Shopify’s Response to COVID-19 is Worth Appreciating!
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In 2020, Financial Times rolled out a list of top 100 companies that prospered when most businesses came to a halt. Shopify stands firm on the list with a market cap of $163.98 billion. A software-as-a-service platform Shopify is helping retailers of all kinds in setting up their online store. But how did Shopify became Canada’s most valuable company during the harsh times? This article throws light on Shopify’s response to COVID-19 and how Shopify supports small and medium business enterprises in multiple ways. But before we tell why doing eCommerce business with Shopify is the best choice, let us walk you through how Shopify supported small and medium business enterprises during the pandemic.
How Did Shopify Support Small-and-Medium-Businesses During COVID-19?
Shopify offers small-and-medium business enterprises the ability to set up their online store. Placing advertisements, payments, fulfill orders, manage inventory, and others comes complimentary. Here is how Canada’s most valuable company Shopify responded to COVID-19 –
Shopify’s Response to COVID-19 & its Irresistible Plans –
Do you know the cost of starting an eCommerce business with Shopify? Shopify plans are available for a small monthly fee between $29 – 299, plus a credit card process fee. It costs less than purchasing a wireless headphone!
While all the existing market giants take a chink of every sale, Shopify doesn’t do that for small-and-medium business enterprises.
Shopify supported online sellers during the pandemic time by extending its 14-day free trial to 90 days. Small-and-medium business enterprises that started their eCommerce business with Shopify on 31st May 2020 were allowed to continue doing business without any kinds of payments till the end of August 2020. Also, Shopify didn’t ask for any subscription fee while they were on a free trial. Moreover, existing sellers can pause their online store, and Shopify didn’t ask for payment during the number of days their stores were non-operational.
Announcing Free Email Marketing for All Plans –
Shopify email lives alongside all your marketing campaigns within the Shopify admin panel. The platform made email outreach free until 1st Oct – 2020.
Through this, small-and-medium business enterprises can use email as one of the channels that allow them to own the relationships a vendor builds with potential buyers entirely.
Loans to Canadian SMBs During COVID – 19 –
Out of all the initiatives taken by Shopify during the coronavirus outbreak, this one is just exceptional.
Shopify responded to COVID-19 by offering loans to SMBs in Canada. With Shopify Capital, small-and-medium-sized Canadian businesses could take up loans of C$200-C$500,000.
Shopify turned out to be much more than an eCommerce platform during the COVID-19 times. It observed that Canadian small-and-medium business enterprises were trying to get their business online while some wanted to scale up, but they could not do so due to hefty cash crunches. Shopify took the lead and turned out to be a savior for such sellers!
More Sales Channels, More Reach –
When the world stood silent during lockdown days, the platform was as active as quicksilver! Shopify responded to COVID-19 by adding main sales channels in its ecosystem. The platform sniffed the opportunity and provided nothing but the best to Shopify sellers –
- Facebook & Instagram – For small-and-medium business enterprises active user base of 1.7 billion means a lot. Any seller carrying his/her eCommerce business with Shopify can now sell its products on Facebook & Instagram’s active users.
Products are automatically synced to the place so that sellers can easily create ads and shoppable posts. With Shopify admin, small-and-medium business enterprises can create, track, and manage their campaigns and orders with Facebook & Instagram. - Walmart Marketplace – This is another prominent marketplace with 120 million monthly online visitors. It’s also one of the world’s largest retail platforms. Shopify’s response to COVID-19 was quick, and it included Walmart marketplace as well.
If Walmart approves a seller’s store they could continue their eCommerce business with Shopify, and the platform won’t ask for a monthly fee in return. From ease in catalog creation, adding unlimited products to a one-stop place for managing everything – Shopify made sure that selling online for SMEs is risk-free and exciting. - eBay Marketplace – Within Shopify admin, sellers can list their products on the eBay marketplace. The motto remains the same – more sales with fewer efforts, and sellers could get real-time product inventory and pricing under a single platform.
- Amazon – Shopify sellers can enjoy selling their products on the world’s two biggest marketplaces – Walmart and Amazon! While Shopify was on a spree to add as many marketplaces, it also made sure that sellers don’t ace any complexities.
