Shopify Singapore: How to set up your store in 2026

Key Takeaways:

• Shopify is one of the most popular ways to launch an online store in Singapore, with four pricing plans starting from S$29/month and a setup process that takes a few hours.

• Choosing the right payment gateway matters more than most new merchants realise — the wrong choice can add 2% in transaction fees on top of card processing costs.

• Airwallex lets you settle Shopify payouts in the original currency through a local Global Account, so you avoid forced conversion to SGD and the FX margin that comes with it.

Setting up Shopify in Singapore is one of the fastest ways to start selling online, whether you're launching a side hustle or moving an existing business onto a proper eCommerce platform.

The platform handles the storefront, checkout, inventory, and payments in one place, which makes it easy for you to get up and running.

This guide walks you through the full setup: choosing the right Shopify plan, configuring your store for Singapore, picking a payment gateway, registering for GST when you cross the threshold, and using analytics to grow.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform that lets you build, run, and grow an online store without writing code. It handles the storefront, product catalogue, checkout, payments, shipping, and reporting in one subscription, so you don't need to stitch together separate tools.

The platform has been used by millions of merchants worldwide, with total sales on Shopify stores passing US$1 trillion². For Singapore businesses, that scale matters because it means a deep app ecosystem, frequent product updates, and integrations with most of the local tools you'll need.

Why sell on Shopify in Singapore

Shopify gives Singapore merchants a few specific advantages over alternatives like Shopee, Lazada, or building a custom site. Here are the benefits of selling on Shopify:

1. You own the customer relationship

On marketplaces, the customer belongs to the platform. On Shopify, you own the email list, the order history, and the brand experience — which makes repeat purchases and remarketing far easier.

2. It’s Singapore-ready out of the box

You can set your store currency to SGD, your timezone to SGT, and your unit system to metric in a few clicks.

Shopify also supports Singapore-relevant domains (.com.sg, .sg), local couriers like SingPost and Ninja Van through apps, and tax settings for GST when you cross the registration threshold.

3. It’s built for cross-border selling

Shopify Markets lets you sell into multiple countries from one store, with localised pricing, currencies, and languages.

This is useful if you're a Singapore SME planning to sell into Malaysia, Australia, or the US — markets that are easy to reach but hard to serve well without the right setup.

4. It has a large app and theme ecosystem

The Shopify Theme Store offers 200+ free and paid themes³, and the App Store has thousands of apps for everything from PayNow integration to inventory management. Most Singapore-specific gaps (local payment methods, shipping carriers, GST invoicing) can be filled with an app.

What to sell on Shopify in Singapore

Almost any physical or digital product can be sold on Shopify, but some categories work better in Singapore than others. Local market size, shipping costs, and competition all play a role.

Here are categories that work well in Singapore:

Fashion and accessories

Apparel is the single largest category on Shopify globally, and Singapore is no exception.

Local Shopify success stories include brands like Love, Bonito (women's fashion), The Editor's Market, and Beyond The Vines. The category works because product margins are healthy, shipping costs are low for lightweight items, and customers are comfortable buying clothing online.

Beauty and personal care

Skincare, haircare, fragrances, and makeup all sell well through Shopify in Singapore. Brands like Allies of Skin and Sigi Skin have built strong direct-to-consumer businesses. The category benefits from repeat purchases and good fit with content marketing.

Food and beverage

Specialty coffee, snacks, sauces, and packaged foods do well, especially for SG-made or curated products. Refrigerated items are harder because of last-mile complexity and packaging costs.

Home and lifestyle

Furniture, decor, kitchenware, and home accessories. The challenge is shipping cost — bulky items eat into margin unless your AOV is high enough to absorb it.

Health and wellness

Supplements, fitness equipment, and wellness products. Watch out for the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) rules on what claims you can make and what products need approval before sale.

Digital products

Ebooks, courses, design templates, and software. No shipping, no inventory, and Shopify supports digital downloads natively. A good fit for first-time founders testing an idea.

