Here's a secret about Shopify curbside pickup: the setup is the easy part. Flipping it on takes a few minutes in your Shopify admin. The hard part is everything that happens after a customer clicks "Pickup" at checkout (the "I'm here, which door?" texts, the order that isn't bagged yet, the associate who has no idea this is a VIP's third purchase this month).

Curbside pickup first went mainstream in spring 2020, when stores closed and retailers scrambled to get orders to customers. It has since settled into a quieter but lasting role. Digital Commerce 360 found that only 24.8% of Top 1000 retail chains offered curbside pickup in 2024, down from 55.1% in 2020. Yet the chains that kept it had an average conversion rate of 3.9%, compared with 3.1% across the Top 1000 overall. Fewer retailers offer it, and the ones that do convert better. That's an opening for your brand.

In this guide, you'll learn what curbside pickup is, how to set it up in Shopify step by step, how to run it smoothly in Shopify POS, and how to turn each pickup into a relationship rather than a transaction. Let's start with the basics.

Key takeaways:

• Shopify curbside pickup runs on the pickup in store feature. There is no separate curbside toggle.
• Turn on pickup for each location under Settings > Shipping and delivery > Pickup in store, then add parking and arrival instructions.
• In Shopify POS, staff prepare each order, mark it Ready for pickup, walk it out and mark it Picked up.
• Shopify's native notifications are one-way, so give customers a two-way text line to say they've arrived.
• Treat each handoff as a clienteling moment: greet the customer by name, mention a complementary piece and follow up afterward.

What Is Curbside Pickup?

Curbside pickup is a fulfillment option where customers buy online, then collect their order outside your store, usually without leaving their car. When they arrive, a store associate brings the order out to them. It's essentially drive-thru for retail: fast, free for the customer, and no shipping wait.

Curbside is a close cousin of buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). With BOPIS, the customer walks in to collect the order. With curbside, you walk the order out. Many retailers offer both, and in Shopify they run on the same underlying feature.

Especially when holidays like Mother's Day are approaching, curbside pickup guarantees customers that they'll have their products on time (and with no shipping cost!). When delivery windows are slow or uncertain, same-day pickup at a store down the road looks pretty appealing.

Curbside pickup vs. BOPIS vs. local delivery

Shopify handles all three natively: pickup in store and local delivery are both delivery methods under Settings > Shipping and delivery.

Why Curbside Pickup Still Matters for Retailers

Curbside pickup exploded during the pandemic. The number of buy-online, pick-up-in-store transactions surged 208% in the first three weeks of April 2020 compared with the same period the year before. Curbside played a role similar to take-out in hospitality, letting customers who had already placed orders retrieve them without entering the store.

Stores reopened, and many big chains quietly scaled curbside back. So why should a specialty brand bother today?

• It converts. In the Digital Commerce 360 data, chains offering curbside pickup averaged a 3.9% conversion rate in 2024. Retailers offering BOPIS averaged 3.4%, and the Top 1000 baseline was 3.1%.
• It removes shipping costs. The customer collects the order, so there's no carrier label or last-mile delivery to pay for.
• It's fast. An order that's already on your shelf can be ready the same day, which matters for gifts and last-minute occasions.
• It differentiates you. With fewer retailers offering curbside than in 2020, it's a convenience your competitors may have dropped.
• It creates a face-to-face moment. Every pickup is a chance for an associate to greet a customer by name, which is the start of clienteling (more on that below).

Convinced? Here's how to switch it on.

How to Set Up Curbside Pickup in Shopify (Step by Step)

Shopify doesn't have a separate "curbside" toggle. Curbside pickup runs on Shopify's pickup in store feature. You turn on pickup for a location, then use the pickup instructions to tell customers how the curbside handoff works. According to Shopify's Help Center, you need at least one location that fulfills online orders and the latest version of Shopify checkout.

1. Open your delivery settings. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Pickup in store, then select the location that will offer curbside.
2. Turn on pickup for that location. Activate Let customers pick up orders directly at this location. Repeat for every store that will offer curbside, since pickup is set up location by location.
3. Set the expected pickup time. Choose a processing time from the Expected pickup date drop-down. Customers see this at checkout, so pick a window your team can reliably hit.
4. Decide on store transfers (optional). If a pickup location runs out of stock, you can let inventory transfer in from other locations and set a different processing time for those orders.
5. Write curbside instructions. In the Ready for pickup notification section, spell out the curbside process: where to park, what to bring (order number or ID), store hours and how to let you know they've arrived. This text goes into the email customers receive when their order is ready.
6. Preview and save. Use the checkout preview to see what customers will see, then click Save.

