulated nature. 

“In this particular field, there is a lot of red tape,” says Catherine Carter, co-founder of The Sip, in an episode of Shopify Masters. “Take your time, get your licensing, get your ducks in a row. Don’t try to rush that process, or you’ll spend a lot of time on the back end trying to correct it later.”

3. Choose a retail location

Deciding on the right spot for a retail store is a big decision for any entrepreneur—even more so for liquor stores. While you don’t always need a large retail location (inventory is small enough to stack on shelves), there are some things to consider when scouting spots:

• Zoning laws. Some states have zoning laws that prohibit alcohol sales entirely; others have restrictions on the operating hours, the type of alcohol you can sell, or the proximity to certain businesses (such as schools or churches.)
• Visibility. Customers will only visit your store if they know it exists. High traffic areas, such as strip malls or busy high streets, can draw in passersby. But don’t just think about attracting foot traffic—liquor stores are often targets for theft. Opt for a spot that’s well-lit at night and clearly visible to deter criminals from targeting your store.
• Local demographic. Make sure your store is situated in an area with a customer base that is old enough to legally purchase alcohol. Areas commonly occupied by students or young families, for example, might not be the best fit. 
• Leasing agreements. Not all commercial real estate owners will be open to liquor store tenants because of the risks associated with one—like licensing complications or security concerns. Work with a real estate broker who can negotiate leases with property owners that are open to liquor stores occupying their space.

4. Design your liquor store layout

Liquor stores are unique in the sense that all products are one size (more or less). Bottles also sit well on vertical shelving units. Place bestsellers at eye level and use end caps to showcase special promotions. 

The layout of your store can also deter shoplifters from targeting your store. The basic loop layout, for example, arranges products on vertical shelving units around the perimeter of your store so that inventory (and visitors) are clearly visible at all times. You could also place high-value items behind the checkout desk for extra protection. 

💡Tip: Anti-theft devices—such as mirrors, alarms, security cameras, and locking display cases—can protect your inventory and deter shoplifters from looting your new business. 

5. Consider inventory management

Liquor stores tend to stock multiple quantities of the same product—perhaps even different sizes and flavors. Without proper inventory management guidelines, you’ll struggle to keep track of what you’ve sold and what’s still on the shelves.

Inventory management can also help keep track of your products’ expiration dates. While it’s true that some wines get better with age, other products (such as liqueurs) have limited shelf lives. An inventory management system can store these expiration dates so you can sell them before they’re unsellable. 

Now’s also a great time to think about your product assortment and category management. You could expand your product line to offer non-alcoholic beverages and cater to an entirely new target market. Or, you could become a full-service liquor store that also sells cocktail mixers, glassware, and mixology kits—all of which provide upselling and cross-selling opportunities to increase average basket size. Take VIN Chicago, for example. What started as a single wine store grew into a four-location business managing over 3,000 products across Chicago.

“The biggest advantage of Shopify is that it’s completely integrated,” says Peter Schwarzbach, owner of VIN Chicago. “Whether someone buys in-store or online, the inventory is always accurate. That’s crucial when you’re dealing with thousands of different wines and spirits.”

6. Choose a point of sale system

A point of sale (POS) is the command center for your entire retail operation. More than just a tool to ring up orders at the checkout desk, the best POS systems offer a combination of hardware and retail software that can: 

• Accept a variety of payment options with integrated payment processing
• Update inventory quantities in real-time, including any returned merchandise
• Store customer data to use for personalization
• Manage different order fulfillment methods, such as buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) and local delivery
• Handle age verification requirements
• Process quick barcode scanning for efficient checkout
• Generate detailed sales reporting and analytics

Shopify, for example, has unified customer profiles that centralize any data you’ve collected on an individual shopper. See items they’ve viewed online, how many loyalty points they’ve earned, and which products they’ve bought. You can reference this to personalize the in-store experience.

💡Tip: Because Shopify natively builds POS and ecommerce on the same platform, data will update in real-time. You’ll get one centralized business “brain” that centralizes inventory, order, and customer data, no matter where you sell. 

7. Create your online store

Instead of targeting customers within a nearby radius to your brick and mortar store, an ecommerce website offers the freedom to sell liquor to anyone, anywhere.

That said, there are some considerations to protect your business when selling alcohol online. In the U.S., the minimum legal drinking age is 21 years old. You must ensure that customers meet this age requirement when both:

• Buying liquor online. Use age verification apps such as Blockify or Age Gate that ask for a customer’s date of birth before they can place an order. However, this can change by country—in the UK, for example, the legal drinking age is 18. Shopify makes this easy to handle with localized storefronts for each market. You can personalize the experience depending on each market’s age requirements and alcohol laws. 
• Receiving their order. Work with a shipping partner that asks for signature upon delivery from a recipient who is over the legal drinking age. This may make shipping more expensive, but can pay dividends by avoiding non-compliance penalties.

Once those regulations have been taken care of, think about how easy it will be to manage your ecommerce business alongside your retail store. Shopify unifies POS and ecommerce on the same platform to make it as stress-free as possible. Inventory, order, and customer data flow to one unified commerce operating system.

Boozy, for example, used Shopify to become the largest online liquor store in the Philippines. “We love the ability to customize different aspects of the storefront and platform, with full API access so we can create our own suite of private apps for our own inventory management and fulfillment system, and priority support if we run into any issues,” says co-founder and director Jonathan Joson.

8. Hire retail staff

There comes a time when it’s no longer possible to manage a store singlehandedly. There’s also the security vulnerability of operating solo; having at least two people in your store can offer backup if the worst happens. 

There are multiple roles you can hire for your retail store. When you’re just starting out, it helps to have an “all-rounder”—someone who can jump in and assist with the following tasks when required:

• Serving customers
• Processing refunds and exchanges
• Issuing gift cards
• Restocking products on the shelves
• Cleaning and tidying the store
• Creating promotional displays

Train staff on how to use your POS system, offer outstanding customer service, and spot underage customers. You can get in serious trouble for selling alcohol to minors—let your team know how to detect fake identification cards and operate ID scanners (if you use them).

💡Tip: If you’re training a new employee, set their user profile to “Require manager approval” in Shopify POS. This lets you double check that a customer meets the minimum drinking age before serving them alcohol in your store. 

9. Market your liquor store

Design a retail marketing campaign that drives foot traffic to your liquor store. For example, you could host a grand opening party to let people know the store is open. Plan fun experiences, such as free tasting stations and discounts on their first purchase, to incentivize people to visit. 

You could also attract customers by partnering with other local businesses. A wine store, for instance, could offer a gift card to redeem at a local chocolatier (and vice versa). This lets both brands lean on each other’s audiences to acquire new customers. 

The ultimate goal should be to build a community around your liquor store that keeps customers coming back. “We have to reach people and communicate some of that humanity, authenticity, and purpose bigger than just trying to sell you something,” says Josh McJannett, co-founder of Dominion City Brewing, in a recent Shopify Masters episode. 

Considerations for opening a liquor shop

Compliance with regulations

Liquor stores are bound by red tape that keep their businesses on the right side of the law. It helps to have legal counsel—whether that’s an attorney or contact at your local authority—as you go through the process of setting up your new retail business. They can make sure you’re allowed to legally operate, meet licensing requirements, and have the necessary credentials to sell alcohol. 

Insurance

Business insurance protects your liquor store in case the worst happens. If a customer has a slip in your store or it’s targeted by shoplifters, retail insurance can cover legal fees and compensation. It can also offer payouts if you’re found liable for a mistake. 

Financial planning

The cost of opening a liquor store varies dramatically based on your business structure, state, and retail location. 

Do your research in advance and summarize your findings in a business plan to prevent any last minute surprises that throw your budget off course. Account for both upfront and ongoing costs in your retail business plan. This helps you make sensible financial projections and secure funding to plug any gaps. 

Open your liquor store today with Shopify

Liquor stores differ from other businesses because there’s much more red tape around what you can (and can’t) do. That said, you can turn your retail store into a thriving business. It just takes extra planning and legal counsel to confirm you’re meeting regulatory requirements.

Shopify POS has all the features you’ll need to operate a liquor store, no matter whether you sell online or offline. 

And you don’t need to become a tech wizard to take advantage—Shopify POS is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, so you can focus on what matters: connecting with customers and growing your business. 

If there’s one thing that customers aren’t afraid to spend money on, it’s their home. The average US consumer spends over $618 on furniture each year, contributing to a global home furnishings market set to exceed $873 billion by 2030. 

To capitalize on this spend with your furniture store, you’ll need a point of sale (POS) system. This combination of hardware and software acts as the command center for your store. It can ring up customer orders, keep tabs on inventory, and process payments—often from anywhere in the store. 

Yet, shopping around for the best POS furniture store software can be a tedious task. Each vendor has its own features and capabilities, some of which are more important than others. How do you know which POS system is worth spending money on? 

Whether you’re opening your first location or operating a sprawling network of retail stores, this guide is here to help. We’ll compare eight of the best furniture POS systems alongside a list of essential features to evaluate when shortlisting vendors so you can choose the right one for your furniture store.

Top furniture store POS software

We firmly believe that the best POS systems don’t just let you operate one store in isolation—they unify data from anywhere you sell. 

Shopify is the only platform that can do this natively. It brings together customer, order, and inventory data from retail stores, ecommerce websites, marketplaces, and social media storefronts to act as a centralized business “brain” for your furniture store. 

That said, we understand that it’s useful to compare your options. Here are eight other vendors to consider.

1. Shopify POS

Shopify is more than a POS vendor; it’s a complete commerce operating system that gives furniture retailers the tools they need to sell anywhere their customers are.

Shopify is unique because it’s the only platform to natively unify POS and ecommerce on the same platform. It routes any data you’ve collected—be it inventory details, transaction data, or customer information—in one intuitive dashboard. You’ll get one business “command center” that offers omnichannel shopping experiences without the complex infrastructure traditionally required for larger-scale retail operations. 

But don’t just take our word for it. A leading independent research firm concluded that Shopify has a 20% faster implementation time than the market set surveyed. It has a 22% lower overall total cost of ownership, which is why 65% of Shopify POS users surveyed said the solution led to significant revenue enhancements.

Best features include:

• Omnichannel selling
• Unified customer profiles
• Smart multichannel inventory management
• Staff management tools
• Optimized checkout (both online and offline)
• Product variants, collections, and SKU management
• Detailed reporting and analytics
• Native payment processing
• Wide range of POS hardware—or Tap to Pay if you’d prefer to use your smartphone
• App Store with over 8,000+ compatible tools 

“Shopify is super simple to pick up and easy to learn,” says Juliette Grant, retail operations manager at Parachute. “And it is nice for a regular part-time associate to be pretty self-sufficient in setting up their POS account.”

Pricing: Plans start at $89 per month, though you can try Shopify POS for $1/month for your first 3 months. Payment processing fees start at 2.6% + 10¢ for in-person payments or 2.9% + 30¢ for online transactions. 

2. STORIS

STORIS is a POS software that’s specifically designed for retailers in the home furniture industry. It offers native inventory management, warehouse operations, and ecommerce functionality within its POS software. You can also open an online store with STORIS’ API integration.

Features include:

Pricing: STORIS doesn’t share pricing details for its furniture store POS publicly.

3. Square POS

Square is a free POS system that offers an intuitive interface and a range of features for furniture stores. It doesn’t charge monthly fees—instead, it charges home furnishings retailers a percentage of every transaction they process through its POS system.

Features include:

• Range of hardware options
• Customer profiles
• Native payment processing
• Loyalty program and gift cards
• Integrates with ecommerce, payroll, and social media platforms

Pricing: Free plan available. Payment processing fees start at 2.6% + 15¢ for in-person transactions.

💡Compare: Shopify vs. Square: Which POS System is Best?

4. Celerant

Celerant is a POS vendor that serves multiple industries, including retailers in the home furniture niche. It’s a cloud-based and mobile POS, so you can serve customers from anywhere on the shop floor. It also supports custom orders to cater to special requests from your shoppers.

Features include:

• Commission tracking
• Marketplace integration
• Customizable POS interface
• Custom order processing
• Option to create your own mobile app

Pricing: Celerant’s basic plan starts at $125/month and includes one POS system with up to five back offices. It integrates with payment gateways such as Worldpay and Global Payments, each of which offers different payment processing fees.

5. Microbiz Cloud

Microbiz Cloud is a POS system geared toward small furniture stores. It offers features to help you track services—such as furniture repairs or maintenance—alongside a POS system that stores product and variant data for easy checkout. 

