Cloud-Based Solution
eStar
Fully hosted SaaS platform
Shopify Plus
Fully hosted SaaS platform
Magento Commerce
Self-hosted platform (on-premises) Self-managed PaaS platform (Cloud) on AWS or Azure
Robust eCommerce Features
eStar
- Yes.
- Promotions, Merchandising, and Product Attribute Management features are very robust, and only require configuration to support business requirements.
- Product Management using import/export natively supported and very easy to use.
- Product Variants supported are unlimited.
Shopify Plus
- Basic eCommerce features augmented by add-on marketplace.
- Promotions, Merchandising, and Product Attribute Management features are weak, usually needing add-on applications or scripting to support business requirements.
- Product Management using import/export natively supported and easy to use.
- Product Variants supported are limited to 100.
Magento Commerce
- Base eCommerce features augmented by add-on marketplace.
- Promotions, Merchandising, and Product Attribute Management are stronger than Shopify Plus but will mostly still require add-on applications or customisation to support more complex business requirements.
- Product Management using import/export not a strong point and will require add-ons to facilitate.
- Product Variants supported are unlimited.
Extensibility, App Marketplace
eStar
- Fully extensible.
- Customisations are fully separate from the core code base to ensure stability and reduce interoperability issues.
- All customisations are security tested to ensure any potential vulnerabilities are addressed before deployment to your website.
Shopify Plus
- App Marketplace available. Project-specific custom app development supported.
- Custom apps may only connect through the Shopify APIs. This ensures that customisations are achieved without touching the core code base, reducing interoperability issues but also limiting the customisations that can be done.
Magento Commerce
- App marketplace available. Project-specific customisations fully supported.
- Magento is an open platform which allows clients – and their systems integrators – full flexibility in extending the platform. These customisations are usually the main cause of security vulnerability of Magento websites.
Order Management and Fulfilment (OMF)
eStar
Built-in distributed order management solution and industry-leading OMF optimisation solution.
View case studyShopify Plus
Basic order management features augmented by add-on marketplace and third-party solutions.
Magento Commerce
Order management features stronger than Shopify Plus, but will require third-party solutions for more complex order management requirements and for OMF optimisation.
Advanced Reporting
eStar
- Standard operational reports are available, including all aspects of the eCommerce operations.
- Data may easily be exported using wizards or the platform’s APIs for further analysis in third-party business intelligence solutions.
Shopify Plus
- Standard operational reports are available.
- Add-ons or third-party solutions are required to provide analytical reporting capabilities.
Magento Commerce
- Standard operational reports are available.
- However, different add-on applications and modules make reporting in Magento complex.
- To address this, Advanced Reporting capabilities are provided by a separate module, Business Intelligence.
- Fees for Magento BI are based on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and requires technical expertise (in-house developers or systems integrators) to implement.
Integration Support
eStar
Open APIs. Flexible.
Shopify Plus
Limited to Shopify APIs.
Magento Commerce
Open APIs. Flexible.
Headless Commerce Support
eStar
Fully supported with no loss of functionality.
Shopify Plus
- Partially supported through the Shopify storefont API. Checkout and Account functionalities remain in Shopify.
- Most add-on apps do not have APIs available, resulting in loss of functionality.
Magento Commerce
Supported but does not have full API coverage, resulting in loss of functionality.
Multi-Store, Multi-Brand Support
Shopify Plus
No. Multiple instances may be created for each store or brand.
Magento Commerce
Yes
Premium Support
eStar
Full platform and solution support provided by eStar Support Team.
Shopify Plus
- For the platform, provided by Shopify Support Team.
- For customisations, provided by the Shopify partner.
Magento Commerce
- For the platform, developer support provided by Magento.
- For the project and customisations, provided by the Magento implementing partner.
Continuous Platform Upgrades
eStar
Platform updates and upgrades are applied automatically.
Shopify Plus
- Platform updates and upgrades are applied automatically.
- Add-ons and other third-party solutions updated and upgraded by their respective providers.
Magento Commerce
Platform updates and upgrades are made available but managed by the client.
