When it comes to the world of eCommerce, two big names come to mind: Amazon and Shopify. Both allow merchants to sell on their platforms; while Amazon sees over 150 million site visits a month and Shopify hosts 1,000,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries using its platform as of June 2019, both are heavy contenders in the eCommerce space but what separates them and which one would serve you best for your business? Keep reading to learn more.

Shopify, being the vast eCommerce platform that it is, offers their potential merchants and aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a completely customizable, online shopping experience for their customer base all at the click of a button. So why Shopify and not Amazon, you may ask? Well, think of it like this.

Amazon is an already established marketplace, branded and all, where it allows you to carry your products on their site with no visible storefront of your own and no way of setting yourself apart from your competitors. Shopify, on the other hand, is similar to a retail space in a virtual mall, where your client base can come in and get familiar with you and your business, first hand. Everything you could possibly want your customers to experience, as far as online shopping goes, can be adapted through the Shopify platform.

With adaptable features like abandoned cart recovery, powerful inventory system, automatic tax calculation, logo making, multichannel selling (including its newest partnership with Walmart) and a myriad of app integrations designed to make your business thrive, Shopify has the potential to make your dream store come to life. In 2020, Shopify announced these new features that are being rolled out, if not implemented already: Shopify Pay Installments, gift cards, tipping (if necessary), Shopify Email for your marketing needs, Facebook Shops where you’d be able to sell your products within Facebook and Instagram, local and curbside pickups as a result of COVID-19 and so much more. To learn more about all the new features Shopify has to offer this year, click here.

Whilst Amazon is an already established marketplace with huge traffic, there is an oversaturated aspect to it as it allows multiple merchants to sell the same things as you do and your customer base will only see products similar to the one that they’ve landed on rather than seeing your whole product list. You might even be in competition with Amazon itself if you’re looking to simply dropship as Amazon offers serious competitive pricing. Selling on Amazon might catch a lot of eyes but keeping the focus on you and your business might prove itself to be difficult as there are multiple merchants competing in the same space.

Shopify, with it being an omnichannel, can help you boost your sales, too. Coco Dotson, co-founder of eyewear brand Coco and Breezy, a Shopify merchant, told Protocol that "everyone's behaviors are different" — and that's encouraged Dotson to use different platforms to target different audiences. The problem for most merchants is that managing inventory across multiple channels is "very challenging," Dotson said. Her sister and co-founder Breezy Dotson added that it involved a lot of manual work. That was until they switched to Shopify, they said, which has made the process easier.

Another popular function of Shopify is its community board, which provides access to numerous discussions, articles, how-to guides and other training resources. Shopify also has a 24/7 in-house support team, something which Amazon lacks as too many variables can affect customers and leave them feeling frustrated at the lack of service available. Should you still wish to use Amazon for the visibility factor alone, it’d be best to link your Shopify store and your Amazon Store Seller on the Shopify platform so you can get the best of both platforms and gain a new client base using all of your resources. To learn more about using Amazon as a sales channel, click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about Shopify and how we can help you start and grow your business, please use our contact form here and we’ll be happy to help you make your dream eCommerce business come to life!