There are many options when it comes to selling products online. There are many options available to business leaders. They can build an online store with payment processing, subscription and membership options. For beginners, it might be better to sell through an existing marketplace like eBay + Etsy.
Two names stand out in today’s digital marketing landscape. Shopify offers the best solution for businesses that wish to create their own website.
Shopify is easy to use for any small business. You can quickly create an online store and begin accepting debit and credit cards. Shopify has over 1 million active users which stands as a marker for it customer satisfaction and credibility.
If you are looking to get started selling quickly, you can also set up an Amazon account. You have access to a large audience of people who browse Amazon regularly as an Amazon seller. Amazon by far is on the of largest online shopping spaces used worldwide today. Setting up an amazon seller account is fairly easy but the product listings can take a while.
What is the difference between Amazon and Shopify?
Shopify and Amazon can help you make money selling your products online. Both services are available for a monthly fee and you have full access to all their tools and resources. It might look like both are synonyms is terms of features but they are not.
They are different!
Although Amazon and Shopify might seem similar, they operate in very different ways.
The Big Difference Between Amazon and Shopify
Remember that Shopify is an ecommerce platform, while Amazon is an online marketplace. Shopify allows you to create your own online store while Amazon allows you to sell through its marketplace with other online sellers.
So, selling on Amazon is like a stall at a boot-fair. You can make thousands of sales from the people who walk past your stall. It is a fairly competitive place to market and sell.
Shopify makes selling more like renting a space to start your business. Your own space is yours and customers will find your store when they are familiar with your brand. Although there is more space to express your unique brand, it can be harder to build a loyal customer base.
These differences make Shopify and Amazon different for different types. Amazon offers a wide range of services for small and medium-sized sellers. Shopify works well for all sizes of businesses, from small to large brands.
Comparison of Shopify and Amazon
If both Shopify or Amazon can help you make more money in an ever-evolving digital world, then how do you decide which option is best? It can be helpful to list the obvious advantages and disadvantages of each tool when comparing them.
Shopify Pros
- You don’t have to worry about security and updates (everything is taken care of for you).
- Easy way to create your entire brand store
- Integrations with tons of more tools, such as Amazon and Flipkart.
- You can use premium and free templates to enhance the look of your website.
- Opportunities for offline selling and POS integration
- Fantastic and 24/7 support from the entire team
- Different marketing and SEO tools to help you grow your business
- A popular community with lots of happy customers
- Offer services and physical products
Shopify Cons
- Transaction fees can eat into your profits
- For things like templates and integrations, costs can add up.
- You will need to set up your entire store before you can start selling.
How does Amazon stack up? Although it might be a different experience for online sellers than Amazon, there are still pros and cons.
Amazon Pros
- Amazing brand exposure (millions of people use Amazon)
- It’s easy to set up and you can start selling immediately
- Access to tools such as FBA (fulfilled Amazon)
- Gift cards, discounts and other offers
- Shipping fees are very affordable in almost all cases
- You are responsible for security and updating
- Convenient back-end environment
- Good customer support
Amazon Cons
- Only for the sale of physical products
- It is difficult to establish a strong brand image in a market
- There is a lot of competition from other people selling similar or identical products
Shopify vs Amazon: Pricing
After you have reviewed the pros and cons of each service let’s get to the bottom of it – what you will spend. When you plan to increase your profits, both Amazon and Shopify have costs.
Shopify is a very affordable platform; despite the many features and tools it offers. Shopify Lite is a package that allows you to add a “Buy Now” button to your existing website or social media store. This will cost you $9 per month. However, the Shopify Lite package does not allow you to create your own website or use all of the other features that Shopify offers.
You can also choose from other package options:
- Basic Shopify: $29 a month. Unlimited product hosting, online shop tools, staff accounts and 24/7 customer support are available.
- Shopify –$79 per Month. This is the Shopify standard version that most businesses choose. It includes all of the features of Basic plus up to 5 locations and 5 staff accounts. You can also sell in multiple languages with POS technology (Lite) and fraud analysis.
- Shopify Advanced –$299 per Month. This package is for larger companies that sell at scale. You can access 5 languages, access international domains and unlock fraud analysis. Plus, you get premium service.