Features include:

• Customer deposit and layaway options
• Serialized inventory management
• Integrates with QuickBooks Online
• Custom price lists
• Service job management 

Pricing: Plans start at $60/month, which includes one store and one register license. Extra registers cost $30/month, and additional stores have an additional $60/month fee. There is a free 21-day trial available. Payment processing fees vary depending on the gateway used.

6. Clover POS

Clover offers a range of POS hardware options that suit furniture retailers, from small handheld devices to fixed countertop terminals. It offers native payment processing so you can accept a range of payment methods, including mobile wallets, credit/debit cards, and contactless payments.

Features include:

• Unlimited staff roles and user permissions
• App integrations 
• Returns management 
• Low stock alerts
• Inventory expense reports 

Pricing: Clover’s Starter plan starts at $16/month for 36 months, which includes a small countertop POS terminal. Payment processing fees start at 2.3% + 10¢ per transaction. 

💡Compare: Shopify or Clover? A complete comparison

7. Furniture Wizard

Furniture Wizard is a retail management tool with POS functionality. It offers on-premise, server-based, and cloud-hosted POS software, so you’ve got the flexibility to choose depending on your store’s needs. 

Features include:

• Delivery calendar
• Inventory transfers and history reports
• Invoices and purchase orders
• Custom user roles
• Barcode scanning integration

Pricing: Furniture Wizard doesn’t share pricing details publicly.

8. Lightspeed POS

Lightspeed serves retailers in the home décor industry with its POS system. It lets you track inventory across different sales channels and storage locations, as well as detailed reporting tools that help identify what is (and isn’t) working for your furniture store.

Features include:

• Real-time reporting dashboards
• Customer database
• Special order request management
• Facebook and Instagram integration
• Integrated payments 

Pricing: Lightspeed’s Basic plan starts at $89/month and includes one POS register. Payment processing fees are a little harder to calculate, though it estimates that furniture stores that process up to $34,999 per month will pay around $200/month in transaction fees.

💡Compare: Shopify vs. Lightspeed: Which POS System is Best?

How to choose a furniture store POS

There’s a lot of thought that goes into choosing the right POS for your small business. The business model used by most furniture stores, in particular, means you’ll have a unique list of requirements that make comparisons tricky. Here’s a guide on how to navigate the process, including top features to look for. 

Inventory management capabilities with variant tracking

No two furniture shoppers have the same taste. Customers who enter your store work with different room sizes and have unique home decor preferences, so you’ll likely stock multiple variations of the same product. 

It’s great to have a furniture POS system capable of variant tracking, but it’s even better if it makes those variants easier to find at checkout. “We have images of all our products in the POS so when we type in a SKU the image pops right up,” says Sam Mella, director of home experience at Jenni Kayne and happy Shopify POS user. “You can’t really make mistakes, which is very nice.”

Similarly, confirm that your shortlisted furniture POS vendor can automate inventory management processes such as:

• Updating inventory quantities in real-time across every sales channel.
• Generating purchase orders with relevant suppliers.
• Creating inventory reports to make smarter restocking decisions.

Retailers using Shopify POS use features like these to save 10+ hours a month on inventory management*. 

Custom order and special order processing features

It can be easy to lose track of custom orders. Whether for custom-sized furniture or a specific delivery date, check that your furniture store’s POS system is capable of saving these custom orders accordingly.

Say, for example, that a customer has bought a sofa for a new home they’re moving into in two months’ time. Your usual delivery timeframe is five days. 

Create custom metafields inside Shopify POS to save the customer’s move-in date. Retail associates can then filter offline or online orders by this custom metafield—like those tagged with delivery in February—to reach out to the customer, remind them of their purchase, and change the fulfillment status to “Prepare for shipping”.

💡Tip: Teach employees how to use your POS system to ensure custom metafields are inputted consistently. If you’re using months of the year, for example, use the same format, such as “February” instead of “Feb”.

Delivery scheduling and tracking integration

Many furniture retailers treat their stores as mini showrooms—a place for shoppers to touch and interact with a product in the flesh before they buy. It makes sense; retail space is expensive. It’s not feasible to store multiple quantities of each SKU on the sales floor. 

The endless aisle strategy stores inventory offsite, usually at a separate shipping warehouse (either operated by you or a logistics partner). It offers the best of both worlds not just for you but for your customers. Shoppers still get to interact with products in the flesh, but they don’t have to carry heavy or bulky items around with them post-purchase.

Home furnishings brand Parachute uses ship-to-home features in Shopify POS to meet customer expectations without the risk of excess inventory. It processes over 26,000 ship-from-store orders annually. “By utilizing our stores as fulfillment centers, we can respond to customer demand more effectively and minimize excess inventory,” explains Juliette Grant, retail operations manager. “It’s a win-win for us and our customers.”

Also, confirm that the same is possible in reverse: some 38% of consumers buy items online and then collect them in-store, according to our latest Ecommerce Growth Guide. 

Shopify’s unified commerce platform automatically adjusts inventory data in real time to display accurate stock levels at a customer’s nearby store on your ecommerce website. They can check out online and schedule a pickup slot and have their order details come through to your furniture POS for retail staff to prepare in advance.

Customer financing and layaway options

Furniture is a high consideration category. It can take months for customers to shop around for the perfect bed, table, or sofa, largely because products are expensive. 

Affordability is a major sales objection that retail associates have to face. However, it’s easier to navigate those hurdles and convince shoppers to buy when they can forgo an upfront purchase and split their payments into manageable installments. Research shows that these options drive a 17% to 26% increase in purchase likelihood and 10% larger basket sizes.

Because Shopify’s furniture POS is built on the same platform as Shop Pay, customers can take advantage of Shop Pay Installments. In-store shoppers can split larger purchases into four interest-free installments, with no impact on their credit score—all while you get paid upfront. 

Clienteling tools

Speaking of lengthy purchase cycles and helping shoppers overcome purchase objections: your furniture POS system should offer unified customer profiles that bring together every piece of data you’ve already gathered on your shoppers. 

Jenni Kayne, for example, relies on Shopify to centralize first-party data—including customers’ purchase history and any loyalty programs they’re enrolled in—to personalize the retail experience.

“We use tags to identify whether a client is part of our Trade Program, Home Membership Program, and other things like that,” says Sam Mella. “So if a client is looking at sofas, pillows, or anything for the home and they’re not a member, then we can quickly and easily find that out and suggest the program to them, which is super useful.”

Sales commission tracking and management

Some retailers award retail staff with commissions to incentivize sales and higher order values. Check that your furniture POS system can track these purchases by individual employees. 

With Shopify POS, you can create a unique staff profile for each retail associate. Any sales, refunds, or exchanges they process are matched with their profile to calculate any eligible commission. 

💡Tip: Shopify integrates with staff management apps like EasyTeam and Gusto. You can automate accurate commission payouts from the same Shopify POS interface you already know and love.

Integration with accounting and ecommerce platforms

A POS system is the command center for every aspect of your furniture store. This is made easier when your software and hardware integrate with other tools in your retail tech stack, including:

Shopify is unique in the sense that it builds core commerce components on a single operating system. Any functionality you want to add—be it loyalty programs or accounting software—can connect through POS integrations, which remain accessible from your furniture POS dashboard. 

Total cost of ownership

Cost is one of the most important factors when evaluating furniture POS systems. Most vendors charge monthly subscriptions and payment processing fees on each transaction; others charge for implementation and setup. This means POS system costs can quickly rack up.

A technology-driven strategy is the smartest way to cut costs as a furniture retailer. With a single commerce operating system that includes core components out-of-the-box, you can significantly reduce total cost of ownership (TOC).

A leading research firm found that Shopify POS reduces total ownership costs by 22% on average compared to competitors. That’s because its unique approach to unified commerce—building POS and ecommerce natively on the same platform—reduces middleware and patchy integrations that inflate costs and create technical debt. 

But don’t just take our word for it: Furniture retailer The Conran Shop halved its TCO when migrating to Shopify POS and almost doubled conversion rates. “We used to be cautious about going to the business to suggest new solutions,” says its digital director Richard Voyce. “Thanks to Shopify, we’re much more empowered to bring in new innovations to help us grow.”

Run your furniture store on Shopify POS 

Choosing a POS system for your furniture store is no small feat—one that’s even more difficult to navigate if you’re operating multiple locations. Use this guidance to shortlist essential features, then search for vendors that fit your needs.

Shopify is the POS of choice for leading home furnishings retailers like The Conran Shop, Parachute, and Jenni Kayne for good reason. It’s the only commerce operating system designed to help you manage offline and online operations so you can deliver world-class experiences to your customers without the complex infrastructure typically required to sell omnichannel. 

*Methodology: Online survey among 1,000 Shopify POS customers, conducted in November 2023 by the Shopify Research Team.

A point-of-sale (POS) system is one of the most important investments you’ll make as a liquor store owner. Choose the right one and you’ll be able to process orders, accept various payment types, track inventory, manage staff, and collect customer data—all within a single platform. 

But searching for the best POS system is more complex for liquor store owners than for other retailers. Perhaps you need a manager’s approval to sell expensive bottles of wine, or age verification tools to prevent cashiers from facilitating underage sales.

To help you on your search, we’ve rounded up eight of the best POS system providers. We’ll also share the features to look for so you can choose the right option for your liquor store.

Best liquor store POS systems

We’re firm believers that the best POS system is one that’s unified. When everything is built on one core infrastructure, you can scale up or down as you see fit, starting out with the core functionality and giving you the flexibility to grow, without the technical complexities that typically come with a scaling retail business across multiple store locations.

That’s why we believe that Shopify is the best POS system. It unifies data from all sales channels into a single platform, offers compatible hardware, and a growing library of app integrations to customize the system to your heart’s content. 

That said, we know it’s useful to compare your options. Let’s explore eight of the best POS systems for liquor stores and break down their features, pricing, and use cases.

1. Shopify POS
2. KORONA POS
3. Square POS
4. Lightspeed
5. mPower POS
6. Cheers POS
7. National Retail Solutions
8. Bottle POS

1. Shopify POS

Shopify POS is more than a POS solution—it’s a complete command center capable of handling every aspect of your liquor store. It unifies inventory, order, and customer data inside one business “brain.” One platform, one subscription, and one POS system to train your team on. 

Take VIN Chicago, for example. What started as a single wine store grew into a four-location business managing over 3,000 products across Chicago. “The biggest advantage of Shopify is that it’s completely integrated,” says Peter Schwarzbach, owner of VIN Chicago. “Whether someone buys in-store or online, the inventory is always accurate. That’s crucial when you’re dealing with thousands of different wines and spirits.”

What’s especially great about Shopify POS is that it enables you to offer the omnichannel experiences that modern customers demand. For example, customers can view availability for their favorite wine at their nearby store, place their order online, and collect it the same day. Retailers get notified on the POS that the order needs to be fulfilled by the scheduled pickup time to avoid delays and keep customers happy. 

Best features include:

• Omnichannel sales integration: ecommerce, POS, social media, and marketplaces 
• Advanced inventory management tools 
• Unified customer profiles
• User-friendly interface that’s easy to learn
• Speedy checkout with native payment processing 
• Advanced reporting and analytics 
• Multi-location management
• Wide range of POS hardware, from barcode scanners to receipt printers
• Third-party app integrations, including age verification apps like Real ID, to prevent underage sales

Danish retailer Teselskabet is just one merchant already using Shopify POS to manage its liquor store operations. It needed an omnichannel inventory management system that could track product ingredients, create categories, and sync quantities across its online and offline sales channels—all of which Shopify could handle. The result? A 25% increase in sales post-migration. 

“Our online and in-person sales are now all unified with Shopify,” says owner Lars Hansen-Damm. “We have a variety of apps that all run seamlessly within Shopify, so we never need to jump from one program to another. This saves us a huge amount of time and allows me to feel in control of my own brand.”

Pricing: POS subscriptions start at $39 per month for unlimited logins and a full-featured online store. Payment processing fees start at 2.6% + 10¢ USD for in-person transactions and 2.9% + 30¢ USD for online orders. There are no additional hardware costs with Tap to Pay.

2. KORONA POS

KORONA POS offers an enterprise point-of-sale system that’s suited for liquor stores. It offers handheld devices to process transactions from anywhere on the shop floor, as well as online store and ecommerce integration to sell online.

