How To Open and Manage Multiple Shopify Stores (Tips + Apps)

Cutting the ribbon on a new store is an electrifying experience, and no less special the second, third or fourth time you do it.

Still, running multiple Shopify stores, while rewarding, can become chaotic if you don’t lay solid foundations for their management.

Check out below why and how to open and manage more than one Shopify store. We’ll talk you through what’s possible with multiple Shopify stores and the apps that can help you stay on top.

Read more:

• Shopify vs Shopify Plus
• Powered by Shopify store badge - How To remove it with ease?
  

Contents

• 04 Benefits of Running Multiple Shopify Stores
• Multiple Shopify Stores: FAQ
• Best Practices To Grow Multiple Shopify Stores
• 08 Apps To Help You Manage Multiple Shopify Stores

I. 04 Big Benefits of Running Multiple Shopify Stores

So, why open multiple Shopify stores? You may worry about the time and effort needed to operate more than one store, but having a few can really help you address different audiences in a whole bunch of different ways.

1.1. Going Global

Maybe your current eCommerce ventures are paying dividends. Being able to expand your store into different countries is definitive proof of that; however, selling abroad requires a different approach.

When going global, you need to have a fairly good grasp of the market you’re entering. Products, store layouts and ways of advertising will have different sway in different countries, so having a dedicated store per country can help you address those individual audiences.

On a more administrative level, you may also need multiple Shopify stores to address the currencies, tax, language differences and other rules of the countries in which you’re setting up shop.

For example, take a look at the differences between BMW Japan and BMW Italy. There’s more than just a change in the language used; BMW features a different catalogue of products, images and text on both websites.

BMW Japan and BMW Italy addressing culturally different audiences in their homepages.

Did you know: One of the most common scaling methods used by Shopify Merchants is to buy existing Shopify stores on Exchange Marketplace, customize them to their preference, add products and launch the stores.

1.2. Expanding your Ambition

Maybe you’ve got more than one idea for a store?

There are many gaps in many markets, and if you can think of one, you should consider opening a store for it.

No matter if your store ideas are related or not, you’ll need a separate store for each of your eCommerce ventures. Some people can rack up to 5 stores, but you have to be seriously time-committed to even run two.

Expand your ambition, but be wary not to burn yourself out!

1.3. Changing Markets

Maybe you’ve opened a modest B2C (Business to Consumer) store, but want to test the waters with a whole different market?

Well, with the magnetic appeal of B2B (Business to Business) and dropshipping, who can blame you? Opportunities abound for the average vendor to enter different markets nowadays and running multiple Shopify stores can be the way to seize them.

Targeting two different markets (or going for all 3 if you’re really ambitious) is a fantastic way to broaden your scope and address surging demand. Of course, if you were to do this, you’d need a separate store for each approach.

If you’re considering extending your reach into other markets, check out these great guides on selling B2B and dropshipping.

1.4. Opening a Boutique or an Outlet

Maybe you’ve got more than one distinct type of customer: those that go for mid-range items, those that aim for luxury and those that stick with the bargains?

Creating a tailored shopping experience for all of your customers should be a first priority before expanding into different markets. To this end, you might want to open multiple Shopify stores aimed at customers with different spending habits.

A general store, a high-end boutique and a cut-price outlet all under the same brand can help your segregated audiences find exactly what they want at the price they’re looking for.

Check out how UK shoe retailer Clarks do this by holding their regular products on Clarks.co.uk and their discount products on a separate store - Clarksoutlet.co.uk.

Clarks and Clarks Outlet, separated to appeal to two different audiences.

II. Multiple Shopify Stores: FAQ

Check out a few FAQs about multiple Shopify stores and how to run them.

2.0. Can I Have Multiple Shopify Stores? 

Yes, you can. You can have multiple Shopify Stores using different Shopify accounts.

For example, for store A, you use one Shopify Account, and for store B, you use another Shopify Account. 

2.1. Can I have Multiple Shopify Stores on One Account?

In short, no. Not unless you’re willing to fork out for Shopify Plus.

The average Shopify store owner purchases one of 3 accounts on the platform: Basic Shopify, Shopify or Advanced Shopify. Unfortunately, none of these plans permit you to open multiple Shopify stores on just one account.

