Frequently Asked Questions

Sign up at shops.co.ke/signup, choose your business type and theme, add your products or services, and start selling. The free plan lets you start immediately with manual payment instructions. No card required.

You can manage your entire shop from your phone. Our dashboard is mobile-friendly, and customers can browse and order from their phones too. WhatsApp ordering works seamlessly on mobile.

Yes! The Free plan is forever-free with manual payments (Till/PayBill instructions, cash on delivery, bank transfer). You only upgrade when you need online M-PESA checkout or advanced features.

No. Shops charges 0% commission on your sales. You only pay your monthly plan fee (if you're on a paid plan) and payment gateway fees from Safaricom/Paystack. You keep all your revenue.

Customers can pay via M-PESA (STK push or Till/PayBill), card (Visa/Mastercard via Paystack), cash on delivery, or bank transfer. You choose which payment methods to accept in your dashboard.

M-PESA fees are set by Safaricom (typically around 1-2% for PayBill/Till). Paystack card payments charge around 1.5% + KSh 30 per transaction. These are paid directly to the payment providers, not to Shops.

In your dashboard under Payments, you can add your M-PESA Till Number or PayBill number. For STK push, you'll need Safaricom Daraja API credentials. We provide step-by-step instructions in the setup wizard.

Yes, through Paystack card payments. International customers can pay with Visa/Mastercard. M-PESA is currently Kenya-only, but cross-border M-PESA is coming soon.

You can set up delivery zones (e.g., Nairobi CBD, Westlands, Mombasa) with different delivery fees. Customers select their location during checkout, and the appropriate fee is calculated automatically.

Yes. You can offer pickup at your store or any location you specify. Customers choose between delivery and pickup during checkout.

You update order status in your dashboard (e.g., "preparing", "out for delivery", "delivered"). Customers receive WhatsApp notifications and can track status via their order link.

Absolutely. You handle delivery however works best for your business — your own riders, courier services, or delivery apps. We just provide the order management and customer communication.

Physical products (clothing, electronics, groceries, etc.), digital products (ebooks, courses, templates), and services (salon appointments, consultations, repairs). You can mix all three in one shop.

In your dashboard under Products, click "Add Product". Upload photos, set price, stock, description, and variants (size, color, etc.). Products appear on your shop immediately.

Yes. Under Services, create bookable services with duration, price, and staff assignment. Customers can book appointments and pay deposits online. You manage the schedule in your dashboard.

You can set a deposit percentage (default 30%) for bookable services. Customers pay the deposit now and the remaining balance on-site when they arrive. This reduces no-shows while giving customers flexibility.

Yes. For digital products, customers don't pay shipping fees. After payment, they receive secure download links. You can sell ebooks, templates, software, courses, and any downloadable content.

Yes, on the Growth plan and above. You can connect your own domain like www.yourshop.co.ke. We provide SSL certificates automatically. Your shop retains the Shops infrastructure with your branding.

Yes. Choose from our theme gallery with Kenyan-inspired designs. Customize colors, logo, fonts, and layout. Advanced plans unlock all themes and white-label options (remove 'Powered by Shops').

When customers place an order, you receive it on WhatsApp with a ready-made invoice link. You can chat with customers, send updates, and handle payment confirmation all within WhatsApp.

Yes, on paid plans. The POS lets you sell in-store with barcode scanning, quick checkout, and inventory sync. Online and in-person inventory stays synchronized.

Yes, on plans that support multiple staff. You can add staff with custom permissions (e.g., can manage products but can't delete the vendor). All actions are logged for accountability.

Yes. We automatically generate SEO-friendly URLs, meta descriptions, and structured data for your products and services. You can also customize titles and descriptions for better ranking.

Share your shop link (shops.co.ke/yourshop) on WhatsApp status, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Use our built-in promotions feature for discount codes. The blog feature helps with SEO and content marketing.

Yes, on plans with this feature. Your shop appears in location-based searches by town and county. Customers looking for local businesses can discover you through our directory.

Yes. View sales data, customer insights, popular products, order trends, and revenue reports in your dashboard. Understand what's working and optimize accordingly.

Visit shops.co.ke/support for help articles, or contact our support team through your dashboard. We also have guides in our blog covering common topics.

Yes, you can cancel or change your plan anytime from your dashboard. There are no long-term contracts. If you cancel, your shop continues on the Free plan with manual payments.

If payment fails, we'll retry for a few days. After that, your shop downgrades to the Free plan. Your data remains safe — you can upgrade again anytime to restore features.

Yes. We use industry-standard encryption for all data. Payment information is handled securely by M-PESA and Paystack — we never store card details. Regular backups protect your data.