Step aside, Shopify! Ecommerce merchants across the world are getting a new set of tools from a fairly unlikely source: Dropbox.
The company announced (opens in new tab) Dropbox Shop in November last year and the suite of seller-focused tools is launching in public beta right now, alongside Dropbox Backup.
“By enabling you to sell directly to your customers, Shop lets you maintain ownership and control over your business and audiences,” the company said in a blog post (opens in new tab). “With the new version, you can customize your storefront and URLs, embed HTML codes, and add tipping capabilities.”
Ecommerce wars
On a basic level, the tools offer something similar to Shopify and others: the ability to list and sell products of all types from a centralized online hub. Users can create a storefront, get a custom URL, and accept payment through Stripe and PayPal.
At present, Dropbox won't take a cut of each sale as the product is in its early stages, but that will almost certainly change in the future. For now, though, if you're looking to sell products, a commission-free store should be attractive.
Dropbox Shop in beta is available on all Dropbox plans – Basic, Plus, and Professional – but only in the US for now.
Facilitating the sale of items online is big, big business – and not just for Amazon. A huge array of startups are currently vying for ecommerce supremacy, especially when it comes to independent sellers.
Etsy had an early lead but rivals like Shopify have sprung up in recent years to let merchants offer a personalized experience.
Dropbox moving into the space is interesting, given the company has previously mostly focused on cloud storage and creative tools like Paper.
Dropbox Shops turns that on its head somewhat and we're very interested to see how the plan plays out in the future.
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