We are new to Shopify, as both merchants and consumers. From the consumer side, how does one access the Shopify Marketplace? From what I can tell, both the app and the website take you to the merchant side of Shopify. How does one get to the consumer side to actually buy products?
Hi @dhml
That’s a great question, and is a very common misconception about the Shopify platform. Shopify does not have a customer marketplace for customers to search for and shop for stores hosted on the Shopify ecosystem. With Shopify, you are provided your own unique website, fully under your control, and have the power to advertise and market it as you see fit. This is different then other platforms like Amazon or Etsy, where you list your product alongside other merchants carrying similar items.
You do have the ability to connect to a large amount of external sales channels though so that you don’t miss out on that experience but Shopify itself does not provide the marketplace experience through our platform.
If you have additional questions about this please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Thank you!
-Shay