Move over, Shopify! Ecommerce merchants around the world are getting a new set of tools from an unlikely source: Dropbox.
The company announced (opens in a new tab) Dropbox Shop in November of last year, and the seller-focused toolset is entering public beta right now, along with Dropbox Backup.
"By allowing you to sell directly to your customers, Shop allows you to retain ownership and control of your business and your audience," the company said in a blog post (opens in a new tab). "With the new version, you can customize your storefront and URL, embed HTML codes, and add tipping features."
ecommerce wars
At its core, the tools offer something similar to Shopify and the like: the ability to list and sell products of all kinds from a centralized online hub. Users can create a store, get a custom URL, and accept payments through Stripe and PayPal.
Currently, Dropbox doesn't keep a portion 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 appeal.
The Dropbox Shop beta is available on all Dropbox plans (Basic, Plus, and Professional), but only in the US at this time.
Making it easy to sell items online is big business, and not just for Amazon. A wide variety of startups are currently vying for e-commerce supremacy, especially when it comes to independent sellers.
Etsy had an early lead, but in recent years rivals like Shopify have emerged to allow merchants to offer a personalized experience.
Dropbox's addition to the space is interesting, given that the company has primarily focused on cloud storage and creative tools like Paper.
Dropbox Shops is turning that around a bit, and we're very interested to see how the plan plays out going forward.