21+ Top Shopify Stores of 2021 & How Can You Create Your Own
Shopify, today, is the world’s largest and most recognized e-commerce platform.
But it wasn’t always that way.
In 2004, Tobias Lütke with two of his friend started a website, Snowdevil, where he was selling snowboards online. He, however, quickly realized that the options at the time in the e-commerce space were quite limited and no platform offered the features he needed.
He, then, began to work on a new platform that will revolutionize e-commerce. Two years later, in 2006, Shopify was launched.
The Shopify cart system debuted in 2007. In this stage, the company was already successful and they were netting millions in sales.
In 2009, the API or Application Programming Interface was born, that allowed developers to code application that enhanced the platform’s features and were available to all users.
Four years after that, in 2013, they introduced Shopify Payments. Overall, the platform became more integrated and the users did not have to rely on third-party payment providers.
The Point of Sale system (POS), which gives merchants the ability to sell their products in person with an application that’s connected to Shopify, was created in 2017.
Over the year, Shopify has risen to become a multi-billion dollar company and the number of businesses that choose them is more than a million.
Today, you’ll see the top Shopify stores and after that, we’ll go into detail and explain how can you start your e-commerce businesses.
Successful Shopify Stores
Here’s a list of successful stores powered by Shopify.
Partake Foods
Partake Foods is a company founded by Denise Woodard, that makes cookies that are free from major allergens, such as dairy, fish, eggs, or tree.
Stats:
- Global rank: 429 191
- Country rank: 133 259
- Category: food and drink
- Category rank: 721
- Traffic overview: 98.56K
- 44.43% of their visitors comes from the United States
- 78.93% of their traffic comes from direct traffic
- Top organic keyword: partake cookies
- Top paid keyword:non dairy chocolate
Phone Soap
Phone Soap specializes in creating UV light phone sanitizers and universal chargers that clean your devices.
Stats:
- Global rank: 627 361
- Country rank: 157 926
- Bounce rate: 60.66%
- 64.24% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 5.74% of their traffic is from referrals
- Top organic keyword: phonesoap
- Top paid keyword: homesoap
Corckcicle
Corckcicle specializes in making insulated tumblers, coolers, and drinkware in general.
Stats:
- Global rank: 124 818
- Country rank: 24 898
- Total visits: 316.49K
- Bounce rate: 51.17%
- 82.75% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 11.66% of their traffic comes from social media
JPress - jpressonline.com
J. Press is a traditional men’s clothing brand founded in 1902, on Yale University’s campus. The brand is known for its Ivy League style and the high-quality garments they produce.
Stats:
- Global rank: 347 757
- Total visits: 122.15K
- Bounce rate: 48.06%
- 81.73% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 10.68% of their traffic comes from social media networks
- Top organic keyword: j press
- Top paid keyword: j press
Will and Bear
A brand that makes wide brim hats from 100% Australian wool and other natural fibers.
Stats:
- Global rank: 235 416
- Category: lifestyle, fashion and apparel
- Category rank: 578
- Total visits: 131.73K
- Bounce rate: 49.23%
- 71.83% of their visitors comes from Australia
- 32.41% of their traffic comes from direct traffic
- Top organic keyword: hat bear
- Top paid keyword: will and bear
Quad-Lock
Quad-Lock is a company based in Melbourne, Australia that invented a secure smartphone mounting system.
Stats:
- Global rank: 137 832
- Category: sports
- Category rank: 952
- Total visits: 320.36K
- Bounce rate: 50.65%
- 43.07% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 8,62% of their traffic comes from referrals
- Top organic keyword: quadlock
- Top paid keyword: pixel 5 cases
Gymshark
An e-commerce only brand headquartered in Solihull, England, that designs gym clothing and athletic equipment.
Stats:
- Global rank: 7 613
- Country rank: 3 668
- Category: lifestyle: fashion and apparel
- Category rank: 157
- Total visits: 5.37M
- 35.51% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 5.25% of their traffic comes from Display Advertising
- Top organic keyword: gymshark
- Top paid keyword: gymshark
Master and Dynamic
An audio brand that makes professional, high-end headphones and earbuds using premium materials.