A couple of extras are worth doing once the basics are live:

• Show pickup availability on product pages. Shopify themes support a pickup availability block, so shoppers can see "Available for pickup at [store]" before they check out.
• Add apps if you need scheduling. Native Shopify pickup doesn't let customers choose a specific pickup date and time slot. Shopify App Store options such as Zapiet ‑ Pickup + Delivery add time-slot scheduling, order limits and dedicated curbside modes.

If you're on Shopify Plus, you can also build or install custom pickup logic, but most specialty retailers will be well served by the native setup.

How to Manage Curbside Orders in Shopify POS

Once orders start coming in, your store team handles them in Shopify POS. The Shopify POS pickup workflow looks like this:

1. Prepare the order. Staff open the pickup order, gather the items and set them aside. They can print a pickup slip with a scannable QR code to keep with the bag.
2. Mark it Ready for pickup. Tapping Ready for pickup and sending the notification tells the customer their order is waiting, along with the instructions you wrote in setup.
3. Hand it off at the curb. When the customer arrives, staff find the order (scan the QR code or search), walk it out and confirm the customer's name or order number.
4. Mark it Picked up. Staff tap Mark as picked up and can send an email or text pickup confirmation.

Staff need the Fulfill shipping and pickup orders permission in Shopify POS to complete these steps, so check your staff roles before launch day.

Curbside Pickup Best Practices for Specialty Retailers

The Shopify settings are the plumbing. What customers actually remember is the handoff. Here's how to make it smooth:

• Designate and sign your curbside spots. Numbered spots ("Park in spot 2 and text us") remove all guesswork.
• Give customers a way to say "I'm here." A two-way text line beats making customers call the store and wait on hold.
• Staff the handoff deliberately. Assign a curbside owner for each shift, so orders don't sit while everyone is helping walk-in shoppers.
• Keep inventory accurate. Nothing sours curbside faster than a "Ready" order that's missing an item. Keep online and in-store stock in sync.
• Set honest pickup times. It's better to promise two hours and deliver in one than the other way around.
• Advertise it. Mention curbside on product pages, in your checkout, on your store locator, in email and on social. Customers can't use it if they don't know it exists.
• Set a hold policy. Decide how long you'll hold an uncollected order and send a reminder before it goes back to stock.
• Plan for returns. Decide whether curbside customers can also drop off returns and exchanges, and say so in your instructions.

How to Coordinate Curbside Pickups (the Part Shopify Leaves to You)

While Shopify makes it easy for customers to opt in to curbside pickup at checkout, the next step is actually helping customers coordinate their pickup. The Ready for pickup email is one-way. But curbside is a conversation: "I'm running late." "Can my partner collect it?" "Which entrance?" "Can you add a gift bag?"

That's where most pickup programs get messy. Associates end up texting customers from personal phones, or the store's landline rings off the hook while someone is mid-sale.

With Endear, any retail team can easily share logistics and info with customers over email or text, even enabling customers to text in when they're ready to retrieve their items. Replies land in one shared inbox, so whoever is on curbside duty can see the message, grab the bag and head out. No personal phones, no lost threads.

Turn Every Curbside Pickup into a Clienteling Moment

Here's what separates a curbside program that's merely convenient from one that grows revenue: what the associate knows when they walk to the car.

Endear syncs your Shopify customer and purchase data into a single profile your associates can pull up on the floor. So instead of handing a bag to a stranger, your associate can see that this is a customer's fourth order, that they bought the matching top last month and that their size runs a half-size up in your footwear. That's a two-minute handoff that feels like a relationship. Try these ideas:

• Leave a personal note in the bag referencing something the customer bought before.
• Mention a complementary piece that's in stock ("The belt that goes with that dress just came in. Want me to set one aside?").
• Capture what you learn. With AI Notetaker, associates can record a quick voice note after the handoff ("Shopping for her sister's wedding in June") and it syncs straight to the customer's profile.
• Follow up after the pickup. Endear's AI Opportunity Engine surfaces a daily queue of high-intent customers and drafts brand-aligned messages that associates review before sending. On the AI Opportunity Engine page, Endear reports that one specialty retailer went from 60 outreach messages a week to 360 within 6 weeks of enabling it, without adding headcount, and earned $35 in attributed revenue for every $1 spent on actioned opportunities.
• Invite them back. Offer a styling session or fitting through Appointments, so the next visit happens inside the store.

