Shopify or Amazon: Which Is Better for New eCommerce Entrepreneurs?

Starting an eCommerce company sounds exciting and challenging. If you are new to the business world. It can be difficult for you to begin your journey of online entrepreneurship. Shopify and Amazon are two of the most commonly used solutions for customers. They have decided to create an online store. Although both have their strengths, they are focused on different business needs and objectives.

In this article, we propose to share the main differences between Shopify and Amazon so that you can decide which of these platforms is better for your online business.

Shopify and Amazon Overview

Shopify and Amazon are two of the most popular websites for eCommerce business owners with different needs. Shopify is an easy-to-use eCommerce solution. It helps merchants create their customized stores and it offers full control over everything from branding to design and more. 

On the other hand, Amazon is in a completely different niche. It is a massive platform for selling with a couple of octillion impressions. It gives sellers access to a ready market of almost 150 million customers worldwide. However, Shopify is more about building the company’s image. At the same time, Amazon is more about broad coverage that can create sales as quickly as possible, which is why the choice will always depend on the business goal.

1. Ownership and Branding

Shopify gives you every tool you need to brand your store and control the customer experience. It also means you can tailor your website layout to your needs or specific product page layouts and develop a recognizable brand image that will attract your target audience. Despite being formally similar to Google’s ads, Amazon places your products alongside millions of others, and you can easily get lost in the crowd.

Yes, you can always build brand familiarity, but Amazon’s marketplace is keen to put more emphasis on the appearance of the product, not on branding.

2. Ease Of Setup And Use

In any case, launching a store using Shopify is relatively easy as it has a wide variety of templates as well as a user-friendly interface. Those who are new to the business can easily create their online store without developing programming or website design skills. On the other hand, although listing products on Amazon is very easy, registering with Amazon can sometimes be more complicated. The process can involve multiple compliance checks and dealing with Amazon’s policies and fee structures make it extra challenging for sellers.

3. Costs And Fees

Shopify is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise that uses a usage-based pricing model in which different plans offer different features and support services. In a SaaS business model, transaction fees must also be taken into account by entrepreneurs as there will be transaction and payment processing fees that must be incurred, as well as additional utilities that their special features have.

In contrast, Amazon encourages its sellers to sell on the marketplace by offering selling fees that include referral fees, FBA fees, and even features that are paid every month for professional sellers.

The disadvantage of such costs aimed at increasing sales volume is that they can be cumbersome, especially when selling products with low-profit margins. Therefore, both platforms need to be taken into serious consideration.

4. Customer Base

With Shopify, the business owner has the opportunity to strengthen their customer base. Through marketing and SEO, social networks, and other means, this can take some time. On the other hand, there is a larger group of potential customers selling on Amazon. Due to the site’s established trust and reputation, which means faster sales in many cases. Still, there is a lot of competition in the Amazon marketplace, and sellers may need to attract the attention of the audience using additional media promotion.

5. Marketing and Promotion

Shopify is a great platform that offers a lot of freedom and flexibility when it comes to marketing their businesses. Entrepreneurs can use SEO marketing, content marketing, email, and social media marketing for their competently run stores. This enables them to create strategies tailored to the makeup of the market’s target audience.

Amazon has marketing options such as Sponsored Products. However, the extent to which these products can be sell by marketers themselves is significantly less than marketing such products on Shopify. In this area of ​​activity, as in many others related to the mentioned areas, the concepts that most of them focus on are visibility and ranking. The seller can improve their visibility and ranking using result-oriented Amazon SEO services. However, all of these are determine and govern by Amazon policies and algorithms that are very limiting for any promotional undertaking.

Who Should Invest In Which Platform?

Shopify is suitable for any user who wants to manage every detail of their brand. The customer experience. Amazon, on the other hand, works for businesses. They already have their audience on the platform without worrying about how their store presents itself.

Choose Shopify if:

• You will demand complete chaos in your branding and your customers’ optimal experience with the brand.
• You want to create a customized eCommerce site with aggressive marketing strategies.
• It is quite beneficial in building a lasting image and ensuring a steady flow of customers in the long term.

Choose Amazon if:

• You want instant exposure to a large market base and are willing to share the market with other sellers.
• You want a simple structure with supply chain and client relationship management integrated into the system.
• You propose to focus on sales volume instead of brand building.

Conclusion

In the end, the decision between Shopify and Amazon will be influence by key trends and success. Factors such as budget, aspirations, and power of control of the e-commerce business. Shopify is fully customizable and highly focused on brand image, which makes it perfect for the beginning entrepreneur. Amazon, on the other hand, gives an instant opportunity. To reach a much wider market for goods, which is ideal for those who want quick turnover and sales.

Both of these will help new e-commerce entrepreneurs. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of adopting each platform so that they can arrive at the best decision that suits their business plan.