Shopify

What is Shopify?

Shopify description in 5 points:

1. E-shop creation platform: Shopify is a cloud-based platform that allows individuals and companies to easily create, manage and operate online stores without the need for advanced technical (programming) skills.
2. Ease of use: Shopify provides an intuitive user interface with many pre-made templates to choose from, making it easy even for beginners to start an e-shop.
3. Flexibility and adaptability: Merchants can customize e-shops according to their needs through various add-ons and applications that extend the functionality (for marketing, SEO, payment gateways).
4. Integrated payment and shipping systems: Shopify has built-in support for various payment gateways and shipping services, making it easy to process payments and ship goods.
5. Support for multiple sales channels: Shopify enables sales not only through the website, but also through social networksWhen were the first social networks created and which network was Facebook inspired by? Which networks are among the biggest in 2023? More (Facebook, Instagram), online marketplaces (Amazon, eBay) or physical points of sale (POS).

The 3 biggest advantages of Shopify over custom e-shop programming

1. Fast implementation

Shopify allows you to create and launch a professional e-shop in a matter of weeks, thanks to ready-made templates and a number of functions available immediately. Unlike custom-made e-shops, which can take half a year to a year, Shopify provides ready-made solutions that significantly reduce the time needed to start selling. Another big advantage is the Shopify App Store, which offers many applications for different needs. Features such as:

• configurators,
• accounting connection,
• integration with suppliers,
• reservation systems,
• B2B sections, auctions or
• custom order forms,

can be quickly added and launched without complex development.

2. Lower initial costs

Starting an e-shop on Shopify is financially affordable. Instead of investing large sums in custom programming, which can be expensive, just pay monthly fees for the platform and apps. This will allow you to diversify risk and use financial resources more efficiently. You can invest the saved money in marketing or other areas that will support the growth of your business.

3. Integrated services and support

Shopify offers built-in solutions for payment gateways, security, hosting, and 24/7 customer support. Every app in the Shopify App Store comes with 24/7 support, meaning that any changes or problems don’t require expensive programmer intervention. In addition, Shopify enables easy expansion into foreign markets thanks to AI translations that automatically translate administration, templates, product descriptions, articles and other content.

The 3 Biggest Shopify Hoaxes:

1. Limited customizability

While Shopify offers a wide range of flexibility, there are some limitations that you should be aware of. In the basic packages, you have the opportunity to customize the templates according to your needs, since Shopify allows coding and design modifications thanks to open source. This means that you can customize the templates according to your own brand manual and ensure that your e-shop does not look like many others on this platform.

2. Monthly fees

Shopify works on a monthly subscription basis, which means that the initial low cost can grow over the long term. With a custom-made e-shop, you will pay more at the beginning, but in the long term the costs may be lower. But the word “can” is important. The practice is often such that you need to constantly invest in additional functionality of the e-shop. This means that every ordinary functionality that you can buy in the Shopify store for a few euros is made to measure in the eshop for hundreds to thousands of euros.

Monthly license fees can act as a psychological barrier, but when you add up what you would pay for basic support with a custom e-shop, it can be very similar in annual numbers. It is better to calculate your fees on an “annual basis” in advance.

3. Dependency on the platform

Using Shopify means you’re dependent on its ecosystem. If Shopify changes terms, prices, or limits some features, you have fewer options to influence those changes. With a custom e-shop, you have some control over your system, and the harsh truth is that your commitment to a third party is directly proportional to the programming company you hire.

Here, in practice, the real dependence is very individual and depends on the technology in which the e-shop was programmed for you, on the number of programmers who know how to use it and their prices, on your ability to further develop the customized platform with someone else. What is better? To have custom-made furniture, but to be dependent on one carpenter, or to buy from IKEA and benefit from the fact that there is a level of customer service, and even in 365 days, in the event of a problem that was not your fault, you will return the cabinet?

Shopify can become too expensive for you in the following situations:

1. High monthly fees for plans and apps: Basic Shopify plans are available, but as you grow and need more features or higher sales volume, you’ll need to upgrade to more expensive plans. Additionally, many advanced features come through paid apps, which can add to the monthly cost.
2. Transaction fees: If you don’t use Shopify Payments (integrated payment gateway), Shopify charges transaction fees (around 2% of sales) on all payments made through other payment gateways. At higher sales volumes, these fees can add up quickly and increase overall costs.

