How to Create Checkout Links from Shopify POS

Every retail store has the same moment. A customer spends ten minutes picking out products, then says "I'll think about it" and walks out. The cart gets cleared. The sale is gone.

On your online store, that customer would get an abandoned cart email. In your physical store, you've got nothing. The interaction disappears the moment they leave.

Checkout Links now has a POS tile that fixes this. Tap it, and your current POS cart becomes a checkout link you can text or email to the customer. Products, quantities, discounts — everything from their in-store cart, ready to buy on their phone.

Why POS Sales Need a Save Button

Shopify POS is great at handling the customer who's ready to buy right now. It's not great at handling the customer who's almost ready.

The "I'll come back" customer never comes back. Retail conversion data consistently shows that customers who leave without buying rarely return. Not because they don't want the product — because life gets in the way. They forget the store name, can't remember which variant they liked, or find something else online first.

Phone orders are slow and error-prone. Some stores take phone orders or draft orders manually when a customer calls back. That means staff looking up products, re-entering quantities, applying discounts by hand, and reading back totals. It works, but it takes five minutes per order and ties up a staff member.

Draft orders don't have landing pages. Shopify's draft orders send an invoice email, but it's a plain payment link. No product images, no curated presentation, no pre-checkout page. The customer gets a total and a pay button with no reminder of what they were excited about in the store.

Clienteling without tools is just memory. High-end retail runs on personal shopping and follow-ups. But most stores track customer preferences in their heads or on sticky notes. A checkout link with the exact products a customer tried on is a clienteling tool that doesn't require a CRM.

How It Works

The Create Link tile appears in your Shopify POS app. Here's the flow:

Step 1: Build the Cart in POS

Ring up items like you normally would. Add products, set quantities, apply any discounts. The tile shows a live count of items in the cart.

Step 2: Tap the Create Link Tile

With items in the cart, tap the Checkout Links tile. You'll see a preview of everything in the cart — product images, variant names, quantities, and any discounts applied.

You can adjust before creating:

• Change variants. Customer wanted the blue in medium, not large? Switch it without going back to the POS cart.
• Adjust quantities. They wanted two of one item but you only scanned one? Fix it here.
• Add a subscription. If a product has selling plans (subscribe & save, membership, etc.), you can attach one to the line item. Turn a one-time in-store browse into a recurring online order.
• Set one-time use. Toggle this on so the link expires after one purchase. Good for personalized quotes or VIP pricing you don't want shared.

Step 3: Create and Send

Hit create. You get a short link instantly. Two ways to send it:

• Copy the link and paste it into a text message, WhatsApp, or any messaging app.
• Email it directly from the POS screen. Enter the customer's email address and send — they get the link with one tap to buy.

If there's a customer attached to the POS cart, their email auto-fills. One less step.

Step 4: Customer Buys on Their Phone

The customer opens the link and sees exactly what was in their cart. If you've set up a pre-checkout page, they get a branded landing page with product details and a checkout button. If not, they go straight to Shopify checkout with everything pre-loaded.

Either way: Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay — all the express checkout options they have saved on their phone. The purchase that was going to take "I'll think about it" effort now takes ten seconds.

Five Real Scenarios

The browsing customer. They tried on three items, loved two, couldn't decide. Create a link with both items and a 10% nudge discount. Text it to them. When they're on the couch that evening, one tap and they're done.

The out-of-stock save. You're out of the size they want in-store, but it's available online. Build a cart with the right variant, create a link, and hand them a guaranteed way to get it shipped.

The gift buyer. Someone is shopping for a gift but wants to confirm with their partner before buying. Send the link. They can forward it, discuss it, and buy — without coming back to the store.

The wholesale or B2B quote. A business customer wants to order 50 units with volume pricing. Build the cart with the right quantities and a custom discount, toggle one-time use, and email the link. It's a quote that converts with one click.

The pop-up or market. You're selling at a farmers market or pop-up event. Customer loves your product but didn't bring their wallet (it happens). Create a link on the spot and text it. The pop-up might be over tomorrow, but the link works until they buy.

How This Compares to Draft Orders

Shopify's draft orders can do some of this, but there are key differences.

Draft orders were designed for invoicing. POS Create Link is designed for saving the sale.

Setup

The POS tile is included in Checkout Links — no extra charge, no add-on. It appears automatically in your Shopify POS app once you have Checkout Links installed.

Checkout Links is $25/month. The POS tile, the pre-checkout pages, the QR code scanning, the discount automation — it's all included. One plan, one price.

If you're already using Checkout Links for your online store, the POS tile is already there. Open POS, look for the Create Link tile, and start turning walk-outs into walk-aways-who-still-buy.