Hi all,
One of our apps has recently been contacted by a Shopify App Auditor for this clause specifically:
4.3.1 Indicate if the Online Store sales channel is required.
Help merchants understand if they need to be using the Online Store channel (rather than a custom storefront) to get the most value from your app. If your app embeds features in a merchant’s Online Store, then select “Merchant must have online store” under the Sales channel requirements section of your app listing form.
Direct link: App Store requirements
In our case, our app does integrate with the Online Store. However it doesn’t require it.
We have merchants that simply use our POS integration, they integrate into a custom storefront via our JS SDK and REST API.
I can see where the auditor is coming from, the language in this clause is forcing app devs to check this box, if their app integrates into the Online Store. But this clause is effectively forcing multi-surface apps to restrict to only Online Storefront stores even if they offer multiple surfaces to use the app.
Can someone from Shopify review this language? It seems like if you integrate into more than just online storefront, this policy effectively limits your addressable merchant base.