Create & Manage Multiple Shopify Stores for Maximum Growth

Thinking about launching multiple Shopify stores to expand your brand? Whether you’re entering new markets or building niche stores, creating and managing more than one Shopify store can open up exciting opportunities.

In this guide, Nextsky shows you how to set up, manage, and grow your Shopify multiple storefronts - covering everything from account creation to day-to-day operations, marketing strategies, and essential tools for multi-store success.

Can you have multiple stores on Shopify using a single account?

Yes, you can have multiple stores on Shopify, but with a few important clarifications. Shopify allows you to create and manage up to 10 individual stores under the same login email. However, each store is treated as a separate entity — meaning each has its own domain, products, themes, settings, and subscription plan.

Having multiple Shopify stores is beneficial for businesses that want to expand internationally, target different customer segments, or separate different brands or product categories. Each store can be customized with its own branding, marketing strategy, and localized content, providing a tailored shopping experience for your audiences.

Each Shopify store generally requires its own subscription, even if you use the same email address across multiple stores. You'll be billed separately for each store, starting from the Basic Shopify plan at $25/month. However, if you're on Shopify Plus, you can manage up to 10 stores (1 primary store and 9 expansion stores) under one organization without paying separate subscription fees.

What Exactly is Shopify’s Multi-store Feature?

Shopify's multi-store feature allows you to create and manage multiple online stores under a single account. Each store can have its own unique branding, product selection, and settings, all accessible from a single dashboard.

This feature is ideal when you want to target different regions, languages, or customer segments with tailored shopping experiences. It also enables you to track each store's sales performance, manage product lines separately, and test different marketing strategies.

For instance, a fashion brand could create one store for women's clothing and another for men's apparel, each with its own branding and targeted offers, enhancing customer engagement and driving better results for each market.

How Does Shopify’s Multi-store Feature Work?

Managing multiple stores on Shopify is straightforward and efficient. Once you log in to your Shopify account, you’ll find a dropdown menu that allows you to easily switch between different stores. This feature eliminates the need to log in and out of separate accounts, making it seamless to manage various stores from a single dashboard.

Key functionalities of the multi-store feature include:

• Segmenting Product Lines: You can create separate stores for different product categories or audiences. For example, Kylie Cosmetics has separate Shopify stores for Kylie Skin and Kylie Baby.
• Testing Different Marketing Strategies: With multiple stores, you can experiment with various marketing tactics such as pricing, promotions, and messaging to understand what resonates best with each target audience.
• Customizing Stores: Each store can be fully customized, allowing you to create unique branding, product categories, and design elements for a tailored shopping experience.

However, it’s important to note that each store will incur its own subscription fee, but the advantages of managing multiple stores often outweigh the additional costs, especially if you plan to expand your business or reach diverse customer segments.

How to Create Multiple Shopify Stores?

Setting up multiple Shopify stores allows you to customize your shopping experiences for different audiences, regions, or product lines. Here's how you can do it, depending on your needs:

1. Create a New Store with a Separate Email Address

This method creates a completely distinct Shopify store, keeping everything — products, branding, and checkout — independent.

Steps:

• Go to Shopify.com and click Start free trial.
• Use a different email address from your current store's email.
• Complete the setup process for your new store, including selecting a plan, adding products, and setting up your payment gateway.

Tip: Use a password manager to easily manage multiple Shopify store logins.

=>> If you have never created a Shopify store, you can refer to Shopify Tutorial for detailed instructions

2. Use the Same Email Address, but Different Payment Processors

You can register multiple Shopify stores using the same email address but manage them separately with different payment accounts.

Steps:

• Create a new Shopify store with your existing email address.
• During the setup, add a different payment provider (e.g., PayPal, Stripe, Shopify Payments configured to a different bank account).
• Set each store’s financial settings independently to keep revenue streams separate.

Note: You still need to pay a separate Shopify subscription for each store.

3. Use the Same Email Address and Payment Processor, but Create a Second Website

If you want different customer-facing websites but share some backend processes, you can set up multiple stores under the same email and payment processor.

Steps:

• Sign up for another Shopify store using your existing email address.
• Configure the same payment method (same PayPal account or Shopify Payments account).
• Customize each store’s branding, products, and content independently.

Important: Even though the email and payment gateway are the same, each store’s admin dashboard is still separate.

4. Add Multiple Domains to a Single Store

If you don't want to manage completely separate stores but still want different domain names, you can point multiple domains to one Shopify store.

Steps:

• From your Shopify Admin, go to Settings > Domains.
• Click Connect existing domain or Buy new domain.
• Set up domain forwarding or market-specific redirects (via Shopify Markets) so customers are automatically taken to the right version based on their location.

Best for: Slight branding differences, localized content, or international SEO strategies — without managing different store backends.

When should you create multiple Shopify stores?

