There are two most popular platforms that can improve your business. Amazon and Shopify both provide tools and resources that can help you to achieve success and profit. But there is always the question, what platform should you choose?
The debates seem to be eternal. Of course, there is no universal answer that can fit everyone. It depends on the type of businesses, strategies, audience, products, and other factors.
The better way is to make a choice that comes from your personal needs and goals. This article tries to spotlight the pros and cons of both Amazon and Shopify, which will help you to make a correct and substantive choice. You can also connect with Amazon Agency for Content, PPC Ads & listings translation for Amazon UK, Europe & Worldwide.
The main difference
You can sell your products online, using Shopify or Amazon. You pay a monthly subscription, that makes you able to use tools and resources that platforms dispose of. But what is important, is that the sites are not the same thing at all.
Amazon is an online marketplace and Shopify is a specialized ecommerce platform.
What does it mean?
Amazon and Shopify provide ways to make a business in very different styles, so you can prefer the one that is more suitable to your needs.
Amazon`s main point is the huge amount of customers on an everyday basis. The site connects the audience with your product in a moment, so you do not need to build your own store or create any PR program.
Shopify`s main focus is leading you to build your own store. That includes not only creating a personal brand and unique identity but also serious e-commerce providers that give you all the support you could need and help you start in the beginning.
Therefore, Amazon is better for small and medium sellers, who don`t want to spend time and money on advertisements and complex business plans. Shopify is best for those who want to create their own conception and space, serving exclusively their audience. It can be useful for many types of businesses, from small sellers to big, known brands.
Things to compare
So, Amazon and Shopify both create online selling platforms, which have different structures and orientations. That means that each of them has a number of specific features that may or may not fit your business architecture or personal traits. Here is a list of Amazon and Shopify Pros and Cons, that can help you make a decision.
Amazon Pros
- Traffic. More than 200 million customers visit Amazon every month. That gives you great exposure for your product all the time.
- Provided service. Amazon can take care of your inventory, pack, and ship for you. That makes the realization of your business much easier.
Amazon Cons
- Competition. You will be one of the million sellers of almost the same product items. That makes competition really hard.
- Branding limits. It is difficult to create a strong personal brand image using Amazon. That hardens the way for small businesses to evolve and improve.
- Limited payment methods. A credit card and a balance on an Amazon Pay account are the only options to pay.
Shopify Pros
- Ecommerce tools. Shopify has a lot of them to help you build and promote your online shop with all the designs you need.
- Brand identity. While creating your own website and shop, you also create a strong and unique brand for your business.
- Payment options. There are over 100 payment options.
Shopify Cons
- Extra payments. Adding Shopify apps can increase your costs.
- Full marketing responsibility. There is no help in promotion for your business or creating brand awareness.
- Limited customizations. Shopify is not able to be customized as an open-source platform.
So how to make the right choice?
Of course, this is not a complete list of Pros and Cons both companies can have, but it contains quite enough information, that you need to have to make a proper choice between Shopify and Amazon, depending on your business and even personal traits, goals, and needs.
For example, if you have a niche, limited product, that needs a lot of special design and individual connection to auditory, the choice is Shopify. But it takes you to be able to make a promotion by yourself and handle all the responsibility.
But if you need regular visibility and regulated communication between you and customers, but are not ready to spend personal resources on it, the best way is Amazon.