The only way to have more than one store on one account is to shell out for Shopify Plus. Shopify Plus is reserved for large businesses with exceedingly high traffic, which the vast majority of store owners do not have.

If you are indeed a large business with $2,000 per month to spend on your eCommerce solution, then Shopify Plus offers an unlimited amount of stores. You get 10 included in your plan, but have to pay $250 per month for each additional store.

Do you know: Lots of your favorite brands are using Shopify Plus to scale up their business - namely GymShark and Death Wish Coffee 

Gymshark recently migrated from Magneto To Shopify after a disastrous Black Friday and scaled up to 41M in Sales During 2017 

2.2. Can I have Multiple Domains on Shopify?

Shopify allows for one primary domain only. However, you can have up to 10 domains or subdomains to your Shopify store, in addition to your . myshopify.com URL. For those who have Shopify Plus plan, they can go up to 1000 domains or subdomains. 

You’ll notice in the GIF below that I can type the name of one domain into the address bar and it will take me to a different domain. That’s because the two domains are linked.

My stores-demo.myshopify.com domain is just one domain that redirects to my primary domain, which is beariestore.com. In fact, you can buy however many third-party domains you want, add them to your Shopify store, then make sure they redirect to your primary domain. You can also create a subdomain like blog.beariestore.com 

Note that having multiple domains is not the same as having multiple Shopify stores. Having multiple domains is merely a wider net to bring more people to one store.

2.3. How can I Open Multiple Shopify Stores?

As we mentioned before, the only way to open multiple Shopify stores is by creating an account for each one.

Though you can register all of these stores under one email address, you’ll be running all of them separately on separate Shopify accounts.

However, there are apps available in the Shopify App Store that help with the management of multiple Shopify stores.

For instance, if you want to run 3 different stores, you can really make your life easier by using an app to migrate data from your current store, centralise your operations or establish customer support.

We’ve got a whole section on the best apps for multiple Shopify stores below.

2.4. How much does it Cost to Open Multiple Shopify Stores?”

To put it bluntly, a hefty sum.

While it’s certainly possible for the non-professional Shopify user to run multiple Shopify stores, they’d have to be ready to invest quite heavily. Check Shopify store examples for more insights.

Here are some of the costs you’ll incur for each of your stores:

• Shopify plan - Monthly payment between $29 and $299, plus credit card fees between 2.4% and 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, depending on your plan.
• Theme template - One-off payment between $0 and $180.
• Shopify apps - Monthly payment around $120 (based on Shopify News' average app price and average number of apps per store owner).

Multiply those costs by the amount of stores you have, and you may be looking at a serious investment. Owning multiple Shopify stores isn’t for the faint of heart, but it can be an incredible money-maker if done right!

Check out our Shopify pricing calculator for a more accurate representation of your cost per store.

Shopify Pricing Calculator

III. Best Practices For Managing Multiple Shopify Stores

Tip #1 - Focus on a Central Theme

If you’ve got multiple Shopify stores selling the same kind of product, you don’t want to deviate too far from the theme.

Yes you should adapt store appearance and inventory for different markets, but there should also be a strong, cohesive theme that establishes your brand identity.

Check out these two KFC stores; one for Brazil and one for Australia. The layouts and products may be different, but the colour schemes, large image blocks and site navigation buttons are very similar.

KFC Brazil and KFC Australia based on a solid theme.

Not only does this cement brand uniformity, but it’s also an amazing time saver for you as a busy enterprise builder.

That’s because, with PageFly, you can import and export templates across multiple Shopify stores. After making your storefront once, you can replant it and readjust it in another store, saving you countless man-hours and bestowing an attractive central theme on all your stores.

Try PageFly on a Free Plan to see how importing and exporting templates can save you some serious time.

Tip #2 - Manage Inventory and Orders through PIM

Shopify may not allow you to run more than one store from one account, but there’s a workaround that won’t cost you Shopify Plus’ $2,000 per month.

A product inventory management (PIM) solution, available in the form of an app, gives you an overview of all of your stores from one main dashboard. Syncing your stores together in this way means that you only have to make one change to your inventory, product details, orders etc. before it is shared across all your stores.

If you’re dropshipping, you can also sync your store with your supplier, so your customers will know what’s in and out of stock without you having to do anything.

