Shopify announced early this year that it’s launching Shopify Components, “the modern composable stack for enterprise retail,” as described by the ecommerce platform.
Since then, many have been trying to demystify what Shopify Components is, what the “components” are, what benefits there are to merchants, what it costs and how it’s implemented.
We break down each of those questions in this article. Let's take a look…
When Harley Finkelstein, president at Shopify, announced Shopify Components on LinkedIn, he said that “Shopify is stepping into its next phase of innovation: enterprise retail.”
“Today, we're opening access to our infrastructure so the biggest retailers in the world can build the best commerce experiences using the same components that have helped Shopify power over 10 per cent of US ecommerce,” continued Finkelstein.
“Shopify has built components that form the world's most powerful retail platform, and in that time, we have created a commerce stack that is truly enterprise-grade.”
“Commerce Components is a modern composable stack where retailers can choose the Shopify components they want, integrate them with their existing systems, and create incredible customer experiences.”
“It's like we're giving large retailers an F1 engine and letting them customise the exterior. We're redefining enterprise retail by giving brands the choice, flexibility, and performance that has never existed before as a single enterprise offering.”
In layman’s terms, Shopify is enabling retailers to craft the online shopping experience the way want – a step forward from Hydogren that offers enterprise brands complete control over their existing tech stack, using a headless approach, yet with all the benefits of Shopify.
If Shopify Components is a pick n mix of all the best components Shopify has to offer, then it’s important to understand what those components are.
Retailers can choose from more than 30 modular components that can be integrated with existing third-party services. Categories include:
There are benefits to some retailers in choosing Shopify Components, the main being flexibility and choice.
Brands can pick and choose the Shopify components they need and integrate them into their existing tech stack, which really suits some enterprise merchants. It’s particularly useful for those who want to build an entirely custom front end in a code framework of their choice.
For others, a more standardised approach is preferable – similar to buying a personalised, pre-made birthday cake over baking your own from scratch. Read more about the perceived benefits of Shopify Components here.
As of yet, there is no publicly released pricing for Shopify Components, although some say it’s likely to be more expensive than Shopify Plus which has a standard pricing model of a 0.4 per cent variable fee, with a 0.15 per cent discount when using Shopify Payments and a minimum of $2,000/month.
It's also worth noting that Shopify Components is steered towards enterprise retailers, which typically range from $500 million to multiple billions of dollars in gross merchandise value.
Shopify Components isn’t an upgrade option, it’s a collection of technology that can be integrated into existing or new headless stores. Get in touch with By Association Only if you’re interested to learn more.
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