Shopify E-commerce Platform

Large e-commerce businesses operating across extensive markets can benefit from a comprehensive service offering through Shopify Plus. Ambientia acts as your implementation partner for Shopify Plus solutions. Shopify is one of the alternatives available within Ambientia’s e-commerce service portfolio.

We provide merchants with a comprehensive service that takes into account accessibility, functionality and service design, as well as the management of information obtained through analytics and data.

What is Shopify Plus?

E-commerce businesses with high sales volumes can accelerate their growth through Shopify Plus. It provides a range of features that effectively support business growth.

Shopify Plus enables B2B commerce, wholesale operations, the management of multiple stores from a single location, and integrations such as the Avalara AvaTax tax service.

As a cloud-based solution, Shopify is suitable for companies of all sizes. Thanks to its scalability and extensive feature set, Shopify is particularly well suited to e-commerce businesses looking to grow and merchants operating internationally.

It is easy to integrate the most suitable payment methods for different markets. Shopify Plus also caters to large organisations. A Shopify Plus contract can support up to 150 markets. From a visual perspective, Shopify is highly flexible, making it easy to create an appearance that reflects your brand and business identity.

Shopify for B2C E-commerce

Shopify is well suited to B2C e-commerce businesses, particularly small and medium-sized companies selling directly to consumers. It also supports the sale of digital products and provides a straightforward route to international consumer markets.

In addition, Shopify supports subscriptions, product bundles, loyalty programmes and point-of-sale (POS) solutions.

Shopify for B2B E-commerce

For companies operating B2B e-commerce, particularly larger organisations, Shopify Plus provides extensive capabilities. These include multiple integration options for managing locations, markets and users, in addition to a comprehensive set of e-commerce features. Wholesale functionality is available exclusively to Shopify Plus customers.

Shopify for D2C E-commerce

The Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) business model, where products are sold directly from the manufacturer to consumers, has become increasingly popular among brands that have traditionally relied on distributors and resellers.

Shopify supports this model effectively by enabling integrations with other business-critical systems.

International E-commerce with Shopify Markets

Shopify Markets helps merchants sell efficiently across multiple countries from a single Shopify store. It provides a fast way to enter new markets and convert visitors into repeat customers, while managing everything through a single Shopify Admin interface.

With Shopify Markets, you can localise the customer experience through content, currencies, domains, assortments, payment methods, taxes, shipping methods and customs.

If your goal is to build a completely customised e-commerce solution with extensive bespoke functionality, Shopify may not be the ideal choice. While Shopify supports customisation and extension development to a certain extent, there are limitations.

Visual customisation of Shopify themes is fully supported, so if your requirements are primarily related to branding and appearance, this is rarely an issue. If you are unsure whether Shopify is the right choice for your business, our experts can help you evaluate the available options.

Migrating an existing online store to Shopify always requires planning, but it is entirely possible. Transferring products, customers, historical orders, gift cards, inventory data and other information from platforms such as Magento requires effort, but in many cases, it can be a worthwhile investment.

A migration can provide opportunities for greater scalability, improved cost efficiency and more reliable operations. With Shopify, platform and extension updates are handled automatically by Shopify, meaning you no longer need to manage version upgrades yourself.

At Ambientia, we have extensive experience in executing e-commerce platform migrations and a clear understanding of the factors that need to be considered throughout the process.

Maintaining an online store can require significant effort and investment. Shopify makes e-commerce management easier thanks to its ease of use and relatively fast implementation compared to many other platforms. Version updates and security maintenance are handled automatically, reducing the need for ongoing administration.

Shopify offers hundreds of themes that can be adapted to reflect your brand and visual identity. Themes can also be customised in terms of layout and design, reducing the need to start from scratch.

One of Shopify’s greatest strengths is its scalability. International commerce can be managed efficiently without platform limitations restricting growth. Creating and managing multiple language versions is also straightforward and efficient. This supports the objectives and operational efficiency of organisations operating in international markets.

Marketing activities and campaign management can be handled directly within Shopify. Promotional codes and campaign targeting are easy to manage. Shopify can also be integrated with Google and various social media commerce platforms, making marketing both efficient and effective.

