It’s no secret that within the last few years the evolution of eCommerce has rapidly trended toward multichannel sales and integration. With more eCommerce marketplaces available than ever before, coupled with the advent of in-app shopping experiences on major social media platforms, it’s never been easier for sellers to diversify sales platforms. As a result, the most strategic eCommerce sellers are meeting potential customers on their preferred channels–no matter what the marketplace preference is for the seller by learning how to connect Shopify to Amazon.
Yet, diversifying eCommerce marketplaces comes with a number of challenges due to segregated data. To keep up with a multichannel strategy and achieve a more comprehensive view of their sales data, many sellers are choosing to adopt Shopify Amazon integrations to streamline processes. In this article, we’ll review the benefits of multichannel integrations, as well as the steps you can take to connect your marketplace accounts. So buckle up, because we’ll have you selling twice as much across the marketplaces from one seamless account in no time!
Benefits of a Shopify-Amazon Integration
Every entrepreneur knows that Amazon is a notorious eCommerce marketplace giant with a number of tools designed to help sellers streamline their processes, upgrade advertising, and more all within one place. On top of this, Amazon is one of the most trusted online shopping destinations for potential customers, with a sizable consumer base. At the same time, Shopify is a rapidly growing online selling platform that offers its own competitive services including shipping, customer engagement tools, payment processors, and more while allowing for a branded website and direct contact with consumers.
With each platform offering unique advantages and challenges it can be difficult to choose which one fits your eCommerce business the best. However, the new option for a Shopify Amazon integration allows eCommerce sellers to get all the benefits of brand visibility and sales, with none of the drawbacks that come with single platform presence.
Visibility and Sales
If you’re only selling on one eCommerce platform, you’re missing out on potential customers and sales opportunities. While Amazon tends to have greater traffic from customers and can help you to build some organic SEO momentum, receiving between 9 to 10 million orders per day, Shopify is less immediately saturated with competition and allows you to build a loyal customer base. Shopify also helps to immediately clarify that many eCommerce businesses are small businesses, often appealing to consumers.
By selling on both Amazon and Shopify you’ll be able to reach customers where they’re at, ensuring that you can make the sale every time. And with an Amazon Shopify integration, you’ll be able to manage everything in one place.
Diversified Revenue Streams
Although no one wants to think about it, Amazon seller account suspensions are a very real possibility–even when you’re doing your best to comply with the constantly evolving guidelines and policies. Similarly, Shopify stores can quickly get taken down without warning. Either way, you’ll be waiting at least a couple days before you can get things back online.
By selling on both Amazon and Shopify you can diversify your revenue streams and ensure that one mishap doesn’t halt your cash flow entirely. Instead of relying on one platform for your entire income, you’ll be able to keep sales moving while any issue gets resolved, as well as preserve many of your customer relationships. By diversifying streams of revenue you’ll make your eCommerce business more agile and flexible, as well as likely more profitable.
Added Payment Options
As part of the Amazon Shopify integration, Amazon Pay will also become available as a payment option within Shopify Payments–making it easier for Shopify merchants to handle transactions. Amazon Pay will appear as an active payment provider after you agree to grant your Shopify store access to your Amazon Payments merchant account.
Note: Your Shopify store and Amazon Professional Seller account must be based in the United States, sell in USD, and have Shopify payments enabled to conform with Amazon’s customer agreements and policies.
Enhanced Brand Identity
While Amazon may offer greater access to customers, Shopify certainly allows for much more significant and consistent branding. These improved branding capabilities allow for better customer connection and loyalty, improved marketing abilities, direct contact with customers, and more. As previously mentioned, clear branding also helps make it clear to potential customers that you have a small business–often appealing to consumers that want to shop small.
Shopify Amazon integration also will allow you to keep your brand identity consistent across both platforms, although in varying degrees. You can tailor product listings and storefront designs to match your branding, ensuring a seamless, aesthetically pleasing, and consistent customer experience. By providing customers with a visually appealing and cohesive experience you’ll better establish your eCommerce business in the marketplace and position yourself as well designed and professional.