Scroll down to see our review of the best PIM solutions on Shopify.

Tip #3 - Get a Help Desk

PIM might help you deal with products, but what about the people buying your products?

It can be confusing enough trying to keep up with customer requests, complaints and queries across email, live chat and social for one store, let alone three!

Help desks are centralised systems for dealing with customers across your multiple Shopify stores. They cover every channel where you offer customer communication and bring it all together in an easy-to-manage control centre.

We take a look at some of the best helpdesks down here, check it out! 

IV. 08 Apps To Help You Manage Multiple Shopify Stores

We all need a helping hand, especially when taking on the many tasks that running multiple stores demands.

Below we’ve listed the 6 best apps for 3 aspects of your expanding enterprise - store copy, admin and customer support.

4.1. Store Copy Apps

Store copy apps help you migrate data from your current store to your new store. If you’re opening an outlet or creating the same store for another country, these apps save you countless hours of transferring data by hand. 

01. Excelify

Select exactly what bits of data you want to copy. Image credit

Excelcify lets you import entire catalogues between your stores with a single Excel or CSV template. Choose exactly what you want to import and make a back-up copy of that data. It’s one of the best ways to ensure that setting up multiple Shopify stores is as rapid and as simple as possible.

Key Features

• Simple shop migration with just a couple of clicks.
• Import all fields or just selected ones.
• Import to and export from other eCommerce solutions.
• Schedule and auto-repeat imports for new files.
• Backup the data of your store. 

Pricing per Month

• Demo ($0) - 10 product imports
• Basic ($20) - 500 product imports
• Big ($50) - 5,000 product imports
• Enterprise ($200) - Unlimited product imports

02. Store Copy - Rewind

Choosing what to copy on Store Copy - Rewind. Image credit

Store Copy - Rewind is a little different from Excelcify, most notably in its payment system. Like Excelcify, Store Copy is super simple to use and can copy anything from a single product to an entire store. However, its payment per item plan is unique and a good idea for small stores.

Key Features

• Quick and easy store migration with just a few clicks.
• Choose from one product to the whole store.
• Choose specific details of items you want to copy.
• Choose to pay per item or on a subscription per month

Pricing

• Pay as you go ($0.20 per item)
• Unlimited ($99 per month)

4.2. Multiple Store Admin Apps

Multiple store admin apps do exactly as they suggest: help you to manage the inventory and order admin of multiple Shopify stores.

These apps are the nerve centres of your operations; they’re pretty much vital if you’ve got just a few members of staff and are trying to run all of your stores from one place.

01. Syncio

Standardise all your pages and manage them in one place.

Syncio is one of the best-rated apps around for centralising your inventory operations. It allows you to sync the products that you want across your many stores and choose which parameters you want to have featured on each store. After that, all products are linked across stores and any updates will take effect across every store.

Key Features

• Sync products across all of your stores.
• Choose what to sync and what to omit from each product.
• Easily update the same product across multiple Shopify stores.
• Order management available for an extra $15 per month.

Pricing per Month

• Starter ($19) - Up to 100 products
• Traction ($29) - Up to 500 products
• Growth ($39) - Up to 1,000 products
• Enterprise ($69) - Up to $3,000 products

02. Multi-Admin Multiple Stores by Multify

Sync products and see their orders across all your stores. Image credit

Multify is a little different to Syncio in that it lets you manage inventory AND customers. It’s a more comprehensive service and gives you a sleek dashboard to clearly see the operations of your multiple Shopify stores. That being said, its wider offerings come with a heftier price tag.

Key Features

• Sync products, collections, orders, customers, customer service and reporting between your stores.
• See all your operations in one central dashboard.
• Customise what you want to see and how it appears.
• Access to multi-admin analytics so see how your stores are performing.

Pricing per Month

• 1 - 2 Stores ($59)
• 3 - 5 Stores ($99)
• 6 - 10 Stores ($149)

4.3. Customer Support Apps

If there’s one sector you can’t afford to neglect when running multiple Shopify stores, it’s your customers.

Support apps, otherwise known as help desks, let you gather customer messages from all your contactable areas. It’s so much easier to stay on top of customer service when you don’t have to log in and out of social channels, email accounts and other places, but can just see all messages amassed in one place.

