23+ Shopify Statistics You Need To Know in 2024

As someone who has managed several sites through Shopify, I’ve learned much about the platform. But not as much as I now know after reading many statistics, which I’ll share.

This guide isn’t anything special. It’s a collection of statistics compiled around 2024 to help merchants understand how Shopify performs as a company and whether it’s a good choice for an e-commerce store host (it is a good choice).

Let’s stare at some numbers.

Key Takeaways

• Shopify earns 74% of its revenue from various transaction fees.
• Over 4.6 million active websites utilize Shopify for their e-commerce needs.
• Shopify stores have an average return of 27%.
• In 2021, Shopify processed $812 billion worth of goods for businesses.
• Shopify accounts for 16.36% of total e-commerce market share.
• Shopify-based stores generated $9.3 billion during Black Friday/Cyber Monday in 2023.
• The average Shopify store makes approximately $5,583 in monthly revenue.
• Shopify has more than 8,300 employees (2023)
• Shopify-hosted stores had an average cart value of $108.12 per transaction
• More than 1.74 million Shopify stores use Shopify Payments as a payment processor.
• Shopify made over $7.1 billion in revenue (2023).
• 59,000 stores use Shopify Plus.

1. General Shopify Statistics

These sections will cover general Shopify statistics. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Shop Pay Has a Higher Conversion Rate

Shop Pay has a 72% conversion rate compared to regular checkouts.

Shop Pay is a digital wallet for Shopify stores. It remembers customer details like credit cards, shipping addresses, and email. Consumers using Shop Pay confirm their order during checkout instead of re-entering all their information.

Regular checkouts require manual entry of details each time.

Shop Pay's higher conversion rate means more customers complete their purchases. Leading to more sales and more money for businesses.

2. Number of People Who Work at Shopify

Shopify has over 8,300 employees as of December 31st, 2023. This doesn’t include contractors.

Here’s how the number of employees over the years have changed:

The rise and fall of employees between 2019 and 2020 correlates with the hiring spree companies went on during the pandemic. And the aftermath where most companies shedded their extra employees.

3. Number of Apps on Shopify

The Shopify App Store has more than 11,820 published applications from over 7,560 developers [1]. According to the source, most people download product review applications. Since they improve the attractiveness of products and make up for the lack of an integrated review system in Shopify.

I don’t want to publish the numbers because the source only tracks around 9.9 million installs for around 3.5 thousand of those apps. However, it’s safe to assume the information in the previous paragraph is accurate.

4. Most Sales on Black Friday & Cyber Monday Took Place via Shopify

Merchants who run their websites through Shopify accounted for 69% of all online sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM).

How?

I honestly don’t know.

However. Many Shopify stores prioritize mobile-friendly interfaces, encouraging mobile purchases, which Shopify is also great for. And since it holds a huge share of e-commerce sales in general, sites based on Shopify are bound to have a lot of sales.

5. Shopify Hit a Record in Black Friday & Cyber Monday in 2023

Shopify-hosted stores achieved a total of $9.3 billion in sales from BFCM. This resulted in a top sales per minute of $4.2 million from 61 million customers globally. The average cart price was $107.53–$108.12 and most of the sales happened in the US (of course).

Other countries with the most sales included the UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany.

2. Shopify Revenue Statistics

These statistics revolve around how much Shopify (the business itself) has earned.

They make a lot of money off other businesses. Let’s learn how.

1. Shopify 2023 Earnings

Shopify’s financial results report suggests they made a total of $7.1 billion. A 26% increase from 2022.

2. How Much Shopify Earns From Different Revenue Streams

More than 74% of Shopify’s revenue comes from fees—payment processing, merchant services, and for transactions. In 2023, these fees earned them $5.2 billion. A 27% increase from 2022 [2].

Subscriptions make up 28% of its income ($1.8 billion). That’s a 23% increase from 2022.

Here's a breakdown of each fee Shopify charges:

• Payment Processing Fees: Charges for handling credit/debit card transactions.
• Merchant Services Fees: Costs associated with providing businesses the ability to accept payments.
• Transaction Fees: A percentage charged on each sale made through Shopify.

Solutions that utilize these fees include Shopify Capital (financing tool), Shopify Markets (helps sellers in international markets), and Shopify Payments (payment processing system).

