If you sell through retail stockists, boutiques or a dealer network, "where can I buy this near me?" is one of the most common questions your site gets — and one of the most expensive to answer badly. A visitor who can't find a nearby store leaves. A store locator answers it in one screen.
Shopify doesn't include a store locator, so you have to add one. This guide covers the three ways to do it — a manual stockist page, a free map embed, or a store locator app that syncs from your Shopify data — then walks through the full setup for the app route, which is what most brands with more than a handful of stockists end up using. No Google Maps API key is needed for any of it.
Your three options for a Shopify store locator
Each of these works. Which one is right depends on how many locations you have and how often they change.
| Option | Best for | Cost | Search by distance | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual stockist page | Under ~10 stockists that rarely change | Free | No | Edit the page by hand |
| Google My Maps embed | A handful of pins, no budget | Free | No (visitor pans/zooms) | Edit in Google, re-embed not needed |
| Store locator app | 10+ locations, a growing network | Free tier, then ~$10–30/mo | Yes, plus geolocation | Automatic from Shopify |
Option 1 — a manual "Where to Buy" page
A plain Shopify page listing each stockist's name, suburb and address, grouped by state or country. It costs nothing, ranks fine for brand-plus-location searches, and is completely under your control. The downside is maintenance: every new or closed stockist means editing the page, and visitors have to scan a list rather than search. If that describes your situation, the full walkthrough (including a metaobject-driven version) is in how to build a Where to Buy / stockist page in Shopify.
Option 2 — a free Google My Maps embed
Google My Maps lets you drop pins on a map and embed it in a Shopify page with an <iframe>. It's free and takes ten minutes. What you don't get is what makes a real store locator useful: visitors can't search for their suburb and see the nearest results sorted by distance, there's no location list alongside the map, the branding is Google's, and it doesn't match your theme on mobile. It's a reasonable stop-gap for five pins; it frustrates people at fifty.
Option 3 — a store locator app
An app gives you the thing visitors actually want: type a postcode or allow location access, see the closest stockists with hours, phone and directions. The trade-off is a subscription once you pass the free tier, and — with many apps — setting up a Google Maps API key and billing account before anything works. The rest of this guide uses Stockist Map Sync, which I built specifically to avoid that: it reads locations straight from your Shopify customers and needs no API key. If you'd like to compare it with the alternatives first, see the best Shopify store locator apps compared.
What a good store locator needs
Whichever route you take, judge it against what a visitor is trying to do:
- Search that understands places — a suburb, city or postcode, with autocomplete, returning results sorted by distance.
- Geolocation — "use my location" so mobile visitors get the nearest stores without typing anything.
- A list next to the map — with opening hours, phone number, website and a "Get directions" link. Pins alone aren't enough.
- Mobile first — most "near me" searches happen on a phone. The map and list should stack cleanly.
- Low maintenance — if adding a stockist means editing three places, it won't get done. The locations should come from wherever you already manage them.
- No page-speed hit — the map should load only on the locator page, not add script weight to every page of the store.
Setting up a Shopify store locator app (step by step)
The concept behind Stockist Map Sync is simple: your stockists are already Shopify customers with names and addresses. Tag a customer as stockist and the app geocodes their address and puts a pin on the map. Change the address in Shopify and the pin moves; remove the tag and it disappears. Your Shopify admin stays the single source of truth, and there's no second database to keep in sync.
If your locations live in a spreadsheet instead, you can import them via CSV rather than tagging customers.
Step 1 — Tag your customers
Go to Customers in your Shopify admin. Find each stockist and add the tag stockist. Make sure each customer has a complete default address — at minimum a city and country. Then open the app and click Sync Now.
Alternatively, go to Import in the app, download the CSV template, fill in your locations, and upload. Addresses are geocoded automatically.
Step 2 — Add the map to your theme
Go to Online Store → Customize (the theme editor). Navigate to the page where you want the map — typically a page called "Store Locator" or "Stockists". Click Add block, search for Plynthr Stockist Map, and add it. Choose your layout (full-width, map-left, or map-right) and save.
Step 3 — Customise
In the app's Settings page, you can change the map style (5 options including dark mode and topographic), set your marker colour to match your brand, configure the default map centre and zoom, and toggle the search bar on or off. Changes appear on your storefront within a few minutes.
That's it. Three steps, no API keys, no code changes. You can see a finished example at the Waverly & Co. demo store (password: demo).
Where should the store locator live? Make it its own page (/pages/store-locator or /pages/stockists) and link it from the main navigation and the footer. A dedicated URL is what Google ranks for "[your brand] stockists" searches, and it's what you'll put on packaging and social profiles.
