We’ve touched before on the many benefits of Shopify for eCommerce websites, but there are two benefits in particular that deserve more attention: its App Store and payment integrations.
In this article, we look at how the platform’s ability to integrate with apps and set up easy payment gateways make it stand out from its competitors as an eCommerce platform for Kiwi businesses.
Shopify’s App Store enhances your customer’s shopping experience
While the core of the Shopify platform will likely give you everything you need to get up and running, your business may need some additional features. This is where Shopify’s app store comes into play, by letting you add special features to your website to enhance the user experience. Shopify has more apps than its competitors, with over 2,200 currently available to choose from.
How can Shopify’s App Store improve your eCommerce website?
First of all, if you’re not overly familiar with Shopify as a platform, we recommend working with a digital agency with proven expertise building Shopify websites. They’ll be able to tell you what Shopify’s core features already offer, and determine whether you need additional features to cater to your customers.
If you do need some outside-the-box features consider installing:
- Apps that enhance the order and shipping process: Apps that allow you to accept pre-orders or sales of out-of-stock products, apps that offer real-time order tracking, or apps that show your customers estimated shipping costs and different courier options.
- Apps that improve your store design: Apps that share customer reviews, insert custom shoppable Instagram feeds or add countdown timers to help you get that sale.
- Apps that assist your digital marketing: ShopSync integrates your store with Mailchimp and allows you to set up marketing automations to remind customers about abandoned carts or follow up after they’ve bought from you. Google Shopping connects to your Google Merchant Account to create Smart Shopping campaigns across the Google Network. Facebook Marketing connects your Shopify store to your Facebook Business Page, allowing you to build effective Facebook ads.
Shopify Payments creates a seamless way to pay
eCommerce websites obviously need a system to accept and process online payments. Many websites do this using third party platforms such as Paypal. The beauty of Shopify is you don’t need to integrate with a third party payment provider to accept payments – Shopify Payments is already set up for you to do this. While it’s not available in all countries, New Zealand is one of the ones where it’s been introduced, which is great news for Kiwi businesses.
Easy set up for business owners
One of the great things about Shopify Payments is that it’s so simple to set up. Firstly, make sure you have the following things ready:
- Your bank details (your bank must be a physical bank in New Zealand, in NZD, and eligible for BECS transfers)
- Employer Identification Number
- Average price of your orders
If you haven’t yet enabled a credit card provider, go to Shopify Settings; Payment providers; Shopify payments; Complete account setup. Or, if you already have a different payment provider enabled, go to Settings; Payment providers and then click on Activate Shopify Payments in the Shopify Payments box.Once that’s been done, your eCommerce website will be all set up to accept all major payment methods, including Visa and Mastercard, as well as American Express debit and credit cards.
Improving the payment process for businesses and customers
Not only is Shopify Payments easy to set up from your end, it has such a range of benefits once it’s up and running for both your business and your customers. With Shopify Payments enabled, your eCommerce website can:
- Accept payments in multiple currencies.
- Let your customers pay in their local currency.
- Automatically convert your prices based on the foreign exchange rate and rounding rules.
- Store customer shipping and payment information so that returning customers can check out faster.
Need a better eCommerce website?
Talk to our team about how we can build you a Shopify website that’s customer-friendly and will boost your sales.
