4 Best Boutique POS Systems For Retail Clothing Stores

We love how detailed retail inventory management is with Lightspeed Retail. Boutique owners can easily upload and categorize items by brand, size, location, and more. You can also create purchase orders and automatically complete them across multiple vendors, which helps midsize to large retailers save time when ordering.

Additionally, Lightspeed Retail is an excellent choice for boutiques that also accept consignments (such as stores that accept vintage items), as Lightspeed is one of the best consignment shop POS systems. The system has basic built-in consignment inventory management.

Lightspeed Retail also supports Booxi, an appointment-setting software built specifically for personal shopping and private appointments, so you can offer a luxury shopping experience for high-end clients.

Lightspeed Loyalty, one of the best loyalty programs, allows you to create very customizable loyalty offerings with different customer tiers and specific discounts for specific tiers. Customers can collect and redeem points online and in person at any location by entering their email address or phone number. You may award one-time discounts and allow customers to earn VIP status, which multiplies the number of loyalty points they earn per dollar.

Finally, we like that Lightspeed allows you to accept multiple payment types, return items for cash or store credit, and create wish lists online.

Note: Lightspeed Retail offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

You’ll pay an extra $59/month for each additional device you install Lightspeed Retail on (each plan starts with one POS software license).

You’ll also pay extra for multiple locations and Lightspeed add-ons such as advanced inventory management and third-party software apps such as Booxi ($20/month – $80/month).

Lightspeed Retail allows you to offer several ways for customers to shop, including purchasing online for in-store pickup at any physical location, layaway purchases, and shopping item bundles for a discount. Shoppers can create wish lists, start returns/exchanges online, and get store credit in exchange for returned items.

Lightspeed’s inventory matrixing system makes it simple for retailers to sell by item or brand, create catalogs that customers may request, add inventory tags to items, and create purchase orders with saved vendor information. When you’re running low on something, you get a low-stock alert, and then you can look up a vendor and order several things at once.

Lightspeed’s loyalty program is highly customizable with different customer groups, reward types, and the ability to set recurring or one-time rewards. It’s an excellent way to re-engage customers, get information on your most important customers, and determine what reward types are the most lucrative for your business.

The Booxi appointment booking integration offers the following unique features for boutiques that want to elevate the individual shopping experience, especially for high-end clients:

• Allow customers to request or self-book appointments online
• Offer in-store try-ons and fittings for customers, including trying on items that they have in their online cart
• Provide multiple services in addition to shopping (e.g. makeup services in addition to styling)
• Create events such as group private shopping experiences (e.g. private shopping for wedding parties)
• Offer 1:1 in-person or video consultations to help clients style themselves or prepare for in-store appointments

Lightspeed Retail Booxi personal shopping and appointment booking integration.

You can purchase a Lightspeed Payments-compatible WisePOS E card reader for $299 and an iPad for $329.

Lightspeed offers accessories such as an iPad stand for $199, a cash drawer for $129, a barcode scanner for $199, a label printer for $124, and a receipt printer for $399.

Contact a Lightspeed representative and ask about discounts on retail POS hardware bundles.

Lightspeed offers in-house processing with Lightspeed Payments at a flat rate of 2.6% + $0.10 on all in-person transactions and 2.9% + $0.30 on online transactions.

Lightspeed requires you to fill out an order form, which shows your custom pricing. You will pay one-time fees upfront and you may (depending on your billing cycle) pay for your software subscription on a monthly basis or upfront (in the case of annual or long-term plans).

In general, the longer your POS subscription is, the less you’ll pay per month. However, Lightspeed charges an early termination fee if you decide to cancel your subscription early, and hardware return windows are short, so consider starting out on a monthly plan until you’re sure Lightspeed is the right POS for your clothing store.

Square For Retail is an excellent POS system for boutiques with a single location and a very low budget because the software is free, the hardware is very affordable, and every store owner gets a free online store where customers can order for in-store pickup or shipping. Square is famous for being easy to use, and the company allows you to incorporate an unlimited number of smartphones and tablets on the free plan.

Fashion retailers on the paid plan will also appreciate features such as real-time inventory tracking, unlimited SKUs, bulk importing, and PO management. It’s just as simple and easy to use as any other Square product and could be a great upgrade from the free POS plan if you need more inventory features for your boutique.

We also really appreciate Square’s social media marketing integrations on popular platforms like Instagram and TikTok. You can advertise your clothing and events on all platforms, which is very useful for businesses focused on curating their brand and creating visual appeal. You can even allow for in-app shopping to increase sales.

Note: The free plan is free forever. The paid plan has a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.

You can have an unlimited number of POS devices on the free plan, while paid plans only come with one POS register software license. Every additional register on the paid plan costs $40/device/month.

