For many years, the debate between Shopify and Etsy has been ongoing. Shopify is an easy way for merchants to build online shops.
If you sell amazing products and are looking to make them available online, you may not know which platform to choose. You might be an Etsy seller and want to expand your Shopify business. This article may be able to help you.
These two eCommerce solutions will help you make an informed decision about the future of your online business.
Shopify vs Etsy – A General Look
What are Shopify and Etsy exactly?
Shopifyis an third-party platform that allows merchants to create an online storefront. Without needing to know any programming or find hosting providers, sellers can create online stores using templates, themes and other tools.
Shopify offers many integrations that will allow you to expand your store’s functionality and help grow your business. Shopify also offers a wide range of marketing and branding tools.
Etsy is, however, a marketplace similar to Amazon and eBay. Etsy will allow you to be among the millions of sellers selling directly on its’storefront’. You can easily open an Etsy store and begin your eCommerce business with just a few simple steps.
Continue reading: What Types of eCommerce Business Models Should I Choose?
Etsy is a place where you can find handmade, vintage and craft items. Etsy is a great place to find unique and handcrafted products by talented artists, designers and craftsmen.
Etsy also offers Pattern, a platform that allows you to create an online shop, along with your Etsy store for $15 per month.
It’s possible to find interesting results when you do keyword research using Google Trends and Etsy or Shopify.
The number of searches for ‘Etsy” has nearly tripled in the last 12 months compared to searches for ‘Shopify’. Why is this so disparate? Etsy is a marketplace so buyers will search for the products they are looking for (just like Amazon).
Shopify’s main merchant type is those who search for web-building tools to purchase on their site. Shopify shoppers will search for the product name or business name to buy products from vendors.
We need to see the difference between these platforms in order to make the picture more clear.
What are the Key Problems Shopify and Etsy Can Solve?
First, we’ll examine the elements that influence a seller’s business goals.
- Shopify allows merchants to create and manage an online store. It also helps them grow their business. They want to have full control of their business and a name people will remember. Shopify facilitates this journey through technology-enhanced eCommerce.
- Etsy is for sellers who need to set up a store quickly to sell their products. They require a large source of traffic and prefer not to manage a website.
What about the products that are sold on both platforms.
Shopify allows you to sell any product. It’s up to you whether or not to sell your products online. Shopify is a great tool for launching your business in the digital age. To reach more customers, it might be worth considering a Shopify website for your restaurant .
Etsy operates very differently. The marketplace is more focused on the handmade and craft industries, as we have already mentioned. The menu bar can be seen immediately after you land on the main website. It displays a variety of products from many categories, including art and crafts.
It is difficult to compare Shopify and Etsy. Your product type and business goals will determine your decision.
If you’re selling on Etsy, and you plan to expand your business with Shopify, it is important to consider the pros and cons.
Is Shopify Better Than Etsy?
This question is not clear. Shopify is a website builder while Etsy a marketplace. Before choosing the right platform, you need to consider your business goals, what product or services you wish to sell, as well as finance and human resource considerations.
You have the option to choose one or both. Let’s first take a look at Shopify’s pros and cons.
3.1. Shopify
Pros
- Customization – Shopify lets you build a store right from scratch. Shopify gives merchants toolskits, themes and templates that allow them to make their store as unique as they want. All you need to do is create a business plan and then build a website to bring that plan to life.
- Easier for branding: Why? Because you can focus on building your brand by having a separate store. A separate storefront is better than selling products in a large market.
- Support apps: Install page builders to improve your homepage, product pages, and other pages in your store. You can find solutions for email marketing and pop-ups in the Shopify app store. Shopify and its third party apps make it easy to establish an online presence.
- Shopify offers a business upscale capability. There are no restrictions when it comes to expanding your business with Shopify. Shopify allows vendors to have as many products and services as they wish. Shopify integrates with Amazon and Facebook so that you can sell on multiple channels. Shopify POS allows you to manage both online and physical stores.
Cons
- Get traffic on your own: You will need to know your buyer personas and conduct outreach. To get the right people to know you , you will need to create strategies and market campaigns . This can be costly in branding and advertising.
- Merchants with little knowledge of technology and eCommerce will need to be educated. You can learn a lot about digital marketing, such as SEO, Google Ads and Facebook Ads. You will need to learn about eCommerce laws and regulations (pay attention to international laws if your business is selling internationally), as well as how to design a beautiful website.
- Additional costs and fees: There are many plug-ins sellers can purchase on Shopify Store. They need to decide which apps are worth their time, as most of them will be charging monthly. If you don’t wish to add unnecessary costs, make wise decisions.
3.2. Etsy
Pros
- Get great traffic: Etsy acts as a marketplace so sellers on the channel can take advantage of a large audience. Etsy is a marketplace where millions of people visit to search for cool products. They may also be able to reach your shop. Although it may seem like selling on Etsy is simple, there are many factors that influence its search algorithm. These include how engaged your listings are and your click-through rates.
- It’s easy to open an Etsy shop. You will receive a step by-step guide on how to set up your shop and how to handle orders, shipping, listing, payments, and so forth. You only need to list the products.
