Every in-store interaction holds valuable customer information that can help retailers provide better shopping experiences, build stronger relationships, and drive growth. Retailers can make the most of these interactions by using customer metafields at the point of sale (POS).

Customer metafields are customizable data fields that let businesses capture and display important details about their customers—from sizing preferences and birthday dates to loyalty tier status and shopping habits.

Now retailers on Shopify POS can bring this powerful customization to in-store experiences. Whether you’re an apparel brand tracking T-shirt sizes, a shoe store recording customer fit preferences, or a home decor retailer noting design consultation details—you can use customer metafields in Shopify to create more personalized, memorable shopping experiences that keep customers coming back.

In this article, you'll learn how customer metafields work in Shopify POS and how you can use them to better serve customers and grow your retail business today.

Table of contents:

What are customer metafields?
4 ways to use retail customer metafields
1. Delivering personalized customer experiences
2. Integrating loyalty programs
3. Powering customer segmentation
4. Staying compliant
Get started with customer metafields in Shopify POS
Customer metafields FAQ

What are customer metafields?

Customer metafields in Shopify are custom fields that allow you to capture additional information about your buyers that go beyond the basics of name, address, and email. Metafields can be used to collect the customer attributes that matter most to your business—and in a structured manner.

In the context of your retail store, customer metafields allow in-store staff to contribute to the customer data you collect, with fields for anything from birthdays and loyalty program data to customer preferences and tax IDs.

Metafields support a variety of content type formats, ensuring the data that is captured is consistent and structured. Here are some examples of content types:

Use the Date and time content type to capture customer birthdays or anniversaries.
Use the True or False content type to collect things like membership status to a loyalty program.
Use the Text content type in a list to create a drop-down of set product categories that a customer shops.

Check out all the content types that metafields support on the Help Center.

A preview of customer metafields displayed within the Shopify POS app.

Providing structured data for staff to assign retail customer attributes can be a game changer as you remove the friction of staff needing to type in full lines of text to capture additional data. Generic customer notes or tags leave you exposed to staff errors or typos and often cannot be leveraged at scale to create customer segments or run effective marketing programs. With customer metafields, staff can collect the information that matters most to your business in just a few taps, contributing to consistent datasets that can fuel personalized marketing campaigns or offers.

SEE A DEMO: Dive into customer metafields, customer receipt selection, and required checkout information in Shopify POS. Check out the interactive demo.

4 ways to use retail customer metafields

Here are four key ways retailers can use customer metafields on Shopify POS:

Delivering personalized customer experiences
Integrating loyalty programs
Powering customer segmentation
Staying compliant

1. Delivering personalized customer experiences

Customer metafields allow you to store unique information about each customer, such as their preferences, past purchases, or special dates (e.g., birthdays or anniversaries). This data can be used by your sales associates to offer a more personalized shopping experience.

Imagine greeting a customer by recommending products that match their past purchases or wishing them a happy birthday with a special discount. This level of personalization not only enhances customer satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of repeat purchases.

For example,a boutique could use metafields to track customer clothing sizes, favorite brands, and preferred styles, enabling sales associates to make personalized recommendations and tailor the shopping experience.

2. Integrating loyalty programs

Integrate your loyalty program directly into Shopify POS by using customer metafields to store loyalty points, membership tiers, or rewards. Sales associates can quickly view and update a customer’s loyalty status during checkout, ensuring they never miss out on earning points or redeeming rewards.

For example, a skin care business can leverage metafields to track how many refills of moisturizer a customer has purchased, automatically applying a discount for a free refill after every 10th purchase, and displaying it directly on the POS.

3. Powering customer segmentation

Customer metafields can be a powerful tool for segmenting your customer base. By attributing customers with specific metafields, you can tailor your marketing strategies accordingly. For example, in-store staff might offer enhanced service to “VIP” customers, or apply an exclusive discount for customers when they shop in-store during their birthday month.

For example, a pet store could use metafields to segment customers based on the animal they have, such as "Dog" or "Cat," allowing marketing teams to tailor email campaigns to each segment with products that are relevant to their type of pet.

4. Staying compliant

Customer metafields can also be a vital asset for ensuring compliance with various legal and regulatory requirements. Using metafields, you can store essential compliance-related information directly within a customer profile, making it easier to manage and access this critical data. This capability is crucial for adhering to laws and regulations, which can vary significantly by region and industry.

For example,a business that sells to other businesses could use the “Number” content type of metafields to store each customer’s Tax ID or VAT number. Having this data structured and easy to access would streamline invoicing and tax exemption processes.

SEE A DEMO: Dive into customer metafields, customer receipt selection, and required checkout information in Shopify POS. Check out the interactive demo.

Get started with customer metafields in Shopify POS

These strategies are just the beginning. With the ability to display and capture additional customer information directly in POS, retailers and their staff can now improve clienteling and operational efficiency while driving more repeat purchases. As customer expectations continue to evolve, leveraging tools like customer metafields on Shopify POS ensures you stay ahead of the curve, offering an in-store experience that’s both seamless and deeply personalized.

Start using customer metafields for Shopify POS

Gain more insights into your retail customers today. If you're already on Shopify, you can set up customer metafields in your Shopify admin now.

Get started

Customer metafields FAQ

How do I set up customer metafields in Shopify POS?

If you already use Shopify POS, you can create and configure customer metafields in the Shopify admin. Once you’ve created your metafields, you can “pin” the metafields you wish to appear in POS. Get more details on setup in the Help Center.

How do I add and edit customer metafields for in-store customers in Shopify POS?

You can add and update customer metafields to both existing and new customer profiles in Shopify POS in the “Customers” section of the navigation bar. Once there, you can:

Add metafields to an existing customer profile: Type the customer's name or email in the search bar, and then tap the customer.
Add metafields to a new customer profile: Tap the '+' icon and add the customer's details.

From there, you can use the “Metafields” option to “View all.” Then you can select the metafields you want to add or edit. For step-by-step instructions, learn more in the Help Center.

Erica Lefaive