Shopify vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud Comparison 2024

Selecting the right e-commerce platform is crucial for your online business's success. Whether you're a non-tech-savvy entrepreneur looking for simplicity or a large enterprise in need of extensive customization, choosing the right platform matters.

In this comparison of Shopify and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, we'll guide you through their features, ease of use, and overall user experience. Discover which platform best fits your unique needs. Let's dive in!

Shopify vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Which One Should You Choose?

Shopify has been the go-to choice for most ecommerce businesses around the world for a good reason. It is easy to use, includes all the most necessary features, and fits all business sizes.

Choose Shopify if:

• You need an easy-to-use, intuitive platform that requires minimal technical expertise.
• You are a small to medium-sized business looking for a scalable solution.
• You want access to a vast app ecosystem for extended functionality.
• You prefer comprehensive 24/7 support across all pricing plans.
• You are looking for a quick setup with a range of built-in tools and templates.

Saleforce Commerce Cloud is also a huge platform that can help businesses of all sizes to set up their store. While this platform only just entered the eCommerce business recently, it is a formidable opponent for Shopify.

Saleforce Commerce Cloud offers a comparable set of tools for users to manage their stores as well as the ability to scale easily with its powerful cloud-based system.

Choose Salesforce Commerce Cloud if:

• You are a large enterprise with complex e-commerce needs and high-volume sales.
• You require advanced customization and extensive integration capabilities.
• You need robust CRM integration with Salesforce for a 360-degree view of your customers.
• You prioritize advanced security features and compliance with CCPA and GDPR.
• You need powerful tools for AI-driven personalization, cross-channel campaign management, and advanced analytics.

Shopify vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud: A Quick Glance

First, I would like to make it clear that Salesforce Commerce Cloud is totally different service than Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, which is the product Salesforce is most known for.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based platform that helps users create and manage their online storefront. The platform can handle high traffic easily and allows multi-store setup. However, its pricing is quite steep as Salesforce Commerce Cloud is at the higher end of the market.

As for Shopify, it's safe to say that even those new to eCommerce have probably heard of it! As one of the world's leading eCommerce platforms, Shopify is designed to help businesses of all sizes launch, manage, and grow their online stores.

With around 8 million websites using Shopify, its popularity stems from numerous impressive benefits, although it does have some downsides to consider.

We will discuss more of this below.

Shopify vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Pricing

Shopify pricing

Shopify offers a range of pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes. Starting with Shopify Starter at $9/month, you can add e-commerce functionality to an existing site or Facebook page. 

For a full online store, Basic Shopify at $25/month includes unlimited products, two staff accounts, and essential features like a blog and 24/7 support.

The $65/month Shopify plan adds professional reports and more staff accounts, while Advanced Shopify at $399/month offers advanced reporting, third-party shipping rates, and additional staff accounts.

For large enterprises, Shopify Plus provides custom pricing with dedicated account management and extensive features.

Transaction fees vary by plan but are waived if using Shopify Payments. Additional costs may include premium themes and apps, making it essential to choose the plan that best fits your business needs and budget.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud pricing

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is designed primarily for larger enterprises, offering a customized pricing model that varies based on a business's specific needs, sales volume, and customization requirements.

By 2024, the platform will provide three main packages, all starting at 1% of gross merchandise value (GMV): B2B Commerce, B2C Commerce, and D2C Commerce. 

Additionally, businesses need to pay an extra 1% GMV per order to access Salesforce's order management features or to launch B2B and D2C Commerce channels.

This flexible pricing structure ensures that costs align closely with the scale and complexity of the enterprise's operations.

Shopify vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Detailed Comparison

Ease of use

Shopify excels in user experience, particularly for those without a technical background. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies tasks like adding products, managing inventory, and fulfilling orders, making overall store management straightforward and accessible.

In contrast, Salesforce Commerce Cloud requires a higher level of technical proficiency for setup and ongoing management. Tasks such as customizing the checkout process or integrating complex third-party applications often necessitate coding knowledge and may require additional developer assistance.

Shopify stands out with its user-friendly design, making it ideal for non-technical users. While Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers extensive documentation, its complex setup and customization requirements can be daunting for those without technical expertise.

Product and order management

When it comes to product and order management, Shopify shines with its real-time inventory management across different locations, detailed order tracking for both customers and merchants, automated fraud detection, and integrated shipping and fulfillment solutions, including label printing. Additionally, Shopify simplifies handling returns, refunds, and exchanges directly from the dashboard, making it a highly efficient choice for businesses.

However, Salesforce Commerce Cloud's advanced capabilities give it a notable edge in this comparison. Alongside offering similar basic functions to Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides AI and rules-based order routing for more efficient fulfillment, cross-channel order management (both online and in-store), and global inventory distribution and order orchestration. These sophisticated features make it a powerful platform for businesses seeking extensive and scalable order management solutions.

CRM

Shopify CRM has robust features. The platform offers detailed customer profiles that include order history, contact details, and notes, enabling easy customer segmentation for targeted marketing. 

Managing order-related communications, such as confirmation emails and tracking info, is straightforward, and Shopify allows seamless integration with third-party CRM apps through its App Store, providing flexibility and enhanced functionality.