Requirements for Shopify Amazon Integration
In order to integrate your marketplace accounts, you’ll need to first meet a few requirements:
- You must have an active Amazon Professional Seller account, along with an active Shopify store.
- The currency for your Shopify product listings must match your Amazon marketplace country. For example, if your Amazon seller account is based in the United States your Shopify store must sell in USD.
- Both marketplaces must be connected to the necessary bank accounts. If you’re planning to sell in the United States, you’ll need to have a US bank account where Amazon and Shopify can both transfer your earnings.
- To ensure a smooth Amazon Shopify integration, you’ll need to have all UPC’s readily available for products that you’re selling, as well as clear and accurate inventory management data.
- Finally, your Shopify account’s return policy must be equivalent to that of Amazon marketplace.
Depending on which products you sell, some eCommerce entrepreneurs are required to get approval from Amazon to sell on their platform. Check this list to verify which products require approval before proceeding.
Step by Step Guide to Connect Shopify to Amazon
Shopify merchants can easily connect their store to Amazon in just four steps.
- Add an Amazon sales channel.
You can add Amazon as a sales channel from your Shopify merchant admin page. Simply login to Shopify admin, click the ‘+’ icon next to “Sales Channels,” and click “Amazon,” then “Add Channel.” Once you’ve added an Amazon sales channel you’ll be prompted to “Connected to Amazon” where you can login to your already existing Amazon seller account. After this you’ll simply follow the directions to link your Shopify and Amazon Seller central accounts.
Note: Amazon FBA integrations are no longer supported by Shopify. If you want to proceed or begin handling orders for Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) straight from Shopify, you can download Amazon’s MCF app. This service is available to Shopify merchants who ship orders to customers with US addresses and is available for download in the Shopify app store.
- Create or Link your Amazon listings to Shopify.
There are two ways to integrate Amazon listings to Shopify: creating new ones or linking old product listings.
To create your Amazon listings so that they can appear on your Shopify site, you’ll need to go through the Shopify Admin page.
If you’re simply linking products that you already have listed on Amazon, you’ll need to integrate those. This also will be done through the Shopify Admin page, by simply clicking “Amazon” and then “Link Products.” From there you’ll be able to browse through all the product listings your Amazon Professional seller account has and link those that you want.
- Set up inventory management across both marketplaces.
When it comes to inventory management, you can either automatically sync your Shopify inventory Amazon, or update your inventory manually. We recommend syncing your inventory during the Shopify Amazon integration process to ensure it’s constantly updated and well maintained.
To do so, begin editing your listing on Amazon and select the option “Use Shopify inventory settings.” Then, under “Inventory” choose “Shopify tracks this product’s inventory.” If you select “Don’t track inventory,” your stock will always appear as 100 on Amazon, unless manually updated otherwise.
- Finish Shopify to Amazon integration and begin fulfilling orders.
When customers place an order from your business it will be recorded in your Shopify Orders, just like one that came directly from your Shopify product listing. However, these orders are labeled “Amazon” to help you track the marketplace they came from.
When fulfilling orders, ensure that you follow the Amazon Professional Seller policies at all times. To fulfill your Amazon orders in Shopify, log in to your Shopify account and click orders. From there you’ll select the order number and under “Order Details” you’ll find the “Start fulfilling” button. From there you can fulfill part or all of the order. Make sure to check which shipping method the customer chose, then select “Mark as fulfilled” to complete the process.
Find Funding to Maximize Success
With your Amazon and Shopify stores fully integrated it’s time to start scaling your business to reach new customers and drive sales. To make the most of each platform’s benefits (and find the inventory to keep both fully stocked!) you’re going to need working capital that’s flexible enough to meet your business needs–no matter what they are. That’s where Viably comes in.
Viably is the predictive banking platform built for eCommerce sellers. By connecting your commerce and banking data, Viably helps sellers gain fast access to capital, see their money movement and financial health in real time, while forecasting ahead to help map goals for growth.
