A Closer Look at Shopify’s Global Footprint in 2025
Shopify powers a thriving ecosystem with millions of merchants worldwide, ranging from small independent sellers to large-scale global brands.
With features that require little to no technical expertise, the Shopify platform enables sellers to get to market quickly while maintaining the flexibility to customize and grow as their business evolves.
Shopify continues to be a leading choice for online retailers, capturing over 10% of the global e-commerce platform market and holding a commanding 30% share in the U.S. market.
On a global scale, it ranks as the fourth most popular e-commerce technology.
If you're wondering how many Shopify stores are there in 2025, the latest data shows that the platform hosts over 5.5 million active stores worldwide.
The substantial portion is based in the United States, reflecting its strong adoption among American merchants.
This article dives deep into the latest Shopify statistics, exploring how many Shopify stores exist today and how that number has grown over time, offering a clear view of the platform’s scale and impact on global e-commerce.
Shopify Store Growth – At a Glance
Shopify's Rise to E-Commerce Dominance
Founded in 2006 as a solution for selling snowboards online, Shopify quickly evolved into a powerful, user-friendly platform for digital commerce.
What started as a niche tool has since become a global SaaS giant.
Key milestones that fueled Shopify’s store growth include:
2015 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, which boosted credibility and investor confidence.
Shopify Plus launch (2014), opening the platform to high-volume and enterprise merchants.
Introduction of Shopify Payments, Shopify App Store, and Shopify Markets, which simplified global selling and payment processing.
Pandemic-driven surge in 2020, where e-commerce adoption accelerated across all sectors, leading to record store creation.
These strategic moves allowed Shopify to position itself as the leading alternative to marketplace platforms like Amazon, giving merchants more control and ownership over their brand.
Year-By-Year Breakdown: Total Number of Shopify Stores
Between 2015 and 2025, Shopify has seen exponential growth in store adoption.
The following table highlights the platform’s year-over-year expansion:
With many Shopify merchants operating across the globe, the platform has become a leading choice for businesses seeking scalable and reliable e-commerce solutions.
Global Store Distribution: Where Are Shopify Stores Located?
Shopify has established a strong global presence, with merchants operating in over 175 countries.
Here’s a rough breakdown of Shopify online stores' distribution by region:
The U.S. remains Shopify’s largest and most mature market, but growth in regions like Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America has been accelerating thanks to improved localization and payment integration.
Shopify’s Expansion into New Markets
Shopify’s global growth strategy has been driven by continuous innovation and localization efforts.
Recent launches such as Shopify Markets and Shopify Markets Pro have made it easier for merchants to sell cross-border by simplifying tax compliance, local currency pricing, and duty collection.
Additional expansion initiatives include:
Multilingual storefronts and admin support
Local payment gateways in Europe, Asia, and Latin America
AI-powered localization features (2024–2025)
These advancements have lowered the barrier to entry for international sellers and fueled new store creation outside Shopify’s core markets.
These advancements have lowered the barrier to entry for international sellers and fueled new store creation outside Shopify’s core markets.
How Many Customers Does Shopify Have?
As of 2025, the platform supports an estimated 5.5 million Shopify merchants worldwide, reflecting Shopify’s continued growth and adoption across a wide range of industries and business sizes.
What Does "Customer" Mean for Shopify?
In Shopify's ecosystem, the term “customer” typically refers to Shopify merchants - businesses or individuals who pay for and operate a store using Shopify’s platform.
Shopify merchants' Growth Over Time
The platform has experienced steady customer growth year-over-year.
From fewer than 150,000 merchants in 2014 to millions today, the number of shopify merchants has multiplied as more entrepreneurs shift to online sales and established brands seek scalable, customizable e-commerce infrastructure.
Displayed below is a chart tracking the rise in Shopify merchants from 2018 to 2025.
Where Are Shopify's Customers Located?
Approximately 54% of all Shopify merchants are based in North America, making it the platform’s largest regional market.
The EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) accounts for the second-largest share of merchants, reflecting Shopify’s expanding international footprint.
In contrast, Latin America represents about 5% of the total merchant base, highlighting room for growth in that region.
The circle diagram below illustrates the distribution of Shopify merchants across key global regions:
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Who Uses Shopify?
Shopify customers range from individual creators and dropshippers to fast-scaling DTC brands.
Many B2B merchants have also begun using Shopify, especially with the rollout of Shopify B2B features and Shopify Plus customizations for wholesale and high-volume operations.
Customer Retention & Loyalty
Shopify maintains high customer retention due to:
Reliable infrastructure and uptime
Ease of use and fast onboarding
Extensive ecosystem of apps (Shopify app store), themes, and partners
Strong support and community resources
Shopify Store Statistics by Type and Size
Number of Active vs. Inactive Shopify Stores
Not all Shopify stores are continuously maintained or generating revenue.