Stats:
- Global rank: 469 701
- Total visits: 94.42K
- Bounce rate: 53.28%
- 55.37% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 12.04% of their traffic comes from display advertising
- Top organic keyword: master and dynamic
- Top paid keyword: 8 ohm headphones
Editors Keys
A small English company, founded in 2005, that produces portable vocal booths, USB vocal microphones, and shortcut keyboards for software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X.
Stats:
- Global rank: 485 218
- Country rank: 58 625
- Category: computer, electronics, and technology: computer hardware
- Category rank: 182
- Total visits: 71.20K
- Bounce rate: 54.67%
- 20.22% of their visitors comes from the United Kingdom
- 30.03% of their traffic comes from social media
- Top organic keyword: Adobe premiere keyboard
- Top paid keyword: ableton push
Polaroid
A well-known name in photography: a company that’s famous for its instant film cameras. They also have vintage cameras, printers, and photo albums.
Stats:
- Total visits: 706.04K
- Bounce rate. 49.76%
- 52.55% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 28.48% of their traffic comes from direct search
- Top organic keywords: Polaroid
- Top paid keywords: Polaroid camera
Grovemade
Grovemade focuses on desk organization and creating minimalist office accessories, handmade in Portland, Oregon.
Stats:
- Global rank: 109 368
- Country rank: 47 618
- Total visits: 467.68K
- Bounce rate: 39.31%
- 43.84% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 31.03% of their traffic comes from social media
- Top organic keyword: grovemade
- Top paid keyword: desk mat
Bremont
Bremont is an award-winning British watch company that has its roots in aviation and engineering. They manufacture around 9 000 watches each year, all of which are designed, and assembled in England.
Stats:
- Global rank: 240 957
- Category: jewelry and luxury products
- Total visits: 135.31K
- Bounce rate: 53.73%
- 37.85% of their traffic comes from the United Kingdom
- 31.93% of their traffic is from direct visitors
The Citizenry
A home decor brand that creates furniture by partnering up with professional artisans and using local materials.
Stats:
- Global rank: 201 084
- Country rank: 39 393
- Category rank: 683
- Category: home and garden
- Total visits: 232.42K
- Bounce rate: 56.85%
- 88.89% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 11.66% of their traffic comes fro social media networks
- Top organic keyword: the citizenry
- Top paid keyword: Citizenry
Horne
Horne sells a collection of modern furniture, lighting, and other accessories.
Stats:
- Global rank: 517 546
- Country rank: 117 396
- Category: home and garden: furniture
- Category rank: 566
- Total visits: 83.80K
- Bounce rate: 67.10%
- 80.22% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 21.03% of their traffic comes from social media networks
- Top organic keyword: horne
- Top paid keyword: horne
Poly and Bark
A furniture company that makes the Napa Sofa. They offer free shipping, free returns, and a 100-day trial period on every one of their products.
Stats:
- Global rank: 94 728
- Category: home and garden, furniture
- Category rank: 75
- Total visits: 478.82K
- Bounce rate: 46.73%
- 96.73% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 8.25% of their traffic comes from display advertising
- Top organic keyword: poly and bark
- Top paid keyword: poly and bark
Modern Citizen
Curated and versatile capsule wardrobes at an affordable price.
Stats:
- Global rank: 458 456
- Category: lifestyle, fashion and apparel
- Category rank: 2 995
- Total visits: 88.34K
- Bounce rate: 74.14%
- 86.84% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 13.58% of their traffic comes from referrals
- Top organic keyword: modern citizen
- Top paid keyword: modern citizen
Fieldnotes
FieldNotes sells vintage-looking notepads, pocket notebooks, calendars, and planners.
Stats:
- Global rank: 357 151
- Country rank: 107 391
- Total visits: 112.68K
- Bounce rate: 56.61%
- 63.80% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 9.02% of their traffic is from social media
- Top organic keyword: field notes
- Top paid keywords: field notes
PopChart
PopChart makes infographics posters and charts that cover topics ranging from technology to literature.
Stats:
- Global rank: 435 046
- Country rank (United States): 113 149
- Total visits: 99.13K
- Bounce rate: 75.77%
- 65.22% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 22.71% of their traffic comes from social media networks
- Top organic keyword: popchart
- Top paid keyword: identify house plants
Pipcorn Heirloom Snacks
Pipcorn Heirloom Snacks sells locally sourced, non-GMO snacks
Fresh Heritage. They appeared in Shark Tank in 2015, where they got an investment worth of $200 000 from Barbara Corcoran.