What visitors get
- An interactive map with markers for each stockist location
- A location list with hours, phone, website, and distance badges
- Predictive address search — visitors type a city and see autocomplete suggestions
- Auto-detection — the map shows the nearest locations based on the visitor's browser location, if they allow it
- "Get Directions" links that open Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation
- Works on every Online Store 2.0 theme — Dawn, Horizon, Refresh, premium themes, all of them
Five map styles, no API key
The app includes five free tile styles powered by OpenStreetMap and CARTO:
- Voyager — clean and modern, works with any brand (recommended default)
- Light — minimal and subtle, lets your brand colours stand out
- Dark — bold and dramatic, great for premium or dark-themed storefronts
- Topographic — detailed terrain with contour lines, ideal for outdoor brands
- Default — classic OpenStreetMap, familiar and information-rich
You can preview all five on the Map Styles page (password: demo).
Managing locations
Once your locations are synced, you can manage them directly in the app:
- Edit details — update the display name, phone, hours, website, description, and category for any location
- Toggle visibility — hide a location from the map without deleting it (useful for seasonal stockists or stores that are temporarily closed)
- Search and filter — find specific locations by name, city, or tag
- Use multiple tags — sync customers tagged as
stockist,retailer,dealer, or any combination
Changes sync automatically. When you add the stockist tag to a new customer in Shopify, their location appears on the map within minutes — no manual sync needed.
Do I need a Google Maps API key for a Shopify store locator?
Not with this app, and it's worth understanding why, because the API key is where most store locator setups stall. Many apps render their map with Google Maps, which means you create a Google Cloud project, enable billing with a credit card, generate a key, restrict it to your domain, and paste it into the app — and then watch usage so you don't get billed past the free allowance.
Stockist Map Sync uses Leaflet (an open-source JavaScript library) with tile providers like OpenStreetMap and CARTO. These are free and don't require API keys or credit cards. Address search uses Nominatim, OpenStreetMap's free geocoding service, so visitors get real autocomplete suggestions as they type, with results sorted by distance.
The only Google-related feature is the "Get Directions" link, which opens Google Maps in a new tab — and that doesn't require an API key either.
What a Shopify store locator costs
Store locator apps typically run $10–30 a month, often with a free tier capped by location count. Stockist Map Sync has three plans, and every feature is included in all of them — the only difference is how many locations you can show:
- Free — up to 10 locations, no time limit
- Pro ($9.99/month) — up to 250 locations, 14-day free trial
- Business ($24.99/month) — unlimited locations, 14-day free trial
If you have fewer than 10 stockists, the free plan works indefinitely. No credit card required.
Add a store locator to your Shopify store
Install free and have your map live in under five minutes. No API keys, no code changes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify have a built-in store locator?
No. Shopify has no native store locator or stockist map feature. Local pickup and Shopify POS locations are for fulfilment, not for showing third-party retailers to shoppers. To add a store locator you either build a page manually, embed a map, or install a store locator app.
Can I add a store locator to Shopify for free?
Yes. A manual stockist page and a Google My Maps embed are both free. Stockist Map Sync's free plan covers up to 10 locations with every feature included, which is enough for many small stockist networks. You only pay once you pass 10 locations.
How much does a Shopify store locator app cost?
Most store locator apps charge $10–30 a month after a free tier, and some also require a Google Maps API key with billing enabled. Stockist Map Sync is free for up to 10 locations, $9.99/month for up to 250, and $24.99/month for unlimited, with no API key needed on any plan.
Does it work with my theme?
Yes. The map is added as a theme app block, which is supported by all Shopify OS 2.0 themes. It's been tested on Dawn, Horizon, Refresh, Sense, and many premium themes.
Can I import existing locations from a spreadsheet?
Yes. The app includes a CSV import feature. Download the template, fill in your locations (name, address, phone, hours, website, description), and upload. Addresses are geocoded automatically during import.
How does it detect visitor location?
When a visitor loads the store locator page, their browser asks for location permission. If they allow it, the map shows the nearest stockists sorted by distance. If they decline, the map uses your configured default centre and zoom.
What happens when I add or remove a stockist?
The app listens for Shopify webhooks. When you add the stockist tag to a customer, their location is automatically geocoded and added to the map. When you remove the tag, they're removed. No manual sync needed.
Is it GDPR compliant?
Yes. The app supports all Shopify mandatory GDPR webhooks (customer data request, customer data erasure, shop data erasure). Visitor geolocation is processed entirely in the browser and is never sent to any server. All data is deleted when you uninstall the app.
