If you’re starting an online business, among the many platforms and store-building tools you will come across, Shopify will often top the list. Here are all the benefits of selling on Shopify that should encourage you to open your online store on the platform.
One of the most popular e-commerce solutions, Shopify comes with all the resources you need to build, manage, market and grow your store. Whether yours is a fully online business, a retail store or a hybrid one with both online and retail footprints, you should be aware of the benefits of selling on Shopify as you build your business’s online presence.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows a business to build, expand and monitor their online business. With professional online stores, a wide range of payment solutions, and the Shopify POS application, it now powers more than 1.7 million merchants in around 175 countries worldwide.
As a SaaS (Software as a Service) offering, Shopify is known for its vast range of features and the stability of its infrastructure. You can organise your products into collections or use smart collections to group the products. With content management features, sellers can also customise the interactivity and look of their stores.
The benefits of selling on Shopify
Whether you’re starting out or already have a retail business, these advantages of selling on Shopify will encourage you to try out the platform.
Greater customisation
Shopify offers more than 160 themes including free and paid options. All of these are mobile responsive and you can always get more themes from other sources. With customised websites, a small business can build a unique brand identity for greater recall and higher chances of lead generation and conversion.
Presence across channels
One of the benefits of selling on Shopify is that you can have your business presence on multiple channels including Instagram, Facebook, eBay and Amazon. This gives you a wider digital footprint at the top of the funnel to acquire traffic from a variety of sources.
More marketing control
Whether it’s to generate leads or drive traffic for a sales event, Shopify gives you more control in marketing. A data-driven approach with marketing reports and detailed analytics will help you optimise your marketing expenses. With automation tools, you can set up promotions at the right time for the right products to increase sales.
Point of sale hardware
Shopify has fully integrated hardware to help you manage products, customer interactions and payments for both online and in-store sales. You can customise the app and more efficiently serve customers by delivering a seamless experience across touchpoints. In short, by synchronising your sales points, you can increase profits and reduce errors.
More payment options
With more than 100 payment options and its own Shopify Payments, the platform is known for its payment support. Shopify plans to include payment solutions such as Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and many more in 2023 to offer greater flexibility and convenience to its customers.
Global reach
One of the biggest advantages of selling on Shopify is that you have a global audience to cater to. The platform has over 2.1 million daily active users. The average visitor checks out more than three stores and spends over three minutes on the platform. In other words, any local business can now have an international market.
Ease of use
Ask any current seller and they will tell you that a notable benefit of selling on Shopify is its ease of use. Designed for the average user and not expert developers, the platform makes it easy to list products, process orders and offer discounts. The drag-and-drop tool makes it effortless to design your store and deliver an intuitive interface for your buyers.
Reliability and safety
With Shopify, your online store will have reliable accessibility at all times. Since the platform has an exceptional technical infrastructure, you don’t have to worry about time-outs during times of increased access such as Cyber Monday or Black Friday. You also get secure payment gateways, advanced fraud detection and enhanced SSL encryption for greater safety and security.
More than 3000 apps
Another advantage of selling on Shopify is the vast library of apps you can use to deliver a more seamless and superior shopping experience. You can use proven third-party extensions and give your visitors user journeys similar to those of larger, multinational brands. 👉 Check out Athlete on Shopify's App Store
24/7 customer support
One reason why small businesses prefer selling on Shopify is the support they get. You have access to reliable technical support through live chat, phone and email even outside of regular business hours. Moreover, sellers also have self-help options.
Is selling on Shopify worth it?
Even a quick look at the benefits of selling on Shopify will tell you that this is a good platform for your small business – no matter what category you operate in.