Top 30 eCommerce Platform Statistics in Chicago

Did you know that more than 53% of US consumers do thorough research before purchasing any product?

Brands cant afford mistakes on their eCommerce website anymore.

This means that having an eCommerce website that is up to date with modern strategies is more important than it has ever been.

But how are you supposed to stay up to date with what is happening in the eCommerce industry? Especially in a fast-paced environment such as Chicago?

That is where this article comes in. Below we have 30 of the most important eCommerce statistics in Chicago for this year. Ranging from eCommerce brand importance to business insights that shape the way Chicago’s eCommerce industry continues to grow.

If you are starting to design your eCommerce website or are thinking about it, this article is a great place to start

Are you trying to build an eCommerce store for your brand but don’t know where to start? Let us help.

Chicago eCommerce Platform Statistics

All these statistics hold importance and shouldn’t be treated as a list. Make sure to do your own research if you want to learn even more about each eCommerce platform.

eCommerce Platform Market Share in the United States

Before we go into Chicago-specific eCommerce platform statistics, let’s go over some general statistics that are important to know. These are mainly focused on the United States, so it’s easier to grasp the effect it has on Chicago as well.

1. As of now, Shopify leads the United States eCommerce platform market with a whopping 28% share. They power more than 2.8 million online stores. The gap between Shopify and the second biggest eCommerce market share holder is quite large for the industry type.

2. Wix holds more than 23% of the eCommerce platform market in the United States, which equates to around 2.3 million stores. They have been in the second spot for years now and don’t plan on going down anytime soon.

3. Squarespace has more than 16% of the United States market share with around 1.6 million stores. Although a bit newer than Shopify, Squarespace made waves by creating a simple-to-use eCommerce platform that any business owner could use by themselves.

4. WooCommerce takes 14% of the United States eCommerce platform market share and is the fourth largest eCommerce platform this year. WooCommerce is barely behind Squarespace, so we wouldn’t be surprised if its positions changed next year.

5. Closing out our list, we have Ecwid with roughly 4% of the eCommerce platform market share. As you can see, the gap from 4th spot to 5th spot is vast and will probably keep getting bigger as time goes on.

These 5 eCommerce platform giants lead the way for new and established businesses looking to expand their products to an online marketplace. While this is important in every state, it is especially important in a fast paced state like Chicago where tech, entrepreneurship, and diverse economic sectors make for a competitive environment.

Now, let’s go over some Chicago eCommerce platform statistics that you should know about.

Shopify Statistics for Chicago Businesses

6. As of writing this, there are more than 8,472 live Shopify stores in Chicago.

7. Instagram is the most used social media app by Shopify store owners, with a whopping 48% of usage across all stores.

8. Facebook is not that far away from Instagram, with 30.7% of Shopify stores based in Chicago using it for their digital marketing strategies.

9. The most popular Shopify store category in Chicago is for apparel, with more than 32% of all Chicago Shopify stores having some sort of apparel product on their website.

10. The second most popular Shopify store category in Chicago is for beauty and fitness products, with a market share of 13.4%.

11. Chicago-based Shopify stores use USPS the most, with 17% usage, followed by UPS at 10.4%.

12. The biggest and most popular Shopify store from Chicago, as of writing this, is GHOST.

GHOST’s website is the perfect example of how a Shopify store can work and look when created correctly.

As you go through their website, different supplements and merchandise greet you in an organized and easy-to-find manner.

Shopify’s popularity helps them set themselves as the most popular eCommerce store option for business owners, and it’s no different in Chicago. Shopify is perfect for businesses that want to set up their business store in a simple and easy-to-follow way. Shopify also has extensive plugin support for any extra features you might need.

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Wix Platform Statistics for Chicago Businesses

13. Wix has a total of 1,702 eCommerce stores based in Chicago.

14. About 65% of Wix stores in Chicago use Instagram as their main social media account for their social media growth strategy.

15. At a close second, we have Facebook at 51% of overall usage for Chicago-based Wix stores.

16. The most prominent product category for Wix websites is arts and entertainment with 16.6% of the market share. They are followed by beauty and fitness at 13% and people and society at 12%.

The most popular Chicago-based Wix store as of writing this is TE’AMO Boba & Dessert. Their website showcases how Wix can be used for a simple yet effective eCommerce business store.

Wix’s drag and drop functionality makes it a serious contender as an eCommerce store for business owners who don’t want to deal with anything coding related. Their range of templates also helps brands get their online store up and running in less time.

