UK Shopify Stores

Shopify might be a Canadian-originated platform, but it has gained global recognition. Available in 175 countries, including the United Kingdom, the eCommerce platform has become a force to be reckoned with. With impressive numbers like 1.75 million merchants, two million daily active users and over $4 billion in sales, it’s no mystery why Shopify holds a market share of 20% in the United Kingdom. 

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Ecommerce businesses of all sizes and niches choose Shopify. Why? Maybe it’s because of its easy-to-use backend, flexibility, design customisations or the site’s security. However, with over 184,000 Shopify websites operating in the UK, we can safely say Shopify is a UK favourite. 

Individuals hoping to run successful Shopify stores or those currently managing growing retail businesses on the platform need the inspiration to fuel their drive. These solopreneurs need to know what successful UK Shopify stores look like and how they achieved global success through the platform. This way, they can visualise what to measure up to and gain valuable insights to apply to their businesses, which is the reason Bezos.ai is highlighting some of the highest revenue-generating Shopify stores in the UK. 

But first, let’s reveal some valuable Shopify UK statistics just to give you an idea of the UK market.

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Shopify UK Statistics

According to a Store Leads report, the breakdown of industry verticals for Shopify stores reveals that: 

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• 26% of UK Shopify stores sell apparel-related products.
• 15.4% of UK Shopify stores sell home and garden products.
• 10.7% of UK Shopify stores sell beauty and fitness products.

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This report also documents social media usage by these UK Shopify stores:

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• 52.9% of UK Shopify stores use Instagram.
• 41.8% of UK Shopify stores use Facebook.
• 15.8% of UK Shopify stores use Twitter. 

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For preference in contact information:

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• 59% of UK Shopify stores hoist their email on their website.
• 29% of UK Shopify stores hoist their phone numbers on their website. 

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Now, countries with the most Shopify stores in the UK are ranked as follows:

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The top apps used by Shopify stores in the UK include:

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• Geolocation
• Product Reviews
• Shopify Inbox
• Klaviyo
• Mailchimp
• Oberlo
• Klarna.

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Top 15 Shopify stores in the UK

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1. Oh Polly 

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Headquartered in Wirral, UK, Oh Polly is a well-known fashion retailer specialising in women’s clothing and accessories. This brand has everything from dresses to swimwear, tops, bottoms, shoes, activewear, etc. With its stylish designs, affordable pricing and high-quality materials, it’s no surprise this fashion brand made the list. 

With 300-500k in monthly sales, Oh Polly is successful online and offline as the retailer has several brick-and-mortar stores in the UK. A lot of its popularity comes from social media as the platform has hacked social media marketing by collaborating with social media influencers and celebrities to push its products and content. The UK company ships worldwide as it partners with shipping carriers like USPS, FedEx and others. However, returns and exchanges are initiated within 14 days from delivery (for UK customers) to 30 days for international customers. 

Although Oh Polly’s website is Shopify hosted, it wasn’t always. The company migrated from Magento via the Shopify Plus design company, By Association Only (BAO), but began on eBay. Today, they are a Shopify Plus business that uses Shopify Markets for multi-currency use. Oh Polly uses 56 other eCommerce software solutions like Foursixty, Google Workspace, Syte, Nosto, etc., to manage its affairs. 

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2. Killstar

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Headquartered in Glasgow, UK, Killstar is a highly-successful alternative clothing brand specialising in gothic, punk and other alternative clothing and accessories. The brand has an extensive product line featuring everything from clothing to footwear, accessories, home goods, etc., for men and women of all sizes. The designs on these items are all dark and edgy, as that’s the brand’s identity. While it’s a gothic brand, Killstar advocates for self-expression, individuality, body positivity and inclusivity in fashion. 

To expand its reach and audience, Killstar collaborates with artists, musicians and some of the best horror film franchises. The company ships globally and uses UPS and Royal Mail to deliver UK orders. Returns are accepted within 30 days of receipt. However, unless it’s the company’s fault, customers are responsible for the shipping costs of returns. 

Killstar uses 51 other eCommerce software to manage its operations as a Shopify Plus store. These include Mailgun, Google Workspace, Route, YouPay and others. The company witnesses medium traffic in its store, even as it leverages social media to maximise its reach. This medium traffic is certainly paying off for the Shopify store, as it takes anywhere between £1M to £10M monthly. 