Fresh Heritage offers organic, naturally made beard grooming products.
Stats:
- Global rank: 666 495
- Total visits: 51.94K
- Bounce rate: 59.19%
- 63.02% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- 24.82% of their traffic comes from direct traffic
- Top organic keyword: pipcorn
- Top paid keyword: pipcorn
Made In
Founded by Chip Malt and Jake Kalick, Made In produces quality pots, knives, pans, and other kitchenware for cooking enthusiasts at a reasonable price point.
Stats:
- Alexa rank: 42 798
- Moz rank: 4
- Page authority: 44
- Page views: 2 251 538 monthly
- 84.9% of their visitors comes from the U.S.
- Bounce rate: 56%
HELM boots
Handmade leather footwear designed in Austin, Texas.
Stats:
- Alexa rank: 222 666
- Moz rank: 4
- Domain authority: 46
- Page authority: 44
- Page views: 427 090 monthly
- Bounce rate: 60%
- Backlinks: 964 (According to Moz)
PackageFree
PackageFree sells sustainable, plastic-free products. Their mission is to promote a zero-waste and minimalist lifestyle.
Stats:
- Global rank: 147 124
- Country rank: 38 994
- Total visits: 261.99K
- Bounce rate: 52.55%
- 76.12% of their visitors comes from the United States
- 7.93% of their traffic comes from referrals
- Top organic keyword: package free shop
- Top paid keyword: package free shop
Building Your Own Shopify Store Step-by-Step
Setting up a store in Shopify is a pretty straightforward process. We’ve signed up for the 14-day free trial to show you exactly how to do it and what’s worth paying attention to.
Signing Up
First, just simply navigate to the homepage, enter your email address, and click on start free trial.
Then, you’ll be asked some basic questions. That helps Shopify to determine how much previous experience you have.
The input fields you see above are all about your address and the general location you’re in. Based on the information you gave, Shopify will set the currency and the tax settings. In most cases, your home address will do just fine, however, if you have a designated office space, a physical store, or a mailbox, you should use that as your main address.
Walking Through The Admin Dashboard
All right, now, you arrived to your admin panel. Everything is organized and quite easy to find. On your upper-left, you’ll see a vertical menu, where you can manage each aspect of your store.
On the lower-left corner, you’ll have your settings tab, where you can configure payment gateways, customize the checkout page, manage sales channels, and so on and so forth.
Connecting The Domain
Each Shopify accounts gets a default domain that looks like this:
example.myshopify.com
Needless to say, these URLs are something you’d want to change immediately. You can either connect your existing domain, buy a new one, or transfer one from another platform.
Later on, you’ll be asked to verify the domain, which will ensure that everything functions properly. If you’re having issues, check out this article.
Customizing The Theme
By default, your site will be using the theme “Debut”. You’ll have to option to customize it or change it to one (whether it’s free or paid).
If you choose to stay with “Debut” and customize it, here’s how to do it.
Click on customize, and then you’ll be able to edit it. Shopify, similar to platforms like Wix and Squarespace, offers a drag-and-drop editor, ensuring that anyone can use it, even absolute beginners.
If the default theme just simply doesn’t suit your needs, either click on explore “free themes” or visit theme store”. In our next segment, we’ll give you recommendations.
Adding Your Products
Now, you have to add some products – after all, you are building an online store.
To just do that, click on the “add product” button. That will take you to a page where you can add your product title, write a description and upload your images.
The description part is something you should focus on as it is where the search engines are getting their information from.
This blog post from BigCommerce will navigate you through the process of creating the perfect product description.
When it comes to images, they should look professional and the resolution is something you don’t want to compromise on.
Sidenote: The product you see above is a real one. It’s one of our templates that you can now purchase at a discounted price.
Then, you have to set up a price and decide whether to charge tax on your product or not.
Below, there is the inventory section. If you work with physical products, tracking quantity and inventory, in general, will be quite beneficial as it will allow you to check all of your products.
We sell digital products, and we used one as an example, in other words, shipping doesn’t have to be configured. If you do sell products that have to be shipped, you just simply need to enter the weight, the country of origin, set up variants if you’d like, and hit the “Save product button).
