The register in a modern retail store is an iPad on a swivel stand, and the card reader is the phone in the manager’s pocket. Shopify POS runs on iOS and iPadOS, Tap to Pay turns an iPhone into a contactless terminal in supported markets, and a store’s device fleet enrolls through Apple Business Manager like any other corporate hardware.
The hardware question is largely settled. The build behind it is not.
Most Shopify development agency shortlists assume a single storefront. One website, one checkout, one inventory count. That assumption holds until the brand also has retail doors, a wholesale line, and an ERP that believes it owns inventory.
At that point the evaluation changes. The question stops being “can this agency build a good Shopify site” and becomes “can this agency keep four channels reporting the same numbers.” Those are different capabilities, and the Shopify Partner Directory does not distinguish between them.
Below are seven agencies with published evidence of the second capability, along with what each is actually best at.
How these were assessed
Four checks, all publicly verifiable:
- Shopify Partner Directory tier. Shopify sorts directory partners into Select (small and medium business), Plus (mid-market and larger), Premier (large enterprise), and Platinum (global enterprise). Platinum is the top tier and is invitation-only. Independent estimates put it at roughly 86 agencies worldwide against about 148 at Premier, from a program with more than 100,000 partners.
- Directory rating and review volume, which Shopify publishes on each profile.
- Published case work on complex builds — a named engagement involving multi-location retail, B2B, ERP integration, or replatforming, rather than a service-page bullet.
- Evidence of integration or middleware capability, since that is where multi-channel builds fail.
Solo Media Group
Best for: mid-market brands running retail, wholesale, and DTC at once
Tier: Platinum
Directory rating: 5.0 (38 reviews)
Partner since: March 2018
Offices: New York, Los Angeles, Miami
The strongest mid-market fit here, and the highest verifiable single-client retail location count. Solo Media Group’s directory profile documents managing 59 Shopify POS locations for HUK Gear, working directly with the client’s CIO, including ERP integration, custom discount logic spanning multiple sales channels, and maintaining the apps keeping inventory synced across the full footprint.
The work spans channels rather than concentrating in one. On the retail side, the team built Los Angeles Apparel’s SoHo flagship with in-store pickup, DoorDash delivery integration, and custom staff-specific POS tiles. On wholesale, they launched a gated Shopify Plus B2B expansion store for Elm Biosciences with wholesale pricing and automated ordering rules for its professional dermatology network. Firm-wide totals: 500+ Shopify merchants served, 75+ replatforms and new builds, and 100+ migrations from Magento, BigCommerce, and custom platforms.
Clutch placed the firm second among US Shopify development companies in its July 2026 rankings. Engagements start around $20,000, which puts genuinely complex multi-channel work within reach of brands well below enterprise scale — the gap most often left open, since agencies capable of this work usually price for enterprise. Industries listed: B2B, clothing and fashion, CPG, health and beauty. Team supports English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.
Where it fits: brands in the $5M–$50M range whose channel mix has outgrown a DTC-only build. Design, build, migration, retail, and B2B sit under one team rather than being subcontracted out, which is the practical difference between a shopify plus development agency and a studio that resells specialists.
Arctic Grey
Best for: breadth and scale across all four channels
Tier: Platinum
Directory rating: 5.0 (174 reviews)
Partner since: April 2013
Primary location: New York
The largest operation here by a wide margin, and the highest-reviewed anywhere on this list. Arctic Grey’s directory profile cites support for more than 1,000 Shopify stores across DTC, B2B, wholesale, and POS, and the firm publicly claims $5.5B+ in merchant revenue, 28 industry awards, and 500+ five-star reviews. Clutch ranks them first among US Shopify development companies.
Integration credentials are stated explicitly: ERP work across Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, and Oracle NetSuite, with unified commerce positioning that centralizes inventory and customer data across channels. They also run a try-before-you-buy model, offering a functional demo build before commitment.
Where it fits: brands wanting the widest available capability surface from a partner whose review volume and tenure both exceed everyone else here. The tradeoff of scale is the usual one — you are one of a thousand-plus stores rather than one of a few hundred.
SDG
Best for: enterprise retail chains and unified commerce
Tier: Platinum
Focus: Shopify POS, OMS and ERP integration
The most retail-specific practice here, and the one with the largest chain names attached. SDG positions itself around unified commerce for enterprise retailers — in-store and online on a single back office, synced inventory, orders and customers, buy-online-pickup-in-store and ship-from-store, integrated to the client’s OMS or ERP. Published omnichannel work includes Barnes & Noble, GAP, and Peet’s Coffee.
Their stated approach covers multi-location operations with unified reporting and role-based staff permissions, so head office retains visibility while each store runs independently. That distinction — central reporting without central bottlenecks — is the one most multi-location builds get wrong.
Where it fits: national chains where the store count runs to hundreds and the OMS is already fixed.
BlueSwitch
Best for: franchise and multi-brand operations
Tier: Platinum
Established: 1999
Location: New York
Among the longest-running agencies in the Shopify ecosystem, with a fully in-house team and published totals of 600+ websites and $1B in client sales. The case work leans toward operationally complicated commerce rather than DTC.
Two published projects illustrate the range. For European Wax Center — the largest hair-removal chain in the United States — BlueSwitch built B2B functionality allowing head office to interact with franchises at an inventory and logistics level, including a custom advanced inventory module. For Shop Panasonic, they built a Shopify Plus storefront with a multi-admin interface connecting inventory, fulfillment, and payments across a broad catalog. Directory industries: B2B, clothing and fashion, food and drink, health and beauty.