On the flip side, here are categories which you might want to avoid:

• High-value electronics — competition from Lazada, Shopee, and big retailers is intense, and margins are thin.

• Heavily regulated goods — alcohol, tobacco, supplements, and medical devices need licenses and HSA or Singapore Customs approvals.

• Bulky low-margin items — anything where shipping cost is a high percentage of the order value (e.g. cheap furniture, large packaged goods) struggles unless you can hit a high AOV.

Shopify pricing plans for Singapore

Shopify offers four plans, priced in SGD for Singapore merchants (except Plus, which is priced in USD). The right plan depends on your sales volume, the number of staff who need access, and the markets you sell into.

The two costs to watch are the monthly subscription and the transaction fee on third-party payment gateways. If you don't use Shopify Payments, Shopify charges an extra fee on every sale — and that fee shrinks as you move up the plans.

Here’s a quick overview of the different plans:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 29 April 2026.

Basic Plan

Basic is the most popular entry point for new Shopify stores in Singapore. At S$29/month on annual billing (or S$39/month on monthly billing), you get a full customisable storefront, unlimited products, two staff accounts, up to 10 inventory locations, localised selling in up to three markets, Shopify POS Lite, and basic reports⁵.

The 2% third-party transaction fee is the catch — if you use Stripe, PayPal, or Airwallex on this plan, you pay 2% to Shopify on top of the gateway's own fee on every sale.

Grow Plan

The Grow plan costs S$99/month on annual billing or S$132/month on monthly billing⁵. You get five staff accounts, professional reports, a lower 1% third-party transaction fee, and the same 10 inventory locations as Basic.

This plan suits stores doing enough volume that the 1% saving on transaction fees offsets the higher subscription — usually around S$5,000–S$10,000 in monthly sales through a third-party gateway.

Advanced Plan

The Advanced plan costs S$399/month on annual billing or S$531/month on monthly billing⁵. You get 15 staff accounts, a custom report builder, and the lowest standard third-party transaction fee at 0.6%.

This plan is built for established stores with multiple staff, complex reporting needs, or higher transaction volumes.

Plus Plan

Shopify Plus starts at US$2,300/month on a three-year term, or US$2,500/month on a one-year term. It's enterprise-tier: unlimited staff accounts, up to 200 inventory locations, 200 POS Pro locations, 24/7 priority support, and a 0.2% third-party transaction fee⁶.

Plus is overkill for most Singapore SMEs, but it's worth knowing about if you're scaling into a multi-region or omnichannel operation.

How to choose your Shopify plan

If you’re not sure which plan to choose, here’s a simple rule of thumb:

• Launching a new store with low to mid volume: Basic

• Doing enough sales that 1% transaction fees add up: Grow

• Larger team, multiple markets, custom reporting: Advanced

• Enterprise scale, multi-region operations: Plus

How to set up a Shopify store in Singapore

You can get a basic Shopify store live in Singapore in a single afternoon, though most merchants spend a few days fine-tuning before launch.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up your store:

Step 1: Sign up for a free trial

Go to shopify.com/sg and start the free trial. You'll be asked a few quick questions about what you plan to sell and where you're based. Pick "Singapore" so Shopify pre-fills the correct currency, timezone, and tax defaults.

You don't need to enter payment details to start the trial, and you can switch plans at any point during or after the trial.

Step 2: Configure your store for Singapore

This is the step most new merchants skip — and then have to redo when orders start coming in. Inside Shopify admin, go to Settings > General and confirm the following:

• Store currency: SGD (Singapore Dollar). This is the currency your prices will display in by default and the currency Shopify Payments will pay you out in.

• Timezone: (GMT+08:00) Singapore. This affects when reports run, when scheduled emails send, and the timestamps on your orders.

• Unit system: Metric. Singapore uses kilograms and centimetres, which matters for shipping calculations.

• Default weight unit: Kilograms.

• Address: Use your Singapore business address. This appears on receipts and is used for shipping calculations.

