The Strengths of Shopify

Shopify has no initial cost if you can build your own e-commerce site, but there is a monthly fee. It is well-designed, smartphone-compatible, simple, and highly functional, and is being improved every day because it is a cloud-based (SaaS-type) EC package.

In Japan, the number of users is increasing, especially among individuals, and corporations are also using it. Since there is still very little information about Shopify's features and functions in Japanese, we will provide detailed information about Shopify's features, functions, fee structure, merits and demerits.

• Easy to build and sell websites

  There is no complicated programming or design knowledge is required to build s Shopify EC site. If you have experience in e-commerce, you can set up an e-commerce site in relatively little time, but if you don't have the know-how to set up an e-commerce site, you may end up with a default design that looks exactly the same as other Shopify sites created by individuals. Most of time, new sellers open their stores and sell with their own unique style by hiring a Shopify building support company.

• The best EC cart for cross-border EC and domestic EC

  Shopify is an e-commerce cart that is suitable for selling domestically and internationally. It supports multiple languages and currencies, and has official design templates that allow you to create a creative website even if you are not familiar with web development. International shipping can also be done easily by adding a paid app. The most important thing is that you can increase your sales channels. You can connect with shoppers on eBay, Amazon, and other e-commerce malls around the world. One of the sales channel that works particularly well with cross-border EC is social networking. You can reach out to your customers in a variety of ways, such as tagging products on Instagram so that they can buy directly from you, or using Facebook as a place to promote and sell your products.

• Set up free/paid design themes
  (over 100 types)

  You can choose your favorite design from over 100 different themes. Shopify's official free designs and themes are excellent and there are about 10 of them. Because they are official themes released by Shopify, there are almost no bugs or issues, and it has all the standard functions required for an EC site. It is also characterized by the fact that many people start their business quickly by making adjustments as much as they can within the management screen without unreasonable customization. If you have the budget and time, you can also purchase, install and arrange with paid themes that offer more extensive design and functionality.

• Shopify Payment
  (Shopify's own payment method)

  By linking Shopify Payments to your bank account, sales proceeds are directly deposited into your bank account. You can also check the settlement amount in real time and use the fraudulent order prevention function.

  Payment fees are 3.40% for the Basic plan, 3.30% for the Shopify plan, 3.25% for the Advanced plan, and 3.15% for the Plus plan for online transactions with Japanese credit cards. For international or American Express credit card payments, the payment fee is 3.90% for Basic plan, 3.85% for Shopify plan, 3.80% for Advanced plan, and 3.75% for Plus plan. If you choose to use PayPal without Shopify Payment, you will be charged an additional 2% on top of PayPal's payment fee.

• Shopify POS (Linkage with physical stores)

  If you are selling products in a physical store or pop-up store, you can link product prices, inventory information, and sales information with Shopify. This feature can also be used from an iPhone or Android smartphone application.

• Facebook-Linked Sales

  Your products sold on Shopify can also be sold on Facebook. You can create a page for your store or brand on Facebook to display your catalog and list your Shopify products. It also includes the function to advertise your site and products to Facebook users from the Shopify management screen.

• Instagram integration

  By tagging product images posted on Instagram with the URL of the product, users can click on the tag to be redirected to the product page on Shopify. This allows your customers to purchase products with fewer clicks.

• Simple SEO Strategy

  You can set H1 tags, title tags, description tags, alt tags for product images, and meta tags for each product page. You don't have to be a professional in the field of SEO or marketing to be able to do some SEO. You can also add paid SEO applications.

• Linkage with EC malls

  By introducing a low-cost application, it is possible to sell products and link orders to various EC malls, including Rakuten for domestic EC malls in Japan and eBay, Amazon, and Etsy for cross-border EC. When integrating with overseas EC malls, there are a number of applications that cannot be used unless the Shopify registration is for an overseas address. For more information, please consult with our cross-border EC consultant.

• Good server specifications

  When you are running an e-commerce site on your own server, you may have horrible experiences such as when the DB goes wrong and you receive an unlimited number of orders, recording tens of millions of yen in sales in one minute, but there is no enough inventory. This never happens to our clients. Even when one of our clients conducted a sales promotion campaign worth several hundred million yen, the server works well and did not go down.