It should bring waves of smiles to the CBD product retailers as Shopify, an Ottawa-based e-commerce supergiant, have announced that they would share their platform for marketing hemp and hemp-derived CBD products. There was a concern surfacing on the CBD market that “is there any trusted platform that allows the sale of CBD items?” Finally, those people can breathe a sigh of relief, with Shopify being one of the leaders in the e-commerce environment. But Shopify at the same time also mentioned that their service is a constrained facility as the CBD retailers or companies would only be allowed to run their business in the states where selling CBD items is legal.
So, the time has come for the US-based CBD merchants to achieve an uplift in their business by getting affiliated with Shopify, which inspires over 1 million commercial enterprises worldwide.
WHAT PUSHED Shopify TO EXTEND ITS FACILITY TO THE CBD INDUSTRY?
Let’s get to know more about how the CBD market evolved since 2018 and how Shopify came to declare their CBD facility.
A long back when Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, the tradition people had followed by growing and using cannabis (including hemp) since the British colonization, got effectively outlawed. And then, in the late ’60s, the law was revised with Cannabis being included as a Schedule 1 drug in the revised version, namely the Controlled Substances Act. Finally, in 2018 the revised Farm Bill depicted its new considerations while collapsing the baseless legacy of the previous act.
The 2018 Farm Bill is a form of legitimate reclassification of hemp as a measure of usage for industrial purposes. The bill clearly distinguishes between hemp and marijuana while removing hemp from the earlier version of the Controlled Substances Act. Hemp is classified in the 2014 Farm Bill to have an allowable threshold balance of 0.3 percent dry weight of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, i.e., THC. This 2018 revision emphasized that saying anything containing more than the allowed level of THC would be considered illegal. While THC and CBD are almost two sides of a coin, this is a massive way in for the CBD industry to blossom again.
The Shopify officials, when being asked how they made their declaration, said to CMS-connected,
“As a result of the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill in December 2018, properly sourced and processed hemp-derived CBD is no longer classified as a controlled substance under U.S. federal law, providing a legal pathway for businesses to sell select hemp and hemp-derived CBD products for the first time. We’re excited to be one of the first commerce platforms powering businesses that sell hemp and hemp-derived CBD products in the United States.”
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Shopify’s CBD SERVICE
With Shopify offering their platform for the CBD companies to proceed further in their business, you should get a brief overview of how Shopify is going to help you.
WHICH PRODUCTS ARE CONSIDERED?
Shopify accepts every product that comes under the definition of ‘hemp’ as described in the 2018 Farm Bill, and that fulfills all other federal, state, and regional requirements. They approve the sale of any topical and consumable hemp-derived product that is explicitly permitted in the state where the merchant wants to deliver the product. Shopify always asks the retailers to complete and submit ‘Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products’ for any sale in the US.
ARE MARIJUANA-DERIVED PRODUCTS ALLOWED?
No. Shopify doesn’t approve any marijuana-derived CBD product. They only allow Farm Bill-approved CBD items.
BUSINESS OUTSIDE US
In any case that the merchant belongs from any foreign jurisdiction, he or she must comply with Shopify’s Rules and regulations to get approved while the primary requirement of any merchant from Canada is to be a licensed cannabis seller.
STATES THAT SHOPIFY COVERS IN ITS SERVICE
Currently, Shopify supports businesses in almost 42 states in the US. With states like Alabama, Florida, Georgia already being included in the list, there can be any sudden update regarding any changes in the regulations of the sale of hemp-derived CBD products.
PAYMENT INFORMATION
They don’t allow the merchants to proceed via Shopify Payments. If you are using Shopify Payments already, you won’t be allowed to stock CBD products. But this doesn’t mean that your business is over. Shopify is integrated with multiple trusted third-party payment gateways to care for the sale of CBD items.
Third-party payment processors will always have their own policies for any kind of transaction through them. Shopify CBD sale is currently associated with DigiPay and eMerchant Brokers. With any CBD sale transaction always getting more accurate observation, you can trust them.
THE CONCERN REGARDING THE PAYMENT PROVIDERS
We know how hard it is to find a platform to run a CBD company, but with Shopify coming as an option, this concern might get dismissed. But the problem remains with the payment providers. While processors like DigiPay, eMerchant Brokers, and Authorize.net offer a resolution for the hemp and CBD companies, they are not 100% risk-free as people call them “high-risk processors.” They are likely to engulf 6-8% of every transaction amount
For smaller businesses, eMerchant Brokers can be a perfect option to consider. They claim that they process any transaction within 24 hrs while having an almost 95% approval rating. But for large scale businesses, Chase Bank sponsored Square can be an excellent option. They are currently working with CBD companies that process more than $10,000/month.
DigiPay is also an excellent option for the transaction, while Authorize.net should be the most coveted payment provider. They are based on small businesses as well as large businesses with offering services for companies that process over $500k/ year.