Side note: Killstar has almost two million Instagram followers and more across other platforms. 

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3. Gymshark

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Gymshark is a UK-based fitness company in the apparel niche. This company retails fitness apparel and accessories to its millions of clients worldwide. With an impressive social media following of 5.1 million across 131 countries, Gymshark is one of the more popular fitness brands within and outside the UK. 

Gymshark wasn’t always a giant fitness retailer. Before re-platforming to Shopify Plus, the brand was a Magento store. However, with constant growth spikes and traffic increases, the company soon outgrew Magento’s offerings. Today, Gymshark fosters an immersive shopping experience for online and offline shoppers via Shopify’s POS system. The company also uses Shopify Scripts, which enables them to write their custom codes on their Shopify Plus servers and customise the checkout for each shopper. 

Gymshark’s migration to Shopify Plus supported its annual revenue growth of 200%. These figures didn’t happen overnight as the company prioritised interactive and informational blogging for years, which helped it gain lasting credibility in the fitness niche. This blog also helped the company target new and returning customers, merging them into its community. 

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4. Revolve 

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With Shopify, you can have a store like Revolve that resells products from other brands. Revolve is a popular online fashion retailer based in the UK. Known for its fashionable clothing, accessories and footwear, this company has become a destination for fashion-forward individuals. The store caters to both men and women with a wide range of products from luxury brands.

Revolve’s success can be attributed to its strong social media presence and influencer marketing strategies. The company collaborates with fashion influencers and celebrities to showcase its products, creating a buzz and driving traffic to its website. This, combined with its user-friendly Shopify store, has contributed to its impressive monthly sales of 400-600k.

The company ships internationally and offers free returns for customers in the UK within 14 days of delivery. Revolve’s site is Shopify-hosted, so the company enjoys features like custom scripts. The brand also utilises various eCommerce software, including Klaviyo, Nosto and Recharge, to enhance its marketing and customer retention efforts.

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5. Lounge Underwear

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Lounge Underwear is a fashion and apparel brand that began with only a thousand pounds. Today, it’s one of the UK’s most recognised eCommerce brands. During a growth spurt, Lounge Underwear was outgrowing its processes, so it scaled to Shopify Plus. 

With Shopify Plus, Lounge Underwear excelled tremendously, establishing international clientele and building eight stores across Australia, the US and Europe. Hence, it’s no surprise that Lounge Underwear ships internationally. The company also partners with influencers to maximise its social media penetration. 

One competitive advantage of Lounge Underwear as an eCommerce brand is its authenticity. Rather than buy credits to be certified carbon-neutral (negative carbon footprint) like other companies, Lounge took the high road by transitioning to recycled and sustainable product materials. 

Aside from Shopify Plus, Lounge uses several plugins, apps and software to ensure operational efficiency. This software includes OrderlyEmails, Launchpad, Shopify Scripts, etc. However, with its founders’ inexistent background in tech, one would think it would be difficult to scale with Shopify. However, despite this, Lounge Underwear revealed that managing its growth with Shopify was easy.

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6. SPANX

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SPANX started as a shapewear brand seeking to reinvent the UK's shapewear industry. However, the company is going through a much-needed rebranding as it’s diversifying its collection to include jeans and dresses. 

SPANX began as nothing more than an idea stirred from an inclusivity gap and released its prototype design in 2001. It’s since become a household name in the UK and beyond. SPANX needed to simplify online operations and grow revenue as they added other categories to their inventory. 

Hence, the only plausible action was to migrate to Shopify Plus. This way, with the more flexible backend, they could ensure operational efficiency, create custom checkouts, grow revenue and ensure that customers continue enjoying the SPANX experience without the hassle.

SPANX could stand out as an eCommerce brand because they understood their customers’ needs and could scale up to match them. They beat the market by understanding the need for partnerships in marketing. How? Their feature on The Oprah Winfrey Show created a positive brand image, and a few years after, a partnership with QVC further boosted their sales. Today, with their migration to Shopify Plus, SPANX has more leverage for creativity to thrive. The brand has solidified its position as a trailblazer and a force to be reckoned with in the eCommerce industry. 

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7. Ugmonk

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Launched in 2008, Ugmonk is a highly regarded Shopify store in the UK. It is a design brand that creates minimalist, aesthetically-pleasing products with an unwavering focus on details. The success of Ugmonk is closely related to its founder, who transformed a side hustle into a global empire.