Curbside pickup gets the customer to your door. Clienteling brings them back through it. If you want to see how the two fit together on Shopify, request a demo and we'll walk you through it.

Who Offered Curbside Pickup First? Brands That Led the Way in 2020

When stores closed in spring 2020, it surprised no one that big-box retailers such as Kohl's, Nordstrom and Home Depot quickly launched curbside service. But Shopify made sure smaller brands and retailers could participate too. Below are some of the fashion brands and retailers we featured when they rolled out curbside pickup that spring. (Offerings change, so check each brand's site for what's available today.)

Neighborhood Goods: In addition to offering free shipping and delivery via Postmates, Neighborhood Goods offered curbside pickup at its Plano location. They explained the decision in a message to customers on their blog at the time.

Ulla Johnson: Ulla Johnson launched curbside pickup for their store in Amagansett. Customers could also coordinate their pickups through phone, email or DM.

LoveShackFancy: Along with offering online styling services, LoveShackFancy encouraged customers to pick up items directly at their West Village, Sag Harbor and Palm Beach locations.

Uncommon James: Founder Kristin Cavallari announced on Instagram that her brand Uncommon James would offer curbside pickup at its Chicago store.

Veronica Beard: With the exception of its Greene Street location in NYC, all of Veronica Beard's stores opened for curbside pickup, as well as FaceTime appointments and home delivery.

Thom Sweeney: The luxury menswear brand offered curbside pickup at its store in SoHo in NYC.

Fitness Hub Shop: The luxury activewear boutique offered both private shopping appointments and curbside pickup for purchases in conjunction with its online store.

Anine Bing and Birdies also announced curbside pickup as "coming soon" at the time.

Notice the pattern? The brands that did curbside well paired it with a personal channel: DMs, FaceTime appointments, private shopping. That instinct is exactly what turns a pickup program into a loyalty program.

Curbside Pickup FAQ

How do I add a pickup in store option in Shopify?

Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Pickup in store in your Shopify admin, select a location and activate Let customers pick up orders directly at this location. Set an expected pickup time, add pickup instructions and save. Repeat for each location.

How can retailers enable buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) on Shopify?

BOPIS, click and collect and curbside all use the same Shopify feature. Turn on pickup in store for each retail location, make sure the location fulfills online orders and uses the latest checkout, then manage orders in Shopify POS by marking them Ready for pickup and Picked up. For curbside, add arrival and parking instructions to the Ready for pickup notification.

Is curbside pickup still a thing?

Yes, though it's less universal than in 2020. According to Digital Commerce 360, 24.8% of Top 1000 retail chains offered curbside pickup in 2024, and those chains had higher average conversion rates than the group overall.

What are the disadvantages of curbside pickup?

Curbside takes staff time away from the sales floor, needs clear parking and signage, and can frustrate customers if orders aren't ready or nobody answers when they arrive. Most of these problems come down to staffing and communication, which is why a dedicated curbside owner and a two-way text line matter.

Can I offer pickup at multiple Shopify locations?

Yes. Pickup in store is set up per location, so you can enable it at as many stores as you like. Customers choose their preferred pickup location at checkout, and you can allow store transfers when a location is out of stock.

What's the difference between curbside pickup and curbside delivery?

Curbside pickup means the customer drives to your store and you bring the order to their car. Curbside delivery usually means a carrier or your own team drops the order at the curb outside the customer's home. In Shopify, the first is handled by pickup in store and the second by local delivery or shipping.

How do I find retailers offering curbside pickup?

Check a retailer's store locator or checkout. Most show "pickup" or "curbside" as a delivery option when you enter your ZIP code. Many brands also list curbside on their store pages or announce it by email and social media.

How do I let customers tell me they've arrived?

Shopify's native notifications are one-way emails and texts, so give customers a direct line: a phone number, or better, a two-way text number in your pickup instructions. Tools like Endear let customers text in when they arrive and route that message to the associate on curbside duty.

Make Curbside Pickup Your Next Loyalty Channel

Shopify curbside pickup takes minutes to set up: enable pickup in store, write clear curbside instructions and run the handoff in Shopify POS. Your real advantage comes from what happens at the car: smooth two-way communication, an associate who knows the customer and a follow-up that brings them back.

Ready to give your store team the customer context and messaging tools that turn pickups into repeat visits? Request a demo to see Endear on Shopify, or email us at support@endearhq.com.