Take your business online using Shopify, a tool that allows you to build online shops and sell in an easy and convenient way

These days, businesses have to be online. If not, they have less chance of surviving in the long run, especially now that the New Normal has become a part of our lives. Now more than ever consumers have the opportunity to explore brands, products and services from anywhere, at any time. As people are reluctant to go out shopping, now is the time to be selling online, and Shopify is the platform to help you sell your products or services online more conveniently.

Of course, not everyone has the expertise to build a website, or manage the often very complex system behind an online shop. In this article we look at Shopify, which is ideal for those with little experience looking to sell online in Thailand. 

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a platform used to build online stores or e-commerce shops. With a wide variety of templates to choose from, it can be customised to suit your offering. Great for those just getting started, or those who are not familiar with programming or building a website, Shopify is very user-friendly.

That’s why a lot of merchants choose to use Shopify to help them sell online. Before the days of Shopify, they would sell their products or services through social media or e-commerce sites such as Lazada and Shopee, but never on their own website. Shopify has become an alternative for those businesses to build an e-commerce website of their own with a complete selling and stocking system. Having your own online store with your brand name also increases your credibility in the eyes of customers.

Who is Shopify suitable for?

People tend to agree that Shopify is most suitable for small businesses or SME to medium-sized businesses. But Shopify is actually capable of supporting large businesses as well. There are additional services called Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro (at an additional cost to the regular package prices) designed to support a larger scale selling system. 

Shopify POS Lite features (available with any package)

  • Online credit card rates 2.4% +  $0 (0 THB)
  • Pay via phone and other devices
  • Manage orders and products
  • Customer profile

Shopify POS Pro features (pay an additional $89 or about 6,000 baht per month)

– Full access to all features

– Add unlimited store employees

– Intelligent inventory management

– Determine the position and duties of each employee

– Unlimited registration system

– Multi-channel sales feature

– Store analysis

* Shopify POS Pro is included with Shopify Plus.

If you’re a medium- to large-sized business with the potential for large-scale sales, Shopify has a separate package for you called Shopify Plus, which comes at a premium.

Shopify Plus

This package cannot be purchased on their website so you will need to contact Shopify in order to discuss your options. As the monthly cost starts at $2,000 or about 63,000 baht, Shopify Plus is a good fit for brands with a large product range and high sales volume that requires a better management system. With Shopify Plus, in addition to being able to use all the standard features that Shopify offers, you can also customise the service to suit your business. All functionality and features are subject to agreement with Shopify.

But what if you are just starting out and not able to invest much? If you simply want to create a website for your business and add more sales management, Shopify offers a starter package called Shopify Lite. This is for entrepreneurs who sell products or services on their website and through social media, and costs just $9 (about 300 baht) per month! Here are the advantages of using Shopify Lite:

– Add your products to any website or blog.

– Add a ‘Buy Now’ button under the product image to click to buy immediately.

– Support credit card payment anytime, anywhere.

– Create invoices and accept payments 

* Shopify Lite is compatible with Facebook and other platforms. 

What are Shopify’s strengths?

If reading this has interested you in finding out more about Shopify then it’s time to take a look at the strengths of the service:

– You can easily build your own e-commerce website.

– There are various themes and templates to choose from.

– If you already have a WordPress website, you can use the Shopify Plugin to manage your e-commerce system.

– Connect with Facebook Shop to manage orders more conveniently.

– Allows you to accept money via credit card, helping customers pay more easily.

– It manages your backend system efficiently.

All of Shopify’s functions and features will allow you to work more efficiently, sell easily and enable your customers to buy quickly. Plus, you can choose the package that is most suited to your business!

How much does Shopify cost?

Now, if you’re interested in using Shopify, let’s take a look at the package prices:

  • Shopify Lite costs $9 per month (300 baht).
  • Basic Shopify costs $29 per month (900 baht).
  • Shopify costs $79 per month.
  • Advanced Shopify costs $299 per month (9,500 baht).
  • Shopify Plus costs per month start at approximately $2,000 (63,000 baht).

Can I use Shopify myself?

Of course, you can create your own e-commerce website using Shopify! Everything can be learnt from the website: www.shopify.com, or you can just play around and see what it can do, you will be an expert in no time. 

Shopify has a system which supports SEO, so if you want to promote your website to the first page of Google, you can do so easily. Or, if you prefer, you can find a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO to help you out with that. 

These days you can’t avoid the online world so you have to do your best to make it easy and convenient for your customers to reach you and shop with you. When faced with a choice, customers will choose the option that works best for them and is most convenient. That’s why Shopify can prove invaluable for businesses operating online.