Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms. It helps individual merchants create their own web-based stores. Therefore, it is important for any business intending to use Shopify to manage its store to know how Shopify facilitates store management. This article tries to answer the question, “Can you have multiple stores on Shopify?” and provides options for those with diverse types of inventory or market niches.
Can You Have Multiple Stores on Shopify?
Yes. You are allowed to have multiple stores on Shopify, but with a twist. Shopify’s default plans permit clients to open only one store. This can be considered a disadvantage because different products or entirely different customer segments might require a different approach. Nevertheless, there are several ways to get around this and successfully operate a business with several stores.
Here are some factors that may make a business think about managing multiple Shopify stores:
- Distinct product lines: Suppose you are selling items related to sports equipment and baby wear. It might appear messy and discomforting to the customers when a single store targets both categories. Having specialized stores makes shopping easier for customers because they are only exposed to products that interest them.
- Targeted market expansion: Do you have dreams of taking your products to the global market? It would indeed be helpful to have a separate store for each of the target languages, as it enhances the overall user experience. Picture showing your products in Euros so that visitors to your French website would easily understand the information translated for them. This approach helps to gain clients’ trust and promotes a higher conversion rate.
- Brand differentiation: For instance, you may have an apparel company that targets the luxury market as well as a company that sells affordable, everyday wear. Putting both aesthetics into one store may lead to the weakening of the two brands’ characters. Having different stores helps you to have a different identity for every brand. An expensive retail store such as a watch shop would need a classy design and specific marketing techniques, unlike those that will appeal to customers looking at casual wear.
Alternatives to Multiple Shopify Stores
While Shopify limits stores per account, you can have more than one store with some workarounds:
Subdomains and Multi-Currency Options
When using Shopify, you can create subdomains in your main domain. For instance, example.com could be your main store, while sport.example.com and baby.example.com showcase sporting goods and baby clothes, respectively.
Furthermore, Shopify enables sellers to use multiple currencies for display, thus giving you the power to tailor pricing and possibly gain more customers around the globe when still using a single store.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus includes the capacity to control up to ten different stores in one account for high-stakes businesses. It also has other functionalities, such as analysis and reporting, to track the performance of several stores. This provides you with the opportunity to deconstruct trends, fine-tune marketing techniques, and guarantee similarity in brand experiences across all your outlets.
Third-Party Apps and Integrations
The Shopify App Store is filled with solutions that can assist if you are looking to develop a multistore experience in a not-so-restricted way utilizing only one account. Some popular apps will assist you in managing stock across multiple stores, creating custom landing pages for varying audiences, and optimizing the shopping experience based on the customers’ location.
Suppose you are a business that sells phone cases. You have a general store with many designs for different purposes and functionalities. However, you also have a completely different brand for the sports enthusiasts. A Shopify app like langify allows you to open a subpage in your primary shop, where phone cases with logos or colors of different sports teams are placed.
Hereby, you can work with the customers you already have and deliver a more focused service to sports enthusiasts that can potentially lead to greater sales and brand recognition within the niche.
Pros and Cons of Having Multiple Shopify Stores
It is time to take a closer look at the benefits and risks related to having multiple stores on Shopify:
Pros
- Customized branding for each store: With multiple Shopify stores, you can always brand them to appeal to various demographics. Imagine a store dealing in athletes’ wear and accessories would attractively design their store with bright colors and energetic images for the targeted teenage athletes while another store selling expensive luxury watches would make their store design simple and elegant as targeted at the high class. This approach is always socially rewarding because it enables you to establish a more intimate relationship with the customers.
- Targeted marketing strategies: Every store can have its own individual promotion plan. You can launch niche-driven social media ad campaigns and even develop personalized emails to appeal to a given segment. This laser-focused approach can further enhance the conversion rate by a huge margin.
- Better organization of product lines: Dispersing your product lines across different stores is helpful in terms of organization. A store specializing in sporting equipment is capable of categorizing items more specifically than a store that is involved in stocking all kinds of sporting equipment, along with electronics and clothing. This improved organization also had a positive impact on the customers since it became easier for them to locate their preferred products.
Cons
- Increased costs: Operating more than one store means multiple expenditures. This includes various Shopify accounts, paid app subscriptions for each store, and higher marketing fees. You need to ascertain that the increases in prospective revenues outweigh the additional costs.
- Complexity in management: It is a daunting task to manage different stores at once. Each store requires inventory tracking, attending to customers’ demands across different platforms, and conducting marketing at the same time. This can be a bit discouraging and will be uneasy to manage, especially when it is carried out by a small team.
- Potential for diluted brand focus: Many stores with different brands can bewilder your target audience. It is important to ensure that there is a central brand message at the corporate level, but flexibility is allowed at the individual store level.
Conclusion
So, can you have multiple stores on Shopify? Although Shopify’s standard plans do not enable customers to launch multiple stores with one account, clients can turn to various solutions.
It is important to take time and analyze your business needs. Subdomains, multiple currencies, and third-party apps may be quite useful when offering numerous products and addressing multiple target audiences. However, the most suitable option for those who need as much control as possible and who manage many stores is Shopify Plus.
At the end of the day, it depends on the objectives you want to achieve and the available resources. Consider your circumstances well to make the right decision to manage your Shopify online store effectively.
Want to learn more? Contact Tech-One today for a free consultation about your business!