Shopify Point of Sale (POS) Discount Features

Introduction

Shopify continues to evolve to meet the needs of merchants and customers, introducing new features that improve the selling experience and promotion management. The latest updates include support for discount features on Shopify Point of Sale (POS), offering greater flexibility and customization options. In this article, we'll explore what Shopify discount features are, how they work, and what new features have been introduced to improve the merchant experience.

What are Shopify Features?

Shopify features allow you to extend or replace Shopify's native server-side business logic to suit your business's specific needs. For discount features, this means you can create discounts that address advanced use cases not supported by Shopify Admin's native discount functionality. Here are some example use cases:

- Discounts based on custom attributes: Activate discounts based on custom meta fields or customer lifetime value.
- Advanced Eligibility Criteria: Create discounts with complex criteria like "Buy A, B, and (C or D), get E free."
- Integration with other features: Connect discounts to loyalty programs, gift registries, or memberships.

The Lifecycle of a Shopify Function

Shopify features follow a specific life cycle:

1. Build and Deploy: Developers build and deploy apps containing features.
2. Installation and Setup: Merchants install the app on their Shopify store and configure the feature via an API call.
3. Customer Interaction: Customers interact with your Shopify store, such as visiting a retail location and purchasing products.
4. Function Execution: Shopify runs the function when the cart is updated and store staff checks out the customer.

New Features on Shopify POS

Over the past two months, Shopify has introduced new features to Shopify POS, increasing support for more advanced Discount Function scenarios. With version 9.10, several improvements have been released:

- Automatic Discounts: Ability to apply discounts automatically based on certain criteria.
- Smart Grids for Discount Codes: Create smart grid tiles for discount codes that activate a discount feature.
- Improved Error Handling: Improved error handling for discount codes, making the process more reliable and intuitive.

Limitations

Despite the many advantages, it is important to be aware of some limitations:

- Sales Channel Availability: Discount features are automatically available for any sales channel. This means that if a discount feature is set to apply automatically, it will apply to both online and in-store orders.
- Plan Restrictions: Stores on any plan can use public apps containing features. However, only stores on a Shopify Plus plan can use custom apps with the Shopify Functions API.

For App Developers

Shopify offers extensive documentation on Shopify Functions - General and API, available on the .dev docs website. A tutorial is also available to help with implementation.

Flows in Store

For in-store staff, discounts created through native features or discount functions behave the same way at the POS. Discount functions can be configured to be applied automatically or activated by entering a discount code.

Technician

The following APIs are relevant for this functionality:

- Shopify Features
- Order Discount Function API
- Product Discount Function API
- Shipping Discount Function API

There are no functional changes to the API. Discounts created using discount functions are the same type as native discounts and are reported independently of their origin.

Conclusion

Updates to Shopify POS with discount support give merchants greater flexibility and control over their promotions, allowing them to create more advanced and customized discounts. This development represents a significant step forward in Shopify's ability to meet the complex needs of modern merchants.

For more information on how to take advantage of these new features and optimize your Shopify store, contact Yastime, our Shopify experts. We're here to help you grow your business with customized solutions.

Contact us today!