With global retail sales of eCommerce expected to generate around $653 billion in 2018, how you sell online has never been more important. There are hundreds of options available for eCommerce businesses, from developing a custom-coded web store, to using a platform like Shopify.
However, an all-in-one eCommerce platform provides businesses with the ability to quickly take their online activity to the next level. And that’s where Shopify comes in. Shopify is an online eCommerce platform that packs a punch. The platform includes an abundance of features and tools that are designed to help businesses launch, manage and grow their online store.
And best of all, it doesn’t require complex coding or technical ability, making it accessible and scalable all in one go. It also combines with offline sales using Shopify’s POS system, as well as provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, email and phone. Shopify also offers a range of plans, meaning you can start with a cheaper plan and scale as you grow.
These benefits are why Shopify has cemented itself as a leading eCommerce platform to streamline online processes and remain competitive in the evolving industry. Simply put, Shopify has everything you need to launch, run and manage a successful eCommerce business.
Here’s how Shopify can boost your success:
Affordable and accessible
Shopify is one of the most affordable platforms for businesses of all sizes. There is a range of subscription options, starting from $29 a month, making it perfect for every stage of your eCommerce business. At the $29 a month price point, you still get access to listing unlimited products, having a custom domain, using Shopify’s Payment gateway (to easily accept credit cards), having two users, accessing 24/7 customer support, and more. Additionally, you’ll find there are no hidden transaction fees.
Shopify is perfect for those who want a professional-grade online store, but without the hassle of coding one themselves. It’s one of the easiest platforms around, making it incredibly accessible for all. You can get started in minutes, and a simple dashboard and navigation menu makes it easy to get around and find the things you need – from looking at orders to listing new products. There are three basic steps to getting you started: add the products you want, customize the look and feel of your site, and set up a custom domain.
Web design made easy
You don’t need any technical know-how to build and design your online store as Shopify provides hundreds of themes and templates that you can customize. And if you do need design help, for instance, to create a memorable logo, Shopify offers tools to make this process incredibly simple – along with plenty of other easy to use tools.
The power of its eCommerce features
Alongside being affordable and accessible, Shopify is packed full of features that can help you manage and grow your online business. From online shopping carts to selling on social media and reporting, all of the tools are designed to help businesses succeed.
Shopify’s online shopping cart makes it really easy to accept PayPal and credit card payments. You don’t need to worry about third-party payment gateways. That means you can simply start selling from the minute you launch your store, and you get paid faster directly into your merchant account.
Automated selling
You’ll also benefit from the ability to automate sales, without impacting the simple and seamless customer experience – which is all-important in the online world. For example, products are saved into a shopping cart, and when your customers are ready to actually make the purchase, all they need to do is choose their shipping and enter their payment information.
And in the background, the platform works hard to automatically add orders to the ‘orders’ section of your dashboard so you have the required visibility over everything you need. All you need to do is make sure your customers receive their product.
Bridge the offline and online sales gap
Using a POS system with your online store is also a no-brainer. Shopify’s POS credit card reader is free for businesses new to Shopify POS. With it, you can take payments from the palm of your hand, all of which sync up to your online store – bridging the gap between online and offline sales and making inventory management simple.
Analyze performance
Shopify’s features also include a range of tools designed to help you actually run your business. For example, the reporting and analytics tools help measure the performance of your website and products. With this information at your disposal, you’ll know what’s working and what isn’t, and which products are selling best.
Rank on search engines
The search engine optimisation (SEO) wizard is also a handy feature to enable you to optimize your store’s searchability on the likes of Google and other search engines. You’ll be ranking high on search engines before you know it.
Stress-free store promotion
Of course, promoting your store is essential for growth. So Shopify’s marketing tools are readily available to help you acquire new customers and retain the ones you have.
Capabilities include customizing discount codes and generating coupons, offering custom gift cards, integrating with your social networks, selling via Facebook, creating targeted email marketing campaigns, adding product reviews, using Google Ads and Facebook advertising, and taking advantage of their latest offering – Kit, a virtual marketing assistant for automating those social media ads.
Manage your store on the go
Managing these features is simple. You can do it all on the move from your mobile device. If you are using your mobile device to manage your store, you’ll get order notifications when they come in, meaning you can fulfil orders straight from your app, manage inventory and update products.
The business benefits don’t stop there
Using eCommerce software enables you to run your entire business via one platform.
While Shopify’s eCommerce features are pretty extensive, the benefits don’t stop there. Shopify also offers CRM tools to help manage your customer interactions, a content management system (CMS) to help you bolster your website with blog posts and multimedia, and third-party app integrations to connect your current apps to your website.
Shopify actually have a pretty large app store for all of the integrations they offer – including both free and paid options.
Peace-of-mind security
They also don’t mess around when it comes to security, giving business owners peace-of-mind. Not only are their servers amongst the best around, but they guarantee a 99.9% level of uptime (meaning your store will always remain live and accessible).
Shopify also includes two-step authentication to keep your passwords secure, and automatically updates so you don’t need to worry about manually doing it. Shopify automatically backs-up your data, has PCI compliance for secure credit card processing, and monitors threats 24/7.
Conclusion
Shopify is all about helping businesses make more money. When it comes to selling, it’s the best unified platform around to help you run your business with ease. With platforms like Shopify around, it’s never been easier to start a business or propel your current eCommerce business forward. From marketing to payments, secure checkouts to shipping, Shopify handles the heavy-lifting while you can focus on growing your business.
Perfect for both beginners and experts, Shopify’s features and tools help super-charge your online performance, expand your reach and boost your profit margins. With the platform having so many features and functions being continually added to and updated, using Shopify means you’ll continue to benefit from the best tools designed for eCommerce success.
About the Author
Michelle Deery is a content writer from the UK and produces copy for Heroic Search, a SEO agency based in Tulsa. Her content has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine. She specializes in writing about eCommerce and her content helps business market their businesses in the right way.