- Simple Store Design: This perk allows you to sell on Etsy without spending time or money on web design and optimization. Etsy has a consistent layout and design for all its stores. This synchronization can make it difficult to stand out among the crowd.
Cons
- Competitive marketplace: Your customers on Etsy are also shop owners’ customers. This means that you could get traffic from your competitors or vice versa. It’s as though you were a fruit vendor at a local market, along with other food and vegetable vendors. People visit the market every day. You just need to be more competitive and proactive to get them to choose your fruit over those of your competitors.
- More difficult for branding: It will be hard to stand out in an Etsy store. You will find many shops selling the same product on Etsy. You can sell a cool bracelet, but people will often ask where they purchased it. Etsy!. Are they able to remember the name of your store? There’s a good chance they don’t remember your store’s name.
- Limited ability to scale up. You don’t have control over Etsy. You must comply with their regulations. This makes it difficult to scale your business. To build a strong customer base and a community, you must also nurture and engage the right audience. Perhaps a separate website is the best choice to allow you full control over these matters.
Shopify and Etsy Pattern
These two platforms are basically the same. Both are web builders.
Etsy Pattern’s cool feature is the ability to sync Etsy listings with your online shop (subject to the condition that you have an Etsy store) and manage both stores through the Shop Manager. You can also sell items from Etsy’s permissions list. However, Pattern stores must be marketed by you once they are built. Shopify is not an option.
Shopify has a limitation on the configuration settings that Pattern can be used. Pattern is simpler than Shopify. Shopify has many advanced tools that can help you build your store, which Pattern does not offer.
Shopify vs. Etsy Features
4.1. Domain and URLs
With Shopify, you can get a domain with yourstorename.myshopify.com or buy a custom domain like yourstorename.com. This can be a great way to help branding as people will easily remember your brand when they search for your store, or simply type the URL into the address bar.
Etsy requires that your domain includes with a store name. This is not very helpful for brand awareness.
4.2. 4.2.
Shopify gives sellers more control over how they create their stores. There are many themes available in both the Shopify theme store and the marketplace.
Merchants can personalize product listings using Shopify to reflect their store’s “personality” and enhance user experience.
You will not have as much control over your Etsy listings because there is a standard layout and design that all shops on the market use.
4.3. Ecommerce tools
Shopify wins in this instance.
Shopify’s Store Management features are available to vendors. These include order fulfillment in one click, data storage, saving orders and data, integration with Amazon and Facebook, detailed analytics and access to customer orders.
Shopify Apps are another great option. They offer multiple eCommerce solutions and can assist with marketing activities that will help you achieve your business goals.
Etsy sellers can use the app for selling on mobile. Etsy offers advertising and marketing tools that will help you get more followers. To be found by more buyers and visitors, you can receive instant tracking updates and share your posts on social media channels such as Instagram and Twitter.
You can also get an Etsy Plus package that allows you to customize your site, receive discounts, and enjoy a custom domain through Hover.
V. Is selling on Etsy or Shopify cheaper?
While Etsy is cheaper, Shopify is the better choice for those who want to scale up and make $2000 per month or more.
Let’s look at the costs of Shopify and Etsy in order to gain a better understanding of these two platforms.
Shopify offers a 14-day trial and 3 main plans .
- Basic Shopify: $29/month with 2.9% + 30C/USD online credit card rate and 2% additional fees when using other payment providers than Shopify Payment.
- Shopify $79 per month, 2.6% + 30C/USD online credit card rate & 1 additional fee if you use other payment providers than Shopify Payment.
- Advanced Shopify $299 per month with 2.4% and 30C/USD online credit card rates & 0.5% additional fees when using other payment providers than Shopify Payment.
Our interactive Shopify pricing calculator will give you more information about the Shopify cost.
Their pricing plan with Etsy is very simple.
- Listing Fee $0.20 per item to list for 4 months.
- Transaction fee: 5 % of each transaction
- Payment Process: 3% plus $0.25 per purchase
You’re probably sat back and done some calculations.
Which is the best in the long-term? Shopify is the answer.
If you use Shopify Payment, you pay no transaction fee.
Even though you may be selling more items on Etsy than usual, transaction fees can quickly add up. If you sell $1580 worth of goods each month, the $79 transaction fee is required. This does not include $0.20 per product listing and payment processing fees for each purchase.
Shopify is the best choice if you want to make $2000 or more per month.
VII. Moving from Etsy to Shopify
Is it possible to migrate from Etsy into Shopify?
Yes, you can.
Shopify supports migration of your shop from Etsy. Securely import your customer and product data from Etsy into your Shopify store.
Shopify offers an application that allows you to integrate your Shopify store into Etsy. Track your order and sync product information in real time.
You can also hire Litextension Shopify Partner to move your shopfront from Etsy into Shopify.
Conclusion
Shopify vs Etsy is a case in point. Each of these options has its pros and cons. However, it all depends on the merchants’ target market, products and long-term goals.
Sometimes investing on both platforms is the best solution. This could help your business reach new heights you didn’t realize were possible. It is possible to start your Etsy shop first and then grow it with Shopify.
