Success in ecommerce requires more than just an awesome product idea. You also need to connect with your customers wherever they are, and by that I mean diversifying your sales channels to reach a wider audience, or in other words, spreading your eggs across several baskets to boost your revenue potential.
This holds true even for Amazon sellers who already leverage the largest ecommerce platform in the world. That said, a great place to expand your online reach is Shopify, which gives you total control over how you present your brand store, how customers engage in the purchase process, and how sales are processed.
Why bother setting up your Shopify, you may ask? Well, having a standalone store like the one Shopify provides is important because it’s an asset you own, unlike selling alongside other sellers on a marketplace like Amazon.
Moreover, instead of worrying about storing and shipping items separately, you can leverage Amazon multi-channel fulfillment to use your FBA inventory to fulfill Shopify orders.
In this post, we’ll go over how to link your Amazon FBA with Shopify, important considerations and requirements for doing so, and how integrating Shopify and Amazon impacts customer experience.
Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service, which provides the option of Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF), effortlessly integrates with Shopify.
With MCF, you can fulfill Shopify orders from your current FBA inventory. By doing away with the requirement for separate shipping and storage procedures, you can save time, money, and effort.
All you have to do is link your Shopify store to MCF and watch as Amazon’s fulfillment network picks, packs and ships your orders—all while guaranteeing a seamless and effective shopping experience for your customers.
We’ll go into more detail about the advantages of integrating Shopify with FBA and go over the setup procedure. Let’s dive in!
How to Link Your Amazon Seller Account to Your Shopify Account
Once you’ve built your Amazon and Shopify accounts, linking the two is as simple as using Amazon to Shopify Integration applications. Let’s go over how to connect Shopify and Amazon.
First Step
Navigate to the Shopify app store after logging into your account.
Second Step
There are various apps that you can get from the Shopify app store that help link your store to Amazon FBA. These solutions send orders to MCF automatically for fulfillment and integrate your Shopify product catalog with your FBA inventory.
Amazon provides the Amazon MCF: US Fulfillment Shopify app for free.
Although this is a reasonably priced choice, you may discover that other premium apps have more features or functionality that are more appropriate for your particular need.
Examine your options and select the app that most closely fits your budget and business needs.
Third Step
Install an integration app on your Shopify store after selecting one. We’ll utilize the free Amazon MCF app for this example.
Fourth Step
The next step is to integrate your Shopify store with Amazon FBA.
- Link your Amazon Seller account with your Shopify store. This makes data transfer between the two platforms simple.
- Ensure that your shipping choices and product listings are the same on both platforms. It guarantees accurate order processing and fulfillment.
- Ensure that there is a direct connection between your Shopify product IDs (SKUs) and the Amazon equivalents. For your Shopify orders, this guarantees precise product identification and fulfillment.
- Your Shopify orders will be instantly forwarded to Amazon’s FBA network for fulfillment after connection.
- Although FBA provides a range of fulfillment choices, unbranded packaging is used for standard services. When managing consumer expectations and branding strategies, keep this in mind.
After installation, click “open app”.
Then, sign in to your US Amazon Seller account.
Fifth Step
Follow the steps in Seller Central to finalize the integration.
After following the steps outlined above, your Amazon and Shopify accounts will be connected.
Benefits of Using FBA to Store and Ship your Shopify Orders
Expanding your sales channels with Shopify opens up new opportunities, but managing fulfillment across platforms can be challenging. Fortunately, FBA provides a comprehensive solution to simplify these processes and enable your e-commerce store to thrive:
Storage; With FBA, you don’t need to worry about using your home, leasing warehouse space or using a third party fulfillment center to store your products. Amazon will store your products for you.
Fulfillment: Amazon’s fulfillment network handles everything for you, from receiving and storing your goods to picking, packaging, and shipping orders.
Delivery speeds: Because Amazon places your inventory in multiple warehouses across the country, your customers get to enjoy faster shortened shipping times.
Fees: With the Amazon fulfillment network’s pricing model, you pay only two fees; monthly storage fees and a varying fulfillment fee whenever you fulfill an order.
Non branded packaging: When Amazon fulfills your orders, they’ll be sent in unbranded packaging and not Amazon packaging.
Scaling opportunities: By contracting with Amazon for fulfillment, you can free up time and money to devote to important aspects of your company’s operations, such as product development, marketing, and customer support.
Automation: You can seamlessly integrate MCF with your Shopify store to enable inventory management and automated order routing. This optimized procedure reduces manual labor and guarantees seamless order fulfillment.
How much does it cost to use Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
Like I just said,d there are two fees you pay for Amazon MCF. On one hand you’ll need to pay monthly storage fees as seen below.
And on the other hand, you will need to pay a fulfillment fee that includes picking, packing and shipping your items. Ultimately, these fulfillment fees will be based on the shipping speed your customer chooses, as well as the size tier your item falls under.