Apart from the unmissable attention to detail that Ugmonk displays in its designs, it is committed to excellence and ensures all products are crafted from top-quality materials. At the heart of Ugmonk’s success is a primary market strategy, AKA word-of-mouth marketing. Initially, Ugmonk stayed relevant online through blogs that connected with their target audience even without social media.

Ugmonk’s vision for superior quality products led the brand to find reliable manufacturing partners with the same vision. Jeff, the founder of Ugmonk, emphasises the need for quality control and delivery to boost customer experience and continue its word-of-mouth sales growth.

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8. Luxy Hair

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Luxy Hair was one of Shopify’s first success stories, and like any other business, it started as an idea. The founders simply wanted to create an online hair extension store – and out came Luxy Hair. The company started gaining traction and eventual success by leveraging YouTube, which it used for marketing. This strategy helped Luxy Hair build a strong brand image and customer base by creating content around tutorials. YouTube gave the company leverage to build a community based on trust with its customers and prospects.

Through commitment, bravery and creative marketing, Luxy Hair has built a name for itself as one of Shopify’s most successful stores. Their business success was built on organic traffic from YouTube, and today they boast over three million subscribers. Through this organic marketing strategy, they could grow sales and customers without relying heavily on paid advertising. This remains their strategy to date.

Luxy Hair sources its products from China through a reputable eCommerce platform, Alibaba, and achieves customer satisfaction through its partnership with Shopify. The company is a high-profile dropshipping store that leverages the Shopify Shipwire app for order fulfilment. 

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9. Bulletproof

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Bulletproof is a leading Shopify energy foods and supplements store in the UK. This business’s products are designed to optimise human performance. Bulletproof is popular because of its investments in itself, one of which is its website design and UX. The company also prioritises content optimisation, especially with its creative blog posts on nutrition that instantly captivate site visitors. 

Bulletproof was created on a personal note, as its founder, Dave Asprey, realised the energy-boosting effects of yak butter tea during his time in Tibet. Thus, the company unifies modern science with traditional wisdom by drawing on elements of modern research and ancient Chinese medicine to create amazing energy foods and supplement products. Bulletproof built a strong customer base and increased sales by providing insightful and engaging content on nutrition and health. 

The business became one of Shopify’s top sellers by understanding the niche-specific nature of its products but still focused on creating value by promoting these products’ benefits through social media platforms.

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10. Lazy Oaf

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Lazy Oaf is a UK-based fashion and apparel brand founded by Gemma Shiel in 2001. Known for its quirky and colourful clothing and accessories, Lazy Oaf offers many items for men, women and unisex. Their stock includes skirts, pants, swimwear, bags, hats and more.  

With a yearly revenue of about $6 million in 2021, Lazy Oaf prides itself on its stock diversity. This, alongside the colourful and playful nature of their clothing, has created an authentic brand identity. The target audience seems broad but is unique to people with specific psychographic patterns. 

By strategically placing itself in the market and constantly collaborating with much bigger brands, such as Disney, Warner Bros. and Hello Kitty, Lazy Oaf achieved success. These collaborations were easy as the brand’s merchandise and limited fashion collections resonate with fans of all ages.

With Lazy Oaf’s easily-navigable online store and international shipping options facilitated by Shopify, the company can easily get their products to customers. They also use Royal Mail for their UK order fulfilment. 

Lazy Oaf is increasingly popular because of its strong online presence, which they owe to prioritising engaging content creation and blogs. This allows them to stay connected to their customers and inspire their loyalty. 

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11. Firebox

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Firebox is an innovative online retailer in London. It was established in 1998 as hotbox.co.uk by a duo of friends inspired by the idea of a unique drinking game called Shot Glass Chess Set. This concept led them to create an online platform where customers could purchase chess paraphernalia and other intriguing and distinctive products.

As the business grew and expanded, it diversified its inventory to include homeware, lifestyle accessories, unique tech gadgets and quirky alcohol gifts. With Shopify Plus, they gained traction by being the go-to store for out-of-the-ordinary and elusive products that were otherwise difficult to find. Firebox takes pride in its careful curation process and ensures that only the most unique, original and exciting items make it onto its platform.

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12. Hanon

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The Hanon journey began in the late 1980s with two brothers that wanted to turn their passion for skateboarding and streetwear into a business. Theirs is a story of perseverance and meticulous planning. They started the business with their first makeshift store – initially as a small operation, selling products to friends – but then expanded into Hanon as we know it. They had a vision and commitment to delivering exceptional streetwear and were rewarded with real customers beyond their immediate circle.

