Shopify Pros and Cons (2022)
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
- Who is Chris from Style Factory?
- What is Shopify?
- What will be covered in this review?
II. The Pros of Shopify
- Easy to use
- Good selection of templates
- Abandoned cart saving
- Great for dropshipping
- Automatic tax calculations
- Built-in email marketing
- Good for selling in physical locations
III. The Cons of Shopify
- Limit of three options per product
- Adding custom fields is hard
- Professional reporting costs extra
- Pay extra to use a third-party payment gateway
- Full point of sale functionality is expensive
- Often need to buy an app to obtain a key feature
- Real carrier shipping is only available on the most expensive plans
IV. Conclusion
- Summary of the pros and cons
- Is Shopify the right ecommerce platform for you?
Shopify Review: The Pros and Cons of Using Shopify for Your Online Store
I. Introduction
Are you considering using Shopify for your online store? In this review, we'll take a look at the key things you need to know about the platform. Chris from Style Factory will highlight the seven really good things about Shopify and the seven bad things you absolutely need to watch out for. By the end of this review, you'll have a better idea of whether Shopify is the right ecommerce platform for you.
II. The Pros of Shopify
- Easy to use
Shopify has been designed for a non-technical audience. You don't need to install any software on your computer — all you need is a web browser and access to the internet. The interface is pretty user-friendly, and you can use Shopify to build a very professional-looking store without any coding being necessary.
- Good selection of templates
There's a decent selection of free templates included with Shopify, and they look great. They're all responsive, meaning they'll display nicely on any device. And if you don't like the free options, there's a wide range of premium themes available too.
- Abandoned cart saving
Abandoned cart saving lets you identify visitors who nearly bought something from your store, only to change their mind at the last minute. Once you know who these users are, you can then send them an email with a discount code that encourages them to complete their purchase. The good news is that unlike many of its competitors, Shopify includes this important functionality on all its plans, even its entry-level one.
- Great for dropshipping
Dropshipping lets you sell products without keeping any of them in stock. You take an order, send it to a supplier, and they deliver the goods to your customer. Shopify is one of the best ecommerce platforms for merchants who want to dropship because it offers a really wide range of dropshipping apps that let you sell lots of different goods from lots of different suppliers.
- Automatic tax calculations
One of the challenges of selling online is that you can end up making sales in places with different tax rates — something you have to reflect in the pricing of your products. Thankfully, Shopify works out the tax rates automatically for merchants based in the U.S. and Canada, and it also handles the EU's VAT MOSS rules on digital products really well.
- Built-in email marketing
In addition to letting you build an online store, Shopify lets you host a mailing list and send e-newsletters to it, and it lets you do this very cheaply too.
- Good for selling in physical locations
Shopify has one of the most comprehensive point-of-sale feature sets available. You can integrate the platform with a wide range of point-of-sale hardware, like card readers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, and tills. This lets you sell products easily in retail outlets, pop-up shops, or market stalls, and keep all your inventory in sync.
III. The Cons of Shopify
- Limit of three options per product
Shopify is a lot more restrictive than other platforms when it comes to product options: there's a limit of three. So if your products come in lots of shapes and sizes, you might need to think about using a different platform or paying extra for a Shopify app that lets you create more options.
- Adding custom fields is hard
If you're a merchant who needs to capture personalized information at checkout — for example, text for an engraving — then you might get a bit frustrated by Shopify. Adding custom fields involves either adding some code to your site or again paying extra for a Shopify app that provides this functionality.
- Professional reporting costs extra
If you're somebody who loves to pour over sales data, you're going to have to pay extra to get it with Shopify. Full reporting features are only available on the more expensive plans.
- Pay extra to use a third-party payment gateway
If you don't want to use Shopify's built-in payment processor, Shopify Payments, you're charged a transaction fee on each sale. This can make things more expensive, particularly for users in countries where Shopify Payments isn't available.
- Full point of sale functionality is expensive
Although you can do a lot with the built-in Shopify point of sale functionality, to get the most out of it, you’ll need to pay quite a lot extra every month for a Shopify POS Pro add-on. This lets you use POS in multiple locations, print custom receipts, add unlimited members of staff, and more — but it's pricey.
- Often need to buy an app to obtain a key feature
Some key features that you might expect to be built into Shopify are either missing or a bit inadequate, and you will often have to resort to using an app to gain the functionality you need. Examples of this include fully automatic currency conversion, GDPR or CCPA compliant cookie notices, and the ability to let users upload files at checkout.
- Real carrier shipping is only available on the most expensive plans
If you want to automatically display carrier shipping rates on Shopify, you'll need to be on one of its most expensive plans, pay for a monthly add-on, or subscribe to the platform on an annual basis. Many competing platforms offer real-time carrier shipping at a lower price point.
IV. Conclusion
So, there you have it — the main good things and bad things about Shopify. While Shopify has a lot of great features, it's not perfect. Whether or not Shopify is the right ecommerce platform for you will depend on your specific needs and budget. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons carefully before making a decision.
Highlights
- Shopify is easy to use and has a good selection of templates.
- Abandoned cart saving is available on all plans.
- Shopify is great for dropshipping and performs tax calculations automatically.
- Shopify has built-in email marketing and is good for selling in physical locations.
- Shopify is more restrictive than other platforms when it comes to product options.
- Adding custom fields is hard and professional reporting costs extra.
- Paying extra to use a third-party payment gateway and full point of sale functionality is expensive.
- Often need to buy an app to obtain a key feature.
- Real carrier shipping is only available on the most expensive plans.
FAQ
Q: Is Shopify easy to use?
A: Yes, Shopify has been designed for a non-technical audience and is easy to use.
Q: Does Shopify offer abandoned cart saving?
A: Yes, abandoned cart saving is available on all Shopify plans.
Q: Is Shopify good for dropshipping?
A: Yes, Shopify is one of the best ecommerce platforms for merchants who want to dropship.
Q: Does Shopify perform tax calculations automatically?
A: Yes, Shopify works out the tax rates automatically for merchants based in the U.S. and Canada, and it also handles the EU's VAT MOSS rules on digital products really well.
Q: Does Shopify have built-in email marketing?
A: Yes, Shopify lets you host a mailing list and send e-newsletters to it, and it lets you do this very cheaply too.
Q: Is Shopify good for selling in physical locations?
A: Yes, Shopify has one of the most comprehensive point-of-sale feature sets available.
Q: What are the cons of using Shopify?
A: The cons of using Shopify include a limit of three options per product, adding custom fields is hard, professional reporting costs extra, paying extra to use a third-party payment gateway, full point of sale functionality is expensive, often need to buy an app to obtain a key feature, and real carrier shipping is only available on the most expensive plans.