Features include:

• Customer loyalty program
• Ecommerce integration
• Built-in age verification reminders
• Automatic inventory replenishment
• Support for multiple locations 

Pricing: The Core subscription starts at $59 per month, with additional functionality, including integrations and advanced inventory management, available at an extra cost. It doesn’t share payment processing fees publicly, though it does offer an online calculator to estimate costs.

3. Square POS

Square is a POS system designed for small to mid-sized retail stores, including those selling beer, wine, and spirits. Unlike most other providers, it doesn’t charge a flat monthly fee to use its point-of-sale software. Square makes its money through payment processing fees taken as a percentage of each in-store transaction. 

Features include:

• No monthly subscription 
• Android and iOS mobile app 
• Loyalty programs and gift cards
• Native payment processing
• In-store pickup 
• Range of hardware options 

Pricing: No monthly subscription, though some features (including loyalty and marketing) come at an extra cost. Payment processing fees start at 2.6% + 10¢ per transaction.

4. Lightspeed

Lightspeed is a cloud POS system that syncs your data to the cloud so it’s accessible anywhere. It helps wine and liquor store owners manage inventory, offer discounts, and process a range of retail payment methods with its POS software.

Features include:

• Age verification prompts at checkout
• Integrated payment processing 
• Customizable reporting dashboards
• Native inventory counting
• Shopify integration available 

Pricing: The Basic plan starts at $89 per month and includes one retail POS register. It estimates that merchants in the U.S. who process between $5,000 and $34,999 in monthly transactions will pay approximately $200 per month in payment processing fees.

💡Learn: How Mister Zimi Outgrew Lightspeed and Unified its Sales Channels with Shopify POS

5. mPower POS

mPower is a POS system specifically built for stores that sell beer, wine, and liquor. It stores all of your POS data inside the system and helps retailers create detailed reports. mPower also integrates with third-party tools to track customer information, offer rewards, and manage your accounts. 

Features include:

• Suggested ordering
• QuickBooks integration
• Multi-store location management
• Customizable price lists, including case breaks and wholesale
• Data visualization tools for sales reporting

Pricing: Monthly subscriptions start at $120 per month, with a $1,000 upfront fee for the POS hardware. Each additional register is $120 per month and $250 upfront. 

6. Cheers POS

Cheers’ liquor store POS system offers both hardware and software for a full-stack setup. Its cloud-based software lets you turn your existing hardware into a POS device, and accepts a wide range of payment options, including mobile wallets, cash, checks, and contactless payments. 

Features include:

• Gift cards 
• Customer loyalty programs 
• Purchase order automation 
• Wholesale order management 
• U.S.-based customer support 

Pricing: Plans start at $79 per month per register. Hardware comes at an additional cost. Payment processing fees vary depending on the processor used.

7. National Retail Solutions 

National Retail Solutions (NRS) is a POS system built for small businesses. Alongside its POS software, the vendor offers a range of hardware to build your own custom setup, including touch screen displays, receipt printers, self-serve kiosks, and barcode scanners.

Features include:

• Wide range of compatible hardware
• Digital cash register
• Discounts and promotions
• Detailed store performance reports
• Vendor management tools 

Pricing: NRS offers hardware plans to get small liquor stores up and running. Prices for its basic setup start at $599. You’ll need a software subscription on top—these start at $19.95 per month. Extra functionality, such as loyalty points and ecommerce integration, comes at an additional cost. 

8. Bottle POS

Bottle’s POS system is purpose built for liquor store owners. It can automatically rank your bestselling products, centralize product data into a single database, and offer dual pricing options to incentivize specific payment methods (e.g., cash). The POS system also features an offline mode, allowing your store to continue operating during an internet outage.

Features include:

• Offline mode 
• Age verification tools 
• Auto-ranking inventory reports
• Customer reward program
• Centralized product database

Pricing: Bottle doesn’t share pricing details on its website without completing a form. However, Capterra reports that subscriptions start at $49 per month.

How to choose a liquor store POS system

There’s a lot that goes into your decision to choose a POS system for your liquor store. Some vendors offer simple, out-of-the-box solutions that include necessary features, while others provide access to everything, which can lead to overwhelming complexity.

Here’s a cheatsheet on what to look for when shortlisting POS vendors:

• Sales channels: A retail store isn’t the only place to sell liquor to customers. Ecommerce opens up a whole new opportunity to target people outside of your local area. Check that your POS system can unify product, order, and customer data between these online and offline sales channels. 
• Payment methods: Cash is no longer king in the retail industry. Give your customers flexibility to pay with debit or credit card, mobile wallets, loyalty points, or gift cards. You can even give shoppers the option to spread out larger purchases with Shop Pay Installments inside Shopify POS. 
• Inventory management: There are a plethora of reasons why stock might become unsellable. Perhaps you dropped a case of wine, or the liqueur has passed its sell-by date. The best POS systems can help you track sellable inventory, update quantities when they’re sold (either in-store or online), and raise purchase orders when they dip below safety stock levels. 
• Customer profiles: Let retail associates personalize the shopping experience by referencing data from a customer’s unique profile. Shopify creates these profiles automatically whenever someone shares their email address or phone number with your liquor store. 
• Hardware: Most vendors charge additional fees for hardware, including barcode scanners, receipt printers, and card machines. If you’re on a budget or want to condense your tech stack, Shopify lets you turn your smartphone into a mobile POS and card reader with Shopify Payments’ Tap to Pay functionality.
• POS integrations: Any third-party integrations should work with your existing sales channels. Ensure that apps—whether for age verification or loyalty programs—function seamlessly both online and offline, providing customers with a consistently personalized experience.
• Staff management: Can your shortlisted POS systems support user profiles with permission-based access? Require manager approval for specific transactions? Schedule staff rotas without requiring another app? 
• Pricing: POS system costs can quickly rack up, especially if the vendor charges extra for hardware, implementation, or customization. Ask for a full pricing breakdown before you commit to any system, including payment processing fees if offered natively. 

Get started with Shopify POS for your liquor store

As tempting as it might be to go for the cheapest option when you’re just starting out, most retailers quickly learn that starter systems don’t have the advanced features you need—and then you find yourself in the same position again: restarting the search and switching POS vendors.

We’re biased, but we believe that Shopify POS is the best POS system for growing retailers. It has all of the core functionality you need to sell anywhere, anytime. When you’re ready to upgrade, add extra features with integrated apps, or open your next store, you can do it all within the POS system your retail team already knows and loves.

Ask any successful retailer for the blueprint on how they grew their business, and you’ll get a multitude of different answers. That’s because expansion plans are personalized. Only with a thorough understanding of your customers (and what they want) can you reverse engineer a store that exceeds their expectations. 

Store surveys are the perfect vehicle to gather this data. By standardizing the questions you ask and making it standard practice, you can dial down on things you’re doing well and fix areas you’re falling flat on. 

So, what exactly should you ask in a store survey? This article shares 40 example questions that dive deeper into every aspect of the retail customer experience, from product assortment to store layout and accessibility. 

What is a store survey?

A store survey is a research technique that allows retailers to learn how people interact with their store. Topics can range from customer service to store cleanliness and the overall atmosphere, and you should aim to use a range of question formats:

• Open-ended questions (e.g., how could we improve?)
• Multiple choice questions (e.g,. did you prefer this or that?)
• Scaled questions (e.g,. on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this?)

Purpose of a store survey

Identify what is working

Store surveys have long had their place in retail environments because they let brands identify what’s working. If customer feedback shows that people enjoyed the product testing station in-store, for example, hosting more demonstrations can attract even more shoppers. 

You can also evaluate the role that retail plays in the customer journey with survey data. Kenny Flowers, for example, uses Shopify’s unified commerce platform to send post-purchase feedback surveys to people who’ve completed an online purchase. Interestingly, it found that most online customers didn’t discover the brand online—they’d visited its flagship store first.

“Sometimes that’s someone who walked in, tried things on, but didn’t make a purchase in the store,” says founder Kenny Haisfield. “That doesn’t mean Kenny Flowers is lost on them. They went online, saw more assortment, and completed their purchase there.”

Fix what’s not working

By contrast, store surveys can highlight where you’re falling flat, so you can put a strategy in place to rectify it.

For example, you might arrive at the store before the morning rush and not realize that parking spaces are full by 10 a.m. The store survey can tell you this and highlight the importance of reliable parking to customers. Perhaps you could negotiate with the retail park owner to reserve parking spaces just for your shoppers. 

Personalize the shopping experience

Surveys also allow you to enrich customer profiles and offer a personalized experience. You might highlight at-risk customers or loyal fans—both of which receive a different approach in retail marketing campaigns: 

• At-risk customers respond negatively to your store surveys. Identify the root cause of their unhappiness and reach out to offer a solution to recover negative service. This plays into the service recovery paradox: the idea that you can build more goodwill by fixing a bad experience than you’d otherwise have gotten if the experience was problem-free.
• Loyal customers have responded positively to your store surveys. Lean into what makes them make repeat purchases, and use this as the foundation for any future outreach. If they love the fact they’ve got a good deal, for example, send a personalized email with a discount to redeem on their next purchase.

💡Tip: Shopify creates a unique customer profile each time someone shares their phone number or email address with your brand. Any supplementary data you collect—from purchase history to feedback surveys they’ve completed—feed back to this profile for a 360-view of each individual shopper. 

Retail survey questions to ask

Here are the most important questions to ask in a retail store survey. 

How would you rate your in-store experience out of 10?

This question offers a quick snapshot of how customers feel about their experience in a physical store. It also lets you benchmark performance: you can compare the rating across different store locations or track the impact of any changes on customer satisfaction. 

Plus, you can use the scores to trigger follow-ups with each customer. Reach out to those with a low score (between 1 and 5) to figure out how you can recover their experience. Those who rated you highly (either a 9 or 10) might get an invitation to your loyalty program to incentivize repeat purchases. 

How easy was it to find what you were looking for?

Retail stores can be overwhelming places for customers to shop. The store’s layout, signage, and in-store assistance influence how easy it is for customers to find what they’re looking for. This question can pinpoint areas for improvement.

Again, reach out to people who answered “no” to this store survey question. Offer a personalized service—like recommending a product they’re still looking for—to recover the experience. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the store to a friend?

Word-of-mouth referrals are one of the most lucrative ways to drive foot traffic to a retail store. An unbiased vouch for your business can be more effective than simply shouting about how great you think your store is. 

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how likely someone is to recommend your store to a friend. It’s ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “I would never recommend” to 10 being “I’d tell everyone about it!” 

Test out ways to improve the retail experience and include this question in your survey to monitor how each strategy impacts word-of-mouth referrals. You could even tie this in with a POS loyalty program that rewards people for referring a friend. 

Customer service

Customer service underpins every aspect of the shopping experience, from helping customers find the right product to returning one they no longer want—and everything in between.

Ask the following questions in your store survey to highlight where you’re doing well, and how you can improve the retail experience to keep shoppers coming back:

• How easy was it to get the help you needed?
• How would you rate the quality of customer service you received during your visit?
• Did the staff have the knowledge to assist you with your questions or concerns?
• How quickly did we resolve your issue?
• Was there anything you felt could have been improved?

💡Tip: Reach out to unhappy customers and offer a solution to their problem—or at least show your commitment to resolving it. If someone says the associate they spoke to lacked product knowledge, for example, explain how you’ll review your training program and offer assistance from a more experienced associate in the interim. 

Product selection

A carefully curated product selection is a competitive advantage for most retailers. By becoming the go-to place for customers to pick up their favorite products, you could also increase sales by cross-selling and upselling other items they’re likely to be interested in. 

That said, you don’t want to overwhelm customers with a vast assortment of products they’re not ready to buy. Shoppers may struggle to find what they’re looking for if your product catalog is too complex. 

Figure out whether you’re striking the right balance with these store survey questions:

• Did we have the products you were looking for in stock?
• Did you look for a product that we advertised but was unavailable? 
• How easy was it to find the products you were looking for?
• Are there any products you wish we carried that we currently don’t offer?
• How satisfied were you with the choices you had when buying [product]?

Pricing

Today’s consumers are more price sensitive than ever. Fierce competition amongst retailers means customers often have the pick of the bunch when deciding which product to buy and at what cost. 

But there’s still the potential to charge premium prices for your inventory—you just need to figure out what your customers are willing to pay and which factors influence price sensitivity.

