What is a fully automated Shopify store?

A fully automated Shopify store utilizes software and apps to automate nearly every aspect of running an ecommerce business. The goal is to remove the need for manual work and streamline operations to improve efficiency.

With a fully automated Shopify store, the entire workflow from order placement to fulfillment and customer service is handled automatically with little to no human intervention. Inventory levels are tracked in real-time and reorders are placed automatically to avoid stockouts. Marketing activities like email campaigns and social media posting can also be automated.

The shop owner is able to step back and oversee the entire business processes while technology and integrations do the heavy lifting. This allows the business to scale and grow rapidly with less staff required. It also minimizes costs associated with manual labor.

Automation enables a truly hands-off management approach, freeing up the owner’s time to focus on high-level strategy and optimization. With the right set of automations in place, a Shopify store can practically run itself.

Benefits of a Fully Automated Shopify Store

Automating Shopify store provides numerous benefits for ecommerce businesses:

Saves Time

Fully automating operations like inventory, order fulfillment, and marketing frees up significant time for store owners and employees. Rather than manually processing orders, fulfilling shipments, and running campaigns, that time can be reallocated to focus on high-level strategy, new product development, customer service and more impactful initiatives.

Increases Efficiency

Automation streamlines and optimizes workflows. Software and apps seamlessly handle repetitive tasks in the background without errors or delays. This boosts overall efficiency and productivity.

Allows Scaling

By relying on automation instead of manual processes, Shopify stores can easily scale up sales and operations without linearly increasing labor costs. The automated systems and processes smoothly handle increased orders and customers.

Reduces Costs

Automation reduces the need for hiring additional staff as the business grows. It also minimizes overhead expenses, human errors that lead to waste, and inefficient use of time and resources. This results in lower operational costs and higher profit margins.

Key Components of Automation

A fully automated Shopify store leverages automation across key areas of ecommerce operations including:

Inventory Management

Automating inventory management involves connecting your Shopify store to a warehouse management system. This automatically tracks inventory levels and can trigger restocking when levels get low. It also ensures overselling doesn’t occur by keeping inventory updated in real-time.

Order Fulfillment

Order fulfillment can be automated by integrating systems like Shopify Fulfillment Network. When an order comes in, it is automatically sent to the fulfillment center to be packed and shipped without any manual work required. The customer gets shipping confirmations and tracking info automatically as well.

Customer Service

Customer service tasks like answering pre-sales questions, handling returns, and managing subscriptions can be automated using chatbots and AI tools like Shopify Chat. These can respond to common questions instantly without human involvement.

Marketing

Marketing automation involves setting up campaigns in Shopify that trigger actions like sending emails or retargeting ads based on customer behavior. This removes the need to manually send one-off communications.

Accounting

An automated accounting system can sync transaction and sales data from Shopify to accounting software. This automatically handles tasks like invoicing, reporting, and reconciling accounts, removing the need for manual bookkeeping.

Automating Inventory Management

Inventory management is a crucial part of running an ecommerce business. Manual inventory tracking can be extremely time consuming and prone to errors. Automating inventory management streamlines the process and helps avoid costly stockouts.

There are a few key ways to automate inventory management for a Shopify store:

Connecting to Suppliers

Shopify offers integration with many major suppliers and distributors. Connecting your Shopify store to your suppliers allows you to automatically update inventory counts as shipments are processed. This ensures your inventory numbers stay up to date without any manual work.

Syncing Inventory Across Channels

The Shopify platform makes it easy to sync your product catalog and inventory counts across multiple sales channels like online store, retail locations, Amazon, eBay, etc. Any changes made in one place flow through the system so you don’t have to manually adjust inventory everywhere.

Tracking Stock Levels

Shopify has built-in inventory tracking that automatically adjusts stock counts with each order. You can set inventory thresholds that trigger actions like sending an email notification or removing an out-of-stock product from your store. This automation helps avoid overselling products.

Inventory Forecasting

There are Shopify apps that use historical sales data and trends to forecast future inventory needs. This information makes it easier to plan and optimize inventory levels to meet demand.

