After two successful rounds which saw Shopify helping Victorian businesses start selling and growing online, Shopify is once again partnering with the Victorian Government to support its Small Business Digital Adaptation Program.
Through this program, eligible Victorian businesses will enjoy a $1200 rebate on their Shopify subscription, equivalent to 12 months’ worth of access to its ecosystem of tools and experts to help build and scale their online business.
Shopify is also providing additional enhanced incentives including:
- An extended 30-day free trial – take the time you need to get your store online with an exclusive extended free trial that’s double the standard offer.
- Live training and webinars – Shopify’s Victoria educational hub offers step-by-step guidance including blog posts, tutorials and trendspotting to help you launch and grow your business with confidence.
- Special offers from Shopify’s robust ecosystem of partners, agencies, developers and freelancers. Shopify has curated a wide variety of offers that range from basic setup to completely custom solutions, to cater to different needs from merchants of all shapes and sizes.
- 24/7 customer support – Shopify’s support team is available every step of the way via chat, email, call-back, and social media.
Merchants must already have a registered business in Australia and will be provided the opportunity to choose from 14 different commerce vendors, including Shopify. Once businesses decide on their partner, they can visit the Victoria Government website to start their rebate process.
Shopify Managing Director for Asia Pacific Shaun Broughton says: “Shopify is proud to once again have the opportunity to support sole traders, micro and local small businesses in Victoria with the tech tools and resources needed to adapt, grow, and thrive.
“Schemes like the Small Business Digital Adaptation Program are crucial for incentivising business digitalisation, setting the stage for Victorian businesses to flourish amid an increasingly competitive environment.”
Flowers on Melville’s Nicole Henderson, a Shopify merchant and SBDAP participant, says: “As a small business owner going through the pandemic and facing the subsequent restrictions, having an old clunky website just aggravated the situation even more. The Small Business Digital Adaptation Program helped me save my business as the rebate allowed me to move my ecommerce website to a Shopify platform and link my POS system.
“After switching to Shopify, my sales increased significantly and I believe it’s because they’re now able to navigate the website more easily and it’s also been a seamless experience to stay on top of my stock levels.
“I highly encourage VIC small businesses to apply for the rebate for this phase of the program to speed up your digitisation process and future proof your business against the impact of the pandemic.It’s worth its weight in gold!”
SerotoninKC’s Roxxie Myers, a Shopify merchant and SBDAP participant, says: “When we came across the Small Business Digital Adaptation Program in the news and saw that we were eligible to apply, the opportunity was a no-brainer for us as we were looking to step up our e-commerce game. After spending two years researching and developing formulas to launch our online store, WordPress was not doing it for us.
“It only took seven days to migrate our online store to the Shopify platform and within one week, we had customers in every state as our organic sales started to increase. Shopify was very easy to set up and its integration with Google and social media platforms was great in helping to push catalogues through,” she said.
“We started with a range of 25 products and thanks to the success since moving to Shopify, we are now flooded with requests for more lines and more stockists.
“If you’re a business owner and you missed the first phase of the Small Business Digital Adaptation Program, just apply for it now and give your online store a boost with Shopify. Our successful business growth in this current climate would not have been possible without an ecommerce website”.
For more information including eligibility requirements, visit the Shopify Small Business Digital Adaptation Program at shopify.com.au/victoriasbdap.