Here’s how to figure out the answer from store surveys:

• Do you find our prices competitive compared to other stores you shop at?
• How often do you take advantage of sales or promotions?
• Which types of promotions do you find most appealing?
• Would you consider our products affordable for your budget?
• Are there any products in our store that you feel are overpriced?

💡Tip: Combine survey data with retail pricing analytics inside Shopify. It pulls product data from every integrated sales channel (online and offline), so you can confidently identify an optimal product price that maximizes revenue while remaining competitive.

Cleanliness and store atmosphere

Every retail store should be a pleasant place for customers to shop. The overall atmosphere (sometimes called the store’s “vibe”) and cleanliness are two major factors influencing this.

Store surveys let you uncover subtle ways to improve the store experience that you might not have previously been aware of. If your retail staff are indoors on a hot day, for example, they might not realize that bumping the air conditioning up a few degrees would’ve made more shoppers stick around to escape the heat. 

Here are some questions to include in your survey to uncover these insights:

• Did you feel comfortable and welcome during your visit?
• Did you find the store to be well-organized and tidy?
• How would you rate the store’s overall ambiance?
• Did you notice any areas of the store that could have been cleaner?
• How would you rate the cleanliness of our restrooms or fitting rooms?
• Would the cleanliness of the store influence your decision to return or recommend it to others?

Store layout 

There are infinite ways to arrange the space within the four walls of your retail store. While the ultimate goal is to design a store that makes it easy for customers to locate what they’re looking for (and even entice impulse purchases), some layouts are more practical than others.

Here’s how to figure out whether your store’s layout is working:

• Did the store layout make it easy for you to navigate and find products?
• Were product categories clearly labeled and easy to locate?
• Did you find the checkout area to be conveniently located?
• Is there anything you would suggest changing about the store’s layout to improve your shopping experience?

Accessibility and parking

An inclusive retail environment is more than a nice-to-have—it’s paramount. Not only do ADA laws mandate that stores are easy for people with disabilities to access, but accessibility features such as parking can sway people’s decision to visit. 

Assess whether your store is inclusive by asking these questions in your store survey: 

• Were our opening hours convenient for you?
• How easy was it for you to find parking at our store?
• Did you find the store entrance to be easy to access?
• Did you feel safe walking from the parking area to the store and back?
• How would you rate the accessibility of our store for people with disabilities?
• Were staff available to assist with physical accessibility needs if needed?
• Is there anything you would suggest improving to make the store more accessible? 

Returns and exchanges

As much as you’d like to think that shoppers love their purchase, products wind up back on your shelves for reasons outside of your control. The experience someone has when returning a product, however, significantly impacts their likelihood of buying again. 

These questions help identify points of friction in the retail returns process: 

• Was it easy to find information about our return and exchange policy?
• Did you encounter any issues while making a return or exchange?
• How likely are you to shop with us again based on your returns experience?
• How would you compare our return process to other retailers you’ve used?
• Were you offered a suitable alternative (e.g., exchange, store credit) during the return process?

💡Tip: Streamline your returns program by unifying your order data into a single platform. With Shopify, customers can return online-bought items in-store (and vice versa). There’s no need to train retail staff on how to operate an entirely new system—they can view order history, process returns, and even issue store credit from the POS. Inventory quantities are updated automatically. 

How to conduct a store survey

Now we know the types of questions to ask in your survey, here’s how to gather customer feedback on autopilot with Shopify.

1. Find the right survey tool

Survey tools let you standardize how you request and gather feedback. Instead of having each store associate ask a slightly different spin on a core question, every recipient gets asked the same question, the same way. Their data is compiled in the survey tool to make it easier to analyze. 

Ideally, you should find a survey tool that integrates with your existing technical infrastructure. Apps like Grapevine and LoudHippo are both available in the Shopify App Store, meaning you can send surveys to anyone who buys from your Shopify-powered business, no matter where that sale took place.

2. Implement into your POS

Your point of sale (POS) system is the command center for your entire retail business. If the survey app you’ve chosen integrates with your POS system, this unlocks a multitude of ways to share the store survey link with your customers:

• Add the link to the survey on receipts
• Use customer-facing displays to ask quick survey questions at checkout 
• Add QR codes to in-store signage that point people towards an online survey 
• Send purchase confirmation emails to follow up with customers after they leave your store

3. Collect and analyze the survey data

Make it a regular practice to analyze the data collected through your store surveys. This is where most retailers tend to fall flat.

“When we capture data, we often don’t do it with an intention of what we’re going to do after that data comes back,” says Neil Hoyne, chief strategist at Google, in a recent Shopify Masters interview.

For more granular insights, don’t just look at the top-line data—slice and dice the feedback to filter results from a particular segment. For example: 

• First-time buyers vs. repeat customers
• People who bought a specific product
• Shoppers who visited your store during a special sales or promotional event
• Customers who interacted with a particular sales associate in-store 
• People who purchased using a specific payment method
• Customers who gave a low satisfaction score in previous store surveys

Create better shopping experiences with Shopify POS

Everything from the store’s layout to your customer service approach should be dictated by feedback. A store survey can standardize how you collect and analyze that data at scale.

Shopify POS has everything you need to collect and organize survey data. From app integrations to omnichannel marketing campaigns and unified customer profiles, implementing a survey doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your retail operations. Simply use the technology you’re already familiar with to gather insights that can change the course of your business for the better. 

The retail marketing mix is more than a checkbox for the syllabus of a marketing course. Each seven aspects help retailers who are facing challenges in growing sales and profits, making excellent customer service essential across all shopping channels. 

Forrester’s latest Retail Predictions report shows that rising wages and changing buying power mean brands should invest in unified, technology-based approaches. In this article, you’ll learn how a unified retail marketing mix meets these challenges head-on.

What is the retail marketing mix?

The retail marketing mix is a business strategy that combines all elements needed to attract customers, boost sales, and build brand loyalty. 

While the traditional “seven Ps” (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and presentation) create the marketing framework, today’s connected shopping environment demands a unified commerce approach, merging online and in-store experiences into one seamless strategy.

The retail marketing mix matters because:

• It gives stores a clear plan to manage everything from product selection to pricing strategies.
• It ensures your message stays the same everywhere—like social media and physical stores.
• It helps deliver personalized retail experiences no matter where customers shop.

In other words: the retail marketing mix and unified commerce create the foundation for retail success. It helps you adapt to market changes quickly, create smooth shopping experiences, and grow your brand effectively, no matter where customers find you.

The 7 Ps of retailing

Marketing used to focus on four main things: product, price, place, and promotion. Now, we use seven key elements that better fit today’s shopping world. Let’s break them down in simple terms:

1. Product: What you sell to customers
2. Price: How much you charge for it
3. Place: Where people can buy from you (stores, websites, apps)
4. Promotion: How you tell people about what you sell
5. People: Your staff and the customers they help
6. Process: How you get things done behind the scenes
7. Presentation: How your brand looks and feels everywhere

1. Products

Your product is what you sell and how it meets customer needs. Understanding what you general stock (product lines) and specific items (features, selling points, competitors, and possible customer objections) you sell helps you market them better.

Products are the core of your retail business. But managing them across sales channels like your website, social media, and physical stores can be overwhelming. A centralized inventory management system, like the one found in Shopify, keeps all your product details, item numbers, and prices in one spot. Update it once and it changes everywhere, so customers always see the right information.

Plus, with Shopify’s unified commerce platform, you can use the same quality pictures and descriptions on all channels to strengthen your brand and build customer trust. You get one source of truth for everything inventory-related. It’s no wonder that retailers save 10+ hours per month on inventory management when they switch to Shopify.

2. Price

Your prices determine who will buy from you. Lower prices attract budget-conscious shoppers, while higher “luxury” prices attract those willing to spend more. Find a price that matches both your product’s value and what your customers expect. 

When shoppers find your brand in different places, seeing different prices can make them lose trust. Shopify’s platform makes sure any price changes or discounts show up automatically in your physical stores, online shop, and social media. And if you want to run a quick sale, you can start it instantly everywhere, then go back to normal prices without technical problems.

3. Place

Being anywhere your customers prefer to shop—both online and in person—is essential in today’s retail world.Make the “place” aspect of your retail marketing mix possible by connecting your point of sale (POS) system with your online store to see all your stock in one view. This prevents selling items you don’t have and eliminates manual counting.

Because Shopify is the only platform to natively build POS and ecommerce on the same platform, retailers can offer “buy anywhere, get anywhere” experiences. Customers can look online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), or have items shipped from any store location. It’s this approach that’s helped retailers such as Parachute increase BOPIS revenue by 5x. 

“With Shopify POS, we now have a single point of truth for our inventory, which makes everything flow much more smoothly,” says Parachute’s founder Ariel Kaye.

4. Promotion

Promotion involves telling customers about your products and convincing them to buy, including marketing, advertising, and in-store displays. 

Evaluate your messaging (like “50% off” vs. “buy one, get one free”), online marketing, and how products are presented in-store. Simple changes in wording or which channels you use can greatly affect your results.

Retailers report approximately 3% increase in GMV on average from improved marketing effectiveness through unified customer data. But you need a way to coordinate this data across all channels. 

With Shopify, you can collect first-party data and feed it back to a unified profile for each customer. Then launch retail campaigns across social media, your website, and in-store, and track results from a single dashboard. Quickly identify which promotions drive the most sales, so you can do more of what’s working—or improve campaigns that aren’t performing well.

💡Tip:Shopify Analytics shows a detailed breakdown of how you acquire customers, which products perform best, and which campaigns have the highest conversion rates across every sales channel. And it’s baked into every POS plan as standard.

5. People

The “people” aspect of the retail marketing mix includes both your employees (cashiers, sales staff, managers) and external partners (suppliers, maintenance workers, marketing agencies) who help run your business. 

How you hire, train, and support these people greatly affects the quality of customer experience. Give staff the right tools, and customers will notice the difference. 

With Shopify, for example, staff only need to learn one system for inventory, sales, and customer management. They can also consult the POS system to view a shopper’s purchase history, preferences, and loyalty status at a glance, helping staff provide more personalized service. This results in approximately 21% lower training and onboarding costs.

“We were able to train in a sandbox environment for a month and a half prior to the launch to allow our team to get used to the system,” says Kate Knecht, owner and operator of Tomlinson’s, on the brand’s migration to Shopify. “I was able to ‘soft launch’ our production environment a week prior to going live so stores could test building carts and work out any kinks. That was a huge help.”

6. Process

Process describes the entire journey a product takes from manufacturing to your customer—both behind the scenes (supply chain, logistics) and in-store (merchandising, sales interactions). 

Behind every successful retail business is an efficient workflow. Separate systems can slow you down and increase costs.

A unified approach brings processes like inventory updates, accounting, and customer data into one platform. This avoids what Shopify’s VP of engineering Patrick Joyce calls “fragmentation tax”: the dangerous combination of technical overhead, operational friction, business drag, and innovation deficit. 

Less manual work and fewer separate systems free up money to invest in growth—so much so, research shows retailers using Shopify see:

• 22% drop in total cost of ownership.
• 34% lower data migration and transition costs.
• 20% faster implementation time on average than competitors surveyed.

7. Presentation

The packaging and the overall curb appeal of your business—inlcuidnf elements such as store design, cleanliness, and window displays—can influence sales. Smart visual merchandising can also trigger impulse buys and enhance perceived value.

If you’re an omnichannel retailer, also think about how your products are presented online. Shopify’s easy-to-use website builder helps maintain a consistent look across your online store and in-store displays. Change your theme for holiday promotions, new products, and brand updates without needing extensive technical work.

Retail mix considerations

Understanding each of these areas, and how they work together, is the base of successful retail. That said, there are some considerations to keep in mind.

Target audience and positioning

Know who you’re selling to and build everything around them. Use Shopify’s customer data collection tools to learn what your customers buy. Then, use this information to improve your products and messaging.

Make sure everything matches your target market. For example, if you sell to college students on a budget, your whole store should feel affordable. If you sell luxury items, create an experience that feels high-end.

Budget and ROI

Successful retailers put more money toward what works best—whether that’s ads, better staff training, or making checkout easier. Save money by using one system (like Shopify) for everything. This cuts down on extra costs and gives you a clearer picture of how your business is doing, which helps you make more money in the long run.

Retail marketing mix examples

Venus et Fleur: Luxury florals that last

Venus et Fleur sells high-end flowers, including Eternity® roses that stay fresh for up to a year. Yet their main retail challenge was handling multiple sales channels while keeping their luxury customer service.