Creating multiple Shopify stores is a smart strategy for brands looking to grow and specialize. Here are the key situations where it makes sense, along with real-world examples:

• Expanding internationally: Region-specific stores allow you to localize language, currency, taxes, shipping, and marketing for each market. ➔ Example: Gymshark runs localized stores for the US, UK, Australia, and more.
• Targeting different customer segments: Separate storefronts help tailor the experience for distinct demographics or niches. ➔ Example: Allbirds operates individual stores across various countries to better serve local audiences.
• Localizing for cultural relevance: Adapting stores for cultural preferences and shopping habits can boost engagement and sales. ➔ Example: Heinz launched a dedicated UK Shopify store during the pandemic for localized offerings.
• Separating B2B and B2C operations: Managing wholesale and direct-to-consumer customers through different stores simplifies pricing and service. ➔ Example: Fashion brands often separate B2B and B2C Shopify stores.

By splitting into multiple stores, brands can better tailor customer experiences, strengthen branding, and scale more effectively.

How to manage multiple Shopify stores

Focus on a Central Theme

To maintain brand identity across multiple Shopify stores, it's essential to focus on a central theme. While each store may cater to different markets and adapt its appearance and inventory accordingly, there should be a cohesive theme that reflects your brand identity.

=>> See also: Umino Shopify Theme

Manage Inventory Efficiently with PIMS

Managing inventory across multiple Shopify stores can become overwhelming. With different products, quantities, and stock levels to track, confusion is inevitable. To streamline this process, a reliable tool like a Product Information Management System (PIMS) is essential.

A Product Information Management System (PIMS) centralizes your product data, making it easier to manage inventory across multiple stores. It syncs real-time information, ensuring consistent product details and availability.

With PIMS, your team can track stock levels accurately, reducing stockouts and overstocking. This improves order fulfillment efficiency and ensures better customer satisfaction.

Efficient Customer Support Management

To handle growing customer inquiries, implement a customer management system or help desk app. These tools centralize all communication—live chats, emails, and more—into one platform, streamlining issue tracking and response management.

By organizing customer complaints, refunds, and FAQs, these systems ensure efficient management without automating responses. This helps your support team provide faster, more accurate service, improving customer satisfaction.

Using Apps to Manage Multiple Shopify Stores

When managing multiple Shopify stores, the right apps can help streamline processes and reduce workload. Here are the top 5 apps to help you manage your stores more efficiently:

• Syncio Multi Store Sync: This app allows you to synchronize products across your stores, making it easy to manage inventory, adjust products, and update all stores simultaneously. Syncio supports syncing according to different parameters for each store, reducing errors and saving time.
• Veeqo: Manage real-time inventory and synchronize stock between Shopify stores, eCommerce marketplaces, and warehouses. Veeqo also features automated purchasing management, stocktaking, and warehouse management, ensuring you always have full control of your inventory.
• Shogun: A user-friendly content management system (CMS) that helps you create and manage product descriptions, blog posts, and landing pages across all your stores. Shogun saves time by managing content across multiple stores simultaneously.
• ShipStation: This app integrates with major shipping carriers and automates order fulfillment tasks such as printing shipping labels and tracking packages. ShipStation helps you save time and reduce errors when handling shipments for multiple stores.
• Gorgias - Support & Live Chat: This app centralizes customer messages from various channels (live chat, email, calls) into a single interface, making it easy to manage communication across multiple stores. Gorgias also imports message history and shipping info for faster support.

These apps will help you efficiently manage inventory, orders, content, customer communications, and backups, creating a seamless ecosystem for your Shopify stores.

Challenges of Running Multiple Shopify Stores

Running multiple Shopify stores offers great opportunities but also presents several challenges. Below, we’ll break down the key obstacles you need to manage effectively.

Costs

Operating multiple stores means paying for separate Shopify subscriptions and additional apps.

For example, if you're using the Basic plan ($25/month) for each store, costs can quickly add up. Additionally, you may need more staff for customer service, inventory management, and marketing. To mitigate, consider consolidating stores where possible, evaluating essential apps, and exploring app bundles for discounts.

SEO Strategy

SEO becomes more complex with multiple stores. Each store needs its own tailored strategy, including unique product descriptions and localized keywords.

Avoid duplicate content across stores, which can hurt your rankings. Use Google Analytics to monitor performance, and ensure each store follows SEO best practices for its target market and location.

Geographical Targeting

When managing stores in different regions, you need to handle various currencies, taxes, and languages. Shopify allows for multi-currency and language setups, but you must also manage shipping rules and ensure each store complies with local tax regulations. Tools like Shopify Markets can help simplify this process.

Domain Authority

Running multiple stores with separate domains can dilute your domain authority, making SEO efforts less effective. Consider using subdomains (e.g., store1.example.com) to centralize authority.

If multiple domains are necessary, focus on building high-quality, unique content for each store and acquire backlinks to boost authority across all sites.

=>> View details: Top 50+ Best Shopify Store Examples To Inspire Your Own

Managing multiple Shopify stores offers great flexibility and opportunities, but it can also be complex. Whether you're expanding into new markets or managing different product lines, effective strategies can help streamline the process.

If you need assistance in creating and managing your Shopify stores, feel free to contact Nextsky. We're here to guide and support you every step of the way.