Shopify processes a massive number of transactions for many businesses. Each comes with fees that apply to every sale, creating a consistent revenue stream. And businesses need payment processing to function, making them unavoidable costs.

Combine all these factors and it should be common sense as to how these make up for the bulk of Shopify’s revenue.

3. Shopify Acquisitions

Shopify has spent more than $3 billion on acquisitions of the following companies:

Many of these acquisitions are inactive or have been divested. Vinderbit also has an “unknown” status.

3. Shopify Business Statistics

These statistics will focus on businesses using Shopify.

And these ones are too short to deserve separate sections:

• Shopify states that for every dollar made, sellers using their platform earn $40.82. This likely applies to the top 10% and 20% of stores.
• More than 17,500 entrepreneurs worldwide have made their first sale through Shopify-based stores.
• Shopify stores average around $5,583 per month (or around $67,000 a year). The actual amount will vary by category.

Let’s check out the rest.

1. Amount of Transactions Shopify Processes

The Canadian company has facilitated more than $812 billion worth of goods for e-commerce store owners worldwide. This amount of sales accounted for more than 10% of total e-commerce sales (in the US) in 2021 [3].

2. Shopify’s Top Product Categories

The following had an average cart value of $108.12 per transaction and are Shopify’s top categories:

• Fashion & Apparel: 201,918+ sites use this category.
• Jewelry: 76,255 sites use this category.
• Home Decor: 33,450 sites use this category.
• Fitness: 30,903 sites use this category.
• Coffee: 29,354 sites use this category.

Fashion and apparel seem like an odd category to top the others. It isn’t if you think about it.

The visual nature of clothing and accessories aligns with Shopify's platform, which excels at showcasing products through high-quality images and videos.

Additionally, many fashion items are small and lightweight. Simplifying shipping logistics and reducing costs, a major advantage for online sales.

The ever-changing nature of fashion trends also fuels consumer interest and encourages repeat purchases, keeping customers engaged with merchants on the Shopify platform.

3. Success Rate for Shopify Stores

Shopify stores have a success rate between 5% and 10%. This range somewhat reflects the trend of “9/10 online shops don’t become successful”

And the 10 most successful stores that are definitely within those percent ranges are:

Take the information with this list with a grain of salt, also. Some of the websites that I found (and didn’t include on this list) weren’t active anymore. Thus, it’s allegedly outdated.

4. Email Has the Highest Conversion Rate on Shopify Stores

Email newsletters led the highest conversion rate for Shopify stores with 4.29%. Much higher than other marketing efforts like:

• Search: 3.04%; think Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Direct: 2.93%; links directing to shop.
• Social: 1.81%; social media posts.

Email newsletters can drive high conversion rates for Shopify stores because they target an already interested audience and allow for personalized content and offers. They also help drive traffic back to the store and nurture relationships with potential customers.

5. Shopify’s Average Conversion Rate

1.4% was the average conversion rate among Shopify stores that participated in a study. The top 20% stores had an average conversion rate of 3.2% [4].

Other stores in different levels have the following conversion rates:

• Top 10% of stores: 4.7%.
• Top 20% of stores: 3.2%.
• Bottom 20%: 0.4%

And the top 10 and 20 percent of stores have a MOBILE conversion rate of 2.7–3.9%. Since mobile versions of Shopify stores have more customers in general.

The average conversion rate isn’t ideal. Businesses want to see numbers between 1.5% and 2%.

However.

Take this information with a grain of salt because they only analyzed around 3,200 Shopify stores (out of the 42 million out there).

4. Shopify User Statistics

These sections will go over statistics regarding Shopify’s users. This includes statistics regarding businesses using Shopify and their consumers.

Here are the ones that were too short to deserve dedicated sections:

• More than 50.3% of website traffic that goes to Shopify-based sites originates from mobile customers.
• Merchants from 175 countries use Shopify.
• As of 2023, Shopify-based websites have an average of 2.1 million active users daily.
• Shopify claims a 20% market share in the UK.
• As of 2017, 52% of Shopify stores are owned by women; while men own 47% of stores.

Let’s check out the rest.

1. Number of Active Websites Using Shopify

More than 4,600,000 active websites use Shopify to host their websites [5]. More than 2.6 million of those are from the US. And if we were to get into inactive stores, that number shoots 7.2 million.