By using Shopify for online sales, store sales, and social media sales, Venus et Fleur keeps all inventory and customer information updated in real time. No matter whether someone buys online or in a store, staff can immediately see each customer’s order history and preferences in the POS system.

Plus, Venus et Fleur delivers for birthdays, anniversaries, and special events. Their custom Shopify calendar helps manage these orders, sends automatic reminders, and coordinates sales promotions across all channels.

The impact of the switch to unified commerce is clear:

• Between 10-15% year-over-year increase in ecommerce average order value (AOV) over the past three years.
• 15% higher average order value (AOV) from Shop App customers compared to those purchasing through the website.
• 12% reduction in abandoned checkouts with addition of custom checkout calendar.

“With Shopify, we can manage ecommerce, retail, and social commerce data in one place, providing the comprehensive view and control over the business that we need,” says Brendan Gorman, the brand’s head of ecommerce.

👉 Read Venus et Fleur’s story

Mizzen+Main – Innovative men’s clothing

Mizzen+Main created moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant dress shirts and casual clothes. After starting online-only, they opened 11 retail stores so customers could feel their performance fabrics.

Mizzen+Main switched to Shopify POS in all locations to connect online and in-store experiences. It got access to unified customer profiles, combined inventory tracking, and synchronized discounts and loyalty programs across all channels.

Plus, with Shopify POS, store staff can immediately see a customer’s online purchases and loyalty points. This helps them suggest products that match the customer’s existing preferences.

The results of this retail marketing mix speak for themselves:

• 27% retail revenue growth year-over-year, thanks to improved omnichannel approach.
• Simpler operations with real-time inventory management and unified discounting.
• Better customer loyalty because staff can offer personalized recommendations that connect online shopping with in-store experience.

“Our online promotions absolutely drive in-store sales and vice-versa,” says VP of ecommerce Natalie Shaddick. “When we advertise our promotions, we always highlight them being available online and in-store, and we see a huge spike in retail traffic and sales at the same time as ecommerce, so we know the two channels are talking to each other.”

👉 Read Mizzen+Main’s story

Good American

Co-founded by Khloe Kardashian and Emma Grede, Good American makes clothes famous for including all sizes and promoting body positivity. Starting online, they added physical stores so customers could touch and try their products.

Good American upgraded its stores by using Shopify POS. This lets them track inventory in real time while using existing online data for better customer insights.

To handle different sizes, inventory variations, and high sales volume, Good American connected Shopify with NetSuite ERP. All orders, returns, and inventory changes automatically sync across channels, reducing errors and operational problems.

Results included:

• 20% lower return rate in stores vs. online, showing that personalized fitting reduces returns.
• Very high customer satisfaction (NPS of 91.69), driven by consistent data visibility and smooth transitions between channels.
• Unified data flow between ERP and POS, reducing manual work and freeing the team to focus on new products and marketing.

“With Shopify, there is so much money and development effort saved by utilizing a system that can take care of retail and ecommerce,” says VP of technology Edwin Portillo. “I think that’s the beauty of it.”

👉 Read Good American’s story

Get your retail mix right with Shopify POS

Shopify POS helps you handle all parts of the retail marketing mix in one place. It brings together your products, prices, locations, promotions, people, processes, and store look in a single system that’s easy to use. Staff can quickly help customers with the right information, while you keep track of inventory and sales across all your channels in one centralized business “brain.”

In other words: with Shopify ,you get one source of truth for your entire business, reducing costs and complexity while helping you grow. 

When Allegra Shaw started her YouTube channel nearly 15 years ago, she wasn’t thinking about building a fashion empire. Like many early creators on the platform, she simply wanted to be part of a community—sharing hair and makeup tips as a hobby, not a career. Sometimes the most meaningful businesses emerge from the most personal needs. For Allegra, that need was finding the perfect fitting t-shirt.

Today, Uncle Studios has sold more than 3,000 of those same white t-shirts, reached seven figures in revenue through purely organic growth, and opened its first flagship store on Toronto’s trendy Ossington Avenue. 

How to grow from content creator to fashion founder 

Ahead, Allegra shares her journey from content creator to fashion founder, discussing how to build an ethical, meaningful brand that prioritizes substance over shortcuts.

1. Start with what’s missing in your own life

The inception of Uncle Studios wasn’t driven by market research or trend forecasting—it came from Allegra’s own closet. “I noticed something was missing,” she explains. “The perfect baby tee.” This personal frustration became the foundation for everything that followed.

This approach stands in stark contrast to the typical influencer merchandise playbook of the mid-2010s. While most creators were simply slapping their logos on generic hoodies and calling it a day, Allegra and her cofounder, Shirin Soltani, took a different path. “I didn’t want to just put more garbage out there,” Allegra reflects. “There’s so many pieces of clothing. And if I was gonna make clothes, I wanted to do it right.”

2. Embrace the learning curve with determination

With no fashion industry connections and a modest $5,000 budget funded by Allegra’s YouTube earnings, the duo embarked on what Allegra describes as driving “around all the outskirts of Toronto, Mississauga, and Scarborough” knocking on factory doors. “We had no idea what we were doing, like, just no idea,” she admits. “But we did have determination that we were gonna figure it out.”

This willingness to start from zero and learn through doing became a defining characteristic of Uncle Studios. When Shirin took over production management, she mastered the art of cold outreach, even telling some white lies about industry connections to get meetings. “Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get in the door,” Allegra says.

The approach of “we’re just gonna figure it out” might seem naive, but it reflects a crucial entrepreneurial mindset—the confidence to learn and adapt in real time rather than waiting until you feel fully prepared.

3. Build on trust, not transactions

Uncle Studios built a seven-figure business without paying for advertising. When Facebook advertising became unavailable due to a hacking incident, Allegra discovered something powerful: “The community that we’ve built is everything. Without them, we wouldn’t have a business.”

This organic growth stems from her own approach to content creation, which she describes as always thinking, “What do I want to watch,” rather than trying to appeal to everyone. Today, Uncle Studios gifts products to creators Allegra believes will genuinely love and wear them, hoping for organic advocacy rather than paid promotion.

4. Test relentlessly before scaling

Before committing to a permanent flagship store, Allegra and Shirin ran four different pop-up shops around Toronto, each with distinct themes and locations.

“You get to talk to the customer, you get to learn about them in real life, and then you get to see how they interact with the brand and your product,” Allegra says.

One particularly valuable practice was positioning themselves outside fitting rooms to listen to customers’ unfiltered conversations. “Whether people knew us or not, we were listening to what people were saying. Especially when there’s, like, two friends in change rooms, they’ll be talking back and forth and you get a lot of insight into fit, into quality, into fabrics,” Allegra says. 

This hands-on research approach led them to their Ossington location, where their fourth pop-up—an ’80s-themed convenience store—proved most successful. Allegra had actually toured the space in 2021 and when a For Lease sign appeared in 2024, Allegra immediately called.

5. Maintain your values under pressure

Despite the financial pressures of bootstrapping, the cofounders never compromised on their core values. “Anything in business I need to feel really good about in my gut,” Allegra says. This means insisting on quality materials, ethical manufacturing, and fair wages, even when cheaper alternatives are available.

The brand’s commitment to sustainability and ethics sometimes meant moving production between countries during the pandemic when Canadian manufacturers shifted to PPE production. Rather than settling for questionable alternatives, Uncle Studios continued seeking partners who aligned with their values. “Every garment is made by a person,” Allegra says. “People need to be paid living wages.”

This values-first approach extended to pricing strategy as well. Rather than competing on price, Uncle Studios positioned itself around cost per wear—the idea that quality basics justify higher upfront costs through longevity. “I do believe if you are investing in great quality basics that you can get a lot of wear out of, in the long run, it is cheaper than just buying your quick $10 thing that you’re gonna throw in a month,” Allegra says.

“I want people to buy our products and live in them,” she explains, referencing Uncle Studios’ tagline “The clothes you live in.”

That philosophy extends beyond product design to business strategy. Rather than chasing viral moments or trend-driven growth, Allegra has built Uncle Studios to be its own separate entity with its own identity, distinct from her personal brand. This separation allows the company to scale beyond its founder while maintaining its core values. 

Building a meaningful brand doesn’t require sacrificing financial success or vice versa. By starting with genuine needs, maintaining consistent values, and building real relationships, Uncle Studios has created something that serves both its community and its founders.

The perfect white t-shirt, it turns out, was never just about the shirt. It was about creating something worth wearing, worth making, and worth building a business around—one authentic relationship at a time. Catch Allegra’s full Shopify Masters interview on YouTube for content creation and community building tips.

Emotions drive purchasing decisions more than logic ever could. While you might think customers buy based on careful analysis of features and benefits, the science of decision-making proves otherwise. Emotional marketing strategies help you elicit emotions from your target audience to foster more brand loyalty and inspire action. Gallup reports that 70% of consumer purchase decisions, including brand preferences, are driven by emotion, with rational factors accounting for only 30%.

Learn how to harness common emotional responses in consumers and deploy effective emotional marketing strategies that resonate with your audience’s hearts—and wallets.

What is emotional marketing? 

Emotional marketing engages with your target audience on a deeper level by creating materials and campaigns that evoke emotions and build meaningful relationships between customers and your brand. Effective emotional marketing strategies transform casual customers into loyal advocates, drive purchasing decisions, and boost sales. For example:

• The Digital Transformation Institute found that 70% of customers who feel high emotional engagement with a brand will spend up to twice as much with those brands (versus only 49% of consumers with low emotional engagement). 

• According to the same study, 81% of emotionally engaged customers will recommend the brand to friends and family, and 62% will promote the brand on social media platforms. 

• Kantar reports that digital advertisements that evoke strong emotional responses are 2.6 times more likely to go viral and four times more likely to generate impact and drive long-term brand value.

Emotional drivers of purchase behavior and brand loyalty 

Emotional triggers such as nostalgia, belonging, and humor play a pivotal role in shaping consumer behavior and fostering brand loyalty. Here’s how specific emotions in emotional marketing can create opportunities for your brand: 

Nostalgia

Emotional marketing can tap into your customers’ memories through nostalgic themes and references. Olipop successfully leaned into its millennial customers’ nostalgia for the 1990s to market its prebiotic soda brand as a healthy update to a much-loved product.

In the brand’s Soda Story marketing campaign, Olipop took a feel-good, relatable approach to reminding viewers of their own soda-centric childhood memories. They partnered with ‘90s celebrities to share how Olipop allowed people to bring soda back into their lives in a modern, health-conscious way. The brand also invited its customers to share their own Olipop stories on social media.

Fear of missing out (FOMO)

FOMO-based emotional marketing makes customers feel like they could miss a limited-time opportunity while supplies last, creating a sense of scarcity and urgency that drives immediate action.

Vicky Pasche, founder of Dapper Boi, saw success with FOMO when releasing new products with limited drops combined with discounts. After a period of struggling sales, the team experimented by launching a three-week-only campaign where they sold a limited quantity of their button-down shirts for 30% off. On the Shopify Masters podcast, Vicky says, “The limited drops went gangbusters; we had people waiting eagerly for each drop, then we would slowly launch every product this way. I think the key was FOMO—that sense of urgency for customers— they wanted to get in on it, and they knew they only had three weeks to get in at a special price before we sold out. It was all the hype.”

Individuality 

The emotional marketing message of individuality empowers your target audience to express their unique qualities and makes them feel valued and special. It’s not just about offering a product, but making customers feel like they’re part of a brand that celebrates their personal identity.

Take the tea company Rocky’s Matcha, which made a bold choice by selecting blue tins over conventional silver or green matcha packaging. Founder Rocky Xu, on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, explains, “We leaned into a color that isn’t commonly associated with matcha. We took what we learned from the industries that we come from and were able to be a bit more disruptive in an industry that is a bit more traditional.”

A product that bucks tradition appeals to people who embrace non-conformity. That seemingly small choice has resonated with customers seeking something different. 

Well-being

This type of emotional marketing works to highlight how your brand can help customers achieve balance, reduce stress, and improve their overall sense of well-being.

Polar Monkeys sells high-end cold plunges and uses an emotional marketing strategy that goes beyond product features and benefits. CEO Eric Halfen explains, “We’re not just selling a product—we’re inspiring growth, encouraging transformation, and creating a community driven by wellness and self-discovery.”