Shortly after, as Hanon grew, the brothers could afford a real store – their first significant milestone. However, from this well-deserved growth came several problems, including traffic jams on their outdated site. So, they underwent transformative branding, which included migrating to Shopify Plus. This new site helped Hanon leverage Shopify’s cart abandonment recovery while automating emails to shoppers with abandoned orders. Hanon further integrated with Shopify Flow, an automation app that automates repetitive tasks and reduces workflows to kick things up a notch.

Hanon built a reputation for sourcing deadstock and hard-to-find sneakers. They gained recognition from sneaker enthusiasts worldwide and are regarded as a go-to destination for unique and rare footwear. Hence, by enhancing their product quality and site efficiency, Hanon witnessed a 35% increase in conversions, higher rankings and a significant increase in traffic, which they were now equipped to handle. They also witnessed a 17% decline in the rate of abandoned orders. 

Much of Hanon’s success can also be associated with its collaboration with other renowned footwear brands to create limited-edition sneakers that captivate sneakerheads and collectors. These collaborations instilled their influence in the fashion world.

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13. BestSelf Co

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BestSelf Co. helps people become more productive and get the most out of their daily routines. They use a unique business model to offer motivational products to potential buyers. Some of their products already exist in the market, but how they are branded and marketed is what sets them apart. The brand distinguishes itself from others that sell similar products by promoting innovative thinking and effective planning.

In addition to selling journal planners and creating products that motivate people to log their plans and daily activities, BestSelf Co. uses content syndication as a marketing strategy to ensure their products and content are seen by the desired audience. The company further differentiated itself from similar vendors by creating a strong social media community and becoming a top Shopify store in the UK. They used augmented content to push their products to this community, creating a sense of conviction in the efficacy of their productivity-centred products. 

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14. Happiness Abscissa

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Founded by a neurologist and psychiatrist, Happiness Abscissa aims to positively trigger the hormones that induce happiness and a feeling of ease via its sensual scents in the form of soaps and perfumes. Happiness Abscissa stands out among Shopify stores with its captivating and thought-provoking design and interactive appeal, so much so that it has been recognised in numerous “Best Lists” for this reason. 

You can decipher what the Shopify store pushes from its chosen theme. The overall feel of Happiness Abscissa is rooted in spreading joy and satisfaction, as the website displays the brand signature with its unique and lively atmosphere.

Essentially, it’s somewhat accurate to say that Happiness Abscissa made a fortune by selling happiness in a bottle. Every curated scent is packaged as a soap, candle or perfume. The business made an interesting shift from science to playfulness through scents and fragrances.

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15. Skinnydip London

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A much newer brand than most on this list, Skinnydip London has embarked on an exhilarating journey that has taken it to new heights. The company’s idea came about when the founders, James, Lewis and Richard, recognised a gap in the consumer phone design market. At that time, there were no exciting phone cases, and though this seemed like a simple problem, their recognition of this gap and the potential demand for awesome phone cases coined their success. This all aligned when their business coincidentally started during the release and hype phase of the Apple iPhone.

Fueled by their innovative idea, they set out to revolutionise the world of phone accessories and gave birth to the iconic Skinnydip London. The brand experienced tremendous growth and a remarkable evolution in the years that followed. They ended up migrating to Shopify Plus, and their evolution took them from phone case designs to creating other lifestyle items, including eccentric accessories and clothing. 

Skinnydip London promises to create fun and uniqueness in everyday items. They constantly push boundaries and stay ahead of trends while providing diverse products that cater to everyone’s tastes and preferences. From eye-catching phone cases to stylish clothing and captivating lifestyle items, Skinnydip London ensures there is something for everyone to love and enjoy all year round.

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Takeaway

From Shopify Plus migrations to prioritising content marketing, social media and influencer marketing, and finding reliable fulfilment providers, these top UK Shopify stores have much in common. However, with this detailed listicle about UK Shopify stores, you can learn from the amazing strategies that helped them scale, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them to become the highest revenue-generating eCommerce stores in the UK. 

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UK Shopify order fulfilment with Bezos.ai

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Now you know what successful Shopify stores in the UK look like, we can address one major contributor to these stores’ success; effective order fulfilment. Your Shopify store needs access to global fulfilment networks, dedicated support and innovative fulfilment technologies, which are a few of our offerings at Bezos.ai. 