Shopify shows you how your products will appear in the search results. If want to change it, click on “Edit website SEO”, and you’ll be able to edit the page title, the meta descriptions, and the URL.
Setting Up Payments
This is the last step. Here, you have to decide which payment processor will you use.
Unsurprisingly, Shopify Payments, that’s works with Stripe, will be set up as default. The credit card fees are average and Shopify doesn’t charge any transaction fees, which is certainly a positive.
The PayPal button at checkout is activated as well, which you can deactivate at any time.
There is an extensive list of third-party payment gateways that are compatible with Shopify – you can choose those, too.
Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Amazon can also be added.
And there you have it. We’ve finished our store.
The Best Shopify Themes
ShowTime
- Built for varied brand and product content
- Designed and supported by Mile High Times (milehigh themes.com)
- 3 styles: CookTime, FashionTime, FurnishTime
- Quick product view
- Drop-down navigation, multi-column menu
- 98% positive reviews
- Stores using ShowTime: jennysilks.com (Jenny Silks), thetuscankitchen.com (The Tuscan Kitchen)
- $180
Vogue
- Lookbook style theme, built for seamless browsing
- Designed and supported by Pixel Union (pixelunion.net)
- 3 styles: Elegant, Editorial, Organic
- Wide layout
- Lookbook feature
- Optimized for large, high-resolution images
- 62% positive
- Stores using Vogue: vonlinnestudio.com (Von Linné), sarahwalshbridal.ca (Sarah Walsh Bridal Jewerly)
- $180
Kingdom
- Image-focused theme, centered around a signature sidebar
- Designed and supported by Krown Themes (krownthemes.com)
- 3 styles: King, Queen, Prince
- Versatile sidebar area
- Story-focused product pages
- 96% positive reviews
- Stores using Kingdom: standartmag.com (Standart Magazine), factoryoutlet.co.uk (Factory Outlet)
- $180
Canopy
- Versatile and modern theme, ideal for promoting products
- Designed and supported by Clean Canvas (cleancanvas.co.uk)
- 3 styles: Natural, Fresh, Light
- Home page gallery
- Two menu options
- 97% positive reviews
- Store using Canopy: svarestudio.do (Svare Studio), kindesignco.com (Kin)
- $180Valka Yoga Shop)
Mobilia
- Apparel-oriented theme
- Designed and supported by Out of the Sandbox (outofthesandbox.com)
- 4 styles included: Milan, Napa, Sydney, Tokyo
- Ideal for medium sized businesses
- Quick buy
- Related products
- FAQ page
- 96% positive reviews
- Stores using Mobilia: mariemizeskincare.com (Marie Mize Skincare), domainedemarie.com (Domaine De Marie), ooakstones.com (Ooak Stones)
- $180
Pacific
- Modular, expansive theme for businesses with large inventories
- Designed and supported by Pixel Union (pixelunion.net)
- 4 styles: Bold, Warm, Bright, Cool
- Custom modules
- Product page tabs
- Sidebar menu
- 83% positive reviews
- Stores using Pacific: optiboutiq.com (Optiboutiq), tracemartyn.com (Trace Martyn)lka Yoga Shop)
- $180
Handy
- A highly mobile-optimized theme
- Designed and supported by Pixel Union (pixelunion.net)
- 3 styles: Cool, Light, Fresh
- Mobile-first, responsive design
- Search-focused menu
- Quick link contact bar
- Continuous product scroll
- 90% positive reviews
- $180
Trademark
- Designed and supported by Maestroo (maestroo.com)
- 2 styles: Gold, Rose
- Multi column menu
- Predictive search
- Blog sidebar
- Home and product page videos
- Designed for visual storytelling
- Customer testimonials
- 97% positive reviews
- Stores using Trademark: ca.tokyosmoke.com (Tokyo Smoke), capra.run (Capra)
- $180
Foodie
- Food service theme
- Designed and supported by We are Underground (weare underground.com)Designed and supported by We Are Underground (weareunderground.com)
- Age checking popup
- Services & price list
- Ideal for physical stores
- Collage style layout
- $180
Warehouse
- Designed and supported by Maestroo (Maestroo.com)
- Built for larger e-commerce businesses
- 3 styles: metal, wood, fabric
- Custom promotion tiles
- Stock level indicator
- Exit-intent popups
- 87% positive reviews
- $180
Prestige
- Built for High-end clothing and apparel brands
- Designed and supported by Maestroo (maestroo.com)
- 3 styles: allure, couture, vogue
- Image hotspot linking
- Optimized for large, high-resolution images