They market the plunge as a tool customers can use for personal growth. In this Instagram campaign, they use images that invite customers to visualize themselves on a transformative journey to a better, healthier, more fulfilling version of themselves:

Belonging 

This emotional marketing approach creates positive emotions of belonging and inclusivity. It invites potential customers to join an aspirational or like-minded community, making them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.

For Orion Brown, community and representation were the driving forces behind Black Travel Box, a hair and skin care brand specifically designed for Black travelers. Orion explains, “My community is made up of millions of African-American travelers who love travel as a form of self-care and are looking for their tribe.”

Orion’s marketing approach encourages the Black Travel Box community to engage with each other and share travel tips, experiences, and connections that extend beyond the product experience. 

Environmental concerns

If sustainability is part of your brand’s core values, focus your emotional marketing efforts on demonstrating what your brand does to improve the environment. Empty brand promises can create negative emotions that threaten your customer’s emotional bond with your brand, so you must take and showcase real action—not just express sustainability sentiments.

When Danielle Close, CEO of My Skin Feels, felt disappointed in the beauty industry’s lack of progress in sustainability, she made several strategic marketing commitments she shares on Shopify Masters. One was to design packaging that felt bright, joyful, and happy. She explains, “Yes, sustainability is really important, and food waste is really important, and natural products are really important, but it’s packaged in a really fun way that makes it feel non-threatening, and it doesn’t judge you if you’re not those things.”

Another commitment focused on product naming, aiming for inclusivity over pretension to reach people who may not consider themselves sustainability experts. Rather than using scientific or technical terminology, her products are named after how she hopes they make customers feel. Simply put: “My Skin Feels Clean” for a cleanser, “My Skin Feels Moisturized” for a moisturizer, or “My Skin Feels Amazing” for the duo. 

Humor

Emotionally intelligent humor can delight customers, creating positive feelings and an emotional connection with your brand. A comedic approach to emotional marketing is about more than creating viral marketing moments; it infuses a unique personality into your brand identity that competitors can’t easily replicate.

Canned water company Liquid Death used humor to build a cult following and a $1 billion valuation through hilarious ads. Consider this activation the brand did at the Las Vegas Sphere:

On an episode of Shopify Masters, Andy Pearson, Liquid Death VP of Creative, shares, “It floors me that more brands don’t try to employ genuine humor, because it’s the fastest way to actually reach somebody and have a really powerful moment with them. Laughter literally is an involuntary response to making a connection with somebody or something.”

Tips to build an emotional connection with your customers

Creating a strong emotional connection with your audience is vital for fostering loyalty and driving sales. Here are actionable strategies to help you connect with your customers on a deeper, emotional level:

Use data to understand your audience’s emotional needs

Before launching your emotional marketing efforts, conduct market research to identify the emotional drivers that resonate with your target audience. Focus on your most highly engaged, top-spending customers rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

Start by conducting user interviews, using survey apps to ask open-ended questions, and leveraging social listening tools to gauge customer sentiment. These methods help you uncover the emotional language and patterns that can guide your marketing strategies. 

Tell stories that make a lasting impression 

Brand storytelling uses a mix of facts and feelings to craft stories that tell people what you’re about and why they should care. Every compelling story needs characters (you, your customers), a conflict (personal or customer pain point), rising action (your journey to solve that problem), and a climax (the launch!). Most importantly, it leaves the reader or viewer with a feeling.

For Marc Barros, serial entrepreneur and CEO of photography marketplace Moment, learning to focus on emotional connections (feelings) rather than product specifications (facts) was a key business lesson. On an episode of Shopify Masters, Marc explains, “The number one takeaway from my first company is that consumers are very emotional. It’s not really the best product or focusing on functionality that wins. When you’re trying to reach end customers, you have to connect at the heart level, not the mind level. Emotional marketing works.”

Demonstrate radical authenticity

Brand authenticity is the perception that a brand’s actions and messages align with its mission and beliefs. Lindsey Carter credits much of her success at SET Active to giving audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the brand. She explains how building a deep emotional connection with fans naturally attracted celebrities and influencers to the brand. 

“People want to see how their product is being made, the work that goes into it, and how hard people are working every day to bring it to life,” Lindsey says. “That’s something that we always prioritize at SET, because it works.” 

To start building transparency and authenticity with your audience, follow the SET approach: Leverage social channels to build community, ask for customer feedback, and reveal what’s under the hood so your audience knows they can trust your product.

Payroll management rarely makes headlines. But when it does, it’s because something’s gone horribly wrong.

Like in San Francisco, where a teachers union filed a formal labor complaint after a payroll system upgrade left more than 100 teachers underpaid for months. Or in Wales, where a payroll clerk embezzled approximately $26,000 in wages by editing payee details and forging payslips.

The task may be routine, but the stakes are high. That’s why the payroll and HR services market is big: set to jump from $32.1 billion in 2025 to almost $66 billion by 2035.

To help, this guide walks you through how to manage payroll for your business in 2025—whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling teams across multiple locations.

Why effective payroll management is so important

Payroll is the total amount of wages you pay your employees for the work they’ve done in a set period of time. It’s usually scheduled weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, or monthly.

But payroll is more than paying accurate wages. You also need to:

• Collect employee data
• Calculate net pay
• Report, withhold, and pay taxes
• Stay compliant with tax and labor laws
• Keep accurate, detailed payrolled records

Payroll impacts reputation, retention, and revenue:

• The SEC slapped 12 firms with a combined $63 million in fines for recordkeeping failures. The world is watching how you handle people’s pay. You may not be a giant investment firm—but if word gets out you don’t pay people correctly or on time, it sticks. 
• In a 2024 survey by Remote, 47% of employees said late pay triggered stress or anxiety, the most common emotional response. This stress increases attrition and erodes employees’ trust in their employer. Forty-two percent said their relationship with their employer got worse after a payroll mistake. 
• A company with 1,000 employees could lose over $922,000 a year cleaning up payroll problems. For a 5,000-person enterprise, that figure climbs to more than $4.5 million in lost productivity.

🧠Learn: Retail Staff Management: Tips, Skills & Responsibilities for Managers

How to manage payroll: Seven essential steps for your retail business

Here are the seven steps to set up and manage payroll for your business: 

1. Register for an Employer Identification Number (EIN)

First, you need an employer identification number, or EIN, to hire and pay employees. Your EIN is unique to your company. Think of it as the business version of a Social Security number.

An EIN is also known as an employer tax ID or a federal tax identification number. Use it to report taxes and other relevant information to the IRS.

Using the online application is the easiest and fastest way to register for your EIN. The site validates your information during the session and assigns your EIN immediately.

Or, you can apply by faxing or mailing a completed SS-4 form to the correct number or address. You’ll receive your EIN within four business days if you fax the form, or within four weeks if you mail it in.

2. Collect W-4s and other employee information

Next, you must collect Form W-4 for every employee you hire. This is also called an Employee’s Withholding Certificate. 

Each employee has to submit Form W-4 no later than their first day of employment. They complete this form based on factors like marital status, dependents, other jobs or income, and deductions. The responses help you withhold the correct federal income tax from their paychecks. 

Here’s what else you’ll need to collect and protect:

• Bank account details for direct deposit
• Full legal name, SSN (or ITIN), and mailing addres.
• State tax withholding forms, if required (e.g., California’s DE 4)
• Employment classification (W-2 employee vs. 1099 contractor)
• Start date, job title, and compensation details
• Voluntary deductions, like retirement contributions or health premiums
• Work eligibility documents, such as Form I-9 in the US

Depending on your location, industry, or benefits offered, you may also need union membership status, wage garnishment information, or insurance enrollment forms.

3. Establish a payroll schedule

A payroll schedule refers to how often your employees get paid. Common payroll schedules include:

• Weekly: Once a week (52 paychecks per year)
• Biweekly: Once every other week (26 paychecks per year)
• Semimonthly: Twice a month (24 paychecks per year)
• Monthly: Once a month (12 paychecks per year)

There’s no federal law that regulates how often you should pay your employees, but each state has its own law around the minimum pay frequency.

For example, in Arizona you must pay your employees no more than 16 days apart (semimonthly). Meanwhile, Oregon and North Dakota mandate at least one monthly payment. Make sure to check the state payday requirements when defining your payroll schedule.

To choose the best pay period for your business, consider these three factors:

• Cost and time: Every payroll run has a price. Weekly payroll runs cost more, because you pay your team 52 times a year instead of 12. Providers often charge per run, so more runs equals more fees. Monthly costs the least.
• Employee preferences: Hourly employees tend to prefer weekly paychecks.Salaried employees tend to favor the predictability of biweekly pay. It’s also the most common US employee pay schedule. Monthly is often least preferred.
• Payroll and accounting logistics: Semimonthly and monthly schedules cut the workload because there are fewer runs. They also play well with benefits calendars, month-end accounting, and reporting.

4. Decide how you’ll pay employees

The common methods for paying employees are direct deposit or a paycheck. You may offer only one option or to let your employees choose their preferred method of payment. 

Regardless, figure it out during the hiring process. On an employee’s first day, make sure you have all the information you need to pay them on time. 

5. Calculate employees’ gross pay per period

Gross pay is what your employees make before taxes and withholdings. Calculating gross pay for salaried employees is simple. Divide their annual salary by the number of pay periods to determine the gross pay per paycheck. 

For hourly employees, calculate the total hours they work per pay period. Then multiply it by their hourly rate. 

6. Withhold and submit payroll taxes: Federal, state, and local

Once you’ve run payroll, you need to pass along the appropriate taxes to the right agencies.

Most US businesses are responsible for withholding and paying three main types of payroll taxes:

• Federal income tax
• Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
• Federal and state unemployment taxes (FUTA and SUTA)

You may also need to collect and remit state and local income taxes. This depends on the location of your business and of your employees.

Here are some resources to help you calculate, withhold, and pay the right taxes:

If you’re a US employer, you’ll likely need to file Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return). The forms covers income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare withheld from employee paychecks, as well as your FICA contribution.

Per theIRS, these are the Form 941 deadlines for 2025:

• Q1 (Jan 1–Mar 31, 2025): Due April 30, 2025
• Q2 (Apr 1–Jun 30, 2025): Due July 31, 2025
• Q3 (Jul 1–Sep 30, 2025): Due October 31, 2025
• Q4 (Oct 1–Dec 31, 2025): Due January 31, 2026

7. File tax forms and submit employee W2s (and 1099s for contractors)

Use Form 941 to file your quarterly federal tax return. This form reports income taxes, Social Security tax, or Medicare tax withheld from your employees and the part paid by you.

Because the IRS updates Form 941 often,reference IRS instructions before completing and filing it.

You’re also responsible for filing a FUTA return (Federal Unemployment Tax) each year. 

Every year, you must file employee W-2 forms with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA encourages all employers to file their W-2 forms online, as it helps with speed and accuracy.

For the 2025 tax year, here’s what you should have already submitted:

• Form W-2 (for employees): Filed with the Social Security Administration and given to employees by January 31, 2025.
• Form 1099-NEC (for independent contractors): Filed with the IRS and sent to recipients by January 31, 2025.

If you missed the deadline or discovered a mistake, you may need to file a corrected form or get professional legal or tax advice to handle penalties. 

Common payroll mistakes (and how to avoid them)

In the 2024 Getting the World Paid survey, more than 50% of responding companies cited HR data entry errors as the primary cause of payroll inaccuracy. Other top reasons were lack of standardized HR processes (31%) and messy integrations (26%). 

Pay attention to these areas to prevent errors before they cost you money, momentum, or morale.

1. Depositing employment taxes late

If you don’t pay payroll taxes on time, the penalties can add up fast: late tax deposits cost you 2%–15% of the unpaid amount. Note the rapid growth of penalties—2% for 1–5 days late, 5% for 6–15 days, 10% for over 15 days, and 15% after IRS notices go out.

If you run payroll for a team with mixed roles and pay schedules, such as a combination of hourly floor staff, part-time contractors, and salaried ops managers, it’s complex. You’re working with multiple tax deposit timelines and entities. Based on your employees’ earnings, you must calculate and submit federal, state, and local tax payments. 

Federal employment taxes (including withheld income tax and FICA contributions) are due monthly or semiweekly, depending on your deposit schedule. If you miss those dates, the IRS penalty clock starts ticking.

