Easystore VS. Shopify: Which Is the Best E-commerce Solution for Your Business?

In 2019 alone, over 1.92 billion people made online purchases.

Once COVID-19 restricted movement, e-commerce sales hit an all-time high with an estimated $4.28 trillion worth of transactions in 2020.

There’s no debate about this anymore, online retail shopping has been the most preferred mode of purchasing things, and this will not change anytime soon.

Of the many website builders offering these services, our focus today will be on two: EasyStore and Shopify.

Each of them is unique in its own way, and if you have never tried either but wish to, then you are in the right place.

In this post, we’re conducting a detailed EasyStore vs. Shopify comparison to discuss their differences, strengths & weaknesses, and how you can create an excellent online shopping experience for clients.

You may be interested in: E-commerce Trend in Malaysia

What is Shopify and EasyStore?

EasyStore and Shopify are two of the most reliable website builders in the market right now for people looking to try the e-commerce space – and we are going to show you why.

Unlike other website building options, you don’t require any coding skills; everything is already configured.

These two ecommerce platforms appear to serve same functions to the eye, but they each come with unique features which can appeal to you in some way.

On a broad scale, choosing either Shopify or EasyStore will give you access to these features:

• An easy-to-use website builder platform you can use to set up your online shop within a short time. Unlimited access to product lists and plug-and-play settings. You don’t need coding skills for this.
• Access to limitless themes to set the appearance of your website to your exact preferences.
• There are blogging features which give you a platform to push Search Engine Optimization (SEO) boosting rankings of your online setup.
• Secured hosting service having SSL.
• You are able to integrate local payment options that accept all kinds of convenient monetary transactions.
• You get a PCI-compliant website which means all payment data entered by your customers are secured.
• You can integrate your online shop with the App and Play store if you ever choose to have an app.

In a nutshell, if you are not a programmer or designer, then using EasyStore and Shopify would be excellent options to help you get started.

Shopify VS. EasyStore Comparisons

To orchestrate the right choice, we must compare what makes these two ecommerce choices worth considering. This is detailed below.

Pricing

Like every ecommerce platform, EasyStore and Shopify have tiered pricing plans designed to meet people’s needs depending on their purchasing power.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify has five pricing tiers:

Basic Shopify – $29/Month

• E-commerce Website plus a blog
• Unlimited product uploads
• 2 admin accounts
• 24/7 support
• Multiple sales channels
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Manual order creation
• Free SSL certificate
• Fraud analysis
• Four inventory locations
• Sell in up to 20 languages
• Discount codes and Gift cards
• Global selling in over 133 countries

Shopify – $79/Month

• Everything in Basic Shopify
• Five admin accounts
• International domains and pricing
• Shopify POS
• Standard reports
• Five inventory locations

Advanced Shopify – $299/Month

• Everything in Shopify
• 15 admin accounts
• Eight inventory locations
• Advanced reports

There are 2 more Shopify Malaysia price plans called Shopify Lite and Shopify Plus.

Shopify Lite will cost you about $9/month while Shopify Plus will set you back about $2000/month. The latter is geared towards businesses handling high volume inventories – especially suited for those who employ virtual marketing techniques.

EasyStore Pricing

EasyStore offers you three pricing tiers detailed below:

Lite – $17/Month

• 2 sales channels
• Three admin accounts
• Five apps integration
• One sale location
• 1000 products
• Vouchers and discounts

Standard – $34/Month

• Everything on Lite
• Seven sales channels
• Six admin accounts
• 25 apps integration
• Three sales location
• Unlimited products
• Free gift and PWP promotions

Business – $77/Month

• Everything on Standard
• 13 premium sales channels
• 26 admin accounts
• Unlimited app integrations
• Ten sales locations
• Broadcast center
• Phone account login

Enterprise – $600/Month

• Everything on Business
• Unlimited sales channels
• 100 admin accounts
• 50 sales location
• Premium apps
• A dedicated account manager
• Customization privileges

Verdict

Feature to cost ratio, Shopify pricing Malaysia is a reliable ecommerce deal and an excellent fit for a person trying to start their own store on a smaller scale with potential for growth.

App Marketplace

For online stores to function as it should, it requires ecommerce features which can expand its reach beyond the marketplace to attract more shoppers. This means turning to third-party apps for integration into your online stores through these 2 platforms.

Between these 2 e-commerce choices, Shopify marketplace comes with a better catalog of customer app choices one can integrate into their online store with over 3700 apps which help you to sell in an online store.

With this, you can customize your own online shop in more than one way at the click of a button.

EasyStore, on the other hand, is limited in app marketplace choices as it has about 100 apps.

They still get all the work done, but you will be hitting the ceiling pretty soon once you start customizing your online store.

App marketplace and web support is important when gauging web building platforms.