- Pre-made styles and color palettes
- 93% positive reviews
- Stores using Prestige: walkinberlin.com.ar (Walkin Berlin), beardbrand.com (Beard Brand)
- $180
Loft
- Robust, e-commerce theme
- Designed and supported by trailblaze media (trailblazemedia.com)
- Built for promotion focused brands
- 3 styles: Nashville, Kansas City, Lawrence
- Designed for stores with a large number of catalogs
- Custom promotion tiles
- Multi-level-menu
- Color swatches
- Story focuses product pages
- Free updates
- 94% positive reviews
- Stores using Loft: Norseinteriors.com (Norse Interiors), pravi.pe (Pravi)
- $160
Motion
- Animation & video centered theme
- Designed and supported by ArcheType Themes (archetypethemes.com)
- 3 styles: classic, elegant, minimal
- Pickup availability
- Quick product filtering
- Animated content
- 98% positive reviews
- Stores using Motion: becandbridge.com (Bec and Bridge), shop.astropad.com (Luna Display)
- $180
Modular
- Minimalist theme with a grid layout
- Designed and supported by Presidio Creative (presidiocreative.com)
- 3 styles: Chelsea, Mayfair, Hoxton
- Continuous product scroll / infinite scroll
- Signature product grid
- Customizable content sections
- 97% positive reviews
- Stores using Modular: glowhub.com (Glow Hub), Findlay.com (Findlay), kokotheshop.com (Koko)
- $180
Free options
Express
- Officially supported by Shopify
- 2 styles: bistro, pantry
- Quick buy feature
- Mobile oriented design
- 30% positive reviews
- Slide-out cart
Minimal
- Minimalist design
- Officially supported by Shopify
- 3 styles: vintage, fashion, modern
- Simple, clean design
- Product recommendations
- Product image zoom
- 82% positive reviews
- Stores using Minimal: Leicastoremiami.com (Leica Store Miami), Uppercase Magazine (uppercasemagazine.com)
Supply
- Good for showcasing large inventories
- Built and supported by Shopify
- 2 styles: Blue and Light
- Collection filtering
- Featured collections on homepage
- Slideshows
- 60% positive reviews
- Stores using Supply: cenegenicslife.com (Cenegenics)
Brooklyn
- Built for modern apparel stores
- Officially supported by Shopify
- 2 styles: Classic, Playful
- Bounce rate: 52.55%
- Dynamic product grid
- 71% positive reviews
- Stores using Brooklyn: valkayogashop.com (Valka Yoga Shop)
How Much Shopify Costs And Which Is The Right Plan For You
There are three main pricing tiers: Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. There are two additional plans, Shopify Lite and Shopify Pro, which we’ll talk about later.
Just like on any other major e-commerce platform, these plans are subscriptions based, which you have to pay month to month and you have the option to purchase an annual plan.
Shopify doesn’t charge any setup or bandwidth fees and on some occasions, they offer a 10 to 20% discount on annual plans. Transaction fees are something you don’t have to worry about as long as you use Shopify Payments, otherwise, Shopify will take 0.5-2% fees depending on which plans you chose.
Unlimited e-commerce hosting, as Shopify describes it, is included in all plans and when it comes to domains, you can connect your own or buy a new one.
The contract renews itself on a monthly or yearly basis, so you aren’t tied to the platform long-term and upgrade or downgrade to a tier anytime you want.
That being said here are the plans and the features that come with them.
Basic Shopify
The basic plan is meant for smaller and newer businesses that don’t have as much traffic and are just starting.
The plan includes these features:
Online store (website & a blog)
Unlimited products
2 Staff accounts (staff members with access to the Shopify admin and Shopify POS
24/7 support
Sales channels
Up to 4 inventory locations (assign inventory to retail stores, warehouses, pop-ups, or wherever you store products)
Manual order creation
Discount codes
Free SSL certificate
Cart abandonment
Gift cards
Up to 77% shipping discounts
Shipping labels
Fraud analysis
Shop POS Lite
Shop POS Pro for + $89 per month
Sell in 133 currencies
Sell in up to 5 languages
Fees:
2.9% + 30 cents online credit card rates
2.7% + 0 cent in person credit card rates
2.0% transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments
Those who are just at the beginning of their e-commerce journey.
