Online eCommerce is a booming marketplace, and wholesale marketplaces for eCommerce has become a huge sector for both wholesale supplier as well as retailers who buy from this said wholesalers. Previously retailers had to go through and select items based on the line sheet numbers and track their orders through emails which are both very inconvenient for the user.
Another huge leap forward towards the growth of eCommerce for wholesalers has been from the launch of Handshake, a wholesale digital marketplace made in partnership with Shopify.
What is Shopify Handshake?
Shopify Handshake is what you get when you combine two of the most popular eCommerce platforms together. Shopify Handshake is a Shopify approved directory of wholesalers exclusive to the United States, handpicked by Shopify themselves to allow the retailers to gain access to thousands of suppliers to choose from when it comes to buying products. Sellers also get the ability to list their own business on the platform ad reach out to a large number of retailers. With this, Shopify Handshakes acts a hub for online wholesaling, that connects both wholesalers and retailers.
What was Handshake?
Originally Handshake was a mobile app-based eCommerce platform that allowed sales to access their company’s product catalog, check inventory and enter orders for their customers and check order history on a mobile device. Handshake offered two paid base versions of the app, ranging from $39.95 to $79.95 per user per month, the higher prized version providing more features for the user, such as access to online product catalogs giving individual sale reps the ability to view instant updates on a sellers inventory and what they have in stock.
The need for Shopify to acquire Handshake
Handshake, while being quite different from Shopify, does complement it with eCommerce technologies. Moreover, Handshake in itself was no small company either, founded in 2010, Handshake was able to raise $23.5 million in venture capital alone. Their specialized mobile app designed to allow the sales reps to access company product catalogs, inventory and order related details on a mobile platform had brought in more than 100 clients and included big manufactures like Milwaukee Tool, sunglass manufacturer Linda Farrow and Cooper Booth Wholesale Co.
On the other hand we have Shopify, a global eCommerce store used by more than 800,000 business over 175 countries, which provided their customers an eCommerce software under a SaaS model, under which companies uses the software technology through a web browser without the need to develop their own web servers. Shopify is mostly popular among small and medium-sized companies but has also been used by some large corporates as well. The primary focus of Shopify is on a web-based platform, but with the mobile platforms becoming more common day by day, Shopify needed to shift its focus to a more mobile-oriented solution. Thus, the acquisition of Handshake helped them to gain a foothold in the mobile eCommerce market.
Why use Shopify Handshake?
Shopify Handshake provides a variety of advantages for both retailers and wholesalers. For wholesalers the advantages provided by Handshake are as follows:
- Increased Sales: Handshake provides the buyers a curated look book of products, which allows the customer to access the better products faster with the help of smart search and filtering, which helps in securing more sales.
- Unique Brand Products: Handshake’s handpicked and curated shops, that stock up on in-trend items that the customers want. With the handpicked shops the product presented are all unique, supplied from distinctive makers.
- Meet the Makers: The Handshake’s platform allows for the users, both sellers and retailers to form relationships, where people can directly interact with independent creators who have in-depth knowledge of the products and the market.
The advantages for retailers are:
- Free Entry: The cost of entry for retailers on Handshake is free. Moreover, Handshake takes no commission from its retailers – no matter how many sales the retailers make Handshake’s take no commission for them, allowing the retailer to scale their sales without the fear of scaling fees.
- Business Management on Shopify: Handshake being a Shopify product, allows the suppliers to manage their business under the same ecosystem and backend of the business as it is on Shopify. A streamlined system allows Handshake to directly reflect the retailers’ Shopify products.
- Trusted Retailers: Handshake makes sure the retailers are genuine and is aimed towards creating a long-lasting relationship between the brands and retailers. This is achieved by making sure the retailers that sign up on Handshake are authentic. The authenticity of these retailers on Handshake is maintained through the use of a reseller ID, a mandatory identification document provided to retailers for the purpose of joining and buying on Handshake.
Conclusion
The aim of Shopify Handshake is to bring together retailers and wholesalers at a meeting point and help grow their eCommerce business. With New Arrivals catalogs and weekly emails showcasing the new and unique products that are being made available to the store, Handshake aims to provide a platform that will provide exposure to all sorts of business and allow them to grow.
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