How to avoid it:

• Know your schedule and stick to it.
• Monthly depositors: Taxes are due by the 15th of the following month.
• Semiweekly depositors: Pay by the following Wednesday (for paydays Wed–Fri) or Friday (for paydays Sat–Tues).
• Set recurring calendar reminders. Or better yet, use payroll automation software to do it for you. If you’re switching deposit schedules, you may qualify for a one-time penalty waiver—but you must file the corresponding return (Form 941) on time.

2. Misclassifying hires

Misclassification can cost you $50 for every missing W‑2, 1.5% of all wages paid to misclassified workers, and 40% of FICA not paid by employees.

For intentional misclassification, the IRS can tack on 20% of total wages, 100% of FICA, criminal fines up to $1,000, and even jail time.

How to avoid it:

• Use the IRS rule of thumb. This is how the IRS evaluates whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor:
• Behavioral control: Does your business dictate how the worker does the job through instructions, training, or oversight?
• Financial control: Does your business control the business side of the worker’s job, such as payment method, who supplies tools or covers expenses, and potential profit/loss?
• Relationship factors: Is there an ongoing agreement, employee benefits, or integration of the worker’s services into your regular business?
• Exempt vs. non-exempt status depends on the job duties. Non-exempt workers must be paid overtime. Exempt workers don’t qualify; but only if they pass the duties test under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

3. Paying from the wrong state

Each US state has its own rules around income tax, minimum wage, overtime pay, and leave. As the employer, you must apply the laws of the state where the employee physically works. Where you’ve registered your business is irrelevant in this case.

How to avoid it:

• Collect a work location at onboarding, and if you classify roles as remote or hybrid. This should be part of your employee intake process.
• Register to withhold taxes in every state where your employees work. That means filing for a state tax ID and complying with local labor laws.
• Set up your payroll software to calculate based on employee location. Many platforms (like Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, or other Shopify-integrated tools) allow location-based payroll automation. Use it.

4. Skipped overtime

If a non-exempt employee works more than 40 hours in a workweek, they’re entitled to overtime. That’s federal law. 

Skip it, and you’re looking at civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation, plus any extra fines your state might add.

How to avoid it:

• Use a time-tracking system that logs hours down to the minute. Paper timesheets and “guesstimates” won’t cut it, especially in an audit.
• Know the state’s overtime laws. Some states require overtime after eight hours in a day, not just 40 in a week.
• Audit overtime weekly. Don’t wait until payday—spot and fix errors before they snowball.
• Avoid off-the-clock work. If someone clocks out but keeps working (e.g., replying to texts or closing registers), that time still counts—and must be paid.

5. Missing or sloppy payroll records

W-2s and 1099s aren’t “whenever-you-get-to-it” documents. If you file late or send incorrect information, the IRS penalty ranges from $60 to $330 per form. They base fees on how late you are or whether they think you flat-out ignored the requirement.

Hourly workers are usually the most affected by payroll hiccups, especially if it involves overtime.

Here’s how to avoid it:

• Store all payroll and tax records in one secure, digital system. That includes W‑4s, I‑9s, time logs, pay stubs, benefits deductions, and signed contracts.
• Go paperless whenever possible. Most filing mistakes happen when you scatter things across spreadsheets, PDFs, and inboxes.
• Know the deadlines. For the 2025 tax season, employee W-2s and 1099s for contractors had to be filed and distributed by January 31, 2025. Miss that, and the penalty window opens immediately.
• Audit your records quarterly. A 10-minute check-in every quarter is far cheaper than paying $3,000 in missed W‑2 fines later.

💡Pro tip: Set up a “four-eyes check.” Have one person enter payroll data and another double-check it. It’s a simple internal control to catch errors, keep audits clean, and SOX and SOC 2 compliance requires it.

Best practices to manage payroll efficiently

When it comes to payroll, the goal is the same for all businesses: pay people accurately, and on time. 

Here are top payroll best practices to keep you compliant and above water:

Share a payroll calendar

A payroll calendar is a public, shareable calendar with pay periods, pay dates, timecard due dates, payroll tasks, and holidays.

This helps your employees understand:

• When they’ll get paid
• The period the payment is for
• Potential delays or changes in pay dates (for example, due to a public holiday)
• Their deadlines for submitting timecards

Don’t assume your employees will know these dates by default. More than 50% of employers don’t do anything or use any tools to help employees understand their payslips.

Why would it be any different when it comes to payroll dates? A payroll calendar reduces any confusion (and back-and-forth emails with employees asking for information). Besides, it helps everyone plan budgets and forecast cash flow.

For you, a payroll calendar also calls out key tasks to do, like depositing payments and filing tax forms. This helps pay your employees on time, every time.

“Your financial health depends on how you manage payroll,” says Courtney Quigley, business reputation consultant at Rize Reviews. “Manage it with a payroll calendar so you can keep track of important dates, holidays, PTOs. It also helps your staff determine cut-off dates and payday. Share the calendar with supervisors and managers of your store or stores so they can transparently share it with their teams.”

Maintain comprehensive employee and payroll records

As you hire help, you’ll generate documents and records for each employee, including:

• General information: Employee name, address, SSN, date of birth
• Tax forms: W-4, state W-4, other withholding forms
• Pre-hiring records: Job application, interview records
• Time and attendance records: Time cards, total hours worked (per day and week), time off taken, remaining time off
• Payroll records: Pay rate, total daily/weekly earnings, overtime earnings, bonus pay and commissions, benefits and deductions, contributions, expense reimbursements, raise documentation, pay periods, pay stubs

Federal law states you need to keep payroll records for three years, and payroll tax records (like unemployment taxes) for four years. Some documents, like retirement income and 401(k) plan details, must be kept for six years.

Make sure to check laws and requirements for payroll record-keeping in your specific state. They might be longer than federal ones. For example, the state of New York requires you to keep payroll records for six years.

Keep paper copies of payroll records, or store them online on your device or payroll software. In both cases, it’s crucial to keep employee and payroll records safe, as they contain sensitive, confidential information.

“Organization is key. It’s critical you maintain squeaky clean payroll records,” says Will Lopez, head of accountant community at Gusto.

“Be sure to dedicate a secure place to keep up to four years of employee I-9 forms, W-2s, W-4s, state new hire forms, copies of all your filed tax forms, and always maintain the dates and amounts of all tax deposits, timesheets, and pay stubs,” Will adds.

“Different states have different requirements when it comes to record-keeping (even for employees who have been terminated), so staying on top of requirements and keeping your records clean and well maintained will make audits run smoothly—this will also help you spot issues before they arise.”

Stay updated on tax and labor laws

Payroll mistakes can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in penalties. You must stay up to date with tax laws and requirements to make sure you:

• File and pay taxes on time
• Process payroll adhering to both federal and state laws
• Calculate and pay correct overtime
• Keep complete and accurate payroll records

It’s a challenge to keep up with ongoing law updates. It’s also challenging to stay compliant during growth. If your business expands into different states, hires remote workers, or employs a mix of full-time employees and part-time contractors, you’ll need to be diligent.

To stay up to date, make a routine to check in with:

Appoint a payroll manager 

If you plan to keep your business small but need to offload payroll tasks, this could be a hybrid role for an existing employee or a part-time freelance role.

Or if you want to grow your store and need more robust payroll support, hire a full-time payroll manager, an external accountant, or a payroll service. They’ll do it better, faster and free you to focus on other parts of the business. Plus, as professionals, they keep up with payroll laws and regulations.

“Payroll is complex, which is why you should assemble your Payroll Squad,” says Will. “The key players to involve in your payroll process are: a) your payroll provider, b) an accountant (or other financial professional), and c) an HR business partner.” 

Ask for employee feedback

Make your payroll a two-way street for communication. Openly ask for employee feedback and questions. This prevents you from assuming that they fully understand how payroll works (and they’re happy with it).

Prompt employee feedback by asking:

• Do you have any questions or concerns around using or submitting time cards?
• Would you like to better understand your payslips?
• Do you have suggestions around payroll schedules?
• Is our payroll calendar clear and easy to navigate? Is there anything missing from it?

Payroll affects everyone in your company, so most everyone will have something to say. It’ll help you improve how employees get paid, as well as strengthen your rapport with them. 

Use the questions and feedback to create internal documents and a FAQ explaining your payroll process and its impact on employees.

Implement robust payroll security measures

Payroll means people’s livelihoods, and it’s packed with sensitive data like salaries, tax IDs, bank info, benefits, and addresses. As such, HR information like this is a prime target for cybercriminals. According to People Management magazine, four in five data breaches involve employee information.

Meanwhile, about half of small business owners still run payroll off a shared spreadsheet or an unencrypted desktop folder.

Here’s how do it smarter (and safer):

• Use a payroll provider that plays nice with your existing tech stack. Apps like Gusto, Deel, or QuickBooks Payroll integrate with your Shopify store, with secure syncing of hours, pay, and contractor invoices. Most offer SOC 2 or ISO 27001-level compliance out of the box.
• Restrict access based on roles. Only give payroll visibility to the people who need it. Shopify’s staff permissions help you control access at every level, including third-party apps.
• Store payroll files in the cloud, not on your desktop. Make sure it’s backed up, encrypted, and access-logged. Bonus points if your payroll provider builds in automatic W-2/1099 filing.
• Educate your team on data hygiene. This means no emailing unencrypted pay stubs. No screenshots of payroll dashboards. And definitely no sharing passwords to “just check something quickly.”
• Run quarterly access audits. Team turnover happens, but permissions updates are often overlooked. Clean up your admin list every three months. Make it part of your quarterly workflow.

Integrate payroll with other business functions 

Payroll should neither live in a vacuum nor in a million tabs on your browser. It needs to sync with HR, accounting, and time-tracking platforms. This way you’re not double-entering or chasing spreadsheets.

• Accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero automatically grab your Shopify sales, fees, and expenses and sync them with payroll. That means one less reconciliation task at month-end. Apps like Link My Books or A2X bridge the gap between Shopify’s POS or online store and your accounting books.
• Time-tracking tools built into your Shopify POS, like EasyTeam or PTT: POS Time Tracker, let your team clock in and out at the register. You get accurate records for every shift, which flow straight into payroll. Also worth checking out: ClockedIn.
• When your HR system talks to your payroll tool, everything from job titles to PTO balances update automatically. Tools like Gusto integrate seamlessly with Shopify to onboard new hires, track benefits, and sync pay changes, without manual edits.

📚Read: How to Do Small Business Accounting in 2025 (+ Best Tools)

Choosing the right payroll system for your business

Payroll’s not one-size-fits-all. What works for a five-person team won’t cut it at scale. Let’s break down the real options and how to choose the one that fits your workflow, budget, and headcount.

1. Manual/DIY payroll

Best for: Micro-businesses, early-stage side startups, or teams of one

A spreadsheet and a calendar reminder—that’s how a lot of small retailers start. And to be fair, if you’ve got one employee and zero budget, manual payroll can work…for a while.

Pros:

• Cost-effective; you don’t pay for a service, tool, or another person to do payroll.
• Lots of control and insights into your revenue, cash flow, and payroll expenses.

Cons:

• It’s time-consuming and hiring even one more employee adds extra tasks to your already full plate.
• You can make errors and pay significant fines if you don’t catch them on time.
• It’s your responsibility to stay up to date on tax laws and regulations.

“DIY works when you have a small team, but it gets unmanageable as you grow. Not just because it’s time-consuming, but it opens up room for error,” says Lanai Moliterno, CEO and founder of Sozy. 

As your team grows or your tax needs get more complex, DIY payroll becomes more stress than it’s worth. The money you think you’re saving, you’re paying for in time, anxiety, and potential fines.

If payroll prevents you from tending to or growing your business, it may be time to get help. It’s better to focus on your strengths.

2. Payroll software

Best for: Businesses with multiple employees, hourly teams, or anyone who wants to save time and avoid penalties

A good payroll management system automates what comes before and after payday. Here’s what the best tools offer:

• Automated tax calculations and filings at the federal, state, and local level
• Direct deposit so your team gets paid on time, every time
• Time-tracking integrations with your POS or scheduling system (like EasyTeam or QuickBooks Time)
• Employee self-service portals to reduce back-and-forth for paystubs, W-2s, and bank detail updates
• Built-in payroll compliance alerts that flag errors before they become IRS problems

“Using payroll software puts so much into automated mode and safeguards your time and business from lawsuits and expensive mistakes. It’s a small extra expense, but it pays off in the long run with the time you save and the peace of mind you get,” adds Lanai.

Pros:

• You have lots of control and insight into data, reports, filings, history, and more.
• You have easy access from all devices thanks to being cloud-based.
• It’s affordable, with many options priced under $40 per month.