- Shopify PlusThis Shopify enterprise version is available, but you will need to talk to a Shopify professional for pricing. Costs will typically start at $2000 so you need to have a budget.
Shopify plans with more features are better than others. The higher the Shopify plan, the less transaction fees you will pay. Online credit card rates for Basic Shopify start from 2.2% plus 20cs. In-person rates start at 1.7% plus zero cents. All payment providers, except Shopify Payments, charge additional fees of 2%
However, if you use Advanced Shopping, your online credit card rates will drop to 1.6% plus 20cs. The in-person rate is 1.5% plus 0.5%, while additional fees for transactions companies other than Shopify are 0.5%.
How does Amazon compare to other retailers?
Amazon is affordable, so it’s a good choice for sellers and companies that just want to get started on the internet. If you don’t sell a lot of products, it’s not worth spending hundreds of dollars on a platform. Moreover, Amazon brings to your business an already existing base of audience that is huge.
Amazon’s selling plans include:
- Individual Selling Plan: There is no monthly fee, but each item you sell will incur a $0.99 charge. These fees are in addition to the additional selling fees that may arise when you sell on Amazon. They vary according to category.
- Professional selling plan:This plan has a $39.99 monthly fee. You will still need to pay additional selling fees from third parties. The third-party fees charged will vary depending on the product you are selling.
Why would you want to use the Professional plan? Individual selling accounts let you sell in many open categories and allow you to access feeds and spreadsheets to upload inventory information online. Other features are not available. The Professional plan allows you access to order-related feeds, and order reports. You will be able to place your products in the top 10+ categories. You can also modify your shipping rates.
The professional plan has more features than you would expect. This gives you more sales opportunities. There are additional fees if you use Fulfilled by Amazon or other Amazon services.
Fulfilled by Amazon or simply known as FBA makes it easier to place orders around the globe and gives you access to Prime shipping. Prime shipping is a big bonus for many customers who sell on Amazon these days. You also get a Fulfilled by Amazon badge displayed to your account.
It’s impossible to predict the cost of FBA. This is because prices are not available until you contact the team and discuss your needs.
Shopify vs Amazon: Features
It doesn’t matter if you choose Amazon or Shopify as your selling platform, you will always get more features if the price is higher. This is a fact that every online selling solution will tell you. Let’s look closer at what features you can expect from Amazon and Shopify and how they will affect you.
Shopify Features
Many users recommend to not choose the “Lite” package offered by Shopify, which only grants you access to a sale button. Otherwise, you will be able to unlock a fair number of features on any Shopify plan. This is why Shopify is so popular. Even HTML and CSS can be used to edit your website and you can accept payments from more than 70 payment processors.
Shopify store development services offers a variety of premium and free templates that will help you build your online store. You can also customize the templates by accessing integrations or tools like Shopify app subscription, making edits, and implementing add-ons. Analytics and reporting are available to help you understand your customers’ needs. Shopify also has a convenient and easy to use editor to modify the store templates.
These features include:
- There are dozens of payment processor options
- Secure SSL Certificate
- Premium themes and free themes
- Drag-and-drop editor for your website
- Recovery of abandoned carts
- Profiles and customer accounts
- Fulfilment and Drop shipping
- Review and testimonials about products
- Management of inventory and orders
- Marketing and SEO
- Profiles and customer accounts
- Automated tax calculation
The Shopify features are constantly evolving with new functionality. You can also explore the Shopify marketplace.
Amazon has a few more features than Shopify, but you don’t get an online store builder. You can instead create an account to start selling to a large audience in a matter of minutes.
Amazon Features
- Amazon Business allows you to reach new customers
- Automated VAT Invoicing
- Pricing for businesses and quantity discounts
- Exclusive business deals and offers
- Increased order visibility
- Use the invoice payment option
- Fulfilment by Amazon
- Video support and product picture
- Access to product page edits in the back-end is easy
- Shipping Calculation
- Hosting and security included
Amazon can also help you ship products to your customers. Amazon Fulfilled by Amazon is a similar extension to Shopify that allows drop shipping. Fulfilled by Amazon takes the hassles out of shipping and ecommerce.