01. Gorgias

Each customer chat comes with all of their necessary info. 

No matter where you’re getting your customer messages (or even calls!) from, Gorgias can import them to a central admin on your Shopify store. Messages come with a full message history plus shipping information and address. It works over multiple stores and the multiple customer contact points for those stores. 

Key Features

• Manage all customers and their orders from one central dashboard.
• Ticketing system to keep order.
• Works across all your stores and contact points.
• Refund, cancel or duplicate orders from inside the app.
• Automate responses to simple requests.
• Analytics to assess response time and efficiency.

Pricing per Month

• Basic Plan ($60) - 350 tickets
• Pro Plan ($300) - 2,000 tickets
• Advanced Plan ($750) - 6,000 tickets

02. Reamaze

Clear analytics and interface on the Reamaze dashboard. Image credit

There’s not too much difference between Gorgias and Reamaze; they’re both at the top of the help desk game when it comes to multiple Shopify stores. The differences lie in the more intuitive chatbot system that Reamaze has, as well as its assistance in helping you set up a comprehensive FAQ section.

Key Features

• Mass inbox for your’s and your employees’ access to every customer message.
• FAQ tab that helps you build an online database of responses to common questions.
• Status page that lets employees and customers know about your store’s updates.
• Key analytics showing response time and appreciation for each agent.

Pricing per Month

• Basic ($20 +$20 for each extra help agent)
• Pro ($40 + $40 for each extra help agent) - Cheapest plan for multiple Shopify store integration
• Plus ($60 + $60 for each extra help agent)
• Custom ($500)

4.4. Translation Apps For Multi-Languages Store

01. Langify

Langify is a great translation app to install on your Shopify store. It automatically translates your store into any language when a user lands on your website. Users can also request to have the store translated into any language they want manually.

Key Features: 

• Strong SEO features. It keeps all of the SEO properties on your website active and creates tags to ensure people can find you even when they search in a different language. It also allows them to translate image captions
• Very easy to set up with 24/7 Support if you're on paid plans
• Extensive Language library. There isn’t any limit to the number of languages that you can translate into with Langify.
• Auto Translation 
• Import/Export of translations (CSV, gettext, XLIFF, JSON)

Pricing: 

• 7-day Free Trial, then 17.50$/month. 

02. Translate Your Store – Weglot

Weglot is another prominent translation app for Shopify. Weglot offers full compatibility with every Shopify theme, app such as PageFly, and plan and it automatically redirects customers to their desired language.

Key features: 

• Free to install for the first 2000 words translated, plus ten-day free trial on pro plan.
• Translates page views statistics, as well as your website.
• The Translate button can change to fit your theme.
• Automatic translation: Weglot automatically translates your store into whatever language it detects the customer using, meaning that you can attract customers from anywhere in the world. One major strength of this app is that it can translate the checkout – something which most multi-language Shopify apps cannot do. 
• Multilingual SEO optimized to help your stores get indexed by search engine anywhere in the world. 
• Premium support with all paid plans.
• Detailed setup guide and dedicated help center.

Pricing

• Starter (€ 9.90 ~ 11.68 $/month): 01 translated language. 10.000 words
• Business (€ 19 ~ 22.42 $/month): 03 translated languages. 50.000 words
• Pro (€ 49 ~ 57.82 $/month): 05 translated languages. 200.000 words
• Advanced (€ 199 ~ 234.82 $/month): 10 translated languages. 1.000.000 words

Recommended: Maybe starting a Jewelry Store in 2021 is a good idea. But, there are tons of Jewelry Stores out there. So, here are Top Shopify Jewelry Store Examples help you stand out from the rest. 

Just One More App…

Build, export and import your store with PageFly.

PageFly isn’t just a pretty (inter)face. And it’s not just the top-rated page builder app for Shopify.

It’s also a fantastic app to have if you’re running multiple Shopify stores. PageFly can save you bundles of time, energy and money on your web design. You can simply design one store, export the pages and import them onto your other stores. 

Not only does it help you build your first Shopify store with an intuitive drag-and-drop system, but it also lets you copy that layout across all of your other stores.

It’s a great way to ensure that you maintain a central theme and it affords you more time to spend on growing your enterprise! Try PageFly For Free!