Shopify vs. Amazon: Which E-commerce Platform is Best For You?

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You have decided to start an online business. Congratulation! A special moment in your life. This will be your own business. You will have to work either from 9-5 or maybe from 6-11.

Your plan to start this business is confirmed, but you’re confused about choosing the best platform to establish your online shop. Right? 

If you possess some knowledge of e-commerce or have performed any research on it, you will naturally be inclined toward two giant platforms: Shopify vs Amazon.

Both e-commerce platforms enable third-party sellers to sell their products and cover a huge market of customers all around the world. But which one will be the best choice for you? Let’s read the blog post to discover the answer.

Confidence-Booster Stats About Shopify & Amazon

Before diving into the nitty-gritty details of Shopify vs. Amazon, let’s take a moment to absorb some facts that will surely work as a confidence-booster:

• In 2022, the United States of America was the biggest Amazon market, and Amazon generated sales of approximately $356 billion from the U.S. only. Germany was ranked second position with $33.6 billion, ahead of the United Kingdom with $30 billion.

• Shopify, on the other hand, has more than 4 million businesses from all around the world. Since its launch, the total sales on Shopify are estimated to be over $543 billion, according to the globally renowned e-commerce helpdesk, gorgias. Impressive, right?

Shopify vs Amazon: Key Differences

Now, let’s explore the key differences between Shopify and Amazon. It will help you better understand the features of these platforms and make a well-executed decision.

Ownership: Shopify is a platform that allows you to build and customize your online store according to your brand’s needs and requirements. On the other hand, what Amazon does is allow you to rent a space where you can build your own shop.

Control: The best thing that attracts businesses to Shopify is that it is brand-centric. It provides you with full control over your branding, design, and customer experience. While Amazon is strict in these things, as it is more Amazon-centric, and you don’t have full control over your store.

Fulfillment Options: Shopify offers multiple fulfillment options, including drop shipping. On the other hand, Amazon’s main focus is on its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service.

Pricing: Both have almost different pricing strategies. Shopify is more hands-on and charges a monthly fee. In contrast, Amazon is more hands-off and deducts fees from every sale of your store.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a brand-centric e-commerce platform that provides you with the tools to establish your own online shop or store. It’s famous among businesses for its online sales features and amazing design flexibility. 

Setting up a store on Shopify is like buying a blank canvas and creating a brand image on it. No matter what the size of your business, you can get your space on Shopify and use its built-in theme editor to design and customize your website.

The following are some main features of Shopify:

User-friendly interface: Shopify offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface. This feature makes Shopify accessible even for businesses that have limited technical knowledge.

Customization: Shopify allows you to build and customize your online store according to your brand’s needs and requirements.

Payment processing: Shopify provides seamless and feasible integration with various payment methods and ensures safe and secure transactions.

App store: Shopify, a giant e-commerce platform, has an extensive app store. It offers you thousands of plugins and related applications to multiply the functionality of your online store.

Mobile responsiveness: Shopify’s mobile responsiveness feature is incredibly awesome as it allows you to easily optimize your store for mobile phones.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify has three pricing plans:

• Basic Shopify: $29 per month (best for new e-commerce businesses)

• Shopify: $79 per month (best option for developing businesses)

• Advanced Shopify: $299 per month (best for established businesses)

Pros of Selling on Shopify

If you are a serious entrepreneur who wants to start his/her online business, you will be highly motivated by the following pros of selling on Shopify.

Your Brand, Your Rules

When you choose Shopify as your e-commerce platform, you get all-inclusive control over your online store. Whether it is customer experience, branding, or design, everything is in your control.

Shopify is fully brand-centric. Whatever your brand identity (from the logo to the color scheme) is, Shopify will let you design your store accordingly.

Diverse Sales Channels 

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that offers diverse sales channels. With Shopify, you not only sell your products on your site but also on social media platforms and even in your physical store.

You can easily integrate your Shopify products with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This amazing feature of Shopify allows you to reach a wider audience across the world.

Unlimited Scalability 

Whether you run a small business or an established enterprise, with Shopify, you can scale your growth and ROIs on unprecedented levels. As your brand expands, you can easily add new items, sales funnels, and target locations on Shopify. 

Comprehensive List of Analytics Tools

Shopify provides you with a comprehensive list of analytic tools that you can use to get deep performance insights into your business. For instance, you can track your sales, user behavior, and many other things to better run your e-commerce store. 

24/7 Support and Community 

Shopify has gained a respected name in the global e-commerce platform due to its multiple amazing features and benefits. 

One of those amazing features is its 24/7 available customer support and a strong community of entrepreneurs who are always ready to help you in your ecommerce journey. Whenever you come across an issue, you can contact the support team of Shopify for quick and efficient assistance.

However, like any other e-commerce platform in the world, Shopify also has a few drawbacks.

Cons of Selling on Shopify

• Limited free themes 
• Costly premium themes and apps 
• Complicated advanced customization
• A bit higher subscription fees for new-comers
• Transaction fees for diverse payment options

What is Amazon?

We don’t think that Amazon needs any introduction; this is the largest online marketplace in the world. So, without any further, let’s look at its main features:

Vast customer base: Amazon has 310+ million active customers from all around the world, and the U.S. is a country where it has the largest pool of potential customers.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Amazon itself handles storage, packing, and shipping for your products if you choose FBA.

Trust and credibility: Customers from all over the world trust the services of Amazon. This already-developed credibility by Amazon automatically builds the credibility of your product.

Global reach: Amazon operates in different countries of the world. It allows you to expand your online business internationally.

Advertising opportunities: Amazon offers high-quality advertising opportunities to businesses. So, these features of Amazon will help you promote your products quickly and efficiently.

Pros of Selling on Amazon

Now, let’s throw light on the advantages of selling on Amazon:

Massive Customer Base

Amazon has a built-in customer base across the world. It provides its stores with an excellent opportunity to reach a global audience. With Amazon, you can easily target and sell your quality products to millions of potential customers without any extensive marketing.

FBA Service

Amazon’s FBA service is more than a blessing for busy businesses. Using its highly efficient logistics and customer service, you can save your hard-earned time and effort. Amazon handles everything, whether shipping, returns, or customer inquiries, and lets you focus completely on your business.

Global Expansion

As mentioned above, Amazon provides its services in different countries, so it makes it easy for new stores to easily expand their presence internationally. What you need is to select a target location; Amazon will have an already developed potential customer base.

Cons of Selling on Amazon

Now, look at the following challenges of selling on Amazon:

• High selling fees 
• High competition
• Complex order management
• Lack of control and ownership
• Limited control over customer care
• Limited insight into customer data

PureLogics Can Help You Establish Your Online Presence

So, Amazon or Shopify? What have you decided? Which e-commerce platform is best for your business?

There is only one answer to these questions: It only depends on the needs, resources, and goals of your business.

Shopify is the best option if you want to build a business brand with complete ownership. On the other hand, choose Amazon if you just want to rent a space on Amazon and want to sell your products.

At PureLogics, we have 17+ years of experience in the e-commerce industry. Our brightest minds have successfully transformed thousands of start-ups into recognized brands. 

If you want to develop a customized e-commerce website or customize your Shopify website, we can assist you in selling your products online.

We offer a free consultation call of 30 minutes. Hurry up! Discuss your business nature and goals with our experts. The digital world is waiting for you to make your mark.

PureLogics: We believe in logic, not magic!