Shopify vs Vend
Shopify or Vend?
Stop juggling multiple systems for your POS, ecommerce, and payments. Shopify POS was built to connect in-store and online sales seamlessly for you and your customers.
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Compare Shopify POS vs Vend
|
Key features |
Vend |
Shopify POS Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Fully integrated ecommerce and POS | No | Yes |
| Fully synced inventory, in-store and online | Via integrations | Yes |
| Integrated hardware and payments | No | Rates starting from 2.4% + 0¢ USD |
| One payment provider for in-store and online | No | Yes |
| Hardware accessories | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile POS | Yes | Yes |
| Pickup availability on website | No | Yes |
| Email a customer cart | No | Yes |
| Local pickup and local delivery | Via integrations | Yes |
| Online and in-store gift cards | No | Yes |
| Returns and exchanges in-store and online | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory forecasts based on sales | No | Yes |
| Inventory grading | No | Yes |
| Email marketing | No | Yes |
| Website builder and online store | No | Yes |
| Sell on social media and online marketplaces | No | Yes |
| Shipping tools and discounts | No | Yes |
Based on features available in the US as of June 2021
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10 Things You Get on Shopify vs Vend
Built-in payments
Shopify Payments is included with all plans* and offers transparent rates and quick payouts for both in-store and online sales. Vend only integrates payments through third-party providers, leaving you to manage multiple fees and contracts.
First-party hardware
Shopify’s card readers are designed to integrate payments seamlessly with Shopify POS. Having to use third-party hardware on Vend can make it difficult to troubleshoot when contacting separate support teams for POS and payments.
Pickup availability
On Shopify, customers can confidently shop online by seeing what’s in-stock in store right from the product page. Vend can only surface that information at checkout leading to frustrated customers and abandoned carts.
Omnichannel gift cards
Shopify POS lets you sell both physical and digital gift cards that can be redeemed in-person or online. With Vend, gift cards can only be sold or redeemed at your retail stores, limiting the way your customers can shop with you.
Centralized inventory
Shopify centralizes inventory in one place. You create products once and assign quantities in-store and online. Vend relies on integrations with your website to stay synced, leaving you exposed to overselling and inaccurate data.
Seamless returns and exchanges
Shopify lets you give buyers the flexibility to return or exchange online purchases in store. On Vend, data can only flow from your website to Vend, so you can accept online returns in-store, but data must be manually reconciled later.
Smart inventory insights
Vend’s reporting is in-depth, but not all small businesses have the know-how or time to analyze the data. Shopify’s advanced inventory tools do the work for you, with smart recommendations that help you make informed decisions faster.
Email carts
Shopify’s email carts help you win back sales. From indecisive shoppers to big-ticket buys, you can let customers sleep on it and send their in-store favorites to buy online. On Vend, this is only possible via third-party integrations.
Commerce-ready website
Shopify’s intuitive website builder lets you create a stunning site that’s ready for selling. No coding required. Vend is only a POS, which means you’ll need to integrate data from your ecommerce platform and manage multiple back-ends.
Thousands of apps
Adding custom features to your POS and website is easy with apps. From foot traffic analysis to in-store appointments, Shopify has thousands of apps to meet your business’ needs. Vend supports apps too, but offers a smaller selection.
*For permitted industries in supported countries.
Why Businesses Choose Shopify Over Vend
You can run your in-store and online business from one place
Shopify’s superpower comes from a single back office where you manage customers, products, payments, and orders across all the ways you sell. This makes it easy to quickly assign products to new sales channels, capture a customer’s data in-store and online, and accept payments anywhere.
You can sell on social media and online marketplaces
On Shopify, you can sell in-person at a retail store or pop-up and online on your website, social media, or online marketplaces like Amazon. It’s as simple as adding a new sales channel and assigning products. Vend is only a POS, so exploring opportunities beyond your store requires more investments of time and effort.
You can stay in control of cash flow
Vend doesn’t offer a built-in payments processor. Instead, you have to choose from a list of payment providers—leaving you to juggle multiple fees and contracts for your POS and payments. Shopify Payments comes free with every plan* and consolidates in-store and online payments and payouts in one view so you’re always in control of your finances.
You get tools to close more sales
Shopify unlocks tools to seamlessly connect in-store and online experiences for customers. With email carts, you can send indecisive shoppers their favorites from an in-store visit to check out online. Customers can sleep on it and you can still close the sale. On Vend, this would only be possible through third-party integrations.
You can build better customer relationships
With Shopify’s customer profiles, you can view a customer’s in-store and online order history, lifetime value, and preferences. Based on this information, Shopify can surface product recommendations right in POS, so you can personalize experiences and increase sales. While Vend does offer customer accounts, you won’t get the added tools that help you level up your clienteling game.
You get more for your monthly fee
The important thing to keep in mind about Vend’s pricing is that it only includes your point-of-sale. Choosing Vend means you still have to pay subscription fees for your ecommerce platform and payments provider. With Shopify, everything is included in your monthly plan: POS, ecommerce, payments, and more.
*For permitted industries in supported countries.
From the seamless checkout experience, to the ecommerce integration and apps, to the simple and powerful reporting, there’s no beating Shopify POS.
Ben Sehl, Kotn
Shopify has allowed me to seamlessly sell products on my website, in my brick and mortar store as well as on Facebook & Google. I load my products once and it's done… Once one realizes that the Shopify platform is a one stop shop for marketing and selling it is literally off to the races.
Curt, via G2 Reviews
Shopify, Shopify POS, and the back-end reporting has helped us to really analyze our business in a way that we couldn’t before. To have one system where every aspect of the store is put together has been really, really helpful.
Ale Tarver, Assembly New York
Learn More About Shopify
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Try Shopify POS Free for 3 Days
Start unifying in-store and online sales with Shopify to streamline operations, make more sales, and keep customers coming back.
Try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.
FAQs
What is the difference between Shopify and Vend?
Vend is primarily a point-of-sale system while Shopify is a complete commerce solution for your business. On Shopify, you can manage customers, inventory, payments, and orders for all the ways you sell: in your retail store, online, social media, and more. Shopify is an ideal solution for independent retailers who want to scale their business by unifying in-store and online sales.
Does Vend integrate with Shopify?
Yes, Vend can integrate with a Shopify website, but we strongly recommend using Shopify POS if your website is on Shopify. Vend’s integrations don’t enable you to take advantage of all Shopify’s tools for unifying your business. By choosing Vend, you’d be missing out on gift cards that work both in-store and online, the ability to show what’s in stock in-store on your website, seamless returns and exchanges of online purchases at your retail locations, and more.
Shopify vs Vend pricing: which is more expensive?
When comparing Shopify vs Vend pricing, it’s important to note that Vend is only a point-of-sale platform so you will have to pay additional monthly fees for the ecommerce platform and payments provider you choose. While Vend does allow you to connect a website, the ability to integrate your ecommerce platform only becomes available on higher tier plans. On Shopify, your all-in-one monthly pricing includes POS, ecommerce, and payments, even on the lowest plan.
Page last updated June 2021
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