Selling in the marketplace can be a big headache – import products, manage orders, inventory and ads. But Shopify simplified the entire process for small-and-medium business enterprises.Checkout Shopify apps by CedCommerce that enables you to sell more (to global audience), better (through our minimalistic user-interface approach)
Storefront Signage Maker, A Much Needed Shopify’s Response to COVID-19 –
The pandemic situation led Shopify creators to look for ways to promote online channels continually. Shopify responded to COVID-19 by rolling out another crazy feature for stationery store owners – the storefront signage maker.
This free tool allows small-and-medium business enterprises to generate QR code redirecting to the online store’s website.
The main agenda behind it is to encourage customers visiting online stores to shop online and inform them about the possibility of doing so.
It’s that simple! If you find your favorite store closed during the lockdown, you can continue shopping online with the retailer if it’s conducting its eCommerce business with Shopify.
Online Tipping –
Even if there is nominal support during the hard times, it could mean a lot to anyone. Shopify responds to COVID-19 by adding a new feature to its checkout. Customers can pay a little extra amount (as tips) to store owners expressing their support and gratitude – Shopify tipping!
This feature adds a tipping option to online orders, including letting customers select from standard tip percentages or entering any amount. Shopify sellers can also add a custom label to let customers know where their tips are going.
Tips are calculated on pre-tax total and before any shipping or delivery charges, and the tip is still subject to standard payment processing fees. Shopify tips allow small-and-medium business enterprises to view reports on the total amount of information collected so far.
Enabling Local Deliveries During Lockdown –
During the lockdown days when all kinds of cross-border traveling came to a halt, Shopify came up with yet another attractive solution for local small-and-medium business enterprises. Shopify’s response to COVID-19 was by rolling out its local delivery app.
It helps local merchants deliver their orders more efficiently. Following are some highlighting features of the app –
- Delivery through POS system
- You can add multiple customer addresses through POS.
- Time slots are also added for the delivery.
Buy Online, Pick-up in Store Facility –
But Online, Pickup in Store, BOPIS, BOPUIS, Click & Collect – all means the same thing – convenience to sellers and customers in following ways –
- Avoids shipping charges.
- Guarantees product availability.
- Comfort, speed & ease.
- No chance of stolen packages.
- Products quality assurance.
- Quick in-store returns.
- Better discounts.
To cut down shipping costs and encourage local delivery, Shopify responded to the COVID-19 situation by enabling customers to order their stuff online and pick-up their orders in a retail store offline. It not only ensures a significant cut in shipping, but customers can easily replace a product without waiting for their new order to arrive.
Gift Cards –
Shopify gift card is an excellent solution for small-and-medium business enterprises since it makes it easier for shoppers to send gifts to friends, family, and loved ones.
If you’re doing eCommerce business with Shopify, you can leverage Shopify’s gift cards in the following ways –
- When a gift card is used, many shoppers often spend more than the value of the card.
- Shoppers may be more likely to shop from your store if know that you are distributing gift cards.
- If customers are not willing to spend on your store at present, they might buy gift cards to shop soon and apply for the cards when convenient.
Shopify Responds to COVID-19 with its Open Learnings Platform –
One great thing about Shopify’s platform is that it’s a community first and then an eCommerce platform provider. Shopify’s response to COVID-19 also includes a free learning space for all kinds of online sellers.
It’s also a great app where existing online sellers and enthusiasts who want to sell their stuff to online shoppers can learn a range of new things. Courses on Shopify Compass are a mix of video lessons, articles, on-demand, live streaming, workshops, and guides for business and marketing.
New sellers can understand how to set up a Shopify store and all the necessary things to focus on during their initial days.
Small-and-medium business enterprises that are already doing eCommerce business with Shopify can learn new ways to sell online and scale-up their store and much more!
Summing Up –
It’s notable to see Shopify’s response to COVID-19 – a streak of significant initiatives to help small-and-medium business enterprises to strengthen their presence on the internet.
While the world stood silent from the pandemic fears, Shopify’s ecosystem took the lead and backed up sellers conducting their eCommerce business with Shopify from all fronts.
Also read – 30+ best selling products of 2020 to sell on Shopify!