However, Salesforce Commerce Cloud truly stands out in the CRM arena. When integrated with Salesforce CRM, it provides a comprehensive 360-degree view of the customer. This integration allows for quick demographic categorization and offers deep insights into sales and marketing patterns.

Additionally, Salesforce Commerce Cloud includes powerful tools for customer analytics and sales forecasting, delivering an enriched CRM experience that surpasses Shopify’s capabilities.

SEO

Shopify offers essential marketing tools, primarily focusing on automated email templates and customizable platforms. These templates help maintain customer engagement at critical touchpoints without manual intervention.

For instance, stores can automatically send welcome emails to new subscribers, tailored with the brand's colors and message. While Shopify includes quality SEO tools like generating sitemaps and preventing duplicate content, many store owners prefer third-party SEO apps to boost their store's ranking rather than relying solely on Shopify's built-in features.

Geared towards larger enterprises, Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides comprehensive SEO and marketing features designed to maximize store exposure. Their highlight features include AI-powered personalization for targeted content and product recommendations, cross-channel campaign management, advanced customer segmentation based on behavior and more. Additionally, Salesforce offers A/B testing to determine which versions of your store convert better.

While Shopify’s built-in marketing functionalities are well-received and useful, they fall short without the support of third-party apps. In contrast, Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers a more extensive and integrated suite of SEO and marketing tools, making it better suited for businesses seeking comprehensive marketing capabilities.

Scalability 

Shopify is designed to grow your business, making it a popular choice for small to medium-sized businesses that anticipate expansion. Meanwhile, Shopify Plus provides the necessary tools and support for large enterprises, making it a versatile choice for various business sizes. 

Key scalability features include:

• Plan Upgrades: Shopify offers various pricing plans (Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus) that cater to different business sizes and needs. As your business grows, you can easily upgrade to a higher plan to access more advanced features and capabilities.
• App Integrations: With over 13,000 apps available in the Shopify App Store, you can add functionalities as needed to scale operations without significant hassle.
• Performance: Shopify’s infrastructure can handle significant traffic increases, ensuring your store remains operational even during high-demand periods like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
• Shopify Plus: For large enterprises, Shopify Plus offers advanced features, customization options, and dedicated support to manage high-volume sales and complex business needs effectively.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers extensive customization, global reach, AI-powered tools, and a fully integrated ecosystem. It is built for scalability, particularly suited for large enterprises and businesses expecting significant growth. 

Key scalability features include:

• Customization and Flexibility: Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides extensive customization options and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of large enterprises. Its flexibility allows businesses to scale seamlessly.
• Global Reach: With built-in support for multiple languages, currencies, and localized content, Salesforce Commerce Cloud enables businesses to expand globally with ease.
• AI and Automation: Leveraging Salesforce’s AI-powered tools and automation capabilities, businesses can optimize operations and scale efficiently without a proportional increase in resources.
• Integrated Ecosystem: Salesforce's broader ecosystem, including Salesforce CRM, ensures that as your business grows, all aspects of customer relationship management, marketing, and sales are seamlessly integrated and scalable.
• Support and Resources: Dedicated support and comprehensive resources are available to help large businesses manage and scale their operations effectively.

Customer Support

From my experience and that of thousands of other merchants, Shopify's customer support is exceptional. The platform offers 24/7 live chat and email support, ensuring help is always available when needed. 

Additionally, Shopify provides a wealth of self-help resources, including community forums, comprehensive documentation, and an academy to assist users in navigating more challenging features.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers three different support packages:

• Standard Success Plan: Self-guided resources
• Premier Success Plan: Expert coaching
• Signature Success Plan: Personalized expertise with the fastest 24/7 support

While Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides 24/7 support only for its Premier and Signature Plans, opting for the Standard Plan means you'll need to rely on self-guided learning. This contrasts with Shopify, which offers 24/7 support across all its plans, including the Starter package.

App

Shopify App Store has built up so many apps over the years that I don’t think that there are any rivals to it.

Shopify offers over 8000 apps, with an average cost of less than $20 per month. These apps are thoroughly tested, highly rated, and easily accessible through a user-friendly app store. Clear sections like “Trending this Month” and “Popular with Merchants” make it simple to find and install apps that have proven successful for other stores similar to yours.

As of now, the Salesforce AppExchange offers over 7000 apps, ranging from $5 to $100 per month. Although this number is slightly lower than Shopify's, it's important to note that just a year ago, Salesforce AppExchange had only 4000 apps. This impressive growth of more than 3000 apps demonstrates Salesforce's rapid expansion in this area. 

Additionally, these apps are ready to install without extra complicated steps and come with pre-built templates for immediate use.

Even though Shopify still has more apps than Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the latter's impressive growth from 4000 to over 7000 apps makes it a strong competitor. For now, I'd call this round a tie, as both platforms offer extensive app selections that can significantly enhance the functionality of your eCommerce store.

Conclusion

In our comparison, Shopify comes out on top with its user-friendly interface and extensive app ecosystem, though Salesforce Commerce Cloud also offers many attractive benefits for larger enterprises.

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Check out more Shopify comparison articles below:

• Shopify vs. Weebly: Which Is Best for Your Business?
• Lightspeed vs.Shopify: Which One Is The Better POS Platform?