Shopify makes it straightforward to launch and run a store. Whether you’re moving a tiny side-hustle online or turning a hobby into a real business, it gives you the tools to build a store, take payments, ship orders, and sell in person—all in one place. In 2025, independent trackers* estimate there are roughly 2.7 to 6.1 million live Shopify stores worldwide. The exact count depends on how those trackers measure things like unique domains and subdomains, but the takeaway is clear: there’s a huge ecosystem of tools, apps, and buyers already on Shopify and plenty of room for new sellers to join.
The countries with the most Shopify stores include the United States (2,674,044), the United Kingdom (191,503), Australia (137,952), Germany (132,826), and Canada (107,475).
Shopify is a commerce platform that lets you build a professional store and run the day-to-day from one place. You design your website, list products with photos and variants, and connect a custom domain. Checkout and payments are built in—most sellers start with Shopify Payments—so you can accept cards and local wallets without wiring up extra services. Behind the scenes, Shopify keeps your catalog and inventory in sync, helps you set taxes and shipping, and lets you print labels or offer local pickup and delivery. If you also sell in person—at a market or a retail counter—you can use the Shopify POS app and a card reader so online and in-store sales share one system.
To grow, you’ll find simple tools for discounts, email, and basic analytics, plus an app store with thousands of add-ons when you need something extra. Start with the essentials and add features as your business gets busier, rather than juggling a pile of separate tools from day one.
Shopify is the engine behind your store. You sign up, pick a theme that fits your brand, and connect a domain so customers can find you. From there, you add products with prices, photos, and options like size or color. Payments are built in, so you can start taking card and wallet payments without wiring together extra tools.
Shipping and taxes live in the same dashboard: you set delivery options, print labels when orders come in, and let Shopify calculate the right tax at checkout.
Everything runs off a single, shared database. If someone buys the last medium T-shirt on your website, the stock level updates everywhere: your online store, your Instagram shop, and your point-of-sale if you also sell in person.
Orders, customers, and inventory sit in one place, so you aren’t copying data between systems. When you’re ready to grow, you can add apps for reviews, email, or subscriptions, and you can switch them off if they don’t earn their keep. The idea is simple: one login, one dashboard, and fewer moving parts to break.
Shopify has three main plans for small businesses. Prices vary by country and by whether you pay monthly or yearly, but typical U.S. pricing looks like this: Basic from $29/month on a yearly plan (or $39 month-to-month), Grow from $79/month yearly (or $105 monthly), and Advanced from $299/month yearly (or $399 monthly).
New stores can start on a free trial to test the dashboard, add products, and run a test checkout before choosing a plan. Common extras include POS Pro for advanced in-store features at $89/month per location, a temporary 0.5% fee to show cross-border duties and taxes at checkout, and third-party payment gateway fees if you don’t use Shopify Payments—2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced.
Prices and promotions change by region, so it’s worth checking the live pricing page before you decide.
Here’s the shortest path from zero to your first sale, with a bit more detail at each step.
Start your day in Orders. Work through new purchases, print labels, and add tracking so customers get automatic updates without you typing a single message. If someone writes in with a question, answer fast and keep notes on the order so you can see the full story later.
Keep your stock accurate as you go. Update inventory when items arrive or sell, and turn on low-stock alerts so a popular size doesn’t disappear from the shelf before you notice. Check your analytics like a dashboard in a car: sessions, conversion rate, top products, and abandoned checkout. If something’s off, fix the obvious blockers first—confusing shipping, slow pages, missing sizes, or unclear pricing.
Run steady, simple marketing instead of big bursts. Plan small launches, occasional discount codes, and a basic email flow for welcome emails and abandoned cart reminders. When you’re unsure what to try next, Shopify Sidekick can surface quick wins from your own data so you’re not guessing. Test one change at a time and give it a few days before you move on.
If you also sell in person—at markets or in a shop—use Shopify POS so inventory and customer profiles stay in one place. Payments, receipts, and exchanges sync with your online store, which keeps reports clean. If you need staff roles, exchanges from any location, or deeper reporting, consider upgrading to POS Pro.
Online stores attract both real customers and bad actors. These are the issues most new sellers hit—and simple ways to reduce the pain.
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Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security gives you one lightweight shield for every laptop and phone you use to run the store. It blocks malware and ransomware, warns about phishing pages and fake attachments before anyone clicks, and quarantines risky files so mistakes don’t turn into outages. The built-in password manager and breach monitoring cut the risk of account takeovers, the VPN keeps your admin work private on café or event Wi-Fi, and Scam Copilot helps you sanity-check suspicious emails, invoices, or “support” messages in seconds. It runs quietly with a simple dashboard—no IT team required.
If you want a safer foundation for your Shopify business, try Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security and start your 30-day free trial.
Yes. Shopify is a long-standing commerce platform used by millions of sellers around the world. It isn’t a marketplace—you own your brand, your domain, and your customer relationships. Checkout is PCI-DSS compliant, so you don’t handle card numbers directly.
No. You can start with a free trial to test the dashboard and publish a draft store, but after the trial, you’ll need a paid plan. You’ll also pay standard card processing fees, and if you don’t use Shopify Payments, there’s an extra transaction fee depending on your plan.
For most small businesses, yes—if you want an all-in-one setup that handles your website, checkout, inventory, shipping, and in-person sales from one place. The trade-offs are monthly fees and potential add-on costs for apps and themes. If the time you save is greater than those costs, it’s a good fit.
With Shopify Payments, payouts go to your bank automatically on a regular schedule that varies by country—typically a few business days. Third-party gateways pay out on their own timelines.
You’ll pay card processing fees on every order. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, there’s an additional transaction fee that depends on your plan.
Can I sell digital products or services on Shopify?
Yes. You can deliver files with a digital-downloads app and sell services or bookings using scheduling apps.
Shopify’s hosted checkout is PCI-DSS compliant and includes built-in protections against common threats. You’re still responsible for good security habits—strong passwords, two-step authentication, and careful app choices.
*Sources: storeleads.app, demandsage.com
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Cristina is a freelance writer and a mother of two living in Denmark. Her 15 years experience in communication includes developing content for tv, online, mobile apps, and a chatbot.
View all postsMay 16, 2025