Shopify vs Amazon Payment Options
When you are building an online shop, payment options should be considered. Your customers are more likely to buy your products if you offer more customization options for payment. The payment methods they are familiar with will make them feel more at ease.
It doesn’t matter if you have a basic or advanced Shopify shop. You will still need to pay transaction fees unless Shopify Payments is enabled. You won’t have to worry about transaction fees, but this will limit you to selling through Shopify.
Shopify offers other payment options if you are willing to pay transaction fees. There are over 100 options, including Amazon Pay and PayPal. However, each option has transaction fees that can vary in price so be sure to do your research.
Amazon follows a similar approach with Shopify payment methods. Amazon Pay, which allows you to accept most debit and credit cards, is the primary payment gateway. Although you can’t access PayPal or any other payment options, most people are quite comfortable using Amazon Pay.
Amazon offers professional sellers selling fees and a monthly subscription. Fees can vary depending on the category and may include shipping and referral fees. There are additional fees if Fulfilled by Amazon is chosen. You will also need to pay monthly inventory storage fees. Prices for fulfilment and storage vary depending on how large the product is, what type it is, what time of year, and what volume.
Assistance and support
Amazon does not have the best support system. However, you can request a call from Amazon and Amazon will get in touch with you. You can also submit support requests via forms. There are also community forums that you can use to discuss your issues. It’s not the easiest or most efficient support system.
Shopify offers a wide range of support options including:
- 24/7 phone
- Social media
- Live Chat
- Forum
- Video tutorials
- Specialist support
No matter what your need, this covers you. You can learn new skills through video tutorials and forums, and you have access to phone support for the best help.
Shopify has a Help Centre with articles and guides. It is super easy to navigate, and there are tons of resources available.
Shopify vs Amazon: Conclusion
Shopify, Amazon both are powerful sales platforms. We’ve explored their differences and delved into their pricing and design.
We’ve also looked at how these things could help you.
We recommend Shopify to anyone setting up an ecommerce store. You have greater control and a stronger brand image, as well as more flexible pricing.
Amazon is a good option for small sellers who don’t want to pay upfront costs. However, the variable fees make it hard to gauge how quickly these costs might rise.
Shopify is the best long-term solution. You can integrate Amazon into your Shopify store. It’s a win/win situation! No matter which platform you choose for your digital sales, it is crutial to perform a thorough market study and research. Having clarity about your needs and requirements will help you navigate better through your journey of setting up an online store front.
Shopify vs Amazon: FAQs
Which is more important, Shopify or Amazon?
Amazon Marketplace gives access to more people than Shopify’s 56.5 million unique visitors per month. Despite its popularity, is still a lot less competitive than Shopify. Because every merchant has the same design and layout, it’s difficult to be different.
Which ecommerce platform works best?
The Top E-Commerce Platforms for 2022
- Squarespace: The Best E-Commerce Platform Overall
- Square Online: The best for Omnichannel Selling
- Equid: The Best for Existing Sites
- Shift4Shop: The Best Free E-Commerce Platform
- Shopify: Drop shipping is best
- Wix: The Best Drag-and Drop Editor
- Weebly: The Best Value
- BigCommerce: The Best Way to Increase Sales
Shopify: Are there any risks?
Shopify allows you to decide whether you wish to fulfil high-risk orders. It is possible to accept it. However, high-risk orders are more likely to lead to a chargeback. Chargebacks can be costly because you may lose sales, have to pay administrative fees and refund the money.
What Shopify challenges are sellers most likely to face? How can you overcome them?
- Integration with ERP …
- Automating repetitive tasks and streamlining. …
- Driving traffic to your Shopify Store. …
- Shopify Store Sales Growth …
- Matching the shipping speed on online marketplaces. …
- Delivering a brand-branded customer experience
Why are so many Shopify stores failing?
Shopify stores can fail for many reasons. The most common are: not being able to find a niche, understanding ecommerce, having too little traffic and not making enough. Do your research to ensure you understand the requirements for opening a Shopify store and make sure to have a good strategy along with consistency to keep growing.
