Ever wondered why some Shopify stores suddenly disappear? Uncover insights from a founder and a CEO to understand the key reasons behind these shutdowns. The article begins by highlighting the issue of selling prohibited items and concludes with the importance of a solid marketing strategy, offering a total of six expert insights. Explore the common pitfalls and how to avoid them to keep any Shopify store thriving.
- Selling Prohibited Items
- Poor Security Practices
- Too Many Chargebacks
- Using Copyrighted Materials
- Improper Documentation
- Lack of Marketing Strategy
Selling Prohibited Items
In my 17 years helping online businesses, I’ve seen countless Shopify stores get shut down for selling prohibited items like counterfeit goods or CBD products—it’s a quick way to lose everything. Another major issue I’ve noticed is when stores have too many chargebacks or customer complaints, which triggers Shopify’s fraud detection system. Just last month, I helped a client reinstate their store after they fixed their refund policy and improved customer service response times, showing that many shutdowns are preventable with proper management.
Praveen Kumar, Founder, Wild Creek Web Studio
Poor Security Practices
From my experience working with countless online businesses, I’ve seen Shopify stores get shut down mainly due to poor security practices, like not updating plugins or using weak passwords. Last month, one of our clients lost their store after hackers injected malicious code because they hadn’t enabled two-factor authentication. I always recommend setting up automatic security updates and using a password manager—it’s basic stuff, but you’d be surprised how many store owners skip these steps.
Joe Davies, CEO, FATJOE
Too Many Chargebacks
I recently helped a client whose Shopify store was flagged for having too many chargebacks and customer complaints, which is actually one of the most common shutdown triggers I see. From my experience working with hundreds of stores, I’ve found that maintaining a healthy cash flow and keeping chargeback rates below 1% is crucial for staying operational.
Kevin Pike, President, Rankfuse
Using Copyrighted Materials
In my work optimising Shopify stores, I’ve found that stores often get shut down for selling prohibited items or using copyrighted materials without permission—something that happened to one of my clients who unknowingly used Disney characters on their products. We also see stores getting suspended for suspicious payment activity, like having multiple failed transactions or unusual patterns that trigger Shopify’s fraud detection systems.
Joshua Uebergang, Founder, Digital Darts
Improper Documentation
I’ve noticed that many Shopify stores get shut down when they fail to maintain proper documentation for their products or violate privacy laws like GDPR. Just last month, one of our partner stores got temporarily suspended because they weren’t properly handling customer data and didn’t have clear refund policies in place.
Yarden Morgan, Director of Growth, Lusha
Lack of Marketing Strategy
During the COVID-19 era, dropshipping saw an unprecedented boom, with social media buzzing about its potential as a lucrative business model. Many aspiring entrepreneurs jumped on the bandwagon, believing they could set up a Shopify store and instantly achieve massive sales.
However, success in eCommerce requires more than just launching a store. A key reason many Shopify stores fail is the lack of a well-thought-out marketing strategy. Store owners often underestimate the importance of driving traffic and engaging potential customers. Without a clear plan for advertising, content creation, and customer acquisition, even the best-designed stores struggle to generate sales.
To succeed, it’s essential to focus on strategic marketing efforts, understand your target audience, and continuously optimise your store based on performance data. Simply setting up a store isn’t enough—you need a roadmap to attract, convert, and retain customers.
Shubham Ahuja, Digital Marketing Manager, BigOhTech
