Connecting Shopify to an Etsy Shop

Gladly Team

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5 minute read

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Etsy and Shopify are two incredibly popular ecommerce platforms which millions of online proprietors worldwide use to support their businesses.

Etsy is best known as a site for independent retailers including artists, crafters, antique dealers, and other small businesses within the DIY and maker economy. Their user-friendly web-based solution makes it easy for one-person companies to create viable online stores.

Shopify is a comprehensive platform for businesses of all sizes. The company’s mission statement expresses their intention to “make commerce better for everyone, so businesses can focus on what they do best: building and selling their products.” Offering a range of accessible package options, Shopify is designed to help a company’s online store grow and change with their business.

In addition, Shopify features a number of optional add-ons and apps which store owners can use to customize and integrate their Shopify with other sites. More and more, small independent retailers are choosing to combine the power of their Etsy and Shopify stores. In this article, we’ll show you how it’s done.

The Challenges of Managing both an Etsy and Shopify Store

Whether online only or in a brick-and-mortar business, expanding your company to multiple platforms will always come with a fair share of challenges. Managing a business in two places at once necessitates more work, and a greater attention span.

Shopify:
  • Requires greater initiative on the part of the seller to run things like marketing campaigns, and customer service.
  • Does not have the foot traffic that Etsy has, relying on SEO for website searchability.
  • Costs a minimum of $9 a month; however there are no sales fees taken out by Shopify itself.
Etsy:
  • Has great foot traffic, however independent merchants exist in a sea of other merchants, and competition is just one page over.
  • Provides free marketing, however a merchant’s brand is rarely recognized independent of Etsy as a parent platform.
  • Charges merchants a sales fee.

But the benefits often outweigh the costs when the two solutions are connected, as a con on one platform is usually mitigated by a pro on the other.

The Benefits of Integrating your Shopify and Etsy Stores

Both Etsy and Shopify are ideal platforms for business owners who have an amazing product, and also want support with the adjacent necessities of running a business such as marketing, shipping, and handling customer service. The Etsy marketplace provides a perfect setting for new businesses, and comes complete with a preexisting customer base. And Shopify helps to expand that business as it grows. Integrating the two can feel like imbuing your business with a secret superpower, as you reap the benefits of both.

Benefits of Etsy include:
  • Exposure – Etsy itself has a huge customer base that is used to making purchases and seeking customer service through their platform. As of the year 2017, the number of active buyers using Etsy was around 33.4 million.
  • Technicals – All payment gateways, server space upgrades, contact forms, etc., etc. are handled internally by Etsy, giving you more time to just deliver a great product.
  • Marketing – It’s Etsy’s business to help your business grow. Their marketing team is focused on sales growth and the expansion of companies operating on the Etsy platform as a mutual benefit for both the company at large and their merchants. In short: that means a lot of free marketing.
Benefits of Shopify include:
  • Flexibility – Shopify’s many moveable features and associated apps allow for easy customization of your shop and enable you to make it uniquely yours.
  • Design – From free Shopify themes to website skins offered by third-party developers, there exist a plethora of pre-made designs to choose from. Website design that supports your aesthetic and your product can make a world of difference in whether or not your items are selling.
  • Branding – Because Shopify is a platform which you use to create a unique and independent domain, you can grow and emphasize your own brand, without relying on the branding of your parent organization to support you. With Etsy, most of their audience has brand loyalty to Etsy. But with Shopify, you can create a customer base which is loyal to you.
  • Scalability – Your small, independent ecommerce business can grow into a Fortune-500 company, and Shopify will continue to support you.

Why and How: Connecting Shopify to an Etsy Shop

These two were made for each other. Like a jigsaw puzzle, each platform fills the gaps of the other. Connecting Shopify to an Etsy shop allows online retailers to maintain a business within the community of Etsy, while growing and expanding their individual brand through the power of Shopify.

And it’s easy to do through the Shopify App Store. The Etsy Marketplace Integration App includes top features such as elaborate product management, a currency converter, error reporting, seller-friendly templates, and support. Basic integration with this app is free, and additionally compatible with Shipstation, Kit, POS, and multichannel support.

For businesses ready to integrate their Etsy and Shopify online stores, here’s how to make it happen.

Step 1: Name and populate your Etsy store. If you do not have an Etsy store already set up, you should create your account and organize your store preferences. This will include things like payment and shipping options. Your store does not need to be at peak performance, but you should have some items listed.

Step 2: Download the Etsy Marketplace Integration app on Shopify. On the app’s homepage, enter the name of your Etsy shop into the text box titled “Connect with Etsy.” On the following page, click “Allow Access.”

Step 3: Done! Enjoy the success generated from your newly integrated Etsy and Shopify platforms.

Last Word: Connecting Shopify to an Etsy Shop

If you’re ready for the combined retail power of an integrated Etsy and Shopify store, use this article to guide you through the steps. Happy selling.

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