Shopify Features and Benefits

Shopify offers a comprehensive ecosystem of integrations and applications. Merchants do not need to spend time evaluating how specific functionality should be built or whether it is suitable for their business, as Shopify provides these capabilities through ready-made solutions. Thousands of applications are available.

Product Information Management

Managing product information in Shopify is designed to be efficient and straightforward. If a separate Product Information Management solution is required, systems such as Akeneo PIM can be integrated seamlessly through tools such as the Akeneo PIM Connector.

As a result, managing product information can take minutes rather than hours.

Search Engine Optimisation

Shopify provides strong support for search engine optimisation. The platform includes a range of tools for improving and maintaining search visibility, as well as for analysing and reporting performance.

Analytics and reporting capabilities are comprehensive. Shopify offers a broad selection of built-in reports, while creating custom reports is also quick and straightforward.

Efficient Logistics

Shopify’s logistics management capabilities support location-specific shipping profiles and shipping rates. For example, the Packrooster Shipping application provides integrations with several logistics providers. The following integrations are currently supported:

• Posti 
• Matkahuolto 
• DB Schenker 
• Shipit 
• Fiuge 
• Kaukokiito 
• GLS Finland 
• DHL Express 
• Deutsche Post 
• PostNord 
• Budbee 
• Omniva 

The application enables all shipment-related documents to be printed directly from the system. It improves order processing efficiency through features such as automatically marking orders as fulfilled once packing is complete and automating the printing of customs documentation.

Payment Methods in Shopify

Ready-made integrations provide access to a wide range of payment methods. Finnish card payment options are available through providers such as Shopify Payments. Klarna, Paytrail and Svea Verifone can also be integrated into the online store, enabling access to popular Finnish online banking payment methods.

One of the reasons for Shopify’s popularity is that it offers suitable options for companies of different sizes through multiple service tiers. There are plans available for a wide range of e-commerce businesses.

Shopify Basic

For businesses starting their e-commerce journey, Shopify Basic provides the core tools required to operate an online store. This plan includes one admin user. It provides e-commerce functionality, product management and competitive transaction fees. The plan also supports blogging, basic reporting and international sales. SSL security is included.

Shopify

This plan supports growing businesses. It provides insights into customer behaviour and lower transaction fees than the Basic plan. The Shopify plan supports up to five staff accounts. It includes all Basic plan features while offering more advanced reporting capabilities.

Advanced Shopify

The Advanced Shopify Plan provides additional capabilities for growing businesses. The plan supports up to fifteen staff accounts and includes all features available in the lower-tier plans with lower transaction fees.

Reporting capabilities are comprehensive and support business reporting as well as the creation of custom reports. Reports also include forecasting features and predictive estimates.

This plan is particularly well suited to international operations, as it supports the calculation and collection of duties and import taxes, as well as country- and region-specific pricing. Merchants also receive 24/7 live chat support.

Shopify Plus 

Shopify Plus offers a wide range of benefits for large and rapidly growing businesses that require advanced features and support for global expansion. The platform enables organisations to manage complex operational processes and deliver tailored customer experiences.

One significant advantage is enhanced wholesale management. Shopify Plus includes a dedicated wholesale channel that allows wholesale customers to be managed through a separate account structure, providing B2B businesses with capabilities such as custom pricing and delivery settings.

Shopify Plus also offers advanced customisation possibilities, including an unlimited number of staff accounts, allowing growing organisations to add as many users as needed. In addition, Shopify Plus includes advanced APIs and support channels that enable extensive integrations and customised solutions.

The Shopify Plus platform is specifically designed for large organisations handling high sales volumes that require advanced capabilities and support services to scale globally. The platform includes enhanced security features, multi-currency support, a wholesale channel and support for complex integrations, making it a strong choice for businesses looking to grow without significant operational limitations.

Read more about Shopify pricing: Shopify pricing

Shopify Retail

For brick-and-mortar retailers looking for a lightweight digital commerce solution, Shopify offers the Shopify Retail plan. It includes access to the Shopify POS application and one Shopify POS Pro location.

The plan provides comprehensive reporting capabilities and supports multiple staff accounts and registers. It also includes features such as in-store pickup and inventory management tools. The Spotlight theme is included as the default theme for this plan.

Shopify as a Headless Commerce Solution

Shopify Headless Commerce is a modern e-commerce architecture that separates the frontend experience from the backend system, providing greater flexibility and customisation capabilities.