Automating core inventory management processes is key for scaling an ecommerce business efficiently. It eliminates manual work, minimizes human errors, and helps ensure products are always in stock for customers.

Automating Order Fulfillment

Fulfilling orders is a crucial part of running an ecommerce business. Automating this process can save you significant time and effort. With Shopify, there are several ways to automate order fulfillment:

Shipping

You can integrate shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL directly into your Shopify store. This allows you to buy shipping labels and track packages automatically without having to visit each carrier’s website.

Popular shipping apps like ShipStation, Shippo, and ShipWorks can take this a step further. They can automatically import orders, create shipping labels, send tracking info back to customers, and more. This eliminates all the manual work of packaging and shipping orders.

Inventory Tracking

Integrating an inventory management system is key for automation. Apps like Cin7, TradeGecko, and Stitch Labs can sync your product catalog and inventory counts between Shopify and your warehouse(s).

When an order comes in, the inventory is automatically updated. If a product goes out of stock, you can set rules to notify you or even remove the listing from your store. This helps avoid overselling products.

Returns and Exchanges

ReturnMagic and Returnly are two apps that can fully automate returns and exchanges. Customers can print return labels and you’ll get notifications when returns are on the way back.

The apps can also authorize refunds and exchanges without any additional work on your end. This simplifies the entire returns process for both you and your customers.

By integrating these types of apps, you can fulfill orders from start to finish without any manual busywork. This allows you to scale your automated ecommerce store exponentially.

Automating Customer Service

Customer service is a crucial part of running an ecommerce business. Providing excellent customer support can increase customer loyalty, lead to more sales, and generate positive word of mouth. However, manually responding to customer inquiries via email or live chat can be extremely time consuming for store owners and staff. This is where automating certain aspects of customer service can help.

Chatbots

One way to automate customer service is by using chatbots. Chatbots are software programs that can have intelligent conversations with website visitors. When customers have questions, chatbots can provide immediate answers without the need for human involvement.

Chatbots can be programmed with FAQs to handle common customer inquiries. For example, they can let customers know order statuses, shipping times, return policies, and other frequently asked questions. This allows human staff to focus on more complex customer issues.

Email Automation

Another automation option is setting up email automations for common customer communication. For example, you can create automatic order confirmation emails that get sent as soon as a customer completes a purchase. Automated abandoned cart emails can encourage customers to complete their purchase.

Transactional emails related to shipping notifications, return confirmations, password resets, and more can also be automated based on triggers and customer actions. This removes the need to manually send these one-off emails that occur regularly.

Self-Service Options

Enabling self-service options is another way to automate aspects of customer service. This includes having an online knowledge base where customers can search for answers to their questions. Interactive sizing guides, product demos, and FAQs can also help customers find information themselves.

Offering easy ways for customers to track orders, print shipping labels, initiate returns, and manage their account without contacting support also reduces human workload. The more customers can help themselves, the less staff time is required for routine customer service tasks.

Automating certain customer service functions with chatbots, email automation, and self-service options allows ecommerce businesses to provide excellent support more efficiently. Staff can then better focus on building customer relationships through more complex and personal interactions.

Automating Marketing

Marketing automation is one of the most powerful ways to grow an ecommerce business on Shopify. With the right tools, store owners can create automated email campaigns, manage social media posting, and optimize SEO with minimal effort.

Email Marketing Automation

Email marketing is one of the highest converting marketing channels for ecommerce stores. Automated email campaigns allow you to nurture customers throughout their lifecycle – from abandoned cart emails to win back campaigns for lapsed customers. Popular email marketing apps like Klaviyo integrate seamlessly with Shopify to track customer behaviors and trigger personalized emails. You can set up flows to automatically enroll customers in email sequences when they join your list, complete a purchase, or interact with your store in a certain way.

Social Media Automation

Social media is key for brand awareness and driving traffic to your store. Automation tools like Hootsuite and Buffer allow you to schedule social media posts in advance so you don’t have to manually post daily. You can upload content calendars and reuse posts while maintaining a consistent social media presence. Social automation is great for freeing up time and ensuring you never miss a post.

