Short answer: endless aisle is a retail practice where staff sell a product the shop does not have on the shelf, from the wider online catalogue, and it is shipped to the customer’s home. On Shopify you can do it inside Shopify POS, or by handing the customer a link or QR code that opens a ready-made online checkout on their phone.
What endless aisle means
A physical shop can only hold so much. The size is sold out, the colour was never stocked at this location, the product is online-only. Without an endless aisle, that customer leaves and may or may not order later.
With one, the member of staff completes the sale on the spot from stock held somewhere else: a warehouse, another shop or a supplier. The “aisle” is the full catalogue, not the shelf.
It suits shops with more products online than on the floor, pop-ups and market stalls that carry a small selection, showrooms that hold samples only, and anything bulky that customers would rather have delivered.
Three ways to do it on Shopify
1. Ship to the customer from Shopify POS
Shopify POS can take an order at the counter and ship it to the customer’s address. Shopify documents this under shipping orders to customers with Shopify POS. The customer pays at the till, and the order is fulfilled like an online one.
This is the most direct route when the customer is ready to pay now and you have payment hardware in front of you.
2. Send the customer to your online store
The simplest version: staff find the product on a tablet or the customer’s phone and the customer orders it online. It needs no setup, but the customer has to find the product, choose the options, fill in their details and check out alone. Many will mean to and not get round to it.
3. Hand over a checkout link or QR code
Staff build the cart for the customer, then give them a link or a QR code that opens a checkout with those exact items already in it. The customer pays on their own phone, in the shop or later at home, and the order ships to them.
This is the route to use when:
- The customer wants to think about it. They leave with the cart saved, not a product name to remember.
- You have no card reader, at a market stall, trade show or curbside.
- The queue is long. The customer pays without waiting for the till.
- The order was agreed by phone or message. The same link goes in a text or WhatsApp.
Setting up the link route in Shopify POS
Checkout Links, a Shopify app we make, adds two tiles to Shopify POS. The steps below follow its help articles on creating a link from POS and scanning a link in POS.
Create Link turns the POS cart into a link:
- In the Shopify POS app, open the home grid and tap Add tile.
- Choose App, then Checkout Links > Create Link, and save the layout.
- Build the cart at the counter as usual.
- Tap Create Link. POS shows a short URL and a QR code.
- The customer scans the code or receives the link, and checks out on their phone.
The tile is greyed out while the cart is empty. Add it on each device that should be able to create links.
Scan Link works the other way. Staff scan a Checkout Links QR code, from a customer’s email, a flyer or product packaging, and its items, discounts and promotions load into the POS cart. That lets you honour an online offer at the till.
You need the Shopify POS app on iPhone, iPad or Android, a staff role with access to the POS cart, and an active Checkout Links subscription. It costs $25 a month with a seven-day free trial.
Which route to choose
| Situation | Best route |
|---|---|
| Customer wants it now, you have a card reader | Ship to customer in Shopify POS |
| Customer wants to decide later | Checkout link or QR code |
| No payment hardware (stall, event, curbside) | Checkout link or QR code |
| Product needs options the customer must choose | Online store, or a link with a popup |
| Order agreed by phone or chat | Checkout link |
Making it work on the shop floor
- Train the sentence. “We don’t have that here, but I can send it to your home. Shall I set it up?” Staff who say it sell it.
- Show the catalogue. A tablet on the floor, or a printed QR on the shelf for sizes and colours not stocked.
- Make the handover instant. A QR on the POS screen is faster than typing an email address.
- Credit the shop. Orders that started at the counter should count for that location and the member of staff who made them, or nobody will bother.
- Check delivery promises. Staff should know what delivery time to quote before they offer it.
Frequently asked questions
What is an endless aisle?
A way for a physical shop to sell products it does not have in stock on site, by ordering them from its wider catalogue for delivery to the customer.
Does Shopify POS support endless aisle?
Shopify POS can ship an order placed in store to the customer’s address. You can also extend it with a link or QR code the customer pays from their own phone.
Do I need extra hardware?
No. A phone or tablet running Shopify POS is enough. The link route needs no card reader at all, because the customer pays on their own device.
How is this different from buy online, pick up in store?
It is the reverse. With pick-up, the customer orders online and collects in the shop. With endless aisle, the customer is in the shop and the order is delivered to them.