Note: All free plans apply to single-location businesses only. If you open up multiple locations, you must upgrade to a Plus plan.

Popular add-ons include Square Loyalty (starting at $45/month), Square Payroll (starting at $35/month), and Square Email Marketing (starting at $15/month).

Square offers an extensive amount of free POS system features for boutique store owners, including:

• Free Square online store builder and Square online checkout links to sell online, with or without a website
• Free employee time clock, scheduling, and reporting
• Unlimited number of POS registers on the free plan
• TikTok social media selling and Instagram shoppable posts
• Free invoicing and online appointment setting

Square retail POS for clothing store website.

Paid plans offer more inventory features such as the ability to link vendors to products in your item catalog, which makes reordering items easier. You can also manage inventory and employees in multiple locations on the Square Plus plan. Square’s email/SMS marketing and loyalty programs come as separate paid add-ons.

Square is flexible enough to work for most smaller single-location businesses that don’t need intensive inventory management functions.

Square POS on iPad, Square Register, and Square contactless card reader.

To use Square in-store or on the go for your clothing business, you need at least a smartphone or tablet and a Square contactless card reader ($49).

For a more professional countertop display, consider either the $149 Square Stand with a built-in card reader (iPad not included) or the proprietary $799 Square Register, which comes with a customer-facing screen and a built-in card reader and receipt printer.

Optionally, you can add the handheld  Square Terminal ($299) mobile POS to take sales on the floor or at pop-up shops. Also consider various peripheral equipment, such as barcode scanners and cash registers.

All Square POS systems come with Square’s flat-fee payment processing at the following per-transaction prices:

• In-Person Transactions: 2.5%-2.6% + $0.10 (lower fee on the free plan)
• Online Transactions: 2.6%-2.9% + $0.30 (lower fee on the Plus plan)

Square is completely free, with no commitment, and month-to-month. However, Square is a payment service provider (PSP), which means they have an aggregated merchant account model, so you don’t get your own dedicated merchant account.

Aggregated merchant accounts have a lower tolerance for risk, which can lead to your account being flagged, suspended, or even terminated unfairly. The larger your business is, the better you would be served by having your own dedicated merchant account.

We appreciate that Clover is an all-in-one cloud POS system that combines hardware and software in one sleek package by Fiserv (formerly First Data). This plug-and-play POS system comes preprogrammed with your chosen processing and software package, so it includes everything you need to start selling right out of the box.

Clover is a customizable system that any industry can use, including fashion boutiques, thanks to the substantial number of retail apps and software integrations available from the Clover marketplace.

Some specific features retail boutiques like about Clover include its advanced inventory management, mobile gift card functionality, loyalty program, and discount options. Clover offers several stylish hardware options that you can mix and match for your perfect setup. You can also sell on the go at events using the Clover Go app and card reader.

Clover’s Register plan for retailers includes the following bundled apps: Orders, Register, Promos, Rewards, Employees, and Reporting. Keep in mind that adding additional apps can drive up the monthly price.

While Clover has several software subscription plans, boutique shop owners will benefit most from the Clover Register plan, which costs $44.95/month-$54.90/month if you purchase your Clover hardware upfront.

If you decide to pay for your hardware over time through Clover, you’ll be charged one monthly fee for your hardware/software bundle, which ranges from $130/month to $175/month.

Clover retail software is a pretty straightforward offering, with an online ordering page for pickup or delivery, in-store discounts and promotions, physical and eGift cards, and an offline payments mode so you can still check out customers even if your store’s Wi-Fi stops working.

Whatever advanced or specialized features you want will come in the form of a Clover app. There are 450+ apps available in Clover’s app store for things like advanced inventory management and event ticket sales for hosting events at your boutique.

Clover is also special because you can get a merchant account with one of several Clover hardware/software resellers, meaning that you can find great payment processing fees and contract terms (so long as you get your Clover setup from one of these best Clover merchant account providers).

Clover countertop POS system, handheld POS system, barcode scanner, cash drawer, and card reader.

Clover hardware ranges from $49 for a simple mobile card reader that connects to your phone via Bluetooth (Clover Go) to $1,799 for a Clover Station Duo. Clover also offers a $599 smart terminal called Clover Flex, a pint-size countertop POS called Clover Mini ($799), and a standard $1,699 Clover Station POS. These prices are from Clover.com; pricing from other providers varies.

Note that you cannot reuse your Clover hardware with a different POS system if you decide you don’t like it.