SEO Optimization Automation

Optimizing your store for search engines is crucial for organic traffic and sales. Tools like Ryte help fully automate technical SEO by monitoring site speed, mobile optimization, indexing issues and more. Other apps can help with content optimization by analyzing keywords and search intent. Overall SEO automation takes the guesswork out of optimization and helps you focus on high impact activities.

Automating Accounting

Automating accounting tasks is a major benefit of running a fully automated Shopify store. By integrating your Shopify store with accounting software, you can seamlessly transfer order and financial data between the two systems. This eliminates the need for manual data entry which saves you time and reduces errors.

Some of the key accounting tasks that can be automated include:

• Connecting to accounting software like QuickBooks Online or Xero. Shopify offers direct integrations with many major accounting platforms. Once connected, sales orders and payments will automatically sync from Shopify to your accounting system.

• Generating financial reports and sales analytics. Shopify provides a dashboard with insights into your store’s performance. You can also install app integrations to generate custom reports that are automatically sent to your email inbox on a regular basis. No more manually creating reports in spreadsheets!

• Tracking inventory, COGS, and profit margins. As inventory data syncs between Shopify and your accounting software, you can easily track cost of goods sold and profit margins on your products. Automating this gives you greater visibility into the financial health of your business.

• Processing payroll. Rather than manually calculating payroll for any employees or contractors, you can use an integration like Gusto to automatically pull in hours worked and process payments based on set rates.

• Paying sales tax. Shopify can automatically calculate sales tax obligations and integrate with tax software to file and pay business taxes on your behalf.

Automating key accounting processes is critical for scaling an ecommerce business. It saves immense time, reduces errors, provides financial insights, and allows the owner to focus on high-level strategic tasks. For anyone looking to grow their Shopify business, accounting automation is a must.

Challenges of Automation

Automating a Shopify store can provide tremendous efficiency and cost savings, but it also comes with some challenges to be aware of.

Upfront Costs

The upfront costs of automating a Shopify store can be significant. You’ll likely need to invest in automation software and apps, developers to set up and integrate systems, and consultants to advise on implementation. For small businesses with tight budgets, these costs may be prohibitive. Shopify automation requires sufficient capital investment to get off the ground.

Technical Skills Required

Shopify automation requires some technical knowledge. You’ll need developers to set up and manage the automated systems. This means you need to either have technical skills on your team or outsource development. Ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting of automation technology also demands some technical proficiency. Lacking these skills can make it difficult to create and sustain automation.

Ongoing Maintenance

Automated systems require regular monitoring and maintenance. Software updates, fixes for bugs and errors, improvements to processes, and responding to changes in market conditions all require ongoing attention. The set-it-and-forget-it mindset does not work for Shopify automation. Being disciplined about continually optimizing and enhancing automation is essential. Neglecting ongoing maintenance will lead to breakdowns and inefficiencies.

Is Fully Automated Right for You?

When considering whether to fully automate your Shopify store, it’s important to carefully assess your business’s unique needs and evaluate the potential costs versus benefits. Here are some key factors to weigh:

Assessing Business Needs

• What are your sales volumes and order frequency? High volumes and frequent orders favor automation. Low volumes may not justify the investment.

• What types of products do you sell? Commodity products like t-shirts are easier to automate than specialized or customized orders.

• Do you have straightforward or complex order fulfillment? Simpler fulfillment like dropshipping lends itself better to automation.

• Does your business have high overhead costs for manual processes? Automation provides opportunity for major cost savings.

• Do you need to scale or grow? Automation enables easier scaling.

• Are customers demanding faster order turnaround? Automation improves speed.

Evaluating Costs vs Benefits

• What are the upfront costs of automation like software, hardware, integration? Factor in Ongoing costs like subscriptions too.

• How much can you save on labor by reducing manual tasks? What’s the ROI time frame to cover costs?

• Will automation improve order accuracy and customer satisfaction? What’s the sales impact value?

• Does better data and reporting from automation provide business insights to drive growth?

Carefully examining these factors will determine if the benefits truly outweigh the costs for your specific Shopify business model and point in the business lifecycle. Automation may be a smart investment to improve efficiency and positioning for growth, but it requires thorough analysis to implement effectively.