If you plan to sell internationally, leave the store currency as SGD and use Shopify Markets (Settings > Markets) to add other currencies later. Don't change the base currency mid-way through trading — it creates accounting headaches.

Step 3: Pick and customise your theme

Open the Online Store > Themes section. Shopify ships with a free theme called Dawn, and the Theme Store has 200+ free and paid themes³ if you want something more polished.

A few things to check before committing to a theme:

• Mobile responsiveness — Singapore eCommerce traffic is overwhelmingly mobile.

• Speed — heavy themes hurt your Google rankings and conversion rate.

• Compatibility with the apps you plan to use (especially payment and shipping apps).

You can preview any theme before installing, and you can switch themes later without losing your products or orders.

Step 4: Add your products

Go to Products > Add product. For each product, add a clear title, photos, price, weight, and SKU. Use CSV import for bulk uploads.

Step 5: Set up collections and navigation

Collections group related products together. For example, "New arrivals," "Sale," or category-based groups like "Tops" and "Bottoms." Set these up under Products > Collections.

Then go to Online Store > Navigation and build your main menu and footer menu. Keep the main menu short, so it works on mobile.

Step 6: Set up shipping

Under Settings > Shipping and delivery, create shipping zones. At minimum, set up a Singapore zone, plus zones for any international markets you want to sell into.

For Singapore-specific carriers, install an app from the Shopify App Store. Common options include:

• SingPost for standard local and international post.

• Ninja Van for next-day local delivery.

• Lalamove for on-demand same-day delivery.

• Qxpress for cross-border SEA shipping.

You can set flat rates, weight-based rates, or rates calculated by the carrier in real time.

Step 7: Configure tax settings

Go to Settings > Taxes and duties. Singapore charges GST at 9%, but you only need to collect and remit GST if you're GST-registered. Compulsory registration kicks in at S$1 million in annual taxable turnover⁷ — more on this in the Tax and compliance section below.

If you're not yet GST-registered, leave taxes off for SGD sales. If you are, enable GST collection and Shopify will calculate the 9% automatically at checkout.

Step 8: Set up payment gateways

This is the most important setup decision in the whole process — covered in detail in the next section.

How to set up payment gateways for your Shopify store in Singapore

Your payment gateway choice affects three things: the fees you pay on every sale, the payment methods your customers can use, and whether you can serve international buyers without losing margin to FX.

In Singapore, four main options come up for Shopify merchants: Shopify Payments, Stripe, PayPal, and Airwallex. For a full side-by-side breakdown of fees, payment methods, and trade-offs, see our dedicated guide on the best payment gateways for Shopify. 

Otherwise, here’s a quick summary:

• Shopify Payments — This is Shopify's own gateway. Its biggest selling point is that it removes the third-party transaction fee Shopify charges on other gateways⁹. The catch is that it doesn't natively support PayNow or GrabPay, so most sellers add a second gateway like Stripe or HitPay to accept those — and the moment you do, Shopify's third-party fee kicks in on those transactions anyway. 

• Airwallex — Built for Singapore businesses earning revenue in multiple currencies. Lets you hold foreign currencies in their original form instead of converting to SGD on every payout. For those who sell internationally, this saves you a lot on FX fees.

• Stripe — A flexible third-party gateway with strong support for local and international payment methods, including PayNow and GrabPay. Popular with merchants who need broader payment-method coverage or developer flexibility.

• PayPal — Globally recognised at checkout, which still lifts conversions for some international buyers. Its fees are the highest of the four options.

Which gateway to choose

If your customers are exclusively in Singapore and you only ever sell in SGD, Shopify Payments is the cheapest and simplest setup.

That said, Singapore's domestic market is small. Unless you're selling for fun or treating this as a hobby, you'll almost certainly want to sell internationally — which makes Airwallex the most practical option. Here’s what you get with Airwallex:

• Shopify plugin — just install the plugin, no custom development needed.