According to the latest data, approximately 9.55 million Shopify stores have been created, with around 5.6 million currently active and live online.
How Many Shopify Stores vs. Shopify Plus stores are there?
Shopify offers multiple pricing tiers to serve a range of business needs:
Basic Shopify: Ideal for new and small-scale merchants.
Shopify (Standard): Suitable for growing businesses with moderate traffic.
Advanced Shopify: Built for scaling operations with advanced reporting and shipping options.
Shopify Plus: Tailored for enterprise-level operations.
The pie chart illustrates the distribution of Shopify stores by subscription plan:
This breakdown shows that the majority of merchants are still early-stage or small businesses.
However, there’s a clear upward shift toward Shopify Plus stores as companies scale and require more customization, analytics, and automation.
Shopify Plus: How Many Large Businesses Use It?
Shopify Plus, the enterprise-grade offering, continues to grow in adoption.
As of 2025, over 35,000 merchants are using Shopify Plus - up from around 25,000 in 2022.
This represents a significant portion of Shopify’s Gross Merchandise Volume, even if the user count is smaller.
Shopify Plus customers typically have:
High sales volume
Custom workflows and API integrations
Multiple storefronts or international operations
Complex fulfillment or B2B needs
Brands like Netflix, Rothy’s, JB Hi-Fi, and Fenty Beauty leverage Shopify Plus to maintain speed, reliability, and brand control across large-scale operations.
Shopify Plus Store Distribution by Country
The United States leads in the number of Shopify Plus stores, representing approximately 55.14% of all active Shopify Plus stores globally, equivalent to around 29,144 stores.
Coming in second, the United Kingdom hosts about 3,828 Shopify Plus stores, which is 7.12% of the global total.
The table below displays the regional distribution of Shopify Plus stores across different parts of the world:
Breakdown by Business Size: Small, Medium, and Enterprise
Shopify supports a diverse customer base, segmented roughly as follows:
Small Businesses (1–10 employees): ~65% of all stores
Mid-sized Businesses (11–100 employees): ~25%
Large Businesses (100+ employees): ~10%
The platform remains popular among indie sellers, creators, and solopreneurs, thanks to its low barrier to entry.
However, an increasing number of mid-sized and enterprise brands are turning to Shopify for its ability to scale with business growth.
Shopify Revenue by Year: A Look at Growth from 2019 to 2024
Shopify’s revenue has seen substantial growth over the last several years, reflecting the platform’s expanding role in the global eCommerce market.
Fueled by demand for both subscription solutions and merchant services, Shopify has become a dominant eCommerce software platform for businesses of all sizes.
The table below displays Shopify’s revenue performance from 2019 to 2024, showing consistent year-over-year increases:
Shopify’s revenue is expected to continue growing as the platform expands its offerings and merchant base.
Shopify’s revenue is expected to continue growing as the platform expands its offerings and merchant base.
Revenue Breakdown
The year Shopify revenue is split into two core streams:
Merchant Solutions Revenue: Derived from Shopify Payments, transaction fees, shipping, and fulfillment services.
Subscription Solutions Revenue: Generated from monthly plan fees, apps, themes, and Shopify Plus subscriptions.
Here’s a detailed table displaying Shopify’s revenue streams from 2018 to Q2 2024, broken down by Subscription Solutions and Merchant Solutions, based on reported financial data:
Source: Shopify
Together, these revenue channels reflect Shopify’s strategic balance between low-entry barriers for new merchants and premium features for scaling brands.
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
Shopify’s monthly recurring revenue also reached new highs in 2024, driven by rising subscription adoption and upgrades to advanced plans.
MRR is a critical indicator of platform stickiness and long-term merchant retention, key to Shopify’s overall financial stability.
Shopify Market Share in the Ecommerce Software Market
Shopify has steadily increased its presence in the Ecommerce software market, becoming one of the most widely used platforms for online selling.
Thanks to its ease of use, app ecosystem, and scalability, Shopify now commands a substantial portion of the U.S. and global market share.
Shopify Market Share in the U.S. (2018–2024)
Shopify is positioned as the number 1 e-commerce platform in terms of market share in the United States.
Shopify’s share of the U.S. ecommerce platform market has grown from 20% in 2018 to 30% in 2024.
The platform now powers more than 1 in 4 online stores in the country, surpassing competitors like Magento, Wix, and WooCommerce in store count and merchant activity.
Global Shopify Statistics and Market Share Trends
As of 2025, Shopify holds a 10.32% share of the global e-commerce software platform market, positioning it as the fourth-largest platform worldwide.
