What Shopolo actually is
Most small businesses end up running four or five tools that don't know about each other. There's a loyalty app, a booking widget, a point-of-sale system, a gift card service and a spreadsheet for invoices. Each has its own login, its own customer list and its own bill.
Shopolo puts all of that behind one link: shopolo.app/your-slug. That page is your storefront. Customers use it to:
- collect loyalty stamps
- buy gift cards
- order online
- book appointments or reserve a table
- view your QR menu
Behind it, you manage invoicing and a customer CRM in the same place. One customer record follows someone from their first coffee to their gift card purchase, instead of living in three separate databases.
Why we built it around Stripe Connect
Payments run through Stripe Connect, which means card money lands in your own Stripe account, not in a Shopolo balance that we hold and release later.
That has practical consequences:
- You see your money in your Stripe dashboard. Payout timing follows your Stripe account's own schedule rather than a separate Shopolo one.
- Card handling stays with Stripe. Sensitive card details go through Stripe's systems, not ours.
- The fee is simple. Shopolo takes a flat 1.9% from your Stripe payout on card payments. It's not a monthly charge and customers never pay a markup.
One caveat, stated plainly: you need an active Stripe account before money can move. You can sign up and build your storefront first, but you can't take a real payment until Stripe is connected.
Who it fits: cafés, salons, restaurants
Cafés live on repeat visits. A digital stamp card in the browser replaces the paper card that ends up in a coat pocket, and online ordering lets regulars skip the queue. Loyalty is part of the optional Plus/Premium add-ons.
Salons live on a full appointment book. A booking page on the same link as your gift cards means a client can book a cut and a friend can buy them a voucher without anyone leaving your storefront.
Restaurants need ordering and table reservations without handing a cut of every order to a marketplace. Your QR menu, your online ordering and your reservations all hang off the same address.
What's on the storefront vs what's in the back office
It helps to think of two sides.
Customer-facing (the storefront):
- loyalty stamp card
- gift card purchase
- online ordering and QR menu
- appointment and table booking
Owner-facing (the back office):
- invoicing
- gift card management and balances
- the customer CRM
- orders and bookings coming in
Customers never see the second list. You never have to build the first one from scratch.
Honest note on reminders: Shopolo does not send automated appointment reminders. The field exists in the data model, but nothing sends them yet. If no-shows hurt your salon, plan on reminding clients yourself.
Setting up a Shopolo storefront
The exact screens will change as the product does, but the shape of onboarding is straightforward:
- Sign up. You don't need a Stripe account at this stage.
- Choose your slug. This becomes your link,
shopolo.app/your-slug, so pick something customers can type or remember. - Add what you sell. That means menu items, services, or whatever your business offers.
- Turn on the features you want. Ordering, booking, gift cards and so on. Loyalty and email campaigns sit in the optional add-ons.
- Connect Stripe. Do this before you expect to take payment.
- Share the link. Put it in your Instagram bio, on a counter QR code, or in a text to regulars.
A business that already knows its menu or service list can get through the first five steps in one sitting. The slow part is usually Stripe's own verification, which is outside our control.
How this compares to running four separate tools
Stitching together a loyalty app, a booking app, a POS and a direct Stripe setup works, and plenty of businesses do it. The costs show up in three places:
- Money. Four subscriptions, each with a monthly fee that runs whether or not you had a good month. With Shopolo's model there is no monthly plan fee for the core features. You pay a percentage when you actually take card payments.
- Data. Customers exist in four places, so you can't easily see that the person who booked a colour is also your best gift card buyer.
- Friction. Every tool is another login, another support contact, and another place for a customer to get confused.
Shopolo isn't the right answer for everyone. If you need deep inventory management or a multi-location setup, you may outgrow it. For an independent café, salon or restaurant that wants to be easy to order from, book with and buy gift cards from, one link is simpler to run than four tools.
Where Nanushi fits
Shopolo is built by Nanushi, a studio that also does AI and LLM integration work and React Native mobile app development for businesses that need something more custom than a storefront link. If your needs go beyond what Shopolo does, that's the conversation to have with us. For most small shops, the free storefront is the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Shopolo cost?
The core features are free forever, with no monthly plan fee for ordering, booking, gift cards and the rest. Shopolo takes a flat 1.9% platform fee from your own Stripe payout on card payments. Customers never pay a markup. Plus and Premium are optional add-ons that unlock loyalty, email campaigns and a few other retention features. They don't change the fee.
Do I need a Stripe account to use Shopolo?
You can sign up without one, but you need an active Stripe account before any money can move. Card payments for orders, gift cards and bookings are paid into your Stripe account, so connecting it is the step that turns the storefront from a preview into something that can take payment.
Does Shopolo send automatic appointment reminders?
No. The database has a field for reminders, but nothing sends them today. If no-shows are a problem, you'll need to remind clients yourself for now, by text or a quick message the day before.
Do my customers need to download an app?
No. Your storefront is a web page at shopolo.app/your-slug. Customers open the link on their phone, order, book or buy a gift card, and there is nothing to install.
Which businesses is Shopolo built for?
Independent cafés, restaurants and salons are the clearest fit, along with other small businesses that take orders, bookings or gift card sales. It's less suited to businesses that need heavy inventory management or multi-location enterprise tooling.