The StretchShop app and extension model

StretchShop as an extension of your workspace

StretchShop is StretchSuite's commerce app — a full storefront with product browsing, product detail pages, a cart drawer, add-to-cart, and checkout. The important concept for this section is that Shop is an extension you switch on, not software you install and deploy. Once your organization is entitled to it, Shop appears as an active app and immediately connects to the platform's commerce backend through the workspace gateway. There's nothing to host or update yourself.

This "turn it on, it's wired in" model is what "app/extension" means in StretchSuite: capabilities are added to your workspace by entitlement, and they share the same secure data plane as every other app.

What Shop gives you

StretchShop is organized into a few surfaces you'll work with:

• Storefront — the customer-facing shopping experience (browse, product detail, cart, checkout).
• Products — your catalog: items, prices, and offers shown on the storefront.
• Collections — groupings/shelves that organize products for merchandising.
• Orders — records of customer purchases.
• Customers — the people who've bought or registered.
• Discounts — promotional codes and price reductions.

The app's overview shows headline metrics — product count, collections, orders, and gross revenue — pulled live from the commerce backend for your organization.

How to set up a basic store

1. Confirm StretchShop is active in My Apps (purchase it in Billing if it's gated).
2. Open Shop and add Products — name, description, price (default currency is CAD; set yours), and images.
3. Group related products into Collections for your storefront navigation.
4. Enable payments so checkout can process real transactions (see Connect a payment provider for Shop and billing).
5. Optionally create Discounts for launches or promotions.
6. Place a test order through the Storefront to confirm the full path (browse → cart → checkout → Orders).
7. Go live and monitor the Orders, Customers, and revenue metrics.

How Shop connects to the rest of the suite

Because Shop rides the same gateway and organization scoping as every other app, its data can participate in cross-app workflows:

• Customers captured at checkout are organization records that other apps (like StretchCRM or StretchMail) can build on — for example, emailing buyers or tracking them as contacts.
• Orders and revenue feed reporting.
• Payments tie into the same Stripe-backed billing infrastructure the platform uses.
• Webhooks create order records the instant checkout completes, keeping everything in real-time sync.

See How data flows between suite apps for the bigger picture.

A realistic example

A coaching business wants to sell a workbook and a membership:

1. They confirm Shop is active, then add two Products (workbook, membership) with CAD prices.
2. They put both in a Collection called "Programs."
3. They enable payments and run a test order — it lands under Orders, and the test buyer appears under Customers.
4. They create a launch Discount code, LAUNCH20.
5. They go live; real orders flow in, the revenue metric climbs, and the buyer list becomes an audience they can later email through StretchMail.

Troubleshooting

Shop shows as gated — it's a Pro-tier app; purchase or upgrade in Billing. It activates after the payment webhook syncs.

Storefront loads but has no products — that's an empty catalog, not an error; add products under the Products tab.

Checkout doesn't complete — payments must be enabled; verify with a test-mode transaction to isolate the payment step from order recording (see Connect a payment provider).

An order didn't appear — order creation depends on a completed checkout and its webhook; abandoned checkouts don't create orders. Confirm the payment actually finished.

Wrong currency — set your store currency explicitly; the default is CAD.

Tips

• Model your catalog before you launch. Decide products vs. collections up front so your storefront navigation is clean.
• Test the entire path in test mode before taking real money.
• Use Customers as a growth asset — connect buyers into CRM/Mail workflows rather than treating orders as one-offs.

FAQ

Do I install or host anything? No. Shop is an entitlement-based extension that runs on the platform and connects through the gateway.

Can I customize the storefront? You control catalog, collections, discounts, and store settings; deeper theming follows the app's design options.

Is Shop the same as StretchWP + a store plugin? No — StretchShop is a native suite commerce app, not a WordPress plugin. It shares data with the rest of your suite directly.