This approach allows businesses to leverage Shopify’s robust commerce backend while building customer experiences with their preferred frontend technologies. The headless model is particularly useful for organisations that want to deliver content and shopping experiences across multiple channels, including web, mobile and IoT devices, without the limitations of traditional e-commerce platforms.

For headless commerce implementations, Shopify provides Hydrogen and Oxygen, offering a clear path for building dynamic and scalable headless commerce experiences.

Hydrogen is a React-based framework that enables rapid development of custom storefronts, while Oxygen is Shopify’s global hosting solution designed to deliver high performance and scalability.

Commerce Components by Shopify

For organisations with unique brand and business requirements, Shopify offers Commerce Components, a modular set of commerce capabilities. Businesses can select the components they need, integrate them into existing technologies and create greater flexibility, scalability and agility within their operations.

The modular approach allows organisations to focus on the capabilities most relevant to their needs while selecting best-of-breed components. This makes building and evolving branded commerce experiences efficient and straightforward.

Businesses adopting Commerce Components are strongly encouraged to use experienced specialists when implementing and developing their solutions, even though Shopify provides access to training and ongoing support for users of this level.

Commerce Components customers receive dedicated access to account teams, technical support and Shopify Professional Services.

Many Finnish e-commerce businesses have chosen Shopify because of its ease of use and reliability. Through integrations, Shopify supports payment methods commonly used in Finland and can easily be localised to meet the needs of Finnish online retailers.

According to Paytrail’s 2023 report, Shopify is the second most popular e-commerce platform in Finland.

Users particularly value its ease of use, suitability for selling a wide range of products and services, and strong security capabilities. Shopify also supports international commerce, making it easy to sell beyond Finland’s borders.

Launching a Shopify store is straightforward. The first step is selecting the plan that best suits your business. You can then choose a theme from Shopify’s template library. Both free and paid themes are available.

Applications can be added to provide the functionality your store requires. Some applications are free, while more advanced and comprehensive solutions require a separate fee. Payment service providers can also be selected directly through Shopify.

For high-volume e-commerce businesses, Shopify Plus is typically the strongest option due to its scalability and lower transaction fees.

With Ambientia, you can quickly launch a fully functional store and start operating and marketing it effectively from day one.

Over recent years, Shopify has continued to increase its popularity both in Finland and globally. Many industry professionals predict that it will continue strengthening its position as a leading commerce platform, as its capabilities continue to evolve alongside merchant needs, customer expectations and technological development.

According to Shopify’s own strategy, the company intends to continue expanding its functionality and potentially even its fulfilment capabilities, providing merchants with a scalable, international and fully connected commerce ecosystem supported by robust APIs and extensive business capabilities.

As cloud-based solutions continue to gain prominence, Shopify is well positioned to provide reliable and continuously evolving services for digital commerce in the future.

Shopify’s market share has continued to grow both in Finland and globally for several years. Its popularity is reflected in its worldwide user base of more than one million merchants and its position as the second most popular e-commerce platform in Finland.

Its market share has continued to increase since Shopify was officially launched in 2006.

One of Shopify’s key advantages is its accessibility. It can be deployed with relatively limited technical expertise, and with the help of implementation partners, launching and maintaining a Shopify store is often more cost-effective than many alternative platforms.

In this section, we have compiled the most frequently asked questions about Shopify to help you explore the opportunities the platform offers. If you still have questions, our experts are happy to help.

At Ambientia, we approach e-commerce projects with passion. We work with multiple e-commerce platforms as well as fully customised implementations. This experience enables us to recommend the solution best suited to your organisation’s needs.

We are a business design and technology consultancy. Our strength lies in combining a deep understanding of our customers’ technical ecosystems with business-driven planning and design.

At Ambientia, e-commerce projects begin with comprehensive requirements definition. During joint workshops and discussions, we work closely with our customers to review business strategy, target audiences and the objectives set for the online store.

Based on these discussions, we define the e-commerce features, functionality, integrations and required extensions. The design process is carried out in close collaboration with the customer.

In most cases, our development team continues working on the project after launch through continuous improvement and further development of the online store. Ambientia’s Service Desk and monitoring services also become part of the ongoing service.