StoreConnect vs Shopify POS
Which point of sale is right for your stores?
Your POS shouldn't be a system that lives apart from the rest of your business. Here's how StoreConnect and Shopify POS compare — from hardware to how (and where) your in-store data ends up.
What does StoreConnect do?
StoreConnect is a retail point of sale built natively inside Salesforce. It runs in-browser on PC or Android, keeping every in-store sale, stock movement, and customer interaction in the same Salesforce org as your website, eCommerce store, and CRM.
What does Shopify POS do?
Shopify POS is Shopify's dedicated retail app, available on iOS and Android and paired with optional Shopify-branded hardware. It runs in-store sales alongside your Shopify online store and admin, operating independently from any external CRM.
Key takeaways
StoreConnect is the right choice if you want to:
- Run POS on standard hardware — PC or Android, with barcode readers, cash drawers, and receipt printers, no proprietary terminal required.
- See every in-store sale in Salesforce Core instantly, without exporting or syncing data from a separate POS system.
- Give staff the same login and permission model as the rest of your Salesforce org, instead of a separate PIN-based permission tier.
- Avoid an added per-location POS fee as you scale to more registers and stores.
- Keep gift cards, account credit, and pricing consistent across your website and your till.
Shopify POS could be a good fit if:
- You need native iOS support — Shopify POS runs on iPhone and iPad, including Tap to Pay, where StoreConnect currently does not.
- You want in-house returns and refunds at the till handled natively, without a separate process.
- You're already running your storefront on Shopify and want POS from the same vendor and app ecosystem.
- You want purpose-built retail hardware, like Shopify's POS Go handheld, available directly from the vendor.
- You're comfortable managing POS and CRM as separate systems, connected through apps or integrations rather than a shared data layer.
1POS Deployment & Hardware
Where the till runs, and what it takes to set it up.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| POS included in platform | Native, included with your platform plan | POS Lite included; advanced features require the added POS Pro tier |
| Runs on PC / browser | Yes — no dedicated device required | No — app-only, no desktop browser POS |
| Runs on iOS | Browser Supported | Supported, including Tap to Pay on iPhone |
| Runs on Android | Browser Supported | Supported |
| Mobile POS with card reader | Supported | Supported |
| Hardware requirements | Works with standard barcode readers, cash drawers, and receipt printers | Optional Shopify-branded hardware (card readers, POS Go, terminal) sold separately |
StoreConnect runs in-browser across PC, Android, and iOS, so there's no dedicated app to install — giving your team the flexibility to deploy POS on whatever device staff already have. Shopify POS offers native apps on iOS and Android plus Tap to Pay support.
2Data Architecture: POS & CRM
What happens to a sale the moment it's rung up.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| POS sales reflected in core CRM | Built-in sync — POS sales update Salesforce Core directly | POS data stays in Shopify; reaching an external CRM needs an integration |
| Same product images & data online and in POS | Shared dataset | Shared within Shopify's own system |
| Single customer record, online + in-store | Native Salesforce Account/Contact record | Customer profile lives in Shopify; syncing to an external CRM needs middleware |
| Unified stock across online & POS | Single Salesforce-based inventory record | Unified within Shopify's own inventory system |
StoreConnect writes directly to the same Salesforce records as the rest of your business — no export, batch job, or middleware layer standing between a till sale and your CRM. Shopify POS keeps a clean, unified picture within Shopify itself, but connecting that data to an external CRM is a separate integration project.
3Checkout, Payments & Product Types
What you can ring up, and how flexible checkout is at the till.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| Split payments | Supported | Supported |
| Refunds through POS | Supported | Supported natively |
| Returns through POS | Supported | Supported natively |
| Purchase with account credit | Supported natively | Requires app configuration |
| Same voucher/gift card online & in-store | Same code works everywhere | Requires app configuration for unified gift card tracking |
| Purchase subscriptions via POS | Supported | Supported |
| Sell rental items via POS | Supported | Supported |
| Purchase virtual products via POS | Supported | Supported |
| Receipt template modification | Full design control | Supported, within Shopify's templating options |
Both platforms handle the full range of till-side checkout needs — refunds, returns, and subscription sales are all supported at the register. StoreConnect adds full design control over receipt templates and keeps account credit and vouchers on the same platform as your storefront, with no separate app configuration required.
