Combining Amazon with Shopify: The Better & Better story

The hardest part of ecommerce isn’t setting up a store or listing a product on Amazon. It’s actually building a brand that customers remember and come back to. 

A strong brand does two things: it clearly communicates why your product is different, and it fosters trust at every touchpoint. Combining Amazon with Shopify is exactly what ecommerce brands need.

Vladimir, founder of Better & Better, knows this first-hand. His team spent years developing an innovative toothpaste that delivers vitamins while brushing. Amazing idea, completely new in the market. When creating a unique product in a crowded category, it was important to shape and share a story that made sense to consumers. That’s the foundation of every brand-building process: making sure customers understand why you exist before you push for growth.

For Amazon sellers, this step can’t be skipped. Selling a generic product might win short-term sales, but without a clear brand identity, it’s nearly impossible to build loyalty or command higher margins. 

So what does using Amazon with Shopify mean for your ecommerce business?

Why Amazon

Amazon remains the biggest stage for ecommerce in the US. Around 40% of online retail spending flows through its marketplace, and in categories like oral care, supplements, and consumer packaged goods, many searches start on Amazon. For new brands, this means two immediate benefits: visibility and trust.

When Better & Better launched, Vladimir and his team knew that Amazon was the channel where first-time buyers felt comfortable. 

The Prime badge, fast shipping, and Amazon’s customer service reduce friction for a shopper who has never heard of you before. That’s especially valuable when introducing a new product concept, like toothpaste with vitamins. Customers may hesitate to buy from a standalone site they don’t know, but Amazon’s infrastructure reassures them.

Amazon is also useful as a testing ground. The search data, reviews, and customer feedback provide insights into how people search, what they value, and what language resonates. 

But while Amazon is powerful, it also comes with real limits. Sellers don’t own customer data, which makes it difficult to build long-term relationships. Reviews can make or break performance, and they’re outside of a brand’s control. 

Amazon fees keep rising, often cutting into margins by 30-50% once referral fees, fulfillment, and ads are factored in. And because competition is so fierce, standing out without paid visibility is nearly impossible.

This is why relying only on Amazon is risky. You can grow fast, but you’re always exposed to changes in fees, policies, and algorithms. Sellers should treat Amazon as the front door, but shouldn’t stop there. To build sustainable growth, they also invest in their own store, where they set the rules, own the customer data, and drive retention without paying for every click.

Why use Amazon with Shopify

If Amazon is where customers find you, Shopify is where you actually build the relationship. On Amazon, every interaction belongs to the platform: customer data stays locked inside, and repeat sales are never guaranteed. 

But on Shopify, which is the most used platform for Amazon sellers, everything changes. You own the storefront. You decide how the brand looks and feels. And most importantly, you control how customers come back to you.

With Shopify, brands can:

• Capture emails and first-party data, the foundation for retention,
• Set up subscriptions or bundles that drive predictable revenue,
• Launch loyalty programs or referral systems that reward repeat business,
• Test new product messaging and designs.

Better&Better is a clear example. Customers often meet the brand on Amazon because of the convenience, trust, and visibility. But once they try the toothpaste and want to make it part of their routine, Shopify is where they go for a subscription. 

And that shift is intentional! The Shopify store isn’t just another sales channel, it’s the home of the brand. It’s where Better&Better tells its full story, shares its mission, and nurtures customers into long-term advocates.

For Amazon sellers, this shift is critical. Without a DTC store, every sale is a one-off transaction mediated by Amazon. You pay referral fees every time. You compete for attention every time. And you never build a direct line to your buyers. With Shopify, each order builds your own audience, the audience you can reach again without paying for ads or clicks.

In the long run, the choice of whether to sell on both channels makes or breaks your growth. The ambitious sellers don’t treat this as a choice. They use both. Amazon drives the first sale. Shopify secures the next ten. Together, they form a model that balances scale with sustainability. An ecommerce business model that gives you reach today and independence tomorrow.

Advice for sellers: Amazon with Shopify

Don’t try to educate the market too early

A mistake many sellers make is assuming customers will immediately understand their product if it’s new or unusual. On Shopify, you need to drive traffic and explain your story, which takes time and budget. On Amazon, people are already searching for products in your category. 

That’s why Better&Better launched their vitamin-infused toothpaste on Amazon first. Customers already trusted Amazon for oral care. Once people bought and understood the product, it became much easier to introduce them to the full story on the Shopify site.

Lead with one clear differentiator

On Amazon, listings compete side by side. Shoppers scroll fast, and too much complexity slows them down. A single, sharp differentiator is what cuts through. For Better&Better, it was simple: you brush your teeth every day, now you can also get vitamins at the same time. That message was easy to communicate on Amazon’s limited listing space. Later, on Shopify, the brand could expand into more detail. Sellers should remember: Amazon is for clarity, Shopify is for depth.

Most successful sellers use both channels

Amazon gives reach and credibility. Shopify gives control and retention. Alone, each has limits. Together, they balance out. Better&Better’s approach shows how to do it well: let Amazon handle discovery and first purchases, then use Shopify for subscriptions, bundles, and long-term engagement. For most businesses, this combination is the model that ensures growth while protecting against rising fees, sudden policy changes, and the lack of customer ownership on Amazon.

Amazon with Shopify: What you should remember

The real challenge in ecommerce isn’t getting started. Anyone can open an Amazon Seller Central account or launch a Shopify store in a weekend. The challenge is building a brand that people trust, remember, and return to. That requires clarity, consistency, and the right channel strategy.

Amazon still matters because it delivers reach, credibility, and the chance to meet customers where they’re already shopping. 

We’ve been in the ecommerce business for 15+ years. We’ve seen all the goods and bads. And we’ve built many Shopify stores for Amazon Sellers. And here’s the biggest lesson: you shouldn’t rely only on one selling channel, no matter how big it is. 

Amazon fees cut deep into margins, competition is big, and every sale belongs to Amazon, not to you. That’s why it’s important to build your own store and Shopify changes the game. You own the data, you set the rules, and you decide how to build loyalty through subscriptions, bundles, and retention programs. 

The lesson for sellers is clear: this isn’t about choosing Amazon or Shopify. It’s about using both in a way that plays to their strengths. Amazon drives discovery and credibility, Shopify drives retention and control. You want to build a business that lasts, right?

Book your free Amazon to DTC call and find all the answers.