Connecting multiple outlets with your Lightspeed eCom
When you enable Lightspeed eCom, you connect it with one of your outlets. The inventory from this outlet becomes available for selling online.
To expand the range of products available for online sale, you can connect more outlets with your online store. That way, inventories from all Retail POS locations that you chose are combined and synced as your “online stock”.
What is more, connecting several outlets with eCom allows you to create more flexible delivery and pickup methods for your customers. As a result, your buyers get a wider array of options for receiving orders. This improves their shopping experience and makes it more likely that they will choose to make a purchase from your store.
Connecting outlets to your Lightspeed eCom
When you activate Lightspeed eCom in your Retail POS, you choose what outlets to sync with your online store. Even if you choose only one outlet, you can later add more outlets to include their stock levels to your “online stock”.
When you update inventory levels in Retail POS, the number of items will automatically update in your online store. You manage inventory as usual: from your Retail POS.
To sync a new outlet with your eCom store:
- From your Retail POS, navigate to Setup → Apps.
- Locate Lightspeed eCom and click the pencil icon:
- Scroll to the Sync Inventory Levels and select what Retail POS outlet you wish to sync with eCom:
By default, the outlet linked to the register you have chosen for eCom orders will be pre-selected and grayed out. If you do not wish inventory to sync from this outlet, you need to change the register linked to eCom. - Click Save changes.
That’s it! Once done, your online store adopts a multi-outlets model, meaning that stock levels from all outlets connected to eCom are combined. Basically, you create an “online stock” that consists of items from all outlets you’ve connected to eCom.
You can always connect more outlets to eCom or disconnect them from your online store, therefore increasing or reducing the number of goods available for online purchase.
Next steps after connecting multiple outlets
After you connect several outlets to your Lightspeed eCom, please consider the following:
- Items from connected outlets will not automatically appear in your online store. You have to enable products manually to sell them online.
- For each outlet you connect with eCom, you can create a shipping method that will take into account the outlet’s stock level. Customize shipping rules to decide whether you want to restrict delivery/pickup methods that are connected to locations with insufficient inventory, or always allow customers to purchase items from any location.
Disconnecting outlets from your Lightspeed eCom
When you disconnect an outlet:
- Outlet’s inventory is no longer synced with your online store, meaning it will be subtracted from the total “online stock”. If after disconnecting an outlet the number of items in your online store reaches 0, the item will get the “Sold out” label.
- Shipping methods associated with an outlet do not disappear from eCom, and still will be offered at checkout. You should delete those shipping, delivery, or pickup methods manually.
To disconnect an outlet from your eCom store:
- From your Retail POS, navigate to Setup → Apps.
- Locate Lightspeed eCom and click the pencil icon.
- Scroll to the Sync Inventory Levels and deselect outlets that you no longer wish to connect with eCom.
- Click Save changes.
That’s it. You can always connect outlets again.