• Like-for-like settlement — if a US customer pays in USD, you can hold those funds in USD inside an Airwallex Global Account instead of being forced to convert to SGD at the gateway's rate. You convert when the rate suits you, or when you actually need SGD.

• Multi-currency Global Accounts — local bank details in 20+ currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, JPY, SGD, HKD and more), with no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance.

• 160+ payment methods across 180+ countries — accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, GrabPay, WeChat Pay, Alipay and more from one integration.

• FX at 0.4% to 0.6% above interbank — this is typically 2–4% cheaper than what payment gateways charge for automatic conversion.

Tax and compliance basics for your Shopify store

You don't need to be a tax expert to launch a Shopify store in Singapore, but two things are worth getting right from the start: GST and customer data handling.

GST registration

Singapore charges Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 9% on most goods and services. You only have to register for GST if your taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in a calendar year, or if you reasonably expect it to exceed that in the next 12 months⁷.

Below that threshold, you don't charge GST and you don't file GST returns. You can register voluntarily if most of your sales are exports — voluntary registration lets you reclaim GST on local business expenses — but it comes with a two-year minimum commitment and ongoing filing duties.

When you do need to charge GST, enable it in Shopify under Settings > Taxes and duties > Singapore. Shopify will calculate the 9% at checkout based on your store address and the customer's shipping address.

PDPA and customer data

Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) governs how you collect and use customer data — names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses¹². For most Shopify merchants, the practical requirements are straightforward:

• Publish a privacy policy and link it from your footer and checkout page.

• Use unticked opt-in checkboxes for marketing emails and SMS.

• Only use customer data for the purposes you told them about at checkout.

• Scrub Singapore phone numbers against the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry before sending marketing SMS.

Shopify has a default privacy policy template under Settings > Policies that you can adapt. It's not legal advice, but it's a reasonable starting point for a small store.

Shipping in Singapore

Domestic shipping in Singapore is fast and cheap by global standards, but you still need to pick the right carriers and connect them to Shopify.

Common local carriers

• SingPost — broadest letterbox and POPStation locker network; best for small parcels and lower-value items.

• Ninja Van — strong Shopify integration, good volume pricing, and regional coverage if you also ship into Malaysia and Indonesia.

• Lalamove — on-demand same-day delivery, useful for higher-value or time-sensitive orders.

• J&T Express and Qxpress — competitive options if you sell across Southeast Asia or alongside marketplaces like Shopee and Qoo10.

Setting up shipping in Shopify

Under Settings > Shipping and delivery, create a Singapore shipping zone first, then add zones for any international markets you sell into. For each zone, you can set flat rates, weight-based rates, or live rates calculated by the carrier at checkout.

To add Singapore-specific carriers, install their app from the Shopify App Store. Most local couriers offer apps that handle label printing, pickup booking, and tracking automatically.

Cross-border shipping

If you sell internationally, two things matter most:

• Duties and taxes — Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) means you collect duties and taxes at checkout, so the customer doesn't pay anything on delivery. Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) often leads to refused parcels. Apps like Easyship or Zonos can automate DDP calculations.

• Carrier choice — DHL, FedEx, and UPS are the standard premium options for cross-border. SingPost's international service and Ninja Van's regional network are cheaper alternatives for SEA.

Local SEO essentials for Singapore

Most Shopify traffic comes from Google. A few small changes during setup make a meaningful difference to where you rank for SG searches:

• Homepage title and meta description — include "Singapore" or "SG" naturally where it fits, plus what you sell. Edit these under Online Store > Preferences.

• Product page titles — write for what people actually search ("women's linen dress Singapore" beats "Linen Collection 2026").

• Image alt text — describe what's in each product photo. Helps with image search and accessibility.

• URL slugs — keep them short and descriptive. /products/linen-shirt-white ranks better than /products/sku-2847.

• Domain — a .sg or .com.sg domain signals local relevance to Google. You can buy these through Singapore registrars like Vodien or use Shopify's domain service.

If you're new to SEO, install a Shopify SEO app (free options exist) to flag missing alt text, broken links, and weak meta descriptions across your store.

