How to Set Up BOPIS for Your Shopify Store: A Step-by-Step Guide
Inspiration
July 27, 2026
Andrew Cargill, Founder of Zapiet
For merchants, Shopify BOPIS can reduce shipping costs, speed up fulfillment, and bring more customers into physical stores. But a successful setup involves more than enabling local pickup at checkout. You also need accurate inventory, realistic preparation times, clear customer instructions, and a reliable process for store staff.
This guide explains how to set up BOPIS for your Shopify store and how to build a pickup experience customers can trust.
What Is BOPIS in Shopify?
BOPIS stands for buy online, pick up in-store. It is a fulfillment method that lets customers purchase products through your online store and collect them from a physical retail location instead of having them shipped to their homes.
A typical BOPIS workflow looks like this:
- The customer adds products to their online cart.
- They choose local pickup at checkout.
- They select an available pickup location.
- Your team receives and prepares the order.
- The customer receives a notification when the order is ready.
- The customer collects the order at the store.
- Your team verifies the handoff and completes the fulfillment.
BOPIS vs. Local Pickup, Click and Collect, and Curbside Pickup
You may see several terms used for similar fulfillment options:
- BOPIS: Customers buy online and collect the order inside a store.
- Local pickup: The Shopify fulfillment option that allows customers to collect orders from a location.
- Click and collect: Another common name for ordering online and picking up in-store.
- Curbside pickup: Customers collect the order outside the store, often from a designated parking area.
The exact customer experience can vary, but the operational foundation is similar: your store needs to know where inventory is available, prepare the order on time, and communicate clearly with the customer.
Why Offer BOPIS?
BOPIS gives shoppers more control over how they receive their orders. They can avoid shipping fees, collect products sooner, and choose a convenient store location.
Merchants can also benefit from:
- Lower last-mile delivery costs.
- Faster order fulfillment.
- More store visits and opportunities for additional purchases.
- Better use of inventory held at retail locations.
- Fewer delivery-related delays and missed deliveries.
The key is to treat BOPIS as a complete fulfillment channel, not just another checkout option.
Check the Shopify Requirements Before Setting Up BOPIS
Before you enable Shopify local pickup, review your store structure and fulfillment process. A few configuration problems can prevent pickup from appearing at checkout or create orders your team cannot fulfill.
Create and Verify Your Shopify Locations
Each store or pickup site should appear as a location in Shopify.
In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Locations. Review your existing locations or select Add location to create a new one.
For every pickup location, confirm:
- The store name and address are correct.
- Contact details are up to date.
- Opening hours are accurate.
- The location is able to fulfill online orders.
- The location is included in the appropriate shipping and fulfillment settings.
If you operate multiple stores, review each location individually. A location that is incorrectly configured may not appear to customers or may appear when it should not.
Assign Inventory to Each Pickup Location
Shopify uses inventory information to determine whether a product can be collected from a particular location. Assign your products and quantities to the locations where they are physically available.
Pay particular attention to:
- Product variants and sizes.
- High-demand or fast-selling items.
- Bundles and products made from multiple components.
- Inventory that is available online but not held in stores.
- Inventory reserved for in-store sales or other channels.
Inaccurate stock levels are one of the fastest ways to create a poor BOPIS experience. If a customer places an order for an item that is not actually available, your team may need to delay, substitute, or cancel the pickup.
Confirm Your POS and Staff Setup
If your stores use Shopify POS, make sure staff can access and manage pickup orders. Define who will monitor new orders, pick products, prepare packages, update order statuses, and complete customer handoffs.
You should also decide where prepared orders will be stored. A labeled pickup area helps staff find orders quickly and prevents packages from being misplaced.
Decide Whether Native Shopify Pickup Is Enough
Shopify’s built-in local pickup features can work well for a straightforward operation with a small number of locations. However, growing retailers may need more control over:
- Pickup time slots and scheduling.
- Location-specific preparation times.
- Inventory availability rules.
- Ship-to-store workflows.
- Pickup and local delivery coordination.
- Multi-location fulfillment.
- Customer notifications and reminders.
If your fulfillment process extends beyond basic pickup, plan for those requirements before launch.
How to Set Up BOPIS for Your Shopify Store
Once your locations, inventory, and staff process are ready, you can configure local pickup in Shopify.
Step 1: Open Shipping and Delivery Settings
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Shipping and delivery. Find the section for pickup or local pickup options. The exact wording may vary depending on your Shopify configuration and current admin interface.
Step 2: Enable Local Pickup for Each Location
Select the location you want to configure and choose Manage or the relevant setup option.
Enable the setting that allows the location to offer local pickup. Save your changes, then repeat the process for every store where customers can collect online orders.
Do not assume that enabling pickup for one location enables it everywhere. Check each location separately.
Step 3: Set Realistic Preparation Times
Customers need to know when their order will be ready. Set a preparation time that your team can meet consistently during normal and busy periods.
For example, you might communicate:
- Usually ready in two hours.
- Ready later the same day.
- Ready the next business day.
- Ready within two business days.
Avoid promising a short preparation time if staffing, inventory checks, or store traffic make it difficult to achieve. A realistic promise followed by a reliable experience is better than an aggressive promise followed by delays.
You may also need different preparation times for different locations. A small store with limited staff may need more time than a dedicated fulfillment site.
