BigCommerce to Shopify: Why Enterprise Brands Switch and What the Move Involves

BigCommerce is a capable, fully hosted platform, so a move to Shopify isn't about escaping servers. For most enterprise brands the reasons are practical: a bigger app ecosystem, a checkout that keeps improving without custom work, and a store that marketing teams can change without waiting on developers. This guide covers why brands switch, the concerns that hold them back, and what the move involves.

Why enterprise brands move from BigCommerce to Shopify

• Speed of change. Shopify's theme editor, sections and Launchpad let merchandisers build pages and schedule campaigns themselves.
• App and partner ecosystem. Most needs — subscriptions, reviews, loyalty, search, B2B tools — have a ready-made Shopify app, and many specialist agencies build on Shopify.
• Checkout. Shopify Checkout and Shop Pay are maintained by Shopify, and Shopify Plus merchants can extend checkout with Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions instead of custom code.
• B2B and international on one platform. Shopify B2B (company accounts, catalogs, price lists, payment terms) is available on every plan, Shopify Plus adds unlimited catalogs, and Shopify Markets handles currencies, languages and domains.
• Operational automation. Shopify Flow automates tagging, alerts and routine tasks.

Common concerns, answered

"Shopify isn't flexible enough for us." Most custom requirements can be met with apps, Shopify Functions, metafields and metaobjects, or a small custom app. For fully custom front ends, Shopify supports headless builds with Hydrogen.

"We'll lose our product options." BigCommerce variant options become Shopify variants. Modifier options — engraving text or add-on prices, for example — move to line item properties or a product options app.

"We'll lose customer-group pricing." Customer groups and price lists become Shopify B2B catalogs.

"Our rankings will drop." BigCommerce allows custom URLs; Shopify uses fixed /products/ and /collections/ paths. With a full 301 redirect map and carried-over metadata, rankings hold.

What the migration involves

Customer passwords can't be transferred between platforms, but on Shopify's passwordless customer accounts customers sign in with a one-time email code and keep their account and order history.

How long it takes

A small store usually moves in 4–6 weeks, a mid-size store in 6–10 weeks, and enterprise builds with B2B, multiple storefronts or ERP integrations in 3–6 months.

FAQ

Is Shopify Plus suitable for enterprise brands? Yes. It's built for high-volume brands, with B2B, checkout customization, automation, expansion stores and higher API limits.

Will the store go offline during the move? No. Your BigCommerce store keeps trading until launch; new orders and customers are synced just before the switch.

How much does it cost? It depends on catalog size, options, integrations and design work. You get a fixed-scope quote after a free consultation.

Planning a move from BigCommerce?

See the field-by-field plan on our BigCommerce to Shopify migration page, or book a free consultation.