Shopify
Shopify has everything in Basic, plus these:
5 staff accounts
Up to 5 inventory locations
Standard reports
Up to 88% shipping discount
USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing
International domains (set country specific domains to optimize international SEO)
International pricing (customize products prices for different countries/ regions with a percentage increase or decrease)
Fees:
2.6% + 30 cents online credit card rates
2.5% + 0 cents in person credit card rates
1.0% transaction if not using shopify payments
Medium-sized stores, who are already making consistent sales and have a considerable amount of traffic coming their way.
Advanced Shopify
The Advanced is designed for bigger businesses that have multiple physical locations and need to handle lots of orders on a day-to-day basis.
It comes with everything in the two previous plans and:
15 staff accounts
Up to 8 inventory locations
Advanced reports
Third party calculated shipping rates
Fees:
2.4% and 30 cents online credit card rates
2.4% + o cents in-person credit card rates
0.5% transaction payments if not using Shopify payments
Rapidly growing businesses that have a lot of customers (both online and in-person) and orders to fulfill.
Shopify Lite
If are already have a website, where you want to sell products, but you aren’t fully committed to Shopify, this is the plan for you.
Shopify Lite gives users the option to add a “Buy Button” to their site and start selling products.
It costs $9 a month, which includes the Point of Sale, but with Shopify Lite, you can not build an online store.
Aside from POS, Shopify Lite has:
Overview dashboard
Finances reports
Customer profiles
Order management
Product management
Email carts
QR code product details
In-store inventory
Gift cards
Split bill
Custom discounts and discount codes
Those who want to sell either in person with the POS system or add products to their existing website that’s on another platform such as WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is something that’s built for high-volume merchants and stores- we are talking about enterprise-level features here. More than 10 000 merchants trust this plan and the pricing is set at $2000 every single month.
Additional expenses can be tax automation with Avalara for $250 a month or for each store you add on top of your default one, you’ll have to pay $250 a month, as well.
Here’s what you get for $2000 a month:
Built in AR, video, and 3D media on product pages
The ability to deliver localized shopping experiences with multiple stores, currencies and languages for B2C (business to customer) and DTC (direct to customer)
Customize checkouts
Advanced discounts and shipping rates
Unlimited transactions, products
Manage all stores, staff accounts, and automated workflows from one locations in a Shopify Admin
Integrations
Migrate customers, products and order data to your Shopify store
Work with certified apps and partners to extend the platform
Fees:
0.15% per transaction
Brands with a massive e-commerce presence, who need the tools and resources to handle vast amounts of traffic, order, and inventory.
Selling In Person With Shopify - Shopify POS
As we mentioned previously in our introduction, Shopify POS is an application that enables merchants to sell their products in a physical location. That can be a brick-and-mortar store, a small pop-up shop, or an in-person event.
It syncs with the Shopify admin, which is the place where all the management happens.
According to Shopify, retailers, who utilized the system, saw a 30% increase in their revenue.
The basic version of POS is included with all plans.
The Point of Sale application can be used just around anywhere in the world, however, you are located outside of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, or Australia, you’ll have to use a third-party payment gateway.
If you are more serious about in-person sales and you are looking for advanced capabilities, consider opting for POS Pro. It will cost you $89 a month on top of your existing plan. Its main selling point is features like automatic discounts, buy in-store, ship to the customer, stock adjustments, cash tracking reports, and so forth.
It’s a bit expensive, but if you have a physical location and you’re expecting a substantial amount of customers coming there, it may worth a try.
Retail hardware, such as barcode scanners, cash drawers, card readers, and receipt printers can also be bought from Shopify’s own Hardware Store that has multiple locations in the countries we’ve listed above. Again, if you are based outside of these countries, you can buy compatible accessories through external retailers.
The hardware bought directly from Shopify has a 30-day refund policy, except for card readers. The warranty for the accessories is one year unless you use POS Pro, where it’s two years.