Market Integration Apps

When it comes to market integration apps, Shopify takes the cake, and the most notable ones worth your attention include the following: [1]

• Amazon
• eBay
• Lazada
• Walmart
• Etsy
• Shopee
• Wish

EasyStore, on the other hand, is pretty limited, and the most notable ones include the following:

• Lazada
• Shopee
• eRomman
• PrestoMall

Simply put, if you are looking to one day sync your online store with international marketplaces, you may be better off choosing Shopify over EasyStore from day one.

Verdict

Shopify is better than EasyStore as it has more e-commerce choices catering to a broader global market, and it would be the better option if you plan to scale up your online store in the future.

EasyStore would be an ideal fit if you aim to cater to a local market and have no plan to expand to the international market in the near future.

Further reading: Benefits of Local SEO

Shipping Integration Apps

Shipping is another important aspect of an e-commerce web store.

EasyStore Shopify are two marketplace platforms that can be integrated with a number of shipping capabilities to ease the movement of products for those that want to shop online.

Shopify with local and international courier companies, and the notable ones include the following:

• EasyParcel
• SF Express
• USPS
• FedEx
• DHL
• SendParcel

EasyStore is stacked on the shipping front, and some of the popular shipping aggregators that can be integrated with include the following:

• EasyParcel
• Delyva
• Ninjavan
• Lalamove
• SendParcel
• DHL
• J&T Express

Verdict

As far as shipping is concerned, you’ll be better placed using Shopify over EasyStore. The ease of use in streamlining your logistics with Shopify is higher, allowing you to cater to your local and global customers with ease.

International courier options are limited on EasyStore. If you only have to conduct business within your locality, then EasyStore would be a more sensible choice.

Themes

Themes are a great way to launch your ecommerce website quickly without spending too much time resizing things to fit your online store outlook.

Shopify Themes

Shopify constitutes both free and paid themes of high quality and the ability to customize them as much as you want for an ecommerce website. [2] They are categorized by industry, and you are able to find any that fits your online store, whether you’re selling clothes, electronics, or groceries.

EasyStore Themes

EasyStore has a limited number of ecommerce themes. You only have access to about 50 themes, and this can be a little hard to work with for most people. [3]

The only advantage here is all these themes are free and available for all users, no matter their plan.

Verdict

If you’re creatively inclined with a need to have more choices at your disposal for an e-commerce shop, Shopify is what you should go for.

Conversely, if you’re on a tight budget and not keen on aesthetics as much as functionalities and ease of use, EasyStore is a good e-commerce bet.

Payment Gateway

For an online store to be successful, you need to incorporate as many payment gateway options as possible to cater to international customers.

Fortunately, both EasyStore and Shopify have several ecommerce payment gateway options you will find handy.

Shopify

Shopify Malaysia payment gateway integrates with several globally accepted payment choices ranging from iPay88, MOLpay, GrabPay, and many others like PayPal and Stripe.

However, Shopify enforces a transaction fee anytime you engage the services of a 3rd-party payment gateway, and this could be a little costly for your ecommerce needs.

EasyStore

EasyStore also supports iPay88, MOLpay, GrabPay, eGHL, Billplz, senangpay, Boost, FavePay, kipleBiz, among many others. This makes it an easy option for you to focus on your online store within Malaysia.

Verdict

EasyStore has the upper hand here as there are no extra charges involved even when you third-party payment gateways.

Shopify payment gateway Malaysia is an excellent ecommerce option for global businesses with a seamless ease of use, but the extra charges are a turnoff.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is getting popular, and every e-commerce platform should consider it when making the decision for EasyStore vs. Shopify. Both offer dropshipping for products through various integration.

Shopify offers this through Oberlo, and this helps the customer and merchants to quickly ship products from sites like AliExpress. EasyStore merchants can use Kumoten Dropship, making it easy for local shipments using Kumoten services in Malaysia.

Both ecommerce platforms perform well in this regard; Shopify is the best with a global transaction network while EasyStore handles local shipments quite well.

Related: How to Start a Successful E-commerce Marketing Business

Learning Materials

Using Shopify and EasyStore to host your online store is simple, but there are things that still require clear instructions and continued support for new business owners and customers. This comes in the form of learning materials that are easy to get.

Shopify

These learning materials come in the form of forum discussions, articles, podcasts, tools, among many others.

You can access learning materials on the Shopify ecommerce platform through the Learn option that leads you to the Help Center full of all kinds of information and troubleshooting guidelines.

These accessible materials that you can turn to from time to time play a part in improving your business.

EasyStore

EasyStore’s resources are somewhat limited compared to Shopify, and you can only access them through the blog. As a result, this can be a little confusing as the articles tend to be too general.

