The e-commerce market in the Chandigarh tricity has exploded post-COVID. Retailers in Sector 17, wholesale businesses in Mohali Phase 7, and D2C brands across Punjab are all looking to sell online. The first question they face: Shopify or custom?
Shopify is the right choice for 70% of e-commerce businesses. If you sell physical products, need standard checkout, and your catalog is under 10,000 SKUs, Shopify gives you a production-ready store in 2-4 weeks with payment processing, inventory management, and mobile optimization out of the box.
Custom e-commerce (headless, using Next.js + a commerce backend) makes sense when: you need a unique checkout flow, your catalog has complex variants or configurations, you require multi-vendor marketplace functionality, or you need deep integration with existing ERP/inventory systems.
The cost difference is significant. A Shopify store with custom theme: ₹1-4 lakhs. A custom headless e-commerce build: ₹8-25 lakhs. Shopify charges transaction fees (2% on basic plan), while custom has higher upfront cost but no ongoing platform fees.
We've built both for Chandigarh tricity businesses. Our recommendation is always based on your specific situation — not which platform pays us better commissions.