4Front-End Build & Checkout Customization
Two very different models for how much control you get over checkout, and what plan tier that control depends on.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront section/theme customization | Site Builder with Liquid Components, live preview, available on every plan | Online Store 2.0 sections and theme app extensions, available on every plan |
| Checkout customization access | Full Liquid-level checkout customization at every plan tier | Branding only (colors, fonts, logo) on Standard/Basic/Advanced; deep customization requires Shopify Plus |
| Custom fields at checkout | Supported via Liquid on any plan | Requires Shopify Plus (Checkout UI Extensions on core steps) |
| Express checkout options | Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, and Amazon Pay, pre-filled for logged-in customers | Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, available broadly |
| Custom cart/checkout business logic | Native via Liquid — deposit payment modes, multiple delivery windows, custom cart behavior | Requires Shopify Functions, a Shopify Plus feature that replaced the now-deprecated Scripts |
| Business logic customization framework | Same Liquid framework as the storefront — no separate plan gate | Separate framework (Shopify Functions, WebAssembly), Plus-only |
Both platforms give merchants broad freedom to customize the storefront itself. The difference shows up at checkout: StoreConnect uses the same Liquid framework for checkout as it does for the rest of the storefront, with no separate plan requirement. Shopify's checkout runs on its own Checkout Extensibility framework, and deep customization — custom fields, business logic, checkout UI extensions on the core steps — is reserved for Shopify Plus.
5Inventory & Multi-Location Operations
Managing stock across more than one till or store.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| View multi-location inventory from POS | Supported | Supported |
| Request stock from another location via POS | Supported | Available via POS Pro |
| Place hold order for another location | Supported | Plan-dependent |
| Place transfer order from another location | Supported | Plan-dependent |
| Click & collect (buy online, pick up in store) | Supported | Supported |
| Print labels | Full design control of printed labels | Supported, with limited label design control |
Both platforms give staff visibility across locations at the till. StoreConnect includes stock requests, holds, and transfers as standard; Shopify concentrates some of this — like inter-location stock requests — behind its POS Pro tier.
6Multi-Store & Scaling
What happens to your POS setup as you add registers and locations.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| Manage multiple registers/stores from one back office | Native — same Salesforce org | Supported; deeper multi-store tooling concentrated in Shopify Plus |
| Centralized reporting across locations | Included | Full cross-location reporting concentrated in POS Pro |
| Register/location licensing model | Register allowance bundled into your platform tier | POS Pro billed per location, stacking as store count grows |
As you add registers and stores, StoreConnect's POS allowance scales inside your existing platform tier. Shopify's per-location POS Pro fee is worth modeling carefully if you're planning to grow past a handful of stores.
7Staff & Role Permissions at POS
How you control who can do what at the till.
| Feature | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| Staff access model | Native Salesforce Profiles, Roles & Permission Sets apply directly to POS | Staff PIN codes with POS-specific permission groups |
| Same login as back office | Single Salesforce login for POS and the rest of the org | Separate POS PIN, distinct from full Shopify admin login |
| Granular permission tiers | Included — standard Salesforce permission architecture, no separate tier | Requires POS Pro for granular permission groups |
| Live stock, discount & account visibility at POS | Logged-in staff see live stock, location, discount, and account data | Standard admin-linked visibility |
Because StoreConnect runs on the same Salesforce user model as the rest of your business, staff permissions are configured once — no separate POS permission tier or add-on to license.
8Pricing & Total Cost Model
How each platform structures the cost of running a till, at a qualitative level.
| Metric | StoreConnect | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| Base POS inclusion | Included as part of your core platform plan | POS Lite included free with any Shopify plan |
| Advanced POS features | Included in your platform tier — no separate POS upgrade | POS Pro required as an added per-location monthly cost |
| Hardware costs | Works with standard third-party POS hardware you may already own | Shopify-branded hardware typically purchased separately |
| Payment processing | Multiple payment provider integrations supported | Primarily routed through Shopify Payments for full feature access |
Exact pricing depends on your plan tier, register count, and hardware choices for both platforms — see StoreConnect pricing for current details. As a general pattern, StoreConnect bundles POS into its core platform cost, while Shopify separates POS Lite from the paid, per-location POS Pro tier.
When StoreConnect is the right choice
StoreConnect is purpose-built for Salesforce retailers. It's the right fit if:
- You already run Salesforce and want POS sales to land directly in Salesforce Core, with no sync layer
- You want staff permissions managed through the same Profiles and Permission Sets as the rest of your org
- Your registers run on PC or Android hardware you already have
- You want to add registers and locations without a stacking per-location POS fee
- You need account credit, shared vouchers, and pricing to stay consistent between web and till
When Shopify POS could be a good fit
Shopify POS works well for retailers already inside the Shopify ecosystem. It could be a good fit if:
- You need native iOS support, including Tap to Pay on iPhone
- In-store refunds, returns, and subscription sales at the till are a daily requirement
- You want Shopify-branded retail hardware like POS Go, purchased directly from the vendor
- Your storefront already runs on Shopify and you want POS from the same vendor
- You're comfortable managing POS and CRM as separate systems, connected via apps or integrations
Ready to build an agentic eCommerce foundation?
See how StoreConnect keeps every in-store sale inside the same Salesforce org as your website and CRM.
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