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Why Indian Enterprises Need A Shopify Alternative
India's eCommerce market is set for a massive boom, with projections indicating it will be worth $300 billion by 2030 (source: Statista). This rapid growth has driven many enterprises to explore full-features ecommerce platforms that can create a unique ecommerce ecosystem for their brand.
While many initially chose Shopify, its limitations have increasingly led businesses to explore Shopify alternatives for Indian enterprises that offer greater scalability and flexibility. Although Shopify is a solid platform for getting started, it is not particularly well adapted for the Indian market, especially in terms of handling localized needs such as multi-vendor marketplaces, multi-currency support, and seamless integration with India-specific payment gateways. Additionally, the platform’s high transaction fees, reliance on third-party apps for essential features, and limited customization options make it less appealing for large-scale businesses looking to grow in India's booming eCommerce landscape.
As a result, enterprises are now seeking Shopify competitors that provide built-in functionalities, lower total costs, and the ability to scale rapidly without the need for constant upgrades or third-party extensions. These businesses are increasingly considering a move to Shopify alternatives like BigCommerce, Magento, and StoreHippo, which offer more robust solutions tailored to the unique demands of Indian enterprises.
10 Reasons Indian Enterprises Start Searching Shopify Competitors
While an eCommerce presence provides enterprise brands with a powerful sales channel, they need much more than that to carve out a niche in the competitive Indian market. To truly succeed, enterprises require ecommerce platforms that offer advanced customization, seamless integrations with local services, and scalable solutions tailored to the unique demands of Indian consumers.
Here are 10 points that make Shopify a less viable option for Indian enterprises:
- Limited Multi-Vendor Marketplace Support: Shopify lacks native multi-vendor capabilities, making it difficult for enterprises to set up and manage marketplaces without relying on costly third-party apps.
- Limited Multi-Store and Hyperlocal Ecommerce Support: Hyperlocal and Quick commerce are booming in India and both models need a robust multi store management solution. Shopify lacks native support for both these features and requires multiple apps and workarounds to implement it making it a rigid solution for Indian enterprises.
- High Transaction Fees: Shopify charges additional transaction fees unless you use their payment gateway, Shopify Payments, which is not available in India, leading to increased costs for businesses.
- Restricted Customization: Shopify's customization options are limited compared to open-source platforms, restricting the ability to tailor the platform to specific business needs, especially for complex Indian marketplaces forcing enterprises to move to Shopify competitors.
- Limited B2B Capabilities: Shopify primarily focuses on B2C models, offering limited built-in features for B2B operations such as custom pricing, bulk ordering, and wholesale management, which are crucial for Indian enterprises.
- Insufficient Multi-Currency Support: While Shopify supports multiple currencies, it has limitations in offering a seamless multi-currency experience, particularly when it comes to localized payment processing, which is essential for Indian businesses targeting global markets.
- Complex Multi-Language Implementation: Shopify requires third-party apps for multilingual support, adding complexity and costs for businesses aiming to cater to India's diverse linguistic audience.
- Dependence on Third-Party Apps: Many advanced features like advanced SEO tools, marketing automation, and advanced reporting require third-party apps, increasing the total cost of ownership and potentially causing integration issues.
- High Subscription Costs: Shopify's tiered pricing can become expensive for growing businesses, especially when considering additional costs for third-party apps, transaction fees, and limitations on sales volumes.
- Lack of Local Payment Gateway Integration: Shopify has limited integration with popular local payment gateways in India, making it challenging to offer a seamless checkout experience for Indian customers accustomed to specific payment methods.
With these issues it becomes imperative for enterprises in India to consider Shopify alternatives that come with enhanced features designed for fast-growing Indian B2B and B2C brands.
Top 3 Shopify Alternatives For Indian Enterprises Compared
In this comparison, we'll take a closer look at how Shopify competitors like BigCommerce, Magento, and StoreHippo stack up and why an increasing number of enterprises are making the move to Shopify alternatives to fuel their growth in India's thriving eCommerce landscape.
Before we dive deeper into the topic let us first compare the top 3 Shopify alternatives for Indian enterprises.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is ideal for businesses looking for an easy-to-use platform with solid built-in SEO and marketing tools. However, its customization options are limited, and while it supports various payment gateways, some require higher-tier plans or incur additional fees. Multi-vendor support and advanced features often need third-party apps, potentially increasing costs. This makes BigCommerce a viable Shopify competitor, but businesses seeking more flexibility and lower long-term costs may consider Shopify alternatives that offer more built-in functionalities.
Magento
Magento offers unparalleled customization and scalability, making it a popular choice for large enterprises. Its extensive extensions and plugins provide a high level of flexibility. However, the platform requires significant technical expertise for setup and maintenance, which can lead to increased costs and complexity. The need for additional hosting, security measures, and custom development can make it resource-intensive. While Magento is a strong Shopify competitor, its high resource demands drive many businesses to explore Shopify alternatives that offer easier management and lower setup requirements.
StoreHippo
StoreHippo emerges as a superior Shopify alternative with its mobile-first architecture, built-in multi-vendor and multilingual capabilities, and extensive set of built-in features. It caters to businesses of all sizes, offering quick setup and easy scalability. StoreHippo's competitive pricing includes comprehensive features without the need for additional extensions, ensuring lower total cost of ownership. Its cloud-based infrastructure ensures high performance, advanced security, and seamless integrations, making it an ideal choice for enterprises looking to expand and adapt quickly. As a strong Shopify competitor, StoreHippo stands out by offering advanced features natively without relying on third-party apps.
Comparative Analysis of 3 Shopify Alternatives
Here is a table that compares 3 most popular Shopify alternatives on various aspects.
Conclusion
When choosing the best Shopify alternative for 2025, it’s crucial to align your platform selection with your business’s unique needs and long-term goals. BigCommerce is a good Shopify competitor for businesses seeking simplicity and built-in features, but it may lack the flexibility required for those needing extensive customization. Magento offers high customization and scalability, but it can be technically demanding and often becomes costly with additional extensions and maintenance.
StoreHippo, however, stands out as a superior and balanced Shopify alternative for Indian enterprises, offering an all-in-one feature set with unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and a mobile-first approach. Designed on the decoupled headless architecture, it adapts to the evolving demands of modern eCommerce. StoreHippo is the ideal choice for enterprises aiming to future-proof their platforms.
Ready to experience the difference? Start your 14-day free trial with StoreHippo today.
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