According to the Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel Deutschland e.V., e-commerce is the new normal. With a total turnover of 107 billion euros in 2021, one in seven euros spent by private households went to online retail. And e-commerce is also gaining ground in B2B. According to the Federal Statistical Office, turnover amounted to 320 billion euros in 2021 – and the trend is rising. Sales in B2B are expected to grow by around 19 percent annually and would therefore already reach EUR 500 billion by 2024.
These figures show how big e-commerce has become and how important online stores are in this context. In digital business, there are several platforms that dominate the market – including the store solution Shopify, according to the Gartner Magic Quadrant. Gartner experts say that Shopify is one of the leaders in digital commerce and has become one of the most popular store systems in recent years, especially for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The SaaS solution has a comparatively long history and offers customers a very extensive repertoire of options. In this post, we want to introduce you to Shopify and explain why it is the perfect solution for digital businesses in e-commerce.
Shopify – easy to set up, easy to use
Setting up an online store can be done quite easily using ready-made templates. Shopify also helps users with templates when looking for a suitable domain, branding or setting up privacy statements or imprints. A webshop is very easy to set up with Shopify. The desired components can be selected from various modules using drag & drop.
Another advantage of Shopify: merchants can choose whether to sell their goods from their own warehouse or via dropshipping directly from the wholesaler. As for items and stock management, Shopify offers the common ways to do this directly in Shopify. As an alternative, external systems can also be connected via an interface – including our ERP systems, for example.
Applications & Scalability
Shopify itself offers a wide range of apps that can be integrated directly into the online platform. Similar to WordPress, there is a huge selection of free and paid apps. The range of apps extends from PoS solutions, payment services, marketing, administration or design. The requirements of e-commerce companies are thus comprehensively met. If special solutions or interfaces to specific software are required, Shopify offers corresponding interfaces.
Another benefit: Shopify is maintenance free and scales automatically as needed. As for updates, bug fixes or configuration, with Shopify this happens automatically by the manufacturer and does not have to be done manually by the user. This also applies to the major updates with new features which Shopify releases once a year. In addition, Shopify automatically “grows” with larger peaks, which is a great advantage, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
Community
As mentioned, Shopify is fairly easy to manage and handle. For some issues, however, it is still good to be able to consult the advice of others or get help from a knowledge database. When it comes to knowledge transfer, Shopify relies on its large community in addition to its own help center.
The Shopify Helpcenter is the first point of contact. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, Shopify offers a forum as a second point of contact where the large community can discuss various topics. Shopify also offers events to network and exchange ideas. Anyone interested can also watch tutorials on the YouTube channel. There is also the Shopify Academy, podcasts, guides and face-to-face seminars.
For in-depth technical requirements, Shopify customers have access to a partner network. These partners help with the implementation of special requirements or the technical setup.
Customized Interfaces
Similar to other online platforms, Shopify can also be customised to individual requirements using external connections. We at ruhr.agency have made several such connections for our customers in the past. These included, in particular, system connections in the following areas:
- Synchronization of the warehouse stock
- Calculation and consideration of vouchers
- Integration of special order import or transmission logics, connection of external fulfilers
- Shopify POS
- Synchronization of articles
- Individual needs
Shopify vs. Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is an advanced version of Shopify designed specifically for larger businesses and growing e-commerce brands. This solution offers powerful functions that go beyond the basic Shopify functions. The SaaS e-commerce platform is hosted entirely in the cloud and enables companies to create and manage customised online shops to meet their individual requirements. This includes additional customisation options, robust integrations, extended automation, API access and support for large volumes of traffic. Even though Shopify Plus offers the same dashboard and the same functions as Shopify, there are mainly differences in the range of functions. Those include:
- Unlimited bandwidth
- High Scalability
- POS included in price
- More customisation possibilities
- More robust integrations
- Wholesale functionality
- Multi-shop management
Conclusion
Due to its usability, quick setup, scalability and numerous integrations, Shopify is ideal for small and medium-sized companies as well as start-ups in the e-commerce sector. With ready-made templates and integrated features, companies can get online quickly and manage their store without extensive technical knowledge. The solution is scalable and can grow as your business grows, while a variety of integrations provide additional functionality and efficiency. As far as technical scaling or hosting is concerned, this is all included in Shopify and the customer does not have to take care of it themselves.
Shopify has extensive support and resources, including training and a dedicated community to help companies run their business successfully. Last but not least, Shopify can be adapted to the individual needs of each company thanks to extensive customizing options.
