Shopify Store Setup Guide for Indian D2C Brands

Why Shopify for Indian D2C

Shopify is fast, reliable and has the strongest D2C ecosystem in India. WooCommerce is cheaper upfront but costs more in maintenance, plugins, security and downtime. For most Indian D2C founders, Shopify is the right call.

Indian setup checklist

1. Razorpay or Cashfree as primary payment gateway (UPI, cards, netbanking, wallets, EMI).
2. UPI as the default checkout method — Indians convert better on UPI than cards.
3. COD with serviceable pin-code rules and OTP verification (cuts fake orders by 50%+).
4. GST — auto-calculation, GSTIN on invoices, inter/intra-state place-of-supply.
5. Shiprocket or Delhivery for shipping rates and tracking.
6. WhatsApp Business for order updates and abandoned-cart recovery.
7. Indian-friendly theme — fast on 4G, prominent UPI/COD badges, trust signals.

Common mistakes

• Launching without COD (you'll lose 40% of orders).
• Using a US-centric theme that doesn't show UPI prominently.
• Skipping GST until later (a nightmare to retrofit).
• Cheap stock product photos.

Cost

Expect ₹15,000–₹35,000 for a clean Shopify setup with all Indian integrations, plus Shopify's monthly subscription (₹1,994/mo for Basic). Invonext sets up Shopify stores from ₹14,999.