Here are the rest:

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1. Custom solutions

At Bezos.ai, we understand that every Shopify seller is unique. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we strive to accommodate the specific requirements of each seller, including order volume, delivery preferences, packaging requests and more. Our solutions are customised to suit the needs of your Shopify brand perfectly. As a testament to our flexibility, we don’t impose minimum order volume protocols like other providers.

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2. Global fulfilment networks

Bezos.ai is your gateway to global scalability and expansion. Our extensive fulfilment network featuring 63 fulfilment centres across 17 countries empowers Shopify brands to access, serve and retain loyal customers within and outside Europe. By partnering with us, your brand can effortlessly transition from local to international in as little as three months. 

Contact our experts for more information. 

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3. Enhanced visibility and seamless integrations

Partnering with Bezos.ai gives your Shopify store unparalleled visibility and transparency in your fulfilment operations. Our Bezos Seller Portal seamlessly integrates with 57 major sales channels such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, eBay, Amazon and more. Through these API integrations, Shopify merchants can effortlessly monitor and manage every aspect of their fulfilment logistics from start to finish and be kept in the loop about their warehoused stocks, fulfilled orders, returns and much more, all accessible from their mobile devices.

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4. AI-Powered solutions

Bezos.ai is renowned for its innovative solutions, which feature advanced AI and machine learning software. Our cutting-edge technologies simplify and automate the order fulfilment process for Shopify sellers, exceeding their growth expectations. Our sophisticated solutions also enhance their fulfilment efficiency, causing a ripple effect of increased customer loyalty and overall consumer satisfaction.

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5. Cost-effectiveness

Shopify merchants enjoy the benefits of transparent pricing when they choose Bezos.ai. Our pricing structure is free from hidden fees or integration charges, and with our comprehensive services, which cover everything from order reception to returns solutions, you’re truly getting a bargain. This makes us one of the most affordable Shopify fulfilment companies in Europe. With Bezos.ai, you can save £1 to £2 on every order’s fulfilment while reducing overhead costs. Start saving today!

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6. Unmatched customer support

Bezos.ai offers world-class customer service throughout the UK and Europe. When you activate Bezos.ai as your Shopify fulfilment service, you will be assigned a dedicated personal account manager tasked with providing comprehensive support, answering all your inquiries and managing your account details. With Bezos.ai, you gain a dedicated professional catering to your every need. Don’t wait any longer; speak to our experts now. 

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Start fulfilling with Bezos.ai

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Start your journey to Shopify success with Bezos in these four easy steps:

Step 1: Activate Bezos as your fulfilment service

To access our top-notch warehouse and fulfilment services, Shopify sellers must activate Bezos as their fulfilment provider. Head to the Shopify “Admin” tab and navigate to “Settings” and “Shipping and Delivery”. In the “Custom Order Fulfillment” section, click “Add Fulfillment Service” and enter Bezos.ai and our email address in the provided form. 

Once activated, you can create your Bezos account by filling in basic information on a simple template.

Step 2: Ship your inventory

Once your Bezos account is set up, you can conveniently ship your Shopify inventory to any of our 63 fulfilment centres in 17 countries. It’s advisable to choose a centre closest to the recipient’s address. You also have the option to ship your inventory directly from your supplier to us if you’re a Shopify dropshipper. 

Step 3: Integrate your sales channels

Simplify your operations and reduce shipping costs by integrating your Shopify, Amazon, eBay or WooCommerce accounts with the Bezos Seller Portal. This integration allows seamless communication between platforms, so when an order is placed on your Shopify account, it instantly appears on our platform for prompt fulfilment.

Step 4: Get ready to go live!

Once we receive your stock, we waste no time initiating its fulfilment. New accounts typically take as little as 72 hours before they’re up and running. Once complete, you’re all set to experience the benefits of Bezos fulfilment and pave your way to success.

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FAQs

What is the best Shopify store in the UK?

Several UK Shopify stores are considered the best, such as Gymshark, Kylie Cosmetics, Luxy Hair and Happiness Abscissa. 

How many Shopify stores are there in the UK?

Over 180,000 Shopify stores are operating in the UK.

Which country has the most Shopify stores?

Leading the pack with over 2.6 million stores, the United States has the most Shopify stores in the world.