If you have 20 products and a monthly turnover of €10,000, Shopify will cost you approximately:

Calculation of costs for a “small e-shop” on Shopify

1. Shopify plan

• Basic Shopify Plan: $29/month
  This plan offers all the basic functions for running a small e-shop, which is probably sufficient for a shop with a smaller number of products and a turnover of up to €10,000 per month.

2. Transaction Fees

• Shopify Payments: If you use Shopify Payments (integrated payment gateway), you pay no transaction fees except for payment processing fees (approximately 1.4% + €0.25 for each transaction in the EU).
• Other payment gateways: If you don’t use Shopify Payments, you have to pay a fee of 2% for each transaction.

An example of the cost of payment fees (when using Shopify Payments):

• With a turnover of €10,000 and a 1.4% payment processing fee, you will pay around €140 per month in transaction fees.

3. Applications and plugins

• Shopify has a wide range of paid apps to extend functionality (eg marketing, SEO, inventory systems). With a small e-shop, it is possible to start without paid applications, but if you need them, some cost around 10-50 USD per month.

4. Domain and other costs

• If you want to purchase your own domain through Shopify, the price is around $14/year.

Total monthly costs

1. Basic plan: $29/month
2. Transaction fees (for a turnover of €10,000): approximately €140
3. Apps (optional): $0 – $50 per month
4. Domain (annually): $14/year

Estimated monthly costs:

• Approximately €160-220/month, depending on the use of applications and payment gateways.

If you had a monthly turnover of €200,000, the cost of Shopify would depend on your plan, transaction fees and other plugins you might use. For a store with that kind of turnover, you’d probably consider one of Shopify’s higher-end plans.

Calculation of costs for a “big eshop” on Shopify

1. Shopify Plan for a large e-shop:

With more turnover, you’d likely upgrade to the Advanced Shopify Plan, which has better transaction fees and more advanced features:

• Advanced Shopify Plan: $299/month
  This plan is optimized for larger stores and includes advanced reports, cheaper transaction fees and a lower percentage for payment processing.

2. Transaction fees:

If you use Shopify Payments, transaction fees are cheaper on the higher plan.

• Fees for Shopify Payments on Advanced Shopify: 1.4% + €0.25 per transaction (EU)

Example of the cost of payment fees (with a turnover of €200,000 per month):

• Fee 1.4% of €200,000 = €2,800
• Fixed processing fee of €0.25 per transaction: If you have, for example, 1,000 orders per month, this would mean an additional €250.
• Total transaction fees: €3,050 per month.

If you don’t use Shopify Payments and opt for another payment gateway, Shopify charges a transaction fee of 0.5% on the Advanced plan, which would be €1,000 on top of the processing fees charged by the payment gateway itself.

3. Applications and plugins:

For an e-shop with such a turnover, it is likely that you will need several paid applications (eg for marketing, analytics, inventory management). Typical app costs can range from $50-$200 per month depending on what you use.

4. Domain and other costs:

If you buy your own domain through Shopify, the price is still $14/year, which is negligible for higher turnover.

Total monthly costs:

1. Advanced Shopify Plan: $299/month (approx. €280)
2. Transaction fees (with a turnover of €200,000): approximately €3,050 per month
3. Applications: approximately €50 – €200 per month
4. Domain: $14/year (negligible for higher turnover)

Estimated monthly costs:

• Total cost of Shopify: around €3,380-€3,530 per month (depending on apps and payment methods).

These costs may increase if you use more apps or other payment gateways with additional fees. If you reach a turnover of around €200,000, these costs may be reasonable given the scale of the business and profitability.

9 Best Shopify Apps

1. Bold Custom Pricing: Wholesale & B2B

• Functionality : Bold Custom Pricing allows you to create different price levels for B2B customers, which means you can set a different price for each customer group. This app allows you to:
  • Different price tiers based on customer type (e.g. retail, wholesale, VIP).
  • Automatic adjustment of prices according to the quantity of ordered pieces.
  • Creating unique pricing rules for specific customers or products.
• Application price : From €37 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €9,000 – €18,000.
• Link : Bold Custom Pricing

2. BookThatApp

• Functionality : BookThatApp provides a comprehensive booking system that is ideal for selling products and services that require time booking. Features include:
  • Availability management and calendars for individual products.
  • Reservation options for different types of services (e.g. courses, workshops, product rental).
  • Automatic email reminders for customers.
  • Customizable time blocks for bookings, allowing flexibility within business hours or rental periods.
• Application price : From €18 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €14,000 – €28,000.
• Link : BookThatApp

