When Should You Upgrade to Shopify Plus?

Over the course of running your online business, there might come a time when you find yourself asking if it’s time to make a major upgrade to Shopify Plus.

With the dedication and consistency you’ve been putting into your online shop, your business has been flourishing and even surpassing performance expectations. When you’re seeing this type of traffic and success, you may feel like you’ve reached a critical juncture where an upgrade from regular old Shopify to Shopify Plus may be called for.

When the standard Shopify Plans can no longer accommodate your growth, Shopify Plus is the next clear option. This upgrade offers a powerhouse of exclusive ecommerce features designed to empower businesses that have outgrown the limitations of the standard Shopify plans, making it only natural to consider making the leap into the next level of your online business.

In this article by Ecommerce Pro, we are talking about Shopify Plus, Shopify Plus pricing, and when you should upgrade.

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An Intro to Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus was first introduced in 2014, designed to cater to large ecommerce businesses, providing them with access to additional features and support to match their enterprise-level requirements.

Big-name brands like Tesla, Red Bull, and Nestle are known to use Shopify Plus to manage their online operations, relying on the platform’s reliability and rich functions to allow them to cater to their online customers.

With some of the world’s most successful brands on Shopify Plus, this indicates its suitability for established businesses requiring robust features and scalability. There are roughly 19,000 merchants from around the world using Shopify Plus today, having chosen the platform for its significant average growth rate of 126% year-over-year—a promising number for online stores looking to scale and hit some milestones.

Some of Shopify Plus’ top features include:

• High Scalability: Handles massive traffic surges and sales volume elegantly, like 10 thousand checkouts per minute, all without compromising performance. It’s truly seamless.
• Advanced Security: Built with robust security measures in place that safeguard sensitive customer information and financial transactions, with advanced fraud and bot detection. These measures are constantly updated automatically.
• Wholesale Channel Management: Run your B2B business efficiently with all of the tools you need to cater to your wholesale buyers.
• Full Extensibility: Enjoy unlimited and advanced customization of the checkout experience and storefront functionality. Shopify Plus gives you full creative freedom.
• Go Global: Extend your reach into new markets and take your brand worldwide with features like localized content that automatically translates languages and sets currencies.

Sell B2B on Shopify Plus. At Ecommerce Pro, we’ve helped online businesses optimize their B2B wholesale strategy on Shopify Plus. Get in touch to learn more.

How much does Shopify Plus Cost?

Shopify’s most premium offering, Shopify Plus also comes with their most premium price tag. In 2024, Shopify Plus starts at 2500 per month. However, if you go for the 3-year plan, Shopify Plus starts at $2300 per month.

Is the Shopify Plus pricing worth it? With access to exclusive and powerful features that help you run a high-powered and revenue-generating online business, most businesses see a return on their investment that quickly justifies the expense.

See Shopify Plus Pricing

When Should You Upgrade to Shopify Plus?

Now for the important question: is your online business ready or suited to Shopify Plus? Shopify Plus has many attractive features that online business owners desire, but it may not be suited to every online business, seeing as there are millions of online stores that are thriving on Shopify standard plans.

However, during your growth, an important question comes up:  has your current platform reached its potential to support your brand’s growth and ambitions? This is where Shopify Plus may come in to provide you and your online business with unlimited growth potential.

Below we list down some of the most compelling reasons to switch to the Shopify Plus platform:

1. Reaching Sales Benchmarks:

While not a definitive marker to make the switch, many businesses discover the true value of Shopify Plus when their monthly sales figures surpass the $80,000 mark. This high threshold may signify that your online business has reached a level of operational complexity that the standard Shopify plans might struggle to keep up with effectively. Upgrading to Shopify Plus will ensure that your online store seamlessly adapts to the increased sales volume, ensuring smooth transactions and a positive customer experience.

Moreover, at this threshold, the monthly expense for the Shopify Plus platform won’t be an issue, especially when you factor in the fact that Shopify Plus will support your business even while you’re hitting thousands of checkouts per minute.

2. Platform Limitations Hinder Growth:

Growing your business may mean growing your team and the level of operations your business handles. Unfortunately, standard Shopify plans have a limited number of staff accounts. This limit to 15 staff accounts can be a major roadblock when it comes to adding new talent for your growing enterprise, hindering operational efficiency and stagnating your growth.

Shopify Plus gives its users all the room that they need to grow, eliminating barriers by offering unlimited staff accounts, and tools that grant access to relevant information based on individual roles within your team.

Shopify Plus allows you to scale your team and your business seamlessly, ensuring everyone has the necessary tools and access to contribute effectively to your brand’s online success.

3. Craving Customization to Reflect Your Brand Identity:

While the standard Shopify experience will give you everything you need to start, build, and run a successful ecommerce business, its out-of-the-box features might feel limiting. You can customize your online store, but when it comes to realizing the vision of your brand in full, Shopify Plus is always the better more extensible option.

Shopify Plus understands that enterprise-level brands require extensive customization options that fully reflect their brand identity. With the Shopify Plus platform, you gain the freedom to tailor the look and feel of your store, from the homepage to the checkout page, to perfectly reflect your brand identity. This level of control allows you to craft a unique shopping experience that resonates with your target audience, keeping your brand consistent, and strengthening your brand image.

4. The Need for Advanced Features for Complex Operations

While standard Shopify plans do give you a robust foundation for running your store, Shopify Plus caters to businesses that need more complex functionalities to manage their operations.

Take Shopify Plus’s B2B and wholesale channel management for example. If you wish to grow into the B2B space, Shopify Plus offers a dedicated wholesale channel feature so that you can run both D2C and B2C. This feature allows you to create a separate password-protected store specifically for your wholesale buyers. You can even set custom pricing structures, manage bulk orders, and streamline the B2B sales process.

Shopify Plus boasts the infrastructure to handle thousands of checkouts per minute, ensuring smooth transactions even during peak periods. This eliminates the risk of order processing delays and potential customer frustration.

Enterprise-level businesses can also greatly benefit from Shopify’s advanced analytics and reporting, allowing you to make data-driven decisions for the benefit of your company.

5. Dedicated Support for Unmatched Peace of Mind:

Running a busy online business also requires a support system that is reliable and responsive. While standard Shopify plans offer customer support, Shopify Plus takes it a step further with 24/7 priority support with dedicated specialists who work round the clock to give you peace of mind. Shopify Plus representatives are always readily available to assist you, no matter the query or the timezone.

Shopify Plus also assigns you a dedicated account manager who understands your business needs and can provide personalized guidance tailored to your specific requirements. It doesn’t get more personalized than Shopify’s dedicated support system. 

Future Proof Your Online Business With Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful upgrades and investments that you can make for your online business. If you are experiencing significant growth or are expecting to grow, Shopify Plus can help support you as your business expands, effectively helping you future-proof your business giving it all the room it needs to grow.

Its enterprise-level features address limitations of the standard Shopify Plans, including scalability, advanced security, extensive customization, and functions like B2B functionalities. 

Consider switching to Shopify Plus if your monthly sales are going over $80,000, your team requires more than 15 staff accounts, have complex operations, or you crave in-depth support, and customization to match your brand identity.

While the cost is higher, Shopify Plus offers a significant return on investment for businesses seeking to future-proof their online success.

Ready to Upgrade to Shopify Plus in 2024?

Get in Touch

At Ecommerce Pro Shopify Agency, we help entrepreneurs and business owners build better and more successful Shopify businesses. Have a question or a project in mind? Get in touch with us today!