As the number of consumers who shop online increases, the eCommerce industry offers suave entrepreneurs immense opportunities. The US retail e-commerce market accounts for 20% of global sales, making it one of the largest in the world. E-retail revenues are projected to grow to 4.88 trillion US dollars in 2021.
If you plan to build an online store or you have one in operation, it is imperative to choose a powerful eCommerce platform. The choice of an eCommerce platform can make or break your business. It determines the reliability, availability, uptime, ease of customization, user experience, scalability, and quality of product display, among other things.
Shopify has emerged as one of the best eCommerce platforms for several reasons. It is an out-of-the-box eCommerce solution that has everything an online trader requires when they plan to enter the eCommerce industry.
Shopify services cover all the ground needed to set up a successful online store. It is the third most popular e-commerce platform, with a market share of 9.97%.
Incredible Shopify Ecommerce Numbers
Based on information from an updated post on ‘Shopify and You’, As of June 2019, there were 820,000 merchants on Shopify. In 2017 alone, 200k new merchants joined the platform. Total revenue for the full year 2018 was $41.1 billion a 59% increase over 2017.
In 2018 alone, there were 218 million buyers on the platform. To date, Shopify has enjoyed $100 plus billion in total sales through its platform.
In the same post on ‘Shopify and You’, A company report for 2019 shows that Shopify made over $1.5 billion in sales during Black Friday. This translates to 10,978 orders per minute and peak sales volume of $870,000 per minute. The same report says that Shopify Plus merchants have enjoyed a 126% year-over-year average growth.
Looking at these numbers, Shopify emerges as the go-to eCommerce platform for any serious business. For an online platform that started as a snowboard store, this growth is nothing short of phenomenal.
Today, Shopify hosts some of the biggest brands, such as:
- Angry Birds
- Bulletproof
- Budweiser
- The Economist
- The New York Times Shop
- Red Bull
- Foo Fighters
- 50 Cent
- Leesa Mattress
- Penguin Books
- Tesla Motors
- Nestlé
- The Hummingbird Bakery
- HarperCollins
- The Lady Gaga Official Shop
If you want to leverage the booming internet market, you need such a powerful eCommerce platform on your side.
Why use Shopify for your eCommerce Store?
As an online business owner, it is important to assess the strengths of any eCommerce CMS you wish to use. Shopify has grown in popularity in the retail industry for several reasons. Here are some of these reasons
1. Quick Set Up And Easy Use
If you are not tech-savvy, you don’t have to worry about setting up your online store. Shopify is easy to set up, and you don’t need any programming or coding experience to use the platform.
The company takes care of all the hosting and backend server operations. As a retailer, you need your products, descriptions and a name for your online shop to start trading.
There are tutorials available on the company’s website to get you started, and from here, you only need to customize your eCommerce store.
Editing descriptions, customizing color schemes, adding titles for your images and managing other processes on the Shopify dashboard is easy. Once you have logged into your dashboard, you can manage inventory, track your sales, offer discounts, manage orders, transactions, and much more.
2. Full Hosted Ecommerce Platform
When looking for the best platform for eCommerce store development, go for one that offers a full range of solutions. Shopify is a hosted solution and deals with the whole range of website solutions you need to set up your store.
3. Security And Reliability
Security and privacy concerns dominate the internet market today. Most online traders have suffered losses due to data losses from their databases. Shopify is one of the most secure eCommerce platforms. This is one of the reasons for its popularity.
Their strong security system and reliable hosting ensure that your data remains safe. The eCommerce company takes care of all server maintenance and upgrades. This ensures the security and availability of your store and shopping cart at all times. Shopify web developers focus on security precautions. This has given this e-commerce platform an edge in the market.
4. Scalability
As your business grows, there’s a need for more resources to accommodate this growth. Your eCommerce platform should support your store’s growth and not curtail it.
Shopify has the functionalities to help you scale your business. Store owners can choose from a variety of plans based on their businesses’ projections. Your scale up or down depending on the reality of your business performance.
All Shopify plans offer unlimited bandwidth, but premium plans have more features and capabilities.
5. 24/7 Tech Support
Your online store will serve customers around the clock. If any technical problems arise, Shopify is always available to help. There are video tutorials available to help you troubleshoot and solve problems before you even feel the need to request further assistance.
6. Mobile Responsiveness
In 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was via mobile phones, up from 50.3 percent in the previous year. When building your online store, you should plan a strategy to tap into this market.
In 2019, Shopify saw 79% of traffic and 69% of orders from mobile internet devices. The company thus appreciates the importance of mobile in the eCommerce landscape.
This eCommerce platform is responsive, making it easy for all internet users to access. The CMS is mobile-friendly and helps you reach a larger customer base, as more consumers are now on mobile.
7. App Store
Shopify offers you an app store from where you can source apps that help you promote your brand and increase sales.
These simple to install and easy-to-use apps can boost the efficiency of your eCommerce store operations. They save time, build sales and make it easier to manage your online store.
8. Payment Gateways
Shopify offers its payment gateway (Stripe). The Stripe payment option is easy and cheap to start using on your store. Customers can also use other payment options, which allow you to target a broader market.
Other reasons for choosing Shopify while developing an eCommerce store include its affordability, SEO and marketing tools, abandoned cart recovery, chance to build a visually appealing online store by customizing ready-made themes, etc.
Wrapping Up
Shopify is, without a doubt, an important tool for businesses that seek success in the eCommerce industry. This fast-growing eCommerce platform is affordable, easy to use and allows you to build a beautiful online store.
When it comes to security and reliability, Shopify ranks among the best eCommerce platforms. All these features and advantages make Shopify the go-to eCommerce platform on which to build your online store.