What is Shopify used for in 2026?
By John Will, Founder & CEOUpdated · 7 min read
What is Shopify used for? Shopify is a commerce platform for selling online and in person. Brands use it to build an online store, take payments, run in-store POS, sell wholesale (B2B), sell through social and marketplace channels, and send email and SMS from one admin. Shopify says its merchants have sold more than $1.4 trillion through the platform and that it powers about 12% of US ecommerce. Plans start at $25 a month billed monthly.
Key takeaways
- Shopify is a hosted commerce platform: store, checkout, payments, inventory, POS and marketing in one admin.
- Plans: Basic $25, Grow $65, Advanced $399 a month billed monthly; Shopify Plus from $2,300 a month.
- Shopify says it operates in 175+ countries and powers about 12% of US ecommerce (its own figures).
- For a marketplace brand, Shopify is the owned channel: your customer list, your data and margin that marketplace fees do not touch.
What does Shopify do?
Shopify describes itself as "a commerce platform that helps you sell online and in person." In practice a Shopify store is used for:
- An online store: website, product pages, cart and checkout, hosted by Shopify.
- Payments: Shopify Payments or a third-party provider, plus Shop Pay at checkout.
- In-person retail: Shopify POS keeps inventory, orders and customers in sync between stores and online.
- B2B and wholesale: Shopify sells DTC, B2B, retail and international from a single platform.
- Selling on other channels: social, marketplace and partner channels managed from the same admin.
- Marketing: email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns through Shopify Messaging, plus apps such as Klaviyo.
What is a Shopify website, and how is it different from a Shopify store?
They are the same thing described two ways. A Shopify website is the online store front end: a theme, built with Shopify's Liquid templating language, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and JSON, that you edit in the theme editor. The Shopify store is the whole business behind it: products, orders, customers, payments and apps.
That split is also what a Shopify developer works on. Shopify developers build and customize themes, connect apps and integrations, and migrate stores from other platforms. Shopify's Partner Directory lists developers and agencies by service, location, industry and price range. See how to build a Shopify website.
What do Shopify plans cost, and what is Shopify Plus?
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $25/mo | $19/mo | Solo entrepreneurs |
| Grow | $65/mo | $49/mo | Small teams |
| Advanced | $399/mo | $299/mo | Brands selling internationally |
| Plus | From $2,300/mo | Not listed | Complex and high-volume businesses |
Shopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise plan. Shopify pitches it on B2B wholesale features, a load-tested checkout and scale, claiming 10,000+ checkouts per minute and 99.99% average uptime during major flash sales.
Doing $100K+ a month and aiming for $1M? Adding an owned channel to a $100K+ a month marketplace business? Shaazford builds and runs Shopify for a flat $1,600 a month, or every channel for $3,200.
What are Shopify Collective, Collabs and Shopify Messaging?
Three Shopify tools people search for most:
- Shopify Collective: lets Shopify stores sell each other's products. Retailers list a supplier's items without buying inventory upfront. Shopify says it is free on all plans, subject to store eligibility, with no minimum sales requirement.
- Shopify Collabs: an influencer and affiliate app for recruiting creators, sending gifts and paying commissions. See our Shopify Collabs guide.
- Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email): email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns and automations from the admin. 10,000 emails a month are included, then $1 per 1,000. See our Shopify email marketing guide.
Who should use Shopify, and who should not?
Shopify fits brands that want to own the customer: DTC brands, marketplace sellers adding a direct channel, and retailers that need one inventory across stores and online. It is a weaker fit if you need a content-heavy site with a small shop attached, or if your catalog and pricing rules are so custom that every feature needs an app or code.
For an Amazon brand at $100K+ a month, Shopify is usually the next move, not a replacement. Our beauty client, at $300K a month on Amazon, went from $0 to $85K a month on Shopify in 90 days, with email driving 31% of DTC revenue (case study). Shaazford runs Shopify for $1,600 a month.
Sources
- Shopify, what is Shopify (updated 25 Nov 2025): 175+ countries, $1.4 trillion+ cumulative merchant sales, about 12% of US ecommerce (Shopify's figures)
- Shopify, pricing: Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus prices; trial terms
- Shopify, Shopify Plus
- Shopify, POS
- Shopify.dev, themes
- Shopify Help Center, hiring and working with Shopify Partners
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Collective
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Collabs for merchants: available on all plans except Starter and Retail
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email)
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify Messaging email pricing: 10,000 emails a month included, then $1 per 1,000
- Shaazford case study, beauty brand DTC launch on Shopify
Definitions, plan prices and features from shopify.com and the Shopify Help Center, checked on 7 October 2026. Market share, country and sales figures are Shopify's own, from its November 2025 explainer.
Questions, answered.
What is Shopify and what does it do?
Shopify is a commerce platform for selling online and in person. It provides the online store, checkout, payments, inventory, POS, sales channels and marketing tools in one admin.
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify's plan for complex and high-volume businesses, starting at $2,300 a month. It adds B2B wholesale features, a load-tested checkout built for flash sales and unlimited staff accounts.
What is Shopify Collective?
Shopify Collective lets Shopify stores sell each other's products. Retailers can list a supplier's products without paying upfront for inventory. Shopify says it is free on all plans, subject to store eligibility.
What is Shopify Email?
Shopify Email is now called Shopify Messaging. It sends email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns and automations from the Shopify admin, with 10,000 emails a month included and $1 per 1,000 after that.
What does a Shopify developer do?
A Shopify developer builds and customizes themes using Liquid, HTML, CSS and JavaScript, connects apps and integrations, and migrates stores from other platforms.
How much does Shopify cost?
Basic is $25 a month, Grow $65 and Advanced $399 billed monthly, or $19, $49 and $299 billed yearly. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month.
How do you build a store with the Shopify website builder?
How to use the Shopify website builder step by step: plans and costs, themes, domain, payments, shipping and launch checks, and when to hire a developer.
Shopify CollabsWhat is Shopify Collabs and how do brands use it with creators?
Shopify Collabs explained for brands: what it does, which plans can use it, the 2.9% commission fee, setup, open access, gifting and how creators get paid.
Email marketingWhat is the best email marketing for Shopify: Shopify Email or Klaviyo?
Email marketing for Shopify stores: Shopify Email (now Shopify Messaging) vs Klaviyo on price and features, the five core flows to build and what to measure.