Here's a breakdown of the pricing for each plan:
Lite Plan – $9 per month + a Buy button
Basic Shopify Plan – $29 per month + 2.9% and 30¢ per transaction
Shopify Plan– $79 per month + 2.6% and 30¢ per transaction
Advanced Shopify Plan – $299 per month + 2.4% and 30¢ per transaction
Shopify Plus – pricing plans start around $2000 per month + 1,6% and 30¢ per transaction
As part of a company that uses Shopify daily, one of the weaknesses it carries is the limited access available to the user. The Back-end server is not available, and the information is not shared. When uploading pictures on Shopify, there is an issue of the images becoming more pixel and blurry.
Another weakness that Shopify struggles with is the lack of investment in new technology. Shopify does have a higher amount of equity to invest with in comparison to a large majority of its competitors, however, since technology is growing so fast the demand to invest and come up with new innovations is hard to keep up with. They need to do their due diligence in investing in the proper research and development in order to grow any further.
Opportunities
Shopify currently leads the space in providing online stores with a safe and measurable way to continually expand. Perhaps they should exploit their systems for other businesses that are not only limited to e-commerce
They should invest and open up their space to have the capability of more drop shipping companies that are not only limited to Aliexpress, Alibaba and Oberlo
Changes in technology can make it so their GUI interface runs as smoothly as possible
Expansion of eCommerce all over the world, not just in North America
Opportunities to create new revenue streams and diversify into selling other products because of their well-known brand
With the United States rapidly expanding its economy, this will allow Shopify to integrate itself more fluidly into the US economy.
Shopify Plus is their answer to large eCommerce businesses wanting to use their service. By having the capability to handle more than 10,000 orders per minute. Perhaps expanding this service to an even broader audience will aid in the expansion
Increasing the capability of supporting multi-currencies for users to shop with will aid in strengthening their position internationally and opening the door to a larger market
Expansion through the use of VR and AR-based shopping experiences could be a start of a new revolutionary way that people shop because you would have the capability to preview products in your home before buying them
Threats
Given the nature of Shopify and the lack of skilled workers in human resources can lead to a challenge in the near future
Increased number of competitors in the online space of eCommerce such as Godaddy.com etc. That allows clients to create and build websites for their businesses. How can Shopify separate itself from this?
Regulations by the Government and increased threats of legal actions are causing Shopify’s expansion to slow down
From an international standpoint, if Shopify is looking to expand. The possibility of Brexit currently still looming in the air threatens their overall business
If Brexit occurs, there may also be a huge disruption in products being delivered due to products having to go through customs. This may cause longer than normal wait times for consumers waiting for the product to arrive. For example, when Canada Post went on strike, consumer deliveries were delayed for weeks
Newer technologies being created have the possibility to disrupt the way their supply chain model runs such as blockchain
Shopify has no other line of products other than creating online businesses which threaten the business to become a one-stop shop
In terms of demographics, millennials are always looking for the next best thing to invest in, they do not have loyalty to companies like Baby Boomers. As more and more Baby Boomers begin to retire, Canada’s growth rate will continually decline.