Shopify recently announced price hikes for its subscription rates, which has rubbed some merchants the wrong way.
The Ontario-based e-commerce company says it made the decision “after much deliberation,” claiming that the move better serves its mission and merchants.
“Existing merchants won’t see a price change for three months,” said Shopify on its blog.
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The new prices take effect on April 23 of this year, but if merchants want to keep their current prices, they’re being asked to switch from a monthly account to a yearly term.
“Shopify is still the best value in commerce,” the company claims.
“The economic climate in 2023 has changed significantly. Rising costs and inflation require us to invest more than ever to deliver a best-in-class product and experience to our merchants and their customers,” Shopify added.
Shopify also said it wasn’t a decision it took lightly.
We spoke to one business owner who is being impacted by the changes.
“It’s absolute greed,” Sarah Elder-Chamanara told Daily Hive.
She also shared a report that said Shopify’s stock had jumped by 9% just one day before it announced the pricing changes.
In a public Twitter post, Elder-Chamanara said that her monthly rates are jumping by a whopping $128 per month. That’s also before the USD to CAD conversion.
Wow, @tobi & @Shopify. You’re increasing my monthly subscription by a whopping $128 month plus whatever the US exchange fee is because despite being a Canadian company, you do business in US dollars!
With the huge push to drive clients to the super high-end plan plan that
— Sarah Elder-Chamanara (@sarahelder) January 24, 2023
“It is so frustrating when Canadian companies use USD in Canada,” said one user on Twitter.
Other Shopify users also made their voices heard about the rate hikes, suggesting they’re being forced to pay for new features that few use.
Yeah I saw that email. They keep rolling out features that we aren’t asking for and ignoring the ones that are simple and would make small biz life easier.
I’ve put a note in my calendar to revisit my annual sub the month before it renews and will likely be downgrading.
— janafalls (@janafalls) January 24, 2023
Other small business owners have shared their frustrations about the change.
Fucking great. First Etsy and now Shopify are hiking up prices. If small business owners have to keep upping our prices no one will ever buy, then how the fuck can we pay the fees?
— 🔞Neonbat🔞 (@neonbat666) January 25, 2023
Last summer, Shopify laid off 10% of its workforce.
Are you being impacted by the Shopify rate hikes? Let us know in the comments.