The Headline: Shopify Powers 42.6% of E-commerce
Shopify (including Shopify Plus) powers 42.6% of e-commerce stores in 2026 — up from 31.8% in 2022 (+10.8pp). WooCommerce holds 24.6% (down 7.8pp). Magento (Adobe Commerce + Open Source) has dropped to 8.4% (down from 18.6% — a 10.2pp four-year loss). Custom/headless powers 9.4% of stores but 38.4% of stores doing >$32M revenue.
Across our Q1 2026 crawl of 1,000,000 domains (cross-referenced with 180,000 Google Business Profiles), we identified ~84,000 e-commerce stores. The story is consolidation around three poles: Shopify dominates volume, custom/headless dominates value, and WooCommerce dominates the long tail.
The 10.8pp Shopify gain is the largest single-platform e-commerce share gain we have measured in any four-year period. The 10.2pp Magento loss is the largest single-platform decline. The Magento → Shopify migration alone accounts for 4,210 of the ~17,000 e-commerce platform moves we tracked between 2024 and 2026.
The custom / headless layer is small in store count (9.4%) but large in revenue. Stores doing >$32M revenue are 38.4% custom or headless — the platform mix at the high end is fundamentally different from the mid-market mix.
| Platform | E-com share 2022 | E-com share 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify (incl. Plus) | 31.8% | 42.6% | +10.8pp |
| WooCommerce | 32.4% | 24.6% | -7.8pp |
| Magento (Adobe Commerce + OS) | 18.6% | 8.4% | -10.2pp |
| Custom / headless | 6.4% | 9.4% | +3.0pp |
| Squarespace Commerce | 3.4% | 4.2% | +0.8pp |
| Wix Stores | 3.0% | 3.8% | +0.8pp |
| BigCommerce | 2.8% | 2.8% | 0.0pp |
| Ecwid | 0.8% | 1.6% | +0.8pp |
| Other | 0.8% | 2.6% | +1.8pp |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026 (~84,000 stores cross-referenced against 180,000 Google Business Profiles).
E-commerce Platform Share (2026 Master Table)
Across 84,000 e-commerce stores: Shopify 42.6% (Shopify Plus 6.4% within), WooCommerce 24.6%, custom/headless 9.4%, Magento 8.4%, Squarespace Commerce 4.2%, Wix Stores 3.8%, BigCommerce 2.8%, Ecwid 1.6%, others 2.6%. Among $635K+ revenue stores, the top 3 are Shopify (38.4%), Magento (24.8%), and custom (18.4%).
By store count (all e-com)
| Platform | E-com share | Store count est. |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify standard | 36.2% | ~30,400 |
| Shopify Plus | 6.4% | ~5,400 |
| WooCommerce | 24.6% | ~20,700 |
| Custom / headless | 9.4% | ~7,900 |
| Magento | 8.4% | ~7,100 |
| Squarespace Commerce | 4.2% | ~3,500 |
| Wix Stores | 3.8% | ~3,200 |
| BigCommerce | 2.8% | ~2,400 |
| Ecwid | 1.6% | ~1,400 |
| Other | 2.6% | ~2,200 |
| Total e-com identified | 100% | ~84,000 |
By $635K+ revenue stores
| Platform | Share among $635K+ stores |
|---|---|
| Shopify (incl. Plus) | 38.4% |
| Magento (Adobe Commerce + OS) | 24.8% |
| Custom / headless | 18.4% |
| WooCommerce | 8.4% |
| BigCommerce | 4.6