Most Shopify merchants who also sell in physical locations have some kind of store locator on their site. Usually it's a page with a list of addresses, maybe a static map image, sometimes a Google Maps embed with a pin for each store. It works, sort of. It's also the kind of page a customer opens once, finds mildly frustrating, and closes without buying anything.
A good store locator does more than list addresses. It answers the handful of questions a customer actually has, fast, on a phone.
What Shopify gives you without an app
Start with what's built in, because for some stores it's enough.
- Pickup availability on product pages. If you offer pickup in store, Dawn, the Horizon themes and many paid themes can show on each product page whether an item is available for pickup, and roughly when. Customers can click Check availability at other stores to see every pickup location. It only covers locations with pickup turned on and products stocked there.
- A locations page. A regular Shopify page with each store's address, hours and phone number, plus an embedded map, is fine for one or two shops.
Past a few locations, a static page gets hard to use. There's no search, no “nearest to me”, no filtering, and every change to your hours means editing the page by hand.
What a store locator app adds
This is the version we build. Store Locator by Pasilobus adds a searchable map of your locations to your theme, and it carries Shopify's Built for Shopify badge. Shopify describes the badge as meaning an app “meets our highest standards for performance, design, and integration”.
- Search that matches how people look. Customers search by city or ZIP, or use their current location. You choose whether the map starts empty, starts from the visitor's location, or shows every store. You also set the search radius in miles or kilometers.
- Details on the result. Hours, logos and custom filters, so someone looking for your flagship or an outlet can narrow the list. Business hours and custom fields come with the Growth plan and up.
- Directions. A “Get Directions” link opens Google Maps or Apple Maps depending on the device. It's on the paid plans.
- Your style. Light, dark or satellite map styles, with your own marker icons and colors.
- CSV import and export. Upload 80 stores at once instead of typing them in, and export whenever you need a backup. It's on every plan, including the free one.
- Search analytics. See where customers are searching for your stores, which helps when you're deciding where demand is. Analytics come with the Advanced plan and up.
No Google Maps API key needed
Anyone who has set up a store locator before will know why this matters. Many locators need a Google Maps API key, which means a Google Cloud account, billing and quotas, and a bill that grows with map loads. Plenty of merchants give up on the project at the Google Cloud sign-up screen.
Store Locator uses OpenStreetMap by default. It's free and needs no API key: you install the app, add your locations, and the map works. If you'd rather use Google Maps or Mapbox, you can switch in the app's settings by adding a Google Maps API key or a Mapbox access token. Your locations and settings are kept when you switch.
The free plan is a real store locator
The free Starter plan includes the working locator (map, search and import/export) for up to 100 locations, with no credit card at install. Most small retailers won't outgrow it. Paid plans add more locations and features such as directions, business hours, custom fields and analytics. The current plan list is on the App Store listing.
We did it this way on purpose. Hiding the basic locator behind a paywall would mean shipping something that isn't really a store locator. Better that merchants use the free version, find it good, and upgrade once they need more.
Before you choose: a quick checklist
- Open your current locations page on your phone. Can you find the nearest store and its hours in under ten seconds?
- Is every location's address, phone number and opening time current? Seasonal hours are the most common thing to go stale.
- Are your stores set up as locations in Shopify, with pickup turned on where you offer it, so product pages can show pickup availability?
- Is the locator linked from your header or footer, not buried on the About page?
If you're running stock across several stores, our guide to running one inventory across multiple Shopify stores is a useful companion, and for mobile basics see optimizing your Shopify store for mobile.
Store Locator is on the Shopify App Store, with a free plan and the Built for Shopify badge. The help centre covers adding and importing locations and choosing a map provider.