What it is
Shopify is a platform for building and running an online store without code: catalog, checkout, shipping, discounts and reports in one admin. It works for first-time sellers and large brands alike, and its app store adds almost any feature that's missing. Beyond your website, you can sell on social media and in person with its own point of sale.
How to use it
- Set up your store with a theme, your products and your own domain.
- Take payments online with Shopify Payments or providers like Mercado Pago and PayPal, depending on your country.
- Sell on social media through channels for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
- Sell in person with Shopify POS at pop-ups or your shop.
- Extend your store with apps for reviews, subscriptions, invoicing and more.
What it's good for
- An apparel brand selling on its store, on Instagram and at markets from the same inventory.
- A specialty coffee roaster selling monthly subscriptions through a store app.
- A Latin American brand expanding to the US with dollar pricing and a domain for each market.
Pros
- App store with thousands of extensions for almost any need
- Built-in point of sale that shares inventory with your online store
- Spanish-language interface and a mobile app to run your store
- Shopify Markets to sell abroad with local currency and domains
Cons
- Paid apps stack on top of the subscription and total cost grows fast
- Where Shopify Payments is available, other gateways add an extra fee per sale
- Latin American e-invoicing relies on third-party apps