Here is the breakdown of the fulfillment fees you will need to pay per unit shipped, based on shipping speed.
Take a close look and you see the fulfillment fees charged by Amazon are fairly affordable considering everything that goes into shipping your orders. And even though the fulfillment fees are slightly higher than if your order was placed on Amazon.com, you will not be paying Amazon a referral fee for each item sold, which is typically 15%.
Important Considerations for Using FBA with Shopify
Linking Shopify with Amazon FBA opens up an effective fulfillment strategy, but it’s critical to approach it with a clear grasp of its limits.
Inventory Management
Evaluate your inventory turnover and storage expenses. Since Amazon’s fulfillment network requires monthly fees, unsold goods might accumulate storage expenses that reduce your revenue. Implement tactics such as accurate forecasting and demand planning to optimize inventory levels.
Customer Experience Ownership
As you set up your Shopify store, keep in mind that your standalone shop will continue to represent your brand. You are fully responsible for customer support, including order queries, returns, and refunds. Sake sure your team is well-prepared to manage customer requests efficiently.
Geographical Considerations
While FBA provides foreign fulfillment options, it’s best to research particular fees and available locations before depending only on FBA for international orders. This will allow you to make more educated judgments about global fulfillment alternatives for various locations based on cost and efficiency.
Seller Account Requirements
Using FBA requires an active Amazon Seller Central account. Familiarize yourself with Amazon’s regulations and seller fees to guarantee compliance and successful profitability management.
Consider these variables and adopt suitable techniques to maximize the benefits of FBA while limiting any negatives to ensure all-round success.
Why Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that provides businesses of all sizes with the tools they need to succeed in the online marketplace.
Consider it your one-stop shop for building a completely configurable online store that allows you to sell your items directly to customers, free of marketplace constraints and high costs.
Here are some of its features.
Varied Prices
Shopify knows that businesses come in many different forms and sizes. That is why they provide three various price options, each tailored to individual demands and growth stages.
Easy Storefront Creation
No coding skills necessary! Shopify offers a large selection of professionally designed, pre-built themes, both free and premium. These themes serve as the foundation for your online store, allowing you to easily alter its appearance and feel to fit your brand identity, even if you have no prior website construction knowledge.
POS System
Shopify is more than just an online shop builder; it also includes a robust Point of Sale (POS) system, allowing you to carry out in-person transactions and manage your offline operations with ease. Shopify even provides a generous two-week free trial for each of its pricing levels, allowing you to test the waters and find the best match.
Some Marketing Tips
Now, you are set up on two widely known platforms; you need to leverage your reach and ensure you are reaching as many customers as possible. Here are some tips to drive traffic to your online business.
Utilize Social Media
- Create genuine relationships with potential consumers by having meaningful discussions, responding to comments, and creating a community around your brand.
- Engage your audience with visually beautiful, educational, and engaging material that speaks to their interests and encourages them to share it with their network.
- Make it easy for consumers to find your items by providing your e-commerce store URL in your bio and leveraging platform-specific purchasing tools.
Email Marketing
Maintaining your customer relationships is vital. Email marketing is an effective strategy for engaging previous customers and generating repeat sales from your most loyal customers.
Here’s why.
Cultivate Warm Leads
Unlike “cold leads,” who have never experienced your brand, past consumers are termed “warm leads” since they have previously interacted with your company.
This equates to a better possibility of conversion because they are already familiar with your items and potentially have a positive brand perception.
Build Loyalty and Brand Advocacy
By creating a relationship with prior customers through relevant and entertaining email content, you can turn them into loyal brand advocates.
Share special discounts, personalized product suggestions, and important company updates to keep people interested while nurturing a feeling of community.
Capture Attention with Opt-In Forms
Integrate strategic opt-in forms into your Shopify store to allow consumers to subscribe to your email list easily. Offer incentives, such as early access to deals or unique discounts, to promote sign-ups and expand your subscriber base.
Paid Advertisements
In e-commerce, success depends on connecting with customers that are also looking for you. Fortunately, paid advertising helps you get to them.
Facebook Ads
Ensure your message resonates with customers who are most likely to convert. You can do this by customizing your ad campaigns based on their demographics, hobbies, and online activity.
Additionally, to increase your reach and brand awareness on both platforms, link your advertisements with Instagram.
YouTube Ads
Convert interesting product videos into eye-catching YouTube advertisements.You may draw in viewers who are actively looking for related goods or content by placing these customized advertisements before or during related videos.
Google Ads
Google Ads gives you the ability to target particular terms that customers are actively looking for. This tactical method guarantees that your brand emerges at the exact moment when prospective buyers are actively looking for goods similar to yours.
Final Thoughts
Amazon and Shopify combined should make your e-commerce business strategy a powerhouse. With deliveries and storage made easy, all you have to consider is the marketing and sourcing of your products.