Upgrade Path
eStar
No need for upgrades. Updates and new features rolled out into the platform automatically.
Shopify Plus
- For the platform, updates and new features rolled out automatically.
- For add-ons and other third-party solutions, upgrades are dependent on their respective providers.
Magento Commerce
- Magento 1.x to Magento 2.x is a replatform.
- Any major and minor releases will be an upgrade to be managed by the client.
PCI-DSS Level 1 Compliance
eStar
PCI-DSS Level 1 Certified
Shopify Plus
PCI-DSS Level 1 Certified
Magento Commerce
- Magento Commerce Cloud is PCI DSS Level 1 Certified.
- Magento Commerce (on-premises) PCI compliance is managed by merchants. Magento enables compliance through payment gateway integrations.
Security
eStar
Yes
Shopify Plus
Yes
Magento Commerce
Magento is the target of choice for attackers such as the Magecart group, according to the 2020 Trustwave Global Security Report. Attackers usually exploit vulnerability in the Magento framework or third-party plug-in by injecting malicious code to steal payment card data.
Reliability
eStar
Annualised application availability exceeds 99.98% across all clients.
Shopify Plus
Claims 99.99% average uptime across all clients.
Magento Commerce
Dependent on client’s hosting provider.
Internal Technical Team Required
eStar
No
Shopify Plus
No
Magento Commerce
Yes
Beyond Platform Technology: Retail and Digital Strategy Expertise
eStar
eStar’s fully-integrated eCommerce platform is implemented by a large team with exceptional expertise on Retail, eCommerce, and Digital Strategy.
Shopify Plus
According to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce (August 2020), Shopify tends to attract more local design agencies than global solution integrators, which may result in patchy availability of technical resources outside of the US and Europe.
Magento Commerce
Magento provides Open Source eCommerce technology. Implementation and management of the platform, and other services, are dependent on the system integrator chosen, or internal team established, by the client.
Why eStar?
Brand Experience. Delivered Together.
eStar is focussed on building a strategic partnership with clients. We work collaboratively with all our clients every step of the way: from solution design to implementation and support, to on-going strategic growth. We believe that by working closely with our clients, we enable their success, which ultimately leads to eStar’s success. Truly “Brand Experience. Delivered Together.”
Our clients have an average pre-COVID online revenue growth of 38%.
Learn how eStar is powering the success of the Country Road Group
eStar eCommerce Platform: Proven Security, Reliability, and Scalability
The eStar eCommerce platform supports combined online sales of more than $850 million across our client base, with some clients exceeding 100,000 online transactions per annum.
The eStar eCommerce platform is PCI-DSS Level 1 Certified and has been facilitating secure online payment transactions for almost two decades, strictly adhering to accepted industry best practices.
The eStar service has also been proven perfectly reliable in performance and uptime – through many real-world disaster recovery situations, including major power outages, rouge snowstorms, as well as several major earthquakes – without disruption to service.
Simplifying Operations: True Total Cost of Ownership
Total cost of ownership goes beyond software licence and platform hosting fees. It requires consideration of a broader set of costs, including:
- Cost of maintaining in-house developers and/or development houses;
- Cost of overall platform maintenance, including performance management, patch management, upgrade paths, and regression testing;
- Cost of scaling the business;
- Cost of complexity;
- Cost of security breaches; and
- Additional fees from standard platform deviations – e.g. additional transaction fees arising from not using the platform’s in-house payment gateway.
eStar helps you simplify your operations by managing the day-to-day hosting and maintenance of the eCommerce platform; eliminating complexity with a platform architecture that provides zero risk for incompatibilities between platform updates, new features, and your customisations; and providing critical support, 24x7.
Beyond Technology: Retail, eCommerce, and Digital Strategy Expertise
At its core, eStar is an eCommerce provider that lives and breathes Retail. eStar implements technology and solutions utilising its extensive retail experience, enabling Brands to be successful online. Led by a team that has unparalleled experience, eStar has the right mix of people, technology, and experience to ensure the success of our client partnerships.
Read about the eStar Leadership Team