Where it fits: franchise networks and multi-brand groups where head office and individual locations need different permissions against shared inventory.
Zaelab (formerly Trellis)
Best for: manufacturer and distributor B2B
Focus: enterprise B2B, headless, ERP
Operating as Zaelab following acquisition. Deep B2B and enterprise roots, with strength helping manufacturers and distributors modernize commerce on Shopify, including headless builds and complex integrations. Published client work includes Titleist, Simpson Strong Tie, and Bonobos. Relevant specifically where SAP or broader ERP integration sits alongside the Shopify build.
Uncap
Best for: ERP-first integration projects
Clutch: top five among US Shopify development companies
Positioned around ERP integration as the primary practice rather than a supporting service. Appears fifth in Clutch’s July 2026 US ranking. Worth a conversation where the integration is the project and the storefront is downstream of it.
Fyresite
Best for: creative-led builds with strategic input
Tier: Premier
Location: Tempe, Arizona
A Shopify Premier Partner with a reputation for combining creative strategy with development, and the strongest regional option here outside the New York concentration. A fit for brands weighting brand expression and customer experience alongside technical delivery.
The Apple side of a Shopify build
Retail on Shopify runs largely on Apple hardware, and the seam between the commerce build and the device fleet is where responsibility tends to go unassigned.
Three things worth settling before signing:
Who owns device management. Retail iPads should enrol through Apple Business Manager and be supervised by whatever MDM the business already runs, which allows single-app mode, blocks staff from wandering out of the POS app, and permits remote wipe when a device disappears — which eventually it will. Most development agencies treat this as the client’s IT problem. That is a defensible position, but it needs saying out loud rather than discovered at rollout.
Whether Tap to Pay changes the hardware plan. Turning an iPhone into a contactless terminal removes the reader from the equation entirely in supported markets, which changes the economics of pop-ups, markets, and floor selling. Whether it suits a given store depends on transaction mix and market availability, and it is worth asking an agency to model both before ordering countertop kits.
How checkout handles Apple Pay. Wallet-based checkout is a conversion lever on mobile, and how it interacts with subscriptions, discount logic, and B2B payment terms is a build decision rather than a toggle. Agencies that have shipped Shopify Functions work will have opinions here.
None of this is exotic, but it sits between two vendors — the agency and whoever manages the devices — and unassigned seams are the recurring theme of multi-channel projects.
What to ask, whoever you shortlist
Tier and reviews establish that an agency has cleared a bar. They say nothing about whether it has cleared yours. Four questions that separate depth from enthusiasm:
- Which system is the inventory source of truth, and what happens when it disagrees with Shopify? A specific answer names the authoritative system and describes conflict resolution. A vague answer describes a sync app.
- Show me a build where online, POS, and wholesale reconciled against one inventory source — and what broke first. Every real project has an answer to the second half.
- Given our channel mix, which channel would you architect around, and what does that cost the others? There is always a tradeoff. Agencies with real depth name it without hesitating.
- What does year two cost, in hours and dollars? Firms structured for continuity answer immediately, because the number already exists.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I verify a Shopify development agency’s partner tier?
Search the agency in Shopify’s Partner Directory at shopify.com/partners/directory. Each profile displays the tier badge, the partner-since date, and the directory rating with review count. Tier is assigned by Shopify and reviewed quarterly, so it cannot be self-reported. If an agency’s website claims a tier its directory profile does not show, trust the directory.
What is the difference between Plus, Premier, and Platinum?
Plus indicates demonstrated success with mid-market and larger merchants. Premier is designed for large enterprises and requires a higher credential threshold. Platinum is the top tier, invitation-only, and aimed at global enterprise businesses. Estimates place Platinum at roughly 86 agencies worldwide and Premier at about 148.
What should a Shopify development agency cost?
Full design-and-build engagements at agencies serving mid-market and enterprise brands commonly start around $20,000 to $25,000 and scale with integration count rather than page count. Senior blended rates typically sit near $150 per hour, with support retainers from roughly $3,000 per month. Meaningfully below that band, work is usually being routed to junior staff or offshore.
How long does a Shopify build take?
A single-storefront build typically runs 8 to 12 weeks. Adding POS rollout, B2B, and ERP integration does not double the timeline but adds discovery weight up front, because the data model has to settle before design starts. Compressing discovery is where multi-channel projects go wrong.
Do I need Shopify Plus, or will standard Shopify work?
Standard Shopify supports POS and multiple locations. Plus becomes necessary when you need native B2B company accounts, expansion stores for separate regions or brands, Shopify Functions for custom discount logic, or checkout extensibility. If wholesale is a genuine revenue line rather than occasional orders, Plus is usually correct.
Can we keep selling during a replatform?
Yes, with a staged rollout: migrate and validate data in a parallel environment, cut over online first, then bring retail onto the new inventory source once online is stable. Agencies that have done this have a documented sequence. Ask to see it.
How should retail iPads be managed?
Enrol them through Apple Business Manager and manage them with whatever MDM the business already runs. Supervision allows single-app mode, prevents staff from navigating out of the POS app, and enables remote wipe when a device goes missing. Clarify early whether the development agency or the client’s IT function owns this, because it is frequently assumed by both and done by neither.
Does Shopify POS run on iPhone as well as iPad?
Yes. Shopify POS runs on both iOS and iPadOS, and Tap to Pay on iPhone allows contactless card acceptance without a separate reader in supported markets. iPads remain the norm for fixed counters because of screen size and stand ecosystem; iPhones suit floor selling, markets, and pop-ups. Confirm current market availability for Tap to Pay before building it into a rollout plan.