Step 4: Add Clear Pickup Instructions
Use the pickup instructions field to explain exactly what customers should do when they arrive.
Include:
- The pickup address.
- Store opening hours.
- The pickup counter or designated collection area.
- Whether customers need an order number or identification.
- Whether another person can collect the order.
- A phone number or support contact.
- Instructions for customers who arrive before receiving a ready-for-pickup message.
Keep the wording short and easy to scan on a mobile device. Customers should not have to search through a long email to find the collection details.
Step 5: Save and Verify the Settings
After saving your configuration, review the customer-facing experience. Confirm that:
- Local pickup appears for eligible products.
- The correct locations are available.
- Preparation times display accurately.
- Pickup instructions are complete.
- Products that are not available at a location do not incorrectly appear as pickup options.
A settings review at this stage can prevent unnecessary customer support issues later.
Manage BOPIS Inventory and Orders Reliably
Turning on Shopify click and collect is only the beginning. Your inventory and store workflows determine whether the service works in practice.
Understand How Inventory Affects Pickup Availability
In general, Shopify shows a pickup location when the products in the customer’s cart can be fulfilled from that location. If one item is unavailable, the location may not appear as an option.
Create a regular process for counting high-volume products, updating damaged or missing stock, reserving inventory as soon as pickup orders arrive, reviewing discrepancies between Shopify and physical stock, and excluding products that are not suitable for pickup.
If you want to offer pickup for items that are not currently stocked at a selected location, you may need a ship-to-store or inventory-transfer workflow.
Use Shopify POS to Process Pickup Orders
Your staff should follow the same basic sequence for every order:
- View the new pickup order.
- Confirm the selected location.
- Pick the correct products and variants.
- Check quantities and product condition.
- Pack and label the order.
- Store it in the designated pickup area.
- Mark the order ready for pickup.
- Confirm that the customer notification has been sent.
- Verify the customer or order details at collection.
- Mark the order fulfilled after the handoff.
Assign clear ownership for each step. If everyone assumes someone else is monitoring pickup orders, orders can sit unprepared even when the products are available.
Plan for Multiple Locations and Stock Transfers
Multi-location merchants often need more than a basic local pickup setup. A customer may want to collect from a store that does not currently have enough inventory, or a product may need to move from a warehouse or another store before collection.
Before offering this option, define which locations can receive transferred inventory, how long transfers usually take, when the customer will be notified, who handles delayed or incomplete transfers, and what happens if the product becomes unavailable.
Create a Smooth Customer Pickup Experience
A well-configured checkout cannot compensate for unclear instructions or a confusing in-store handoff.
Send Useful Order Notifications
Customers should understand the difference between an order confirmation and a ready-for-pickup notification. Explain the selected location, expected preparation time, whether they should wait for a separate ready message, what to bring, where to go, and how long the store will hold the order.
Do not tell customers that an order is ready until staff have picked, checked, and stored it.
Make the Pickup Area Easy to Find
Use clear signs and consistent terminology. If customers need to visit a particular counter, say so in the notification and display the same wording in-store.
Train Staff on Exceptions
Staff should know how to respond when the customer arrives before the order is ready, a product is missing or damaged, someone else collects the order, the customer cannot provide the order number, the customer wants to change or cancel the order, or the order has passed its holding period.
Document these scenarios before launch. A short internal checklist can help new staff follow the same process as experienced team members.
Test and Optimize Your Shopify BOPIS Setup
Always test the complete workflow before promoting BOPIS to customers.
Place a Test Order
Add an eligible product to your cart and go through checkout as a customer. Confirm that the pickup option appears, the correct locations are shown, inventory availability is accurate, preparation times are clear, pickup instructions display correctly, and confirmation messages contain the right information.
Then complete the staff-side process from order receipt through fulfillment.
Test Common Edge Cases
Test an item out of stock at one location, a cart containing products with different availability, multiple pickup locations, a delayed order, collection by another person, an uncollected order, and a physical stock mismatch.
Track Useful BOPIS Metrics
After launch, monitor pickup order volume, time from order placement to ready notification, customer wait time, delayed orders caused by inventory problems, uncollected orders, pickup-related support requests, additional purchases during store visits, and conversion rates when pickup is available.
Know When to Add a Dedicated Solution
Native Shopify pickup may be sufficient for a simple operation. As your business grows, a dedicated pickup and delivery solution can help coordinate multiple locations, scheduling, inventory rules, customer communication, and local fulfillment from a more flexible workflow.
Learn more about managing Shopify pickup and delivery operations with Zapiet’s fulfillment solutions.
Shopify BOPIS Launch Checklist
Conclusion
Learning how to set up BOPIS for a Shopify store is straightforward technically, but a dependable customer experience requires careful operational planning.
Start by configuring accurate locations and inventory. Then enable local pickup, set realistic preparation times, write clear instructions, and train your staff on the full order workflow. Finally, test the experience from checkout through collection and monitor the results after launch.
For simple stores, Shopify’s native tools may provide everything you need. For merchants managing multiple locations, scheduled pickup, local delivery, or more complex fulfillment rules, a specialized solution can provide the control needed to scale.
Ready to make pickup and delivery easier to manage? Explore Zapiet and see how you can build a more flexible fulfillment experience for your Shopify customers.
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