Where to Find Shopify Stores for Sale
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of creating and driving traffic to an e-commerce business, you can purchase an existing one on Exchange Marketplace, a subsidiary of Shopify.
They’ve got over 10 000 stores for sale, so you’ll be spoiled with choices.
Sellers are unable to hide or edit store data, which means their profits, the monthly revenue they made, the visitors they have will be visible – in other words, you’ll know what you are getting right from to get-go.
Sidenote: certain sellers stop maintaining and marketing their businesses when they put them up for sale.
Prices fluctuate: smaller, less profitable can go for as low as $50, as opposed to well-established, high-traffic businesses, that can be sold for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.
You don’t have to worry about discussing information: Shopify enables sellers and buyers to negotiate and handle the communication part through an encrypted, anonymous email.
Here’s how the process of acquiring an online store looks like step by step.
The research stage
This is when you dig deep and verify the information you saw in the listing. This includes:
identifying the source where the traffic comes from and figuring how it can be sustained after the transaction
reviewing their social media accounts
making sure that you know how much will it cost to maintain and grow the business
asking additional questions, such as the reason they’re selling the site or what’s included in the price
The offer
The research is done and you’ve made the decision – you’re buying the store. Now, you have to make an offer to the sellers. It’s important to remember that the asking price is negotiable. Chances are, the seller will be open to lowering the price, but of course, your offer should be in the range of it.
Starting the exchange
When both parties come to an agreement and the offer is accepted, the sellers initiate the transaction and the exchange begins.
The Transfer Process
Shopify Exchange uses Escrow.com as its partner. They are the intervenor: they hold the money you paid and protect it up until you and the seller agrees the deal is done.
The transfer takes, on average, three business days. If there is any issue, you can contact the Exchange Support anytime, and they will gladly assist you.
When the transfer is done, Escrow releases the money to the seller and everyone is good to go – you are now the owner of the business.
FAQ:
Most of the time, sellers are upfront about what comes with the business, but typically, the price includes (aside from the store itself): physical inventory, if applicable, supplier lists, the email list, social media accounts, logos, and other branding kits, the domain name, product photos, and sometimes even personal support.
If you, as the buyer, have no money, it’s still possible through business loans or outside investors.
Although you can certainly run an e-commerce business without one, it’s recommended to file an LLC, so assets are protected.
Becoming A Shopify Partner
Shopify launched a partner program that gives aspiring content creators and entrepreneurs to earn recurring income from creating themes, stores, and apps or migrating stores to Shopify from other platforms.
Here’s who can sign up to be a Shopify Partner:
Marketer
Freelancer
Designer
Developer
Coder
Influencer
Photographer
If you fit into one of the categories we’ve listed and you’d like to join the Partner Program, we have good news for you.
It’s completely free to sign up, there are no setup or subscription fees and once you’ll get approved, Shopify will give you a dedicated Partner Dashboard, where you can manage your activities.
What you should know about before signing up is, being a Shopify Partner means signing a contract with Shopify, that’s renewed on a yearly basis. In other words, you’ll have to commit long-term – if that’s not comfortable with you, becoming just simply a Shopify Affiliate may be a better bet.
Shopify Partners will get early information about upcoming features, partner support, exclusive deals (“Partner Perks”) on tools like Drift and FreshBooks and there is an entire academy section that offers free online courses, training, and certifications.
You can make money as Shopify Partner in three ways.
The first is, building a Shopify store. For each store you build, you’ll have a 20% commission of the user’s subscription payments coming your way as long as they can keep their plan active.
The second option is developing Shopify Apps, which are quite similar to WordPress plugins, to give you an example. You’ll get either 80% of the one-time sale price or recurring commissions for subscription fees and additional upgrades.
Thirdly, you can make a living by using affiliate links and creating content around Shopify. If you choose that option, typically you’ll earn $58 per referral.
Shopify Plus Partners
Shopify Partners and Shopify Plus Partner are not the same – there is a slight difference between them. Regular Partners handle smaller stores that are just starting out or medium-sized businesses.
Whereas Shopify Plus Partner helps well-established, high-volume stores to grow. Because of that, the application is stricter: you’ll have to get through a lengthy process where they will take a look at everything.
If you get in, you’ll enjoy the benefits of working with bigger, more scalable businesses – and, of course, the revenue share will be more substantial.
