How to sell product subscriptions on Shopify POS
Boost Your Retail Store with Recurring Income
Running a retail business means finding smart ways to keep your income steady. Sales typically spike during holidays and then drop during slower seasons. That makes it difficult to plan inventory, manage your cash flow, or invest confidently. This type of revenue fluctuation creates stress and limits how quickly you can seek new business opportunities.
When you know what revenue is coming in every month, you can budget more effectively and plan long-term. This gives you the confidence to introduce new products, upgrade your systems, or expand your store without worrying about sudden income gaps.
One of the best ways to generate consistent income is by offering product subscriptions. When you let customers subscribe to your products (instead of buying them one at a time), you create a predictable stream of revenue. This steady flow of cash gives you options. You’re less susceptible to the ups and downs of seasonal shopping trends.
Merchants using Shopify POS can now take advantage of this right from their retail POS checkout. Your customers get the same subscription experience in-store and online. That means you can capture more subscribers and strengthen your brand across all channels.
Let’s explore the new Shopify POS Subscription features and walk through the process of configuring this for your store.
Understanding Subscription Success with POS
Let’s start with some obvious facts. If your store sells big-ticket or non-consumable products, then creating a subscription doesn’t make much sense. Customers simply don’t need or want these items on a regular basis, so trying to force them into a subscription model can feel unnatural. Subscriptions work best for products people use regularly, like food items, coffee, beauty supplies, cleaning products, vitamins, pet food, or even office essentials. These are items that naturally run out and need replenishment. If you’re selling sofas or diamond necklaces, then you’re probably not going to see any success with subscriptions.
Not every product is a good fit for a subscription. Knowing what doesn’t work can save you time and customer frustration. One of the most common mistakes merchants make is assuming that every product should have a subscription option. This often leads to higher cancellation rates and wasted resources managing plans that don’t deliver real value. Customers need value and when they don’t get it, they’re more likely to unsubscribe quickly. The key is to focus on products or services that fit naturally into your customers’ routines.
Assuming your products fall into the right category, then the new Shopify POS Subscription feature makes sense for you. But how do you offer subscriptions in-store? The key is to make it feel like a natural extension of the shopping experience. Customers visit your physical store because they want personal service and staff attention. Use this personal interaction to introduce the subscription as a helpful option. For example, if a customer buys a bag of coffee beans, your staff can offer to set up a recurring order during POS checkout. You can use this time to remind shoppers about the convenience of subscriptions. The goal is to make it effortless while explaining the flexibility of ongoing orders. A good in-store subscription strategy can turn casual customers into long-term subscribers. This leads to the goal of more recurring revenue for your business.
Shopify Brings Subscriptions to POS
Subscriptions sound great, right! We're happy to note that Shopify’s latest POS update finally makes it possible for you to offer Subscriptions directly via your Shopify POS. That means you can sell subscriptions without any extra steps. It’s all built into the new POS checkout experience. Your staff can offer this as an option during the normal checkout interaction.
Subscriptions require a customer account so you’ll need to capture your customer’s info during checkout. You'll need to train your staff to ask for shipping details to support the recurring orders. Once the team captures this data, they complete the sale and it's done! That product now becomes a recurring order and Shopify automatically manages renewals, billing, and inventory.
It’s important to clearly explain to your customers how the subscription works before finalizing the sale. You don’t want them surprised when they see a recurring charge on their account. Encourage your team to walk customers through the basics, like how often they’ll be billed, when products will renew and how they make changes. Most customers want to know how to manage refunds, cancellations, or skipped deliveries, so your staff should be comfortable answering those questions. The good news is that customers can handle all of this themselves directly through your online store. They can log in anytime to update payment information, change delivery frequency, or cancel an order. This level of transparency builds trust and helps customers feel in control. The customer will get an email from Shopify with details regarding the subscription so that should help inform them about the process.
How to Setup POS Subscriptions Step-by-Step
In order to take advantage of this great new POS service, you first need to configure your subscriptions and offers. You can setup everything from your Shopify Admin. There are a few different options for the subscription service. The easiest way to get started is with the Shopify Subscriptions app. Since this is a native Shopify app, it integrates quickly with standard Shopify themes and features. POS Subscriptions are also compatible with other third-party options like Recharge. Make sure you’re using one of these compatible services or the native Shopify Subscriptions.
Once you've determined which service you'll use, you'll then need to create the different subscription options and products you want to offer your customers. These are the options you'll customer will select for the subscription. You must configure how often the product renews, what kind of discount you’ll offer for subscribers and option periods. The different subscription plans are configured within the Shopify Admin. If you're using Shopify Subscriptions, you’ll look for the “Plans” section in the Shopify Admin. Navigate into this page and setup each offer. You will select the product and then apply the details like recurring period and discount.
One nice touch is that you can use the same plans online and in-store. This makes it easy for your customers to understand what they’re getting (if they’ve already seen it in your online store.) You may even want to consider special in-store subscriptions where you offer deeper discounts for your retail customers.
To start selling the subscriptions on the POS, you must add the Subscriptions app to your smart grid. This is how you select the subscription option for the items in the POS cart.
Once you’ve set up the products, app and subscriptions, everything else is basically the same as before. Your retail staff adds products to the cart and then selects the subscription option for the customer. Your POS customers can now enjoy the recurring options.
Start Building Your Subscription Success
Adding subscriptions to your Shopify POS is a great way to add predictable income to your store. Recurring purchases create a stream of income and more opportunity to build customer loyalty.
The most successful retail subscriptions are simple and rewarding for the customer. If the customer sees value in the products, then it should be a no-brainer to get them to sign up. Focus on products that make sense for recurring purchases. You’ll want items that customers use daily like vitamins, food items, pet food or on-going services. These items naturally fit into a subscription model. You don’t need to force it, make it feel like a convenient solution, not a hard sell at the checkout counter.
Subscriptions don’t have to stop at physical products. You can also turn your expertise and services into valuable subscription options. For example, if you run a coffee shop, you could offer a monthly coffee-tasting club or a prepaid drink plan. If you’re a beauty retailer could create a monthly skincare consultation package, massage package or nail grooming service. Pet stores could add pet care services or training sessions as part of a subscription. Even hardware or home supply shops could offer tool maintenance or seasonal tune-ups. These service-based subscriptions help you deepen your connection with customers while creating recurring revenue. Blending physical goods with personalized services makes your store an essential part of your customers’ routines. Keep them coming back for more every month.
When you build a subscription model, you move from chasing individual sales to creating ongoing connections. This helps reinforce your brand with customers every time the subscription renews. Shopify’s new POS Subscription feature gives you the tools to make that shift. Every interaction becomes a chance to learn more about your customers, anticipate their needs, and deliver consistent value. Over time, this approach changes the nature of your business from being transaction-focused to relationship-driven. You’ll stop worrying about short-term sales and start building something more sustainable. Now is the perfect time to turn your best-selling products into subscriptions and give your customers the convenience they want.