Cons:

• You’re still liable for any errors. A payroll software provider doesn’t assume your responsibilities to file and pay taxes, pay employees, or keep records.
• There’s a possible learning curve, depending on your platform of choice.

Consider these four questions when choosing payroll software:

1. Does it support your team’s pay structure (hourly, salaried, commission)?
2. Can it handle taxes across all the states/counties/countries where you operate?
3. Does it offer integrations with your accounting, time tracking, or HR stack?
4. What’s the total cost per employee or per month, and does it scale with your business?

If you’re on Shopify, you’ve already done half the work. Instead of stitching together disconnected tools, tap into Shopify’s app ecosystem to manage payroll without adding extra platforms.

💡Pro tip: Need to whip up a paycheck fast? Shopify’s free pay stub generator lets you create professional pay stubs in minutes. It’s a handy tool for small teams or one-off payments when you’re not ready for full-scale payroll software yet.

3. Hiring an accountant (in-house or external)

Best for: Retailers who want expert oversight and tailored financial advice without doing the number crunching themselves

You can hire an in-house accountant or an external contractor to prepare your accounts, keep track of your finances, and manage your payroll. Payroll outsourcing lets you offload it to professionals who do it daily.

If you hire internally, this person could manage payroll manually or use payroll software—both options work. If you hire an external accountant, they’ll have their own process and setup for managing their clients’ payroll.

Pros:

• You get extra time and focus, as you’ll offload dozens of tasks and reminders from your to-dos.
• It removes stress and pressure from you to stay current on laws and handle payroll yourself.
• You’ll have a go-to person for finances, taxes, compliance, record-keeping, and more.

Cons:

• You have less control over your filings and documentation.
• It can be costly and disrupt your cash flow, especially if you bring a full-time employee on board.

If you choose this option, spend enough time looking for the right person. Ask for recommendations from fellow store owners and entrepreneurs. Look up reviews, ask for references, and take the time to confirm the person fits your needs. 

This is one hire with the potential to impact your business in a dramatic way. Offload the tasks, but stay informed.

4. Payroll services

Best for: Busy store owners who want to outsource all payroll, tax filing, and compliance to a trusted provider

Payroll service providers, or payroll management companies, provide a way to delegate your payroll management to a team of professionals. They calculate your payroll, file tax statements, deposit payments to employees, process new hires, and more.

Pros:

• There’s zero payroll-related stress on your plate, as you have a team of people handling every detail of your payroll management.
• There’s enhanced assistance for businesses that grow and change rapidly, hire remotely, and/or operate stores in different states and countries.

Cons:

• They are costly to engage, and can get more expensive as you grow and need more support with payroll and compliance.

While they serve businesses of all sizes, payroll services are usually best suited for medium and large stores, due to the scale of expertise and support they provide.

Please consult independent legal advice for information specific to your country and circumstances. Shopify is not liable for your use of this content.

This post is for information purposes only. You are responsible for reviewing and using information appropriately. This content doesn’t contain and isn’t meant to provide legal, tax, or business advice.

Legal requirements are updated frequently and you should make sure to do your own research and reach out to professional legal, tax, and business advisers, as needed. Your local state, province, or county will have different steps and requirements.

To sell products using the Shopify platform, you must comply with the laws of the jurisdiction of your business and your customers, the Shopify Terms of Service, the Shopify Acceptable Use Policy, and any other applicable policies.

When shoppers type a “near me” search into Google, are they finding you—or your competitors? Google Maps ads push your store pin to the top of local search results when customers look for things like “coffee shops,” “hardware stores,” or any other type of business nearby. 

These ads offer one-tap directions, click-to-call options, and even feature in-stock products, nudging nearby shoppers straight to your door. With over 2 billion monthly users, Google Maps delivers a reach few platforms can match. Some 83% of US consumers already rely on Google when reading reviews for local businesses. 

Ahead, you’ll learn how to set up Google Maps ads and turn every ad dollar into more foot traffic, more sales, and more loyal customers. 

What are Google Maps ads?

Google Maps ads, also known as local search ads, are promoted Google Business listings that appear when you perform a location search on the Google Maps app. When doing a mobile search for a business in your area, Google often returns results based on your physical location and the business’s ratings.

Brands can buy these placements through Google Ads. Today, they are typically delivered via Performance Max for store goals, which lets Google AI optimize bids and creative across every channel. 

A single ad unit can:

• Push your branded pin above organic pins, even if a rival is closer 
• Offer tap-to-call, directions, and website links 
• Showcase hours, ratings, photos, and live inventory 

How Google Maps ads work

Google Maps ads take three inputs to function effectively:

1. Business Profile and location assets to provide the address, hours, photos, and other information for the ad
2. Local store inventory data from your Merchant Center (optional)
3. A Performance Max for store goals campaign with average daily budget and Smart Bidding 

When Google detects local intent (for example, “clothing near me”), the campaign’s locations enter a real-time auction. Winning ads can appear in four spots:

• Promoted pins on the map
• Map search ads atop the results list
• Map-suggested ads in autocomplete
• Placesheet ads on the business details page

Ad Rank in Maps blends the usual bid-and-quality formula with offline relevance signals, like distance, search text match, store rating, and inventory match. This makes it possible for a well-rated store slightly farther away to outrank a closer but lower-quality competitor.

These ads are pay per click, so charges only apply when a user completes one of these actions:

• Location detail click that expands the Business Profile
• Directions click that opens turn-by-turn navigation
• Click-to-call that dials the store from mobile
• Website click that opens the retailer’s URL

Performance Max uses one shared asset library for every channel it serves, including Maps. Any AI-generated headlines, descriptions, or lifestyle images are automatically eligible for your Maps placements once location assets are linked.

Benefits of advertising on Google Maps

With more than two billion people using Google Maps each month, it’s clear that promoting local search ads is beneficial to your business. Let’s look at two other major benefits of advertising on Google Maps: increased visibility and driving foot traffic to your store. 

Increased visibility in the local Map Pack

Reaching targeted customers requires strategic ad placements throughout Google. If you want to sell your products to local customers but don’t want to buy a billboard ad, Google Maps marketing is a smart move. 

For example, if you’re an apparel brand that wants to test local advertising for your brick-and-mortar store, it makes sense to run local search ads. You can end up as a Promoted pin on Google maps, above all organic listings, so shoppers see your business first. 

Drive qualified foot traffic to your store

Offline purchases often start online. In a 2023 shopper study from Google, 91% of in-store buyers used Search before walking into a store. 

When New Zealand grocer Four Square added Maps placements via Performance Max, they logged 419,000 incremental store visits while the campaign was live, as reported by Google. 

Maps ads convert “near me” intent into an in-store visit. With AI-driven bidding and clear offline attribution, you can scale ad spend and know you’re getting real-world results. 

How much do Google Maps ads cost?

There’s no flat Maps fee for ads. You set a daily budget and pay only when someone interacts with the ad. 

Across all Google Ads campaigns, the average cost per click (CPC) sits at around $5.26 in 2025, though highly local categories like restaurants can see CPCs closer to $2.05. Industry, competition, and auction dynamics push some verticals (legal, insurance) well above the average.

Features of Google Maps ads

Promoted pins

Pinterest isn’t the only platform with promoted pins—Google Maps has them, too.

Unlike the standard red pins representing a business entity on Google Maps, promoted pins appear as a square on the map. They also appear at the top of map-based search results to stand out from the rest.

Here’s what a promoted pin looks like:

While promoted pins are a great way to get noticed when users browse nearby areas on Maps, they’re more than just another form of paid search, as they are tailored to the searcher’s profile.

When recommending a promoted pin, Google Maps considers the following: 

• The person’s search history
• The person’s buying history
• Places they’ve previously been

So, when someone clicks on the purple pin or a Maps-connected search result, promoted pins can show customized web pages or personalized deals to encourage the searcher to visit the store. 

Featured customer reviews

Nearly 8 in 10 US consumers say they always or regularly read online reviews before choosing a local business. Another excellent feature of Google Maps ads is displaying customer reviews.

To help customers make faster decisions, Google now features an AI-powered summary by Gemini that distills the key points from customer feedback. Below this summary, users can still read individual highlighted reviews to get a deeper sense of your business.

If you’re going to run local search ads on Google Maps, be sure to get more reviews beforehand. Encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile so they display on your ad. This helps build trust with customers and maximizes your ad spend. 

Custom messaging

Google Maps ads also allow businesses to feature custom promotional messages directly within the ad. This is done using customizable headlines (like “Celebrate Special Occasions” below) and descriptions from your Google Ads campaign assets.

While this can include traditional deals like discounts or coupons, it’s also a good way to showcase a special service (like permanent jewelry), a new product line, or a unique in-store experience to entice customers.

Customizable business page

Stores that advertise on Google Maps also have their own business profile with information like their address, phone number, website, store hours, photos, directions, and reviews. 

Google pulls up this information from the store’s Google Business listing. Searchers can chat with your business through Google’s Business Messages feature.

Local inventory search

Local inventory ads integrate Google Shopping and Maps functionality by allowing you to advertise products available at nearby businesses when a customer searches for the item or place. 

When you have inventory ads enabled, shoppers can check your available products when they click on your location.

It also works the other way: Customers can use Google Search to look for an item they’re interested in. When they click on the ad showing your product, they arrive on your local storefront, Google Business page, or landing page.

Local inventory search allows you to promote in-store inventory and offer your customers store pickup options.

💡 PRO TIP: With Shopify, you can have your products found by more nearby shoppers looking for what you sell on Google. Sync your store’s products with Google, create free listings, and manage online and in-store pickup orders from Shopify.

How to set up Google Maps ads

1. Optimize your Google Business Profile
2. Link your Business Profile to Google Ads
3. Build a Performance Max campaign

Step 1: Optimize your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is the starting point for your Maps ads (and any other Google display ad). Make sure every store is fully verified in Business Profile Manager before you start. 

Pick one primary category and up to nine secondary ones that match products or services, like a running shoe store or an athletic apparel shop. Also, check that your name, address, phone, and URL exactly match what’s on your site and other directories.

📚 Read more: Google Business Profile Optimization: Improve Local Ranking

Step 2: Link your Business Profile to Google Ads

This step pulls your business information into every Maps placement. 

1. Go to Assets within the Campaigns menu.
2. Select the plus button and then select Location.
3. Select Our locations, and then select Continue.
4. Your domain should show up. If it doesn’t, enter a domain to discover potential Business Profiles.
5. Select Countries by selecting the pencil icon. Then, select Save.
6. In the list below, find the Business Profile that best matches your business, then select Save.
7. Confirm that the correct Business Profile is showing in the preview, then select Continue.

Step 3: Build a Performance Max campaign

Set up the Google & YouTube app on Shopify. After you complete this step, your Merchant Center and Shopify accounts will be linked. 

Then, complete these steps:

1. Navigate to the Google & YouTube app in your Shopify admin.
2. Scroll down to the Performance Max campaign module.
3. Select your Google Ads account and click Connect.
4. Click Create Campaign. You’ll be redirected to the Ads onboarding flow in Merchant Center.
5. In Merchant Center, you’ll be asked to provide your payment information.
6. Provide your daily budget and campaign name.
7. Click Create.

💡 Note: Smart Bidding inside Performance Max weights factors like distance and time of day at auction time to maximize store visits or location actions for every dollar spent. It will automatically adjust toward searches most likely to end in a directions tap, call, or in-store visit. 

Tracking your Google Maps ad performance

Your ad is now up and running. Congrats! Next, you’ll want to find out how it’s performing. 

You can track its performance in Google Merchant Center. Access it by clicking on Manage campaigns in the Overview tab on your Shopify app. Some metrics to monitor include:

• Impressions: Understand how often the pin or listing showed in Maps results. 
• Click type: Lets you see which actions shoppers prefer, like whether they want directions right to your store or to give you a call.
• Store visits: Connects ad spend to in-store traffic. 

Start advertising your store on Google Maps

There’s no doubt that promoting your business on Google Maps has its advantages for local SEO. You’re getting in front of targeted customers at a critical moment in the buyer’s journey, and motivating shoppers to come to your store. Plus, you can take advantage of different features, like in-store promotions and local inventory search, to encourage sales. 

Test the waters by creating a local search ad on Google Maps today using the guide above. You’ll soon start to see a rush of foot traffic and sales that will impact your bottom line.