Yes, there are numerous options, but we should notice that Shopify is not allowing people to use its exclusive Shopify payments, which means there is something in this CBD market that they don’t want to get involved in. Should they have allowed their merchants to use the Shopify Payments service, it would be more convenient, but still, there are options to try.
ADVANTAGES OF USING Shopify AS E-COMMERCE PLATFORM
With people from entrepreneurs to enterprises getting a massive opportunity to move forward in the CBD industry, which appears to be one of the fastest-growing trade with expected revenue of $ 2207 Billion by 2026, they might be hesitant to connect to Shopify for their business. Just like them, you also might want to learn more about their policy as well as to examine whether it would be a hit or loss to get allied with Shopify.
Until Shopify announced its declaration to allow the sale of CBD products on its website, people have been considering WordPress and WooCommerce for their associative business. But now, with a trusted multi-channel ecommerce brand like Shopify entering into the choices, let’s get to know why you might consider their facility.
1.Automated technical tasks:
Unlike WordPress and others, Shopify offers built-in plug-ins that regulate maintenance for the security, hosting, and speed of your customized store. This automatic store service ensures you don’t waste your money as well as time.
2.Exclusive design experience:
Already you might have seen how delectably organized the Shopify website itself is, and like their site, they want to help you make a first-class store. With offering hundreds of patterns and textures, they ensure you customize your web-store in as little as one hour.
3.Integrated helpful tools:
Shopify has over 2500 integrated apps from accounting augmentation to inventory management to help you build your store functionality better. Where other platforms require third party tools, Shopify has the advantage of using its own tools to add a smart marketing gesture in your web-store.
4.Reliable payment options:
You know that customers really get furious after finding that his preferred payment method is not listed. From PayPal to Amazon Pay, Shopify is incorporated with more than a hundred payment options, which ensures you don’t lose a stand to your customers.
5.Trusted Logistics:
Shopify has a partnership with several trusted shipping providers so that the merchants can sell their products online as well as in brick-mortar tradition within the most competitive time. The logistics assure the merchant of the safety and security of the order.
6.Customizable Shipping policy:
Freedom over making policy is a coveted feature for the retailers as they always want to form terms and conditions according to their service. While the other e-commerce platforms force the merchants to follow their rules and regulations, Shopify offers them to create their own rules based on the shipping location and type of products.
7.Incomparable Care:
With Shopify’s award-winning customer care group, you being a merchant of their platform, will hardly have any problem unsolved. They don’t just solve your concerns; they ensure you don’t get any further stand-offs in the future.
Shopify officials said to CMS-connected when being asked how they are going to make it easy for the retailers,
“Our tools are shared in our press release here. One thing we like to stress is that merchants can get started quickly upon completing our attestation form. Shopify’s Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products outlines the requirements for merchants selling hemp and/or hemp-derived CBD products on our platform. By filling out the form, merchants confirm that they understand the requirements for selling hemp and/or hemp-derived CBD products on Shopify, and attest that they will comply with those requirements.”
So, if you are a CBD retailer or want to be a CBD merchant based in the US, now it is your time to judge Shopify according to your expectations and decide whether you wish to take the better of their CBD facility.
GET SIGNED-UP WITH Shopify
- The first thing, in short, is if you are new to Shopify and haven’t created a store yet, then visit www.shopify.com/sell/cbd to get signed up for a trial web-store.
- After getting signed-up, carefully go through and submit the ‘Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products.’ This form is basically a statement that you meet their criteria to conduct a CBD business. You would need to log in with your Shopify account to do the same. The attestation process is automatic, which just requires your submitted form. For more details regarding the for you can visit here.
- The most crucial step is to select a preferred third-party payment gateway. You would have to apply for your portal. The approval requisites may differ from one gateway to another. Go through all their requirements and apply for one of DigiPay and eMerchant Brokers.
PEOPLE’S INTERPRETATION (Including us)
After declaring its CBD facility, Shopify has already taken the responsibility of many CBD companies. With the most popular of them being Cannuka, Mind CBD, Josie Maran, etc. we believe that there are numerous companies to get connected with Shopify, whether they be a skincare or a cosmetic company. Harley Finkelstein thinks that,
“Shopify has unmatched expertise in emerging industries, along with the resources merchants need to be successful in the fast-growing market of hemp-derived CBD products in the U.S. Shopify’s reliable technology and extensive partner network means that businesses can ride the wave of demand for these products and give consumers more choice.”
We being one of the leaders in the CBD wholesale market at ezcbdwholesale, believe that Shopify could be the most popular platform for the CBD enthusiast, and that’s why companies will gradually follow the trend of connecting to them. Considering FDA regulations in every step, Shopify shows the authenticity of their service, and thus they eventually could contribute a massive cloud in the $27 B hemp revamp by 2025.
Don’t forget to leave your opinion about how you feel about Shopify’s CBD initiative.