3. Recharge Subscriptions

• Functionality : Recharge Subscriptions enables the sale of subscriptions where customers can set up recurring product orders. Features of the application:
  • Option to configure recurring payment cycles (weekly, monthly, quarterly).
  • Automatic management of subscribers, including the ability to suspend or cancel subscriptions.
  • Customization of subscription plans for different product groups.
  • Integration with other applications for better personalization of the subscription.
• Application price : From €93 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €19,000 – €37,000.
• Link : Recharge Subscriptions

4. Locksmith

• Functionality : Locksmith allows you to control access to specific products, pages or sections of the e-shop. Options include:
  • Access rights based on customer groups or password.
  • Access restriction for certain geographic locations.
  • Special restrictions for specific products or categories.
  • Ability to create “exclusive” content only for VIP customers or wholesale clients.
• Application price : From €8 to €93 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €4,500 – €14,000.
• Link : Locksmith

5. Wholesale Club

• Functionality : Wholesale Club allows you to create price lists for wholesale customers and offers various benefits, such as:
  • Setting specific prices for wholesale customers that differ from retail prices.
  • Option to hide certain products that are only for wholesale customers.
  • Configuration of the minimum order quantity for the B2B segment.
  • A simple and clear ordering system for wholesale customers.
• Application price : From €25 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €9,000 – €23,000.
• Link : Wholesale Club

6. Gorgias – Customer Support

• Functionality : Gorgias is a comprehensive system for customer support that allows you to centralize all communications. Main functions:
  • Integration with social networks, e-mail and live chat, which enables uniform communication with customers.
  • Automate answers to common questions and set up FAQs, which saves time.
  • Ticket management and a simple system to triage and answer customer questions.
  • The ability to link to orders and products in Shopify, which makes it easier to deal with complaints or questions about orders.
• Application price : From €9 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €19,000 – €46,000.
• Reference : Gorgias

7. Advanced Shipping Rules

• Functionality : Advanced Shipping Rules allows you to comprehensively set shipping charges based on various criteria. Functions:
  • Defining specific shipping rules based on weight, product type or destination.
  • Possibility to set different shipping rates for individual products or categories.
  • Flexible setting of shipping charges according to countries and regions.
  • Integration with multiple carriers and the ability to set up customized delivery options.
• Application price : From €9 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €9,000 – €18,000.
• Link : Advanced Shipping Rules

8. Back in Stock: Restock Alerts

• Functionality : The app allows customers to sign up for stock alerts. Features include:
  • Automatically send notifications when the product is available again.
  • Ability to customize the messages and alerts that customers receive.
  • Reporting and analytics that show which products were the most popular even during the sell-out period.
• Application price : From €18 per month.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €4,500 – €9,000.
• Link : Back in Stock

9. Shopify Flow

• Functionality : Shopify Flow enables the automation of business processes in Shopify. Features include:
  • Automatic initiation of work processes such as notifications, inventory and order status tracking.
  • Connection with other applications for clear management of tasks and processes.
  • The possibility to create your own workflows without the need for coding, which increases the efficiency of the e-shop.
• App price : Free for Advanced and Plus plans.
• Estimated costs for custom development : €20,000 – €50,000.
• Link: Shopify Flow

Well-known Slovak and Czech Shopify e-shops:

Several Slovak and Czech e-shops are already successfully using Shopify as a platform for their online sales. Famous examples include:

1. Fabini (Czech Republic) – A fast-growing brand specializing in quality kitchen equipment that uses Shopify to expand and scale its business.
2. Snuggs (Czech Republic) – Startup focused on the sale of ecological menstrual panties. This innovative e-shop is growing rapidly and expanding its operations to foreign markets
3. L’Occitane (Czech Republic) – A well-known international cosmetics retailer that runs its Czech e-shop on Shopify Plus, which allows them to effectively manage sales and marketing​​These stores use Shopify for its flexibility, rapid expansion into foreign markets and ease of administration without the need complex technical solutions.
4. Peelo.sk, a Slovak startup specializing in the production of wax packaging for food, uses Shopify as its e-commerce platform. This ecological business focuses on sustainable solutions.

Shopify is also used by Lelosi or Bloom Hair and most recently announced the transition to Shopify and Dedoles. If you need help, contact us and together we will look at how to increase your sales.