EasyStore also comes with an amazing ecommerce workshop that has a list of agendas for business owners, and you have to book a free consultation for a series of workshops that guide you on how to make more of your online store.

Verdict

Head to head, Shopify is the better set up for the online business you need as it’s more detailed and has all the help centralized into one location for easy access. This makes converting website traffic into sales easier.

Customer Support

Once an online business goes live, the last thing you would want dealing with downtimes from the host website without any way of contacting support for a quick resolution. What you need is a platform that offers you customer support 24/7.

Both Shopify and EasyStore excel in customer support providing it all day and night. You can contact support through phone calls and emails.

However, customer support comes down to the scope of the target market for your business. If you’re aiming for the global space, then Shopify support is handy. If your enterprise caters to people in Malaysia, then EasyStore is an excellent fit.

Security Features

There’s a lot of client data involved in online retail shopping. Clients may have to log in using emails and passwords, and when it comes to payments, they may have to provide their card details.

This is sensitive information and has to be protected from scammers, hackers, and phishers. EasyStore and Shopify have varying security features as detailed below.

Shopify

Shopify has a robust security framework that ensures any online store set up on this platform is assured of data protection. It takes PCI compliance seriously.

You get SSL certificates that increase trust in your store by boosting security, and that’s very important.

Clients are very particular with their information, and any sign that your business is compromised will have them running in the opposite direction.

EasyStore

EasyStore has serious data protection protocols, and it has SSL certificates that link the browser and the server, making it hard for hackers to intercept and hijack sensitive information anytime payments or EasyStore login attempts are made.

Features like Let’s Encrypt ensure your site is trusted enough for clients to use their bank information to make purchases.

Verdict

Both platforms are secured as far as the basic needs of an e-commerce website are concerned, but Shopify has stronger security features and support, which may be because it’s bigger and is used on a bigger scale globally.

Final Verdict

So who takes the crown in the EasyStore vs. Shopify debate?

The answer is not clear-cut because each platform is designed for specific niches, and they excel in their own way.

Go with Shopify marketplace if:

1. You plan to sell internationally and would like to get global courier companies that operate in most countries on board.
2. You want the flexibility and convenience of using limitless themes and apps for customizing your store.
3. You have a preference for Oberlo in case you need dropshipping services for clients outside Malaysia.
4. You want access to vast libraries of learning materials that allow you to get more out of your online store.

Go with Easy Store Malaysia if:

1. You aim to act as a seller to local customers in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
2. You are on a budget and want to start small at first without breaking the bank.
3. You want locally accepted payment gateways that are a little more native.
4. You are looking for local support that you can turn to every time you have a problem.

It is clear that EasyStore vs Shopify depends on various factors but you should be able to make the right decision now based on the information we have provided.

What is the Best Alternative to Shopify?

For those aiming to expand your business to the international market in the long run and have chosen Shopify, you may have a problem that may force you to reevaluate your choice.

They could include the following:

• The need to use addons that don’t come cheap.
• To avoid the extra transaction fee levied on payment gateways.
• The need to have more control over your online shop.
• Lack of robust content management systems.

The following alternatives may provide you with what you need:

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a platform that has been around since 2009, and it’s one of the best open Saas platforms for e-commerce businesses that cater to ventures of all sizes that need to make money with SEO.

It is a good option if you want to scale up your online business with reliable support, and the following are why it’s a good Shopify alternative.

• Great features.
• Support for over 55 payment gateways without any extra transaction fees.
• Easy to use thanks to its page-building features that allow drag-and-drop editors and more.
• Omni-channel selling features alongside an in-app checkout for social media pages.
• Excellent SEO capabilities with URLs that can be fully customized.
• Support round the clock.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is another platform in the e-commerce world, and it has been around since 2011. It is one of the best website builders based ventures and the following are reasons why it would be a great Shopify alternative.

• It is a free plugin that’s compatible with other website hosts like WordPress.
• Easy integrations and support for many payment gateways.
• You can tweak your store’s code since it’s open-source.
• Access to one of the best libraries of extensions.
• Great support.

Magento

Magento was founded in 2007 to take advantage of the growing e-commerce world, and over the years, it has positioned itself as a leader in the game. You can switch to Magento from Shopify for the following features:

• It is open-source, meaning you have more control of everything in the backend and all essential website elements.
• There are over 260,000 developers that create tools that make using Magento easier.
• A cloud-hosted option in the Magento Commerce plan, and that makes things more secure and faster.
• Access to a huge library of third-party add-ons and apps.
• Excellent support.

Conclusion

For the online business to take off you need the right resources in place in order to reach your target audience.

We are a digital marketing agency in Malaysia that deals with the creation of digital marketing strategies that will help your business attain its goals.

Feel free to contact us and we will be there to answer all concerns and questions.