In-Store Feedback: Running Surveys on Shopify POS

A Shopify POS survey lets you ask for feedback immediately after an in-store sale. With OrderSurvey, staff open Leave feedback from the post-purchase action menu, invite the customer to answer, and submit the response to the same app that collects online survey responses.

Start with one useful question. For example: “How was your visit today?” with a 1–5 rating. Make participation optional and ask only after payment, when the customer has time.

How the POS survey works

OrderSurvey uses Shopify's post-purchase action surface. The action becomes available after a sale completes; staff tap it to open the survey. It does not open automatically, add a smart-grid tile, or currently appear on an older order's details screen.

Customers can answer directly on the device, or staff can record their answers with permission. Responses are associated with the order and labeled POS in OrderSurvey's Responses page. A survey already answered for that order shows its completion message when reopened.

Set up a survey for your retail counter

1. Create a short POS survey in OrderSurvey

In the survey editor:

• Under Display on, select Point of Sale (POS).
• Set the survey to Enabled, choose All orders, and leave targeting rules empty.
• Add one or two questions and save. Check that any start and end dates include today.

Use a separate POS survey if your online survey uses the visual flow builder. Advanced flow actions, including jumps, result pages, redirects and customer tagging, currently require the Thank you or Order status page. Existing simple answer-equality follow-ups are supported on POS, but are a separate capability.

POS supplies an order ID to this extension, not the full product, order-value or customer-history context used by online targeting. First-order and repeat-order audiences cannot be evaluated on this surface. Schedule and priority still affect which eligible survey appears. A no-rule survey is the most straightforward setup to verify.

2. Activate the action in Shopify's POS editor

Follow Shopify's instructions for activating POS action extensions:

1. Open Sales channels → Point of Sale in Shopify admin.
2. In Customize the in-store experience, select Edit Point of Sale.
3. Open the Apps icon, find OrderSurvey under Apps for Point of Sale, and select its POS extension.
4. Turn on Activate on and save.

If the customization section is absent, Shopify provides an alternative route to the POS editor from Settings in the linked instructions. You do not deploy code or edit your store theme to activate this action.

3. Verify one complete response

Use a development store and a POS device for testing where possible. After completing a test sale:

1. Open Leave feedback on the post-purchase screen.
2. Answer the survey and tap Submit. Wait for the completion message.
3. Open OrderSurvey's Responses page and confirm the new answer has the POS label and the expected order.
4. Reopen the action for that same completed order, while it remains available, to confirm it shows completion rather than asking again.

These are device-verification steps, not a claim that your store has already passed them. If you want help, book a setup call and we can walk through your configuration together.

What to ask in person

An NPS question can also be useful: “How likely are you to recommend our shop to a friend?” on a 0–10 scale. See how to calculate NPS for the formula and denominator.

Keep your question, timing and invitation method consistent when comparing results. A customer answering beside a staff member may respond differently from someone answering privately online. A shared scale does not make the two groups directly comparable. Record how you invited responses before interpreting a difference as a change in service quality.

Troubleshoot a missing or incomplete response

No Leave feedback action: confirm the extension is activated, the sale is completed, and you are looking at the post-purchase screen. This action is separate from a smart-grid tile.

“No survey is available”: check the survey's enabled status, POS placement, audience, schedule and targeting. Also check your response allowance. This message is different from a connection or sign-in error.

A sign-in message: use a Shopify login with permission to access apps. The authenticated POS account determines token access; changing only the staff PIN may not resolve it.

A connection error: check connectivity and tap Try again to load. OrderSurvey needs a connection to its server; it does not queue offline responses. Shopify also documents required extension domains in its linked POS setup guide.

A submission cannot be confirmed: keep the survey open and retry Submit after checking the connection. Answers remain in the open survey. If the earlier request reached the server, submitting again does not create another response for the same survey and order. Closing the survey discards answers that were not saved.

Review feedback without overstating what it tells you

Use the Responses page's survey and date filters to review your retail survey. Individual rows identify the POS channel. Unlimited includes CSV export with the response location, so you can separate POS from online responses in a spreadsheet. The app does not currently break POS feedback down by physical store location or attribute repeat purchases to survey answers.

Review comments for specific actions: a missing size, unclear signage, or a request for help. Treat those as leads to investigate rather than proof that one location or employee caused a score.

OrderSurvey has a Free plan with 100 responses across the store per rolling 30 days. Unlimited is $24 USD/month; see current plan details. Install OrderSurvey, or book personal setup help before rolling it out to your staff.

Frequently asked questions