January 25, 2024
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7 min read
Over 5,300 brands with an annual revenue of between $1-500 million host their businesses on Shopify Plus, it’s a seamless and quick replatform. But, for some merchants, migrating from their existing platform to Shopify is still perceived as risky or challenging. We’ve heard all the myths, from disrupting business to affecting tech stacks and customer data and we’re here to set the record straight. Buckle up, we’re debunking some big migration myths…
A common misconception associated with platform migration is that it’s a long process. But, while replatforms can take time, they don’t have to. Migrating to Shopify Plus can be quick and have little impact on your day-to-day operations and customer experience.
Take URL changes - you might think changing platforms means new URLs and a broken customer experience. You’re half right. Migrating platforms does mean new URLs but this can be done seamlessly for your internal teams handling historic data and for your customers. To make sure your customers, navigating your site using your old URL, aren’t served 404 error we redirect all your old pages to a new URL for your Shopify Plus store. So, your users have a seamless experience and your sales can continue without delays or interruptions.
As for the speed of migration, depending on your brand's needs, a Shopify migration can move quickly. But, migration timelines can really depend on your requirements for your new site, your existing data set, your current backend system, and other moving parts of a project.
John Hardy's platform migration from Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify.
With ambitions to reimagine their online presence, John Hardy decided to migrate away from their existing Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform to Shopify Plus. Salesforce was too rigid for their needs, costly to manage, and time-consuming when building updates and new features. With the customization and scalability of Shopify, replatforming to Shopify Plus was a no-brainer. In less than 3 months, we replatformed John Hardy from SFCC and built them a stunning new store on Shopify.
There is some truth in this myth - migration means your tech stack will be affected, but it’s not bad. While some stacks are tailored to a specific e-commerce platform, like Adobe or Magento, others are agnostic to all platforms and can be easily transitioned to your new setup. However, migrating gives you a perfect opportunity to assess your current tech - is it serving its purpose? Are you seeing success from it? And if the answer is no - Shopify has a ton of popular tech services with a track record of success you can add to your stack:
If you’re concerned about swapping out services and losing data, using a Shopify Plus agency allows you to make 1:1 transitions for incompatible platforms like Magento, so you don't lose data or functionality. You even get the opportunity to increase functionality using the many customization tools native to Shopify Plus.
Toteme's Shopify Plus Store
We conduct seamless tech integrations for all our clients. For example, when the Stockholm-based international clothing brand Toteme felt constrained by their WooCommerce build, we aided their transition to Shopify Plus. Using Klevu, Gorgias, and Ometria, we translated their minimalist style and aesthetic while optimizing their e-commerce store for Shopify Plus.
One of the most common misconceptions we hear about the Shopify platform is this: It can’t support enterprise brands. But, despite this misconception, Shopify caters to start-ups as well as brands with large-scale operations, through Shopify Plus, including hypergrowth D2C brands:
So how do legacy brands with complex fulfillment systems, long-standing processes, and historic customer data fare on Shopify Plus? Large legacy brands have successfully transitioned to e-commerce using platforms like Salesforce and Magento. However, Shopify Plus' wide array of services and support match those of competitors and exceed expectations on an international scale. Take a look at brands, that are thriving on Shopify Plus, like:
Large brands typically have their own internal e-commerce team who - understandably - are hesitant to migrate platforms because they aren't familiar with Shopify. But, when you work with a Shopify Plus agency, like us, you can glean as much information from your project team, request training, or get a complete handbook on your new Shopify store.
If you want to read up a little more on how Shopify is ready for enterprise check out our full article on just the topic.
Hasbro's UK Shopify Plus Store
Founded in 1923, world-famous toy retailer Hasbro operated on three clunky platforms before migrating their entire operations to Shopify Plus. The three platforms made it difficult for their in-house teams to manage and update and caused a disconnected shopping experience for customers. We built them a new home on a single Shopify Plus store that can easily handle traffic spikes from conferences like Comic-Con and is fully integrated into an type: embedded-entry-inline id: c4nj7KMWHxaxZoI3xAkkQUp stack. Since launching successfully on Shopify Plus, we've worked with Hasbro to expand the brand internationally with an EU expansion store powered by Shopify.
Of the Shopify myths we’ve debunked, this is by far the easiest to prevent. There is no form of site migration - to Shopify Plus or otherwise - that carries zero risks of data loss. That said, setting up a high-quality and thorough migration plan is key to reducing that risk.
Your plan should itemize each piece of vital data, from your web content to your customer database, and account for it upon migration. The planning and execution process may seem arduous, though necessary. You can't skip this step for sheer convenience.
Many large companies have in-house teams capable of making site migration plans for them. But, not having an expert team shouldn't stop you from taking advantage of a Shopify Plus migration. You can always consider alternative options like working with a Shopify Plus agency.
Jigsaw's Shopify Plus Store
Jigsaw, a timeless womenswear brand, found that their existing platform had become outdated - they wanted to replatform to Shopify Plus to drive efficiencies and brought us in to do it. As a well-established brand with large amounts of data, three data types had to be migrated for the replatform project - customer, account, and order data. To ensure no data was lost during the migration, we mapped Jigsaw’s existing data fields into the Shopify data model - with this, the brand successfully migrated and launched on Shopify Plus.
Not true - Shopify has some new and great international services.
With more and more brands focusing on international expansion Shopify continues to grow and expand its services. Recently, Shopify Plus launched two key services for international e-commerce.
Shopify Markets
The brand defines Shopify Markets as "a cross-border management tool that helps you identify, set up, launch, optimize and manage your international markets - all from a single store."
Shopify Markets makes international selling easy by centralizing your selling tools and using an intuitive design that allows you to manage and expand international sales. Using its customizable platform, you can even tailor shopping experiences for different market segments.
You can find out more about Shopify Markets in our article that breaks down all of the new features.
Shopify 2.0
Released in 2021, Shopify 2.0 introduced new features that revolutionized the platform. It brought new themes that enable you to customize your store to different markets using the Shopify Markets feature. It also allows all merchants to customize the check-out tool, making it easier to sell internationally!
Third Man Records' International Shopify Plus Store
Following the success of their migration to Shopify Plus, we worked with Third Man Records, the brainchild of musician Jack White, to expand into international markets. Using a phased approach, we set their UK site live first, followed by their European site, using Shopify multi-currency. Now, with a multi-currency subscription service added to their product offering the brand is set up to succeed internationally.
It's natural to worry when making a big change like migrating from your existing platform to Shopify Plus. But, with the right preparation and some help, migrating your e-commerce store to Shopify can even help increase conversions and revenue. And with a quality migration plan tailored to your operations and current workflow, you won't have to worry about interruptions to day-to-day operations, tech stack deterioration, data loss, or loss in functionality as an enterprise or international brand.
Moreover, brands that migrate to Shopify get all the customization tools and services native to the platform. These benefits make Shopify Plus migration an opportunity for brands hoping to expand.
If we’ve helped to dispel myths holding you back from migrating to Shopify Plus reach out to our team who have handled and helped some of the biggest brands in the world replatform.
