In-house e-commerce doesn't make sense? Shopify makes real omnichannel marketing a reality

Jul. 19, 2022

eLife Inc. participated in the Commerce Summit held at The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike on June 14-16, 2022. Inoue and Mr. Ita from Shopify Japan took the stage at the "10mins presentation" and gave a pitch on the "Future of Commerce". In this article, we would like to share with you what happened at the presentation.

Introduction of speakers

Sosuke Ida, Senior Sales Lead, Shopify Japan
Since 2017, he has been the Co-Head of Business at HubSpot, Inc., leading the launch of the company's Japanese subsidiary and the entire sales department, driving the digitalization of numerous businesses in Japan. He has been a Senior Sales Lead at Shopify Japan since 2022.

eLife Inc.　 Kei Inoue, Strategic Consultant
He has provided comprehensive know-how including logistics, taxation, and global risk management to clients in many Shopify projects, including the launch of Tiger Thermos' D2C business. Currently, he mainly leads large scale projects such as cross-border e-commerceand DX implementations.

An e-commerce website targeting only browsers makes no sense

The entire commerce environment is changing dramatically as technology has changed consumer behavior and expectations. Consumers are now shopping not only on companies' and brands' in-house e-commerce websites, but also on all platforms, channels, and devices, including SNS such as Instagram and Facebook, mall-based e-commerce websites such as Rakuten Ichiba and Yahoo! We expect our customers to be able to shop anytime, anywhere, and in any way they like. Companies and brands are expected to meet this consumer need and realize Omnichannel (purchasing from all touch points).

Therefore, at eLife Inc., "An e-commerce site targeting only browsers makes no sense." We believe that, according to LINE research _{Note 1} and Nielsen research _{Note 2}, mobile users, who make up 50% of Japan's Internet users, spend only about 10% of their time using a browser, and the remaining 90% using a mobile app. If you want to reach more consumers with your brand and products, Instead of just building your own e-commerce site and waiting for customers to come to you, expose it to mobile apps, which account for 90% of mobile user behavior, you should do it.
Note 1: "Internet Usage: Fixed Point Survey 2021 H2" Oct. 2021 /LINE TECHNOLOGY VIETNAM Co., Ltd.
Note 2: Mobile NetView/Nielsen Digital Co., Ltd.

Shopify is a platform that enables omni-channel marketing worldwide

At eLife Inc., we view Shopify as essentially a "CMS (Content Management System)" rather than an e-commerce platform.
In this context, "content" refers to all first-party data such as customers, products, and orders. Shopify's greatest feature is the ability to link this "content" to channels such as LINE, Facebook, and Instagram, which have become the infrastructure of customers' lives, and guide them to make purchases. We believe that Shopify is a platform that can realize omni-channel marketing worldwide.

Shopify's four strengths

Shopify can meet a variety of needs that businesses face when starting a D2C business.
"Starting small at a low cost"
"Meet data security standards"
"Meet brand-specific requirements that cannot be met by existing malls or SaaS"
"The ability to capture foreign demand as well as domestic demand, which continues to shrink"

Service Levels & Security for Millions of Companies and Brands
With millions of companies and brands operating Shopify stores worldwide, we have the service levels and robust security that have led global companies such as Allbirds Inc and Staples, Inc. to make the decision to use Shopify.

Over 8,000 Shopify apps available from a few thousand per month, ranging from MA, subscriptions, and NFT
Developers from around the world offer Shopify apps in a variety of categories, including marketing automation (MA), subscriptions, crowdfunding, and other business model extensions.

Use of the platform starts at US$25/month
Not only does it allow for a minimal start with a low initial investment and build time, but it also allows for in-house production and lower external costs in operations with a sophisticated management screen that can be used by non-programmers.

Support for cross-border sales
Not only do we support languages, currencies, logistics, payments, and currencies from around the world, but we also We also provide omni-channel marketing on a global scale by linking with the sales channels (e.g. Walmart and eBay in the case of the U.S.) that have become an infrastructure in each country.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a leading provider of commerce-critical Internet infrastructure, offering a single, reliable solution to manage the launch, growth, marketing, and operations of retail businesses of all sizes. With platforms and services designed with reliability in mind, Shopify makes commerce better for everyone and delivers a superior shopping experience for consumers everywhere.

Founded in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify supports millions of Shopify merchants in over 175 countries, including sole proprietors, small businesses and major corporations. KINTO Corporation, ORION BREWERIES, LTD., STUDIO R330, sakana bacca, Elmers Green, and Tabio Corporation in Japan, and Allbirds Inc and Staples, Inc. overseas, and many other brands.

What is "Shopify Plus," Shopify's enterprise plan?

"Shopify Plus" is the highest plan available to large companies and brands, starting with the provision of services necessary to link and integrate existing systems, such as the certification infrastructure (CIAM), product database, and integration with ERP and other core systems.

Shopify Plus offers the following services in addition to the regular plan.

24/7 Japanese language based support by Shopify
Highly customized to meet corporate and brand business requirements and business models
Up to 20 registered locations (as of July 2022), allowing shipment assignment of the same product from multiple warehouse locations
9 additional stores for internationalization and physical warehouse separation
Establishment of wholesale and B2B channels (Wholesale Channel)
Unlimited staff accounts
Compound conditional discounts and promotion settings (Shopify Script Editor)
Scheduling of campaigns, new product sales, etc. (Launchpad)
Seamless integration with existing & external systems (dedicated API calls and API acceleration)
Data transfer from other e-commerceplatforms (Transporter app)
Centralized management of tags (GTM: Google Tag Manager)