Squarespace Platform Statistics for Chicago Businesses

17. Right now, there are at least 733 Squarespace stores in Chicago.

18. Instagram is the most used social media platform for Squarespace store users with an 85% adoption rate.

19. Facebook and Twitter are very far away from Instagram, with 57% and 48% respectively. Although, of all the eCommerce platforms on this list, Squarespace is the one with the highest social media platform adoption rate.

20. Continuing the trend, Squarespace’s most popular product category is arts and entertainment, with 30.7% of the market share. Squarespace, similar to Wix, has both apparel as the second largest product category and people & society as number three.

Alinea is the most popular and highest-ranked Squarespace website in Chicago. Their simple yet effective website helps you book a reservation for their exclusive multi-course dinner at the restaurant.

Squarespace is well known for their all-in-one functionality. You can edit templates, check analytics, and even manage your hosting. This is without adding their drag-and-drop systems that benefit business owners who don’t want to learn to code to manage their website.

WooCommerce Platform Statistics for Chicago Businesses

21. More than 1,200 live WooCommerce stores operate in Chicago as of this year.

22. At least 85% of WooCommerce stores in Chicago use Facebook.

23. 77% of WooCommerce stores in Chicago use X (formerly known as Twitter) as a way to communicate with their customers.

24. Instagram, on the other hand, is only used by 70% of WooCommerce stores based in Chicago.

25. The most popular WooCommerce store category in Chicago is arts and entertainment, with 14.2% of total stores.

26. Mailchimp is the most used app for WooCommerce stores in Chicago.

27. Despite the use of social media apps, 58% of WooCommerce stores in Chicago still have their email on their website.

WooCommerce’s open-source model is a massive appeal for Chicago business owners who want full creative freedom for their B2C or B2B eCommerce store. The platform’s strong integration with popular email automation extensions such as Mailchimp make it perfect for business owners who take marketing seriously.

WooCommerce’s open-source community also continues to grow and help new business owners understand what to do without breaking the bank.

Ecwid Platform Statistics for Chicago Businesses

28. Ecwid has a total of 249 live stores in Chicago.

29. Instagram is by far the most used social media platform for Chicago-based Ecwid businesses, with 74%.

30. More than 19% of Ecwid stores in Chicago are in the arts and entertainment category. That being said, the most successful category based on popularity and ranking is food and drink despite being at 7.6%.

The highest ranked Ecwid website currently is Lowcountry. They are a seafood restaurant with a website since 2018. Their website is simple but to the point and is a great example of what a business owner can do with a less popular eCommerce platform such as Ecwid.

Creating a website with Ecwid takes little to no time thanks to their instant site builder. They even offer a free version, which lets you create a website and add up to 5 different products to your catalog. All while being able to add payment and shipping options.

Learn how we increased Clear’s conversion rate by 17.9% with a new web design strategy.

Trends and Takeaways

Chicago is home to a lot of different eCommerce stores that range from selling apparel to artistic creations. There is no doubt that the eCommerce scene will continue to grow as more and more businesses understand the importance of online stores.

Open-source is as popular as its ever been

WooCommerce showcases that open-source eCommerce stores are alive and well thanks to their customizability and extensive community support. Chicago business owners value the flexibility an open-source eCommerce platform offers and is why WooCommerce keeps growing in popularity.

Social media is a core part of eCommerce stores

A vast majority of Chicago-based eCommerce businesses starting out rely on social media to increase their organic reach. It’s no surprise that Instagram and Facebook are leading the way when it comes to overall uses.

Completely different shipping preferences

There isn’t a clear winner when it comes to which shipping company Chicago eCommerce stores preferred. That being said, there were three that stood out from the rest. These were USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Local Innovation is at an all time high

Chicago’s competitive ecosystem lets new businesses in the SaaS market thrive with eCommerce store solutions that allow them to reach clients all over the world.

Get a custom eCommerce Store that Converts with Blacksmith

Chicago has proven itself to be one of the most innovative and diverse eCommerce environments in the United States. From small restaurants using Ecwid to drive more sales daily to giants like GHOST using Shopify to organize their hundreds of products in one simple website.

Having an eCommerce store is non-negotiable nowadays. Not having one severely hurts your overall sales and credibility. But we get it; creating an eCommerce store from scratch might seem daunting.

It’s a long project that takes web design knowledge and a lot of free time. That is time you could use on other parts of your business. So now what?

That’s where we come in. Here at Blacksmith, we are eCommerce experts ready to create the perfect store for you.

As a local Chicago web design agency, we have a group of seasoned web designers ready to create the modern eCommerce store that your brand deserves.

Unsure if investing in a custom eCommerce store is a good choice for your brand right now? Don’t worry, click here and we will audit your brand and website. This way we can show you all of the places that you’re potentially losing customers and how we can fix it.