For most NZ shops, Lightspeed Retail (the system that used to be Vend) is the safest pick: strong stock control, a Xero listing it built itself, and integrated EFTPOS with all three main NZ terminal providers. Hike is close behind, with an offline mode that kicks in by itself. Shopify POS wins if your online store matters as much as your counter, but read the EFTPOS caveat first. Loyverse is the free option for a small shop.

This is our own desk research from vendor pages, help centres, the Xero App Store and the EFTPOS providers' partner lists, checked on 5 October 2026. We haven't run these systems in a shop ourselves. See all seven systems we cover side by side in the comparison table.

What a retail shop needs from a POS

Stock: barcodes, variants, purchase orders, low-stock alerts

Retail lives and dies on stock. You want barcode scanning at the till, variants (one shirt in five sizes and three colours, tracked as one product), purchase orders to suppliers, and alerts before you run out. Hike's NZ features page lists all of these: variants and SKUs with barcode support, purchase orders, stock transfers, supplier management and low-stock alerts. Loyverse's free plan covers essential inventory; advanced inventory is a paid add-on.

Integrated EFTPOS (and the Shopify exception)

"Integrated" means the POS sends the sale amount to the EFTPOS terminal, so nobody re-keys it. In NZ:

  • Lightspeed: Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), Eftpos NZ (Verifone)
  • Hike: HikePay, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave
  • Shopify POS: No built-in NZ EFTPOS integration (available via the paid OrderMate app)
  • Loyverse: Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), iOS only

Shopify is the odd one out. It takes cards through its own Shopify Payments (1.8% in person on Basic), using Shopify's own card readers, so check with Shopify which NZ cards its readers accept before you rely on them. If you want a Windcave, Verifone or Shift4 terminal on the counter, you need a paid third-party app such as OrderMate. Our Shopify POS and EFTPOS guide explains the options, and our EFTPOS checker shows which systems work with your terminal.

Selling online too

If you run a web store, Shopify POS keeps your shop counter and your online store in one system, and Xero's own Shopify integration covers POS sales alongside online orders. That's its real strength.

Xero

Lightspeed has a Lightspeed-built listing on the Xero App Store NZ. Shopify POS's Xero integration is built by Xero itself, free, and covers POS sales. Hike is listed on the Xero App Store NZ, but Hike's own pricing table shows accounting integrations as unavailable on Essential and an add-on on higher plans (Add-on, Plus and up). Loyverse connects through a free third-party app that posts a daily sales summary. More in our POS and Xero guide.

Clothing and boutiques: sizes and colours

Fashion shops need variants more than anything: a size and colour grid per product, with stock tracked per combination. Hike lists variants with barcode support. Before you sign up anywhere, load a few real products in a trial (or the free plan) and see how quickly staff can find "the blue one in a 12".

The 2026 shop setup

A retail counter used to mean a Windows PC, an impact receipt printer, a barcode scanner, a cash drawer and a magstripe card reader. Today it's usually:

Magstripe readers are gone; cards are tapped or inserted at the EFTPOS terminal.

What a retail POS costs in NZ

Entry prices as shown across this site: Hike ≈ NZ$121/mo incl. GST, Shopify POS ≈ NZ$80/mo incl. GST, Loyverse Free.

Lightspeed is harder to pin down because it has no NZ price list: Lightspeed ≈ NZ$183/mo incl. GST (Retail Basic, converted from A$129/mo, priced with Lightspeed Payments, which isn’t confirmed for NZ; ask Lightspeed for an NZ quote).

Then add the EFTPOS terminal, network and card fees, plus hardware. Our true cost calculator adds it up.

Moving from Vend or Microsoft RMS

Vend users don't need to move: Vend is now Lightspeed Retail (X-Series). If you're on Microsoft Retail Management System or Microsoft POS 2009, read our Microsoft RMS alternatives guide.

Hospitality-first Lazygrid also handles retail from its Standard plan, where inventory tracking and barcode scan-to-cart start, which can suit a café with a retail shelf.

Selling groceries, wine or at markets? See our picks for grocery stores and dairies, bottle stores and market stalls.

Read our Lightspeed review. Read our Hike review. Read our Shopify POS review. Read our Loyverse review.