How to Use Shopify for Service Business

Many people believe that Shopify only sells physical products that can be touched, packaged and mailed. But what if your business is related to services? Can you sell services on Shopify in this case? Of course you can! In this article, you will learn how to provide services to your customers on this popular e-commerce platform.

Online company Shopify was founded in 2006. Its founders were Canadians Tobias Lutke, Daniel Weiland and Scott Lake. After the official launch, the platform took a course for active development and over time grew from an ordinary web project into one of the most popular e-commerce solutions.

Shopify is a platform that allows you to independently design and launch your online store, as well as constantly monitor its operation. It was created by developers for users who do not have programming and design skills, so it is characterized by an intuitive interface and extremely simple functionality. In addition, it has an impressive library of templates that allow you to quickly and easily launch an online store. Of course, all this is not free. The company offers users a choice of 3 tariff plans:

With Shopify, there is no need to think about hosting and other organizational issues. This platform gives you everything you need to open a store and manage it efficiently. The only thing you need is a browser and internet access. By the way, you can sell not only physical goods using this platform. Using Shopify for services is just like using any tangible product. Read more about this below.

You can sell almost anything on Shopify, except for what is prohibited by law. If you provide in-demand services and want as many potential customers as possible to learn about them, feel free to open an online store. As an example, here are a few use cases for Shopify for selling services:

So, you have already received an affirmative answer to the question, can you use Shopify for services. Now let's look at how to do it. The main recommendation is to sell your services as a product. In fact, they are a commodity, just not a physical one, because you can’t touch it with your hands. In an online store on Shopify, any service is placed in the same way as a product. The only difference is that you will need to uncheck the box marked "this is a physical product" in the "Shipping" section. Don't forget that some businesses can benefit from offering Shopify free shipping to attract more customers and stay competitive.

When describing your service, first of all pay attention to its value, as well as the benefits and results that the client will receive by using it. These are the most important characteristics influencing a potential buyer's decision to purchase. He must clearly understand what exactly your offer will give him and why it is worth buying it from you.

Be flexible: do not neglect setting parameters and options in the product settings to personalize the buying process as much as possible. If you offer only one thing, you will inevitably miss some of the user requests. For example, you can provide a store visitor with the opportunity to choose different times for booking, as well as different locations and types of services (for a beauty salon, this can be a haircut, dyeing, peeling, depilation). Each option has its own price. For example, you sell lessons on SMM management. You valued a 60-minute lesson for $65 and a 90-minute lesson for $75. You can set the price so that it changes when the buyer chooses the first or second lesson. Remember that the customer-centricity of your business in the service sector is one of the significant advantages that can turn a potential client into a permanent one.

To increase personalization, it is very convenient to use special applications — form designers. Luckily, Shopify has an impressive ecosystem of app providers that are centered on the Shopify App Store. Here are a couple of examples:

You can also check out the Shopify App Store for time booking apps. There is so much to choose from that you will definitely find one that suits you.

The first thing to do before you start downloading services and designing each one is choosing the right theme for your store. You can find custom Shopify themes for services in a specialized store of this platform or on other sites (for example, Themeforest, MOJO). Decided on the best Shopify theme for selling services? Then let's get down to business.

Services are added in the same way as ordinary physical goods. They also need to make descriptions and accompany them with photos or images.

When selling training courses, what types of lessons are you willing to offer: with a mentor, without a mentor, short and full course? When providing beautician or hairdresser services, think about how customers will make appointments at your store for haircuts or “beauty injections” at the desired time. Also make sure that it is convenient for them to choose the type of service they are interested in among those that you offer.

How to organize all this? To do this, you will need a form or additional fields for user requests. The best solution in this case is to install a third-party application. One good option is Zepto's Product Personalizer. You can download it from the Shopify App Store.

If you decide to provide your services on the Shopify platform, make your online store home page as compelling as possible to hook the potential customer. Naturally, it should be pleasant to look at and easy to read, but this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is to demonstrate the value of your services. The visitor, having cast a cursory glance at the home page, should immediately see the key information for him: what he will get for himself and why he definitely needs it.

Two things you can do to create interest in a potential customer and build trust in an existing customer are testimonials and reviews posted on the homepage. After all, before ordering a service, people want to know if others liked it in order to understand whether it is worth spending money on it.

The About Us page is exactly the place where you can show off your success story. This is where additional information about your business should be placed to educate store visitors about your values and mission. High-quality text and beautiful pictures are great, but it is worth adding your photo or photos of your team members with brief descriptions to them. This will give the store naturalness and hospitality.

You can use one of the third-party applications, such as PageFly, to customize your About Us page. Here you will find a large set of interesting templates for its design. The app's intuitive interface and drag-and-drop design tools help you customize the page to your liking.

According to statistics, over 60% of users make purchases in online stores on their smartphones. This figure indicates that you should definitely check how your store looks on a mobile device. What exactly should you pay attention to? First of all, make sure that the speed of its loading and the presentable appearance are adequate. If you neglect this recommendation, you can lose a huge number of potential customers who are used to accessing the Internet and ordering goods and services from the phone. Incorrect display of the store in the mobile version will simply scare them away.

Before creating their own online service store, many people want to see examples of how others have done it. Of these, it is quite possible to take note of some interesting idea. Looking at the samples will also give you a first impression of what a Shopify store looks like if you've never dealt with the platform before. Let's take a look at a few worthy examples.

Mobile Locker Co. is a company that uses the Shopify platform to provide locker rental services for athletes and participants in other outdoor events. Event organizers can reserve as many lockers as they need to allow athletes to pre-book a separate storage space for their personal belongings. In this case, they will be able to save money, since payment on the spot is usually higher.

Fitzroy Rentals is a company that uses Shopify to provide clothing and accessories rental services. The owner of the online store made the most detailed descriptions for commodity items (for each, the size, allowable rental periods, delivery date are prescribed) and grouped them into different “cabinets”. Such an organization greatly facilitates the selection process for buyers.

Buti Yoga is a company that offers offline and online yoga and choreography training services on Shopify. The page notes that the trainers are certified by the Yoga Alliance. This fact inspires confidence among potential customers.

Kitchen Provisions is a service that sells kitchen utensils and provides a knife sharpening service in the UK. You can sign up for sharpening by booking free time and choosing a suitable location directly in the online store. In addition, the company provides advice on recipes and the selection of quality products for cooking.

Madame Monsieur is a beauty salon and shop with a unique concept that provides a range of exclusive services for women and men. For example, here you can book an old-fashioned hot towel shave, clay facial treatments, beard straightening, and so on.

The Ski Company is a shop selling skis, other winter equipment in assortment and clothing. Regular customers can order here a service for setting up purchased equipment and individual expert assistance. After all, not every fan of active winter recreation knows how to choose really high-quality and optimally suitable things. Therefore, sometimes one cannot do without the advice of an experienced assistant.

Eat Well Nashville is a food delivery service that uses Shopify as a marketplace for its services. Here it is easy and convenient to order not only the dishes you like, but also targeted delivery of food on an ongoing basis according to the schedule. For example, you don't plan to cook on the weekend. Eat Well Nashville is here to help by sending a courier with your orders straight to your door every Saturday and Sunday.

Today, more and more buyers and sellers are realizing the need to bring their service business online. And it's not just the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020 — it served as an impetus. Customers want more comfort, a pleasant and understandable booking process. Resellers are also in dire need of an effective tool to grow their services that is easy for them, accessible to potential customers, and increases revenue.

Those who were incredulously interested in can I use Shopify for services can finally dispel their doubts. With a customer-centric approach to e-commerce, this platform will help you sell your services as easily and effortlessly as any physical product. The main thing is to master the menu and understand the tools that it provides. It's good that it's not difficult at all.

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