Clover.com offers the following flat-rate payment processing rates:

• Card-Present Transactions: 2.3% + $0.10 per transaction (Clover Register plan); 2.6% + $0.10 (Clover Essentials plan)
• Card-Not-Present Transactions: 3.5% + $0.10 per transaction (all Clover plans)

Card-not-present transactions include online and phone orders, invoice payments, third-party ordering platform payments, manually keyed-in card payments, and any other payment type besides swipe/chip/tap card payments, cash, or check.

If you purchase your Clover POS from another provider, your account may have a different processing model.

Clover offers 36-month and 48-month contracts with early termination fees. Also, you can’t repurpose your Clover hardware if you stop using Clover POS software.

You can get a better merchant contract with one of the best Clover resellers, but before you sign any agreements, make sure Clover is the right POS system for your boutique.

Shopify is an excellent multichannel solution for retailers wanting to sell at one (or several) physical locations, on a website, on an individual seller platform such as Etsy or Amazon, and/or on social media. Shopify templates are professional, unique, and easy to style. With a Shopify online store, customers have several ways to purchase and receive items, plus the ability to start returns online and complete them at any store location.

The platform offers great international sales features, such as the ability to define different regions and alter the language, currency, pricing, and product availability depending on which region a user is in when visiting your online boutique. Users can also manually change the language of the web pages they’re viewing.

If you find that Shopify’s built-in POS features do not provide all the functionalities your business needs, you can add free or paid apps from the huge Shopify app store to complete your POS system setup.

Note: Shopify offers a three-day free trial, no credit card required.

Shopify’s eCommerce pricing plans range from $39/month to $399/month. You get 25% off if you pay for an entire year upfront. Each eCommerce plan (that comes with a full store) offers the “Shopify POS Lite” app for free.

For more retail features, such as in-store pickup and unlimited staff accounts, you’ll need the $89/month/location Shopify Pro subscription, which is added to your monthly eCommerce plan. Additionally, while there are many free Shopify apps on the company’s app market, some require you to sign up for a paid subscription.

Your payment processing rate decreases on higher-level plans. Boutiques with larger transaction volumes should strongly consider upgrading to save money in the long run.

Shopify’s free POS app provides basic in-store order and inventory management, but unlike providers such as Square and Lightspeed, you get to manage multiple stores/locations on any Shopify plan for no extra charge. The Pro app does charge by location.

In general, Shopify’s best features are related to eCommerce sales, including a comprehensive shipping suite that helps you manage all inventory sales from all locations, including in-store, web store, and social media sales. Like Square, you can use Shopify to sell on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Shopify’s unique international online sales features include the ability to:

• Create and manage unique geographical regions with custom shipping and tax rules within one Shopify admin account
• Direct customers to region-specific domains with recommended languages and currencies based on their geographical location
• Create custom pricing, item availability, and website content for each geographical market segment
• Offer duty and import tax estimations at checkout
• Purchase discounted international sales labels

Shopify Shipping set up international shipping zones and rules.

All Shopify store owners who use Shopify’s in-house payment processor to take payments also have access to the Shop Pay app, a popular app that allows users to pay quickly, track their items from anywhere on the globe, and store their personal information (such as contact info and shipping) so they don’t have to enter it again during future purchases.

Shop Pay at checkout example.

A lot of Shopify’s best features will come in the form of an app from Shopify’s app market. The market has over 8,000 apps, with more being added every day. With a Shopify add-on app, you can create your own product catalogs, start email marketing campaigns, and allow customers to create online accounts.

Shopify POS register stand with card reader.

The Shopify app itself runs on most phones and tablets.

Like Square, Shopify offers a range of affordable POS hardware for sellers to take payments in-store and on the go.

The Shopify Chip & Swipe Reader, which is the bare minimum requirement for taking card and mobile phone payments, costs $29. The most expensive hardware is the $639 Shopify Star® mPOP™ With Scanner, an all-in-one customizable retail hardware package.

Not sure what equipment your retail POS system needs? Read our post on Shopify hardware choices, which includes pricing and where to source your hardware.

Shopify integrates with its own in-house payment processor, Shopify Payments. Retailers that use Shopify Payments do not need to pay transaction fees. In-person Shopify Payments processing fees are between 2.4% and 2.7% per transaction, while online payment fees are between 2.4% and 2.9%, plus a $0.30 flat fee. Percentage fees vary depending on your pricing plan.

If you prefer to use a different processor or do not qualify for Shopify’s in-house payment processor, you have several options, but you will have to pay Shopify transaction fees ranging from 0.5% to 2%, depending on your Shopify plan.

Most Shopify requirements surround payment processing. To use Shopify Payments, you must purchase a card reader directly from Shopify. To use a Shopify-approved third-party payment processor, you must use a card reader sold by that payment processor and pay an extra transaction fee to Shopify on top of the payment processing fees you’d pay to a third-party processor.