Active Shopify stores are up and running. Allowing customers to browse and buy products. Inactive stores are essentially closed; inaccessible to visitors and unable to process sales.

2. Number of Shopify Plus Users

59,000 websites, or around 1.4% of the active websites, are subscribed to Shopify Plus.

Shopify Plus is an enterprise-grade version of Shopify designed for high-growth businesses. It provides features like priority support, scalability, and tools for managing large sales volumes.

It's a platform to help bigger businesses sell online.

More than 50,000 sites use this subscription and have the following usage in these countries:

3. US Customers Make up for a Majority of Shopify Stores

Around 60% of Shopify’s customers are American businesses. Australia and the United Kingdom are the second-highest customer bases.

Why do so many Americans use Shopify?

Likely because Shopify boasts a giant app store and developer community, providing resources and support specifically tailored to US businesses. For instance, some Shopify apps help calculate US taxes.

This isn’t a good example. But it’s something to consider.

Want a further breakdown of other countries using Shopify?

Here’s the number of active stores in each country that use Shopify (as of 2024):

4. Massive Companies Use Shopify as Well

Giants like PepsiCo (who makes Pepsi), Nestlé (no introduction needed), and LVMH—owns brands like Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, and Sephora) use Shopify as their preferred e-commerce platform [6].

Other massive companies that use Shopify include:

• Whole Foods Market: Supermarket chain that Amazon owns.
• Red Bull GmbH: The energy drink company.
• Hyatt Hotels Corp.: They manage hotels.
• Kraft Heinz Co.: Think Oscar Mayer, Heinz ketchup, etc.
• Lindt & Spruengli: Owns brands like Ghirardelli, Russel Stover, etc.
• Tesla Inc.: You’ve probably seen Cybertrucks. Tesla made those, along with other vehicles.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev: Owns Budweiser, Stella Artois, and more.

This shows that Shopify isn’t reserved for unknown, eager entrepreneurs wanting to dropship or sell random items.

5. Returning Customer Rate

27% is Shopify stores' average returning customer rate [7]. However, the number per industry will vary. This number isn’t significant, but it’s on the higher end of the average.

According to Facebook/Meta’s VP of Growth, a good returning customer rate is 25–30%. And outside of Shopify, the average is 20–30%. Facebook, of course, isn’t primarily an e-commerce company. Thus, the values to strive for regarding return rates will vary by industry.

6. Shopify Saw a Huge Spike in Customers Since 2014

In 2014, Shopify-hosted websites saw 28 million customers. In 2023, that number skyrocketed to 700 million customers.

Thanks to the rise of e-commerce plus the drastic increase in the number of websites that use Shopify for those increases.

Here’s what the gain looked like:

7. Number of Shops That Use Shopify Payments

More than 1.74 million store owners use Shopify Payments as a processor.

Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in payment processing system. Merchants might choose it for its convenience and seamless integration within the Shopify platform. It can also offer lower transaction fees than some third-party processors (e.g., PayPal).

It’s available in 23 countries and processed more than $45.1 billion in 2023. A huge increase from the $34.2 processed in 2022.

8. Shopify Market Share (Globally)

Shopify makes up for 16.36% of the total market share of e-commerce platforms. Whereas, Shopify Plus makes up for 0.11% of that share.

WooCommerce (e-commerce platform for WordPress) holds the lion’s share with 44%.

Here are all the platforms’ market shares compared:

While Shopify boasts ease of use, WooCommerce's strengths in flexibility, cost, and its connection to WordPress contribute to its leading market share. It’s also free. Making it attractive to cost-conscious businesses and new shops.

9. Shopify Market Share in the US

As of 2023, Shopify held a 28% market share of e-commerce platforms in the US. A small reduction compared to the 29% it held in 2022 and the 30% in 2020.

Here’s how they did in other years:

Conclusion

Shopify hosts many e-commerce stores, but most don't. However, the ones who succeed make a decent living and have access to a convenient, accessible platform with a decent market share.

If you’re considering using Shopify as your hosting platform, you’ll need to think about chargebacks. To many e-commerce stores, they’re inevitable, like taxes.

But we offer a tool to help you become one of the few who may face the wrath of chargebacks. Learn how.