Built-in Shopify analytics

Shopify includes a Reports section (Analytics > Reports) that shows your sales, visitor numbers, conversion rate, average order value, and top-performing products. The depth of reporting depends on your plan⁵:

• Basic — basic reports covering sales, customers, and product performance.

• Grow — professional reports, including marketing and behaviour reports.

• Advanced and Plus — custom report builder, letting you slice data by any field.

Check three numbers weekly:

• Conversion rate — what percentage of visitors buy. Anything above 2% is healthy for most categories.

• Average order value (AOV) — total revenue divided by number of orders. Bundles and free-shipping thresholds usually move this number.

• Top traffic sources — where your visitors actually come from. Helps you decide where to spend your marketing budget.

Connect Google Analytics and Search Console

Shopify's native reports are useful, but Google Analytics 4 (GA4) gives you deeper traffic and behaviour data, and Google Search Console shows you which keywords bring people to your store.

Both are free. Install Google Analytics through Shopify's Google & YouTube channel app, and verify Search Console using the meta tag method or DNS verification through your domain registrar.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How long does it take to set up a Shopify store in Singapore?

You can get a basic Shopify store live in Singapore in a few hours, though most merchants spend a few days fine-tuning before launch. The faster path is to use a free theme, add a small product range first, and connect Shopify Payments for SGD sales. You can keep refining themes, apps, and product pages after launch without taking the store offline.

Do I need a registered business to sell on Shopify in Singapore?

You don't need a registered business to start a Shopify trial or sell as an individual, but most banks won't open a business account or process card payments to a personal name at any meaningful volume. Registering as a sole proprietor or private limited company through ACRA is straightforward and usually pays for itself once you start receiving regular orders.

Is Shopify better than Shopee or Lazada for selling in Singapore?

It depends on what you want to build. Shopee and Lazada give you instant access to their customer base, but you compete on price, can't fully control the brand experience, and don't own the customer relationship. Shopify gives you full control of branding, customer data, and checkout — at the cost of having to drive your own traffic.

Can I run a Shopify store in Singapore without holding inventory?

Yes. The two most common no-inventory models are dropshipping (where the supplier ships directly to your customer) and print-on-demand (where products are made to order). Both work on Shopify with apps like DSers, Spocket, or Printful. Margins are tighter and shipping times longer than carrying your own stock, so success depends on niche selection and brand differentiation.

Is there a free version of Shopify in Singapore?

There's no permanently free Shopify plan, but you can start a free trial at shopify.com/sg without entering payment details. After the trial, the cheapest paid option is Basic at S$29/month.

Can I accept PayNow on my Shopify store in Singapore?

Not through Shopify Payments directly — it doesn't natively support PayNow⁹. To accept PayNow on a Shopify store in Singapore, you need to add a third-party gateway like Stripe (PayNow at 1.3% per transfer¹⁰) or HitPay. Note that adding a third-party gateway triggers Shopify's transaction fee on top of the gateway's own fee⁹, which is worth factoring in when choosing a plan.

Sources:

1. https://www.statista.com/forecasts/256594/revenue-of-the-e-commerce-industry-in-singapore

2.  https://www.shopify.com

3.  https://www.shopify.com/themes

4.  https://www.shopify.com/sg/starter

5.  https://www.shopify.com/sg/pricing

6.  https://www.shopify.com/sg/plus/pricing

7. https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/gst-registration-deregistration/do-i-need-to-register-for-gst

8. https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/supported-countries/singapore

9.  https://www.shopify.com/sg/payments

10.  https://stripe.com/sg/pricing

11.  https://www.paypal.com/sg/business/paypal-business-fees

12.  https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/overview-of-pdpa/the-legislation/personal-data-protection-act

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex, nor does it substitute seeking such advice, and makes no express or implied representations / warranties / guarantees regarding content accuracy, completeness, or currency. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (201626561Z) is licensed as a Major Payment Institution and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.