Shopify Apps And Making Money As A Shopify App Developer
Here, we’re going to talk about what are the possibilities if you intend to develop apps for the Shopify App Store.
Before we do that, we have to define what a Shopify App is. They are web applications (premium or free) that add extra features and functionality to a Shopify store.
There are three types of apps:
- public apps: these apps are the ones in the Shopify App Store. That’s where they are sold, but before that can happen, they need to go through a multi-step approval process. They are created and managed inside the Partner Dashboard.
- custom apps: developers make them for a single store/merchant/user, which is where they can be installed. One of their advantages is that they don’t have to through the usual approval process. Additionally, custom apps are managed in the Partners Dashboard and they can utilize app extensions.
- private apps: they are built if a merchant asks for a requirement that custom apps cannot provide. They need to through the approval process either, and they are managed in the merchant’s Shopify admin.
Developing Shopify can be quite profitable and by looking at the statistics, it is a growing industry. In 2020, $233.7M was paid out to the developers and the top 25% of them earn $272 000 over the course of a year.
Also, more than 80% of the entrepreneurs using Shopify say they rely heavily on apps – to be exact, there were 11.6 million app installations in 2018.
Shopify states that apps can be developed in Node.js and React, plus they even offer a 45-minute self-paced course to aspiring developers.
Here we’ve collected some apps you may want to consider using:
HubSpot CRM
Sendinblue
Reconvert
QuickBooks
Product reviews
Omnisend
Sumo
Shopify POS
Tidio live chat
Smart SEO
Shopify Alternatives
WordPress (WooCommerce)
WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin developed by Automattic (the same company that created WordPress), is a popular option in the realms of e-commerce.
The main advantage of WooCommerce is its price point. It’s entirely free and it integrates smoothly and seamlessly with WordPress. It is simple to set it up and start creating products and it’s the perfect fit for content and SEO-focused websites – plus, there are no additional transaction fees either.
With that said, you need to have a hosted WordPress website to use WooCommerce and chances are, you’ll have to install several extensions, given that it’s a massive plugin that impacts page speed significantly.
Wix
A platform we’ve reviewed before. Wix offers numerous pre-designed templates included in the plans, and it gives you a drag and drop editor, so you can have more control over your site.
Additionally, there is a free plan available, and the interface is extremely beginner-friendly. The bandwidth limits, and the not-too-complex SEO features, however, don’t make it the best option for e-commerce.
Squarespace
Squarespace is in some ways, similar to Wix – it has a drag and drop website builder and a wide variety of themes come with it as well. If we take a look at its marketing capabilities and the pricing, we can see the limitations.
Only MailChimp, Google AdWords, and Amazon can be integrated. To get features such as cart recovery, or real-time shipping rates, you’ll have to upgrade to the $40 a month plan.
It is ideal for smaller businesses who don’t have time or the willingness to put much energy into their only store and have few products to sell.
Kartra
Yet another platform, we covered here previously. Kartra is truly an all-in-one platform where you can take care of the parts of your business. It has a built-in CRM, email marketing tool, Helpdesk system, affiliate management, and more.
It’s not the most e-commerce-specific platform, but it certainly has a lot to offer, and if you are don’t want to use 15 different tools to manage your online enterprise, Kartra is the way to go.
Magento
Magento was built for those with coding skills or businesses who have the financial resources to hire programmers and IT specialists to run their e-commerce store.
It is a free, downloadable software that offers advanced customization if you know the art of coding.
The number of extensions you can connect, the payment processors you can use, and the SEO tools you’ll have under your hand are enormous, but you have to put the effort in.
BigCommerce
Flexibility is what describes BigCommerce the best. It comes with a drag and drops editor, multi-channel selling capabilities, content marketing solutions, and dedicated hosting.
The downside is long loading times and the hours you’ll have to spend figuring how to take advantage of the platform, because BigCommerce, is by no means a beginner-friendly option.
Conclusion
Shopify is a safe bet when it comes to e-commerce. It provides you with the tools to manage and scale an entire e-commerce operation. Even if you choose not to use it as your primary platform, you can still make a living by becoming a developer, an affiliate, or a partner. Now, you hopefully know what options you have and how far can you go by using Shopify.
What do you think of Shopify? Is there still potential in e-commerce?
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