This places Shopify behind WooCommerce (38.74%), Woo Themes (14.95%), and Squarespace Online Stores (14.67%) in terms of global market share.
Industry Breakdown of Shopify Stores
Shopify’s merchant base spans virtually every retail category, thanks to its scalable infrastructure, flexible store design, and integration with leading e-commerce tools.
In 2025, Shopify supports more than 5.5 million stores globally, with dominant representation across several high-performing industries.
Top Industries Using Shopify in 2025
Based on publicly available Shopify data and market research, here is an estimated breakdown of the leading industries by store count on Shopify in 2025:
Fashion & Apparel continues to dominate the Shopify ecosystem, with nearly 1 in 4 stores belonging to this category.
The Beauty and Personal Care category is rapidly growing due to high AOVs, viral social content, and subscription-based models.
Home, Electronics, and Food merchants benefit from Shopify’s bundling, shipping, and upselling features, increasing both order volume and lifetime value.
B2B vs. B2C Stores on Shopify
While Shopify remains a B2C-first platform, the adoption of B2B functionality has surged, particularly after the rollout of Shopify B2B tools and enhancements to Shopify Plus.
As of early 2025, over 660,000 Shopify stores are estimated to serve B2B customers, up from just 400,000 two years ago.
Shopify Plus usage is strongly correlated with B2B functionality. Many B2B brands run on Plus for its enterprise-level flexibility and integrations.
The rise of B2B e-commerce on Shopify is expected to continue, fueled by demand from wholesale distributors, manufacturers, and service-based firms expanding into digital sales.
What These Numbers Mean for E-Commerce Businesses?
The rapid growth in Shopify stores has significant implications for online sellers, both new and established.
It reflects major shifts in digital retail behavior, SaaS platform preference, and global market accessibility.
But it also introduces new levels of competition, requiring strategic differentiation to succeed.
What the Growth in Shopify Stores Says About Market Demand?
The surge in the number of Shopify stores is a direct indicator of rising entrepreneurial activity and digital-first retail strategies:
The consistent double-digit growth in store creation between 2017 and 2025 signals high confidence in Shopify’s infrastructure and business model.
As more merchants turn to platforms like Shopify, it reflects broader SaaS adoption trends and the increasing maturity of the global e-commerce market, which exceeded $6.3 trillion in sales in 2024.
The rise of low-code/no-code tools, print-on-demand models, and influencer-led brands has lowered the barrier to entry, attracting first-time entrepreneurs and traditional businesses looking to digitize.
Is Shopify Becoming Saturated?
With millions of active stores live on Shopify, saturation is a valid concern, especially in high-traffic categories like fashion, beauty, and home goods.
New entrants face difficulty standing out with off-the-shelf templates and generic branding.
As consumer expectations rise, store speed, UX, and mobile responsiveness have become baseline requirements, not differentiators.
Shopify merchants now compete not only on product quality but also on customer experience, design, and niche clarity.
In 2025, studies show that stores with customized Shopify themes and strong brand identity outperform generic stores by up to 36% in conversion rate.
Opportunities for New Sellers in a Crowded Market
Even though the number of Shopify stores is constantly increasing, there’s still enormous growth potential - if sellers take the right approach.
Here’s how new businesses can thrive:
Own a Niche: Focus on solving a specific problem or serving a well-defined audience (e.g., sustainable baby clothing, vegan skincare for men).
Prioritize Customization: A customized Shopify store theme not only improves UX but also signals brand legitimacy. This is crucial for maximizing AOV and building trust.
Use Personalization Tools: Leveraging Shopify’s app ecosystem to create personalized shopping experiences, from quizzes to AI-based recommendations, can increase conversion rates by up to 20%.
In a resource-intensive landscape, brands that invest in long-term UX, branding, and community-building are more likely to scale profitably, even in crowded verticals.
Final Thoughts on Shopify’s Growth
The growth of Shopify stores over the years highlights the platform’s undeniable popularity and reliability among e-commerce entrepreneurs worldwide.
With millions of active stores, ranging from small startups to mature businesses, Shopify continues to empower merchants with customizable themes, seamless functionality, and robust features that maximize conversions and average order value.
Whether you’re considering launching a new store or scaling an existing one, understanding the vast Shopify ecosystem provides valuable insight into the competitive landscape and opportunities for personalization and innovation.
As Shopify evolves, so do the possibilities for merchants seeking a flexible and trusted platform to build their online presence.
Read more: Average Revenue of Shopify Stores
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With a decade of of e-commerce experience, Preslav, CEO of Craftberry, produces informative content. His writing focuses on practical insights and strategies in the e - commerce, aimed at helping professionals and businesses in the industry.
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