Shop Local and Shopify
A merchant uses both: They use Shopify's online store and Shop Local's Online Store. They often add a link on their Shopify store leading to their Shop Local Store and Registry services.
For this path, please learn more below.
A merchant replaces Shopify's online store with Shop Local's Online Store. With this approach, they may still use Shopify's POS but no longer use its online store.
For this path, please click here to learn about replacing Shopify online store.
- Integration: Adding a Link
- Integration: API
- 19 Reasons Merchants Use Shop Local & Shopify
- See the Difference: Gift Registry Comparison Videos
- Gift Registry Comparison: Shop Local vs. Gift Reggie
- Get 700% More Sales Leads From Google
- Compare Costs for Shop Local vs. Shopify Apps
Integration: Adding a Link
More than 100 merchants use Shop Local and Shopify because the two services have different features and strengths. A retailer may use Shopify as its primary website and use Shop Local's Gift Registry service and Syncing service. (Shopify does not offer its own registry service—it only offers those by outside, third-party app developers.) Merchants often add a link “Gift Registry” on their Shopify store that leads to their Shop Local Gift Registry home page.
Integration: API
- Easily sync products from Shopify to your Shop Local Store.
- Sync orders from Shop Local to your Shopify account.
- Save time: More quickly add products.
- Save on labor costs: Avoid having to pay for data entry.
- Reduce errors that are caused by manually copying data between two systems.
Free. There is no additional charge to use Shopify integration tools.
- Breed & Co. / TX: shop.breedandco.com
- Caroline and Co. / LA: carolineandco.com
- Gaines Jewelers / FL: gainesjewelersonline.com
- Peridot Home / AL: shopperidothome.com
- Rhodes Home & Gift / SC: rhodesboutique.com
- CASANOI by Porcel / CA: casanoi.us
- OLIVIA RIEGEL® / TX: oliviariegel.com
19 Reasons Shopify Merchants Use Shop Local's Registry Service
Jeffrey Bannon / Owner / Jeffrey Bannon in Charleston, SC
Retailers switch from a third-party Shopify registry app to Shop Local's registry service. (They may still use Shopify's POS.)
Gift Registry Service
MyRegistry.com App
Gift Reggie App
Your set up time:
Effect on your labor costs:
Full e-commerce suite:
App is not an online store.
App is not an online store.
Your sales leads from Google:
Increases your registrants' product choices:
Makes adding gifts easy ~ Offers you a built-in page filled with gifts to add to a registry list:
Offers registrant a program to promote their registry with your store:
Helps you track registry credit paid out and due to registrant:
Makes it easy for shoppers to find a registry list:
Supplies you with correct product prices:
Your annual fee:
Who uses the service:
Ease of use for your staff:
Offers you brand partnerships and product data from top-selling brands:
Enables you to easily manage many registry products:
You can avoid needing technical knowledge, coding, and programming skills:
Gives your registrant the necessary privacy options:
Syncs stock with your Shopify POS:
Syncs prices with your Shopify POS:
- Our merchants share that a merchant should not pull stock from its POS's inventory when an item is bought online as a gift on a registry.
- Merchants report this is not the right process because often a registrant (i.e. bride) will change their mind about what they'd like or how many they'd like.
- Due to this, our merchants recommend that a retailer deliver most or all gift purchases in the form of a gift credit initially. Merchants report this is the easiest way to deal with a registrant's changing preferences and stock because this approach reduces returns and frees up stock to be sold more quickly vs. being held for a registrant.
- Shop Local's registry accounting software allows you to easily sell products as registry gifts and then distribute them to a registrant when desired as a physical product or a gift card. Our accounting software has helped merchants manage and distribute $130m in gifts.
- The registry services available on Shopify are made by third-party app developers.
- The third-party developers attach their code to the Shopify Store.
- This results in multiple issues and a less than ideal experience for the merchant, gift giver, and registrant.
See the Difference: Gift Registry Comparison Videos
Gift Reggie App Review & Comparison
View the full Gift Reggie review
MyRegistry Review & Comparison
View the full MyRegistry review
Gift Registry Comparison: Shop Local vs. Gift Reggie
Below please find a comparison of a merchant that used the Gift Reggie Shopify app and then switched to Shop Local’s Registry service.
Jeffrey Bannon's Gift Registry Home Page
- More visually appealing.
- Easier for friends and family to find registrants.
- Easier for registrants to log in and update their registries.
Jeffrey Bannon's Wedding Registry List
- Displays the registry couple's picture.
- Displays date of registry event.
- Promotes four reasons to shop on the retailer's site.
- Displays product pictures in large format. This makes viewing the product easier.
- Displays the brand's logo above the product. This increases the perceived value of the item.
- Displays the product dimensions.
- Share feature makes sharing registry page easy.
Jeffrey Bannon's Juliska Home Page
- Easier to search for Juliska products.
- Easier to see the number of collections and products.
- Displays professional lifestyle pictures.
Jeffrey Bannon's Product Page
- Displays the brand's logo above the product. This increases the perceived value of the item.
- Easier to view product features. Displays product dimensions.
- Easier to shop. Shopping bag and registry buttons are green and act as clear 'calls to action.'
- Offers multiple product pictures.
- Easier to browse to the next product.
- Easier to keep shopping (e.g. by tags or department).
- Easier for the store owner to edit products.
- Easier for the store owner to make profitable transactions since the software uses our Price Floor technology.
Get 700% More Sales Leads From Google
- Number of Shop Local Stores on Page 1 of Google: 70
- Number of Shopify app results on Page 1 of Google: 10
In Alabama, four merchants using Shop Local's Registry service appeared on page one of Google. Only one result on page 1 used a Shopify app and no merchants using MyRegistry.com appeared on page one.
By using Shop Local's service, indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google and being found by more customers.
Compare Costs for Shop Local vs. Shopify Apps
When a business offers an online store, it's a costly venture. A business, such as an indie store, brand, or sales rep group, will build the site and then have to maintain it. On a day-to-day basis, the business has to:
- Pay for design and coding of new features.
- Pay for security.
- Ensure its web pages load quickly. This often requires the business to use image-optimization software to reduce the page size and a CDN (content delivery network) to get the content closer to the visitor's geographic location.
- Pay for hosting.
Shop Local bundles the above features and services together as part of our general service offering. This makes it easier and more cost-efficient for clients.
Other providers charge higher out-of-the-box rates and then charge service fees for add-on services. The charges add up and the services become expensive. In contrast, we offer many features out-of-the-box by default with Shop Local Store, so our Store costs less and is easier to use.
In addition, our Syncing service drastically reduces the labor needed to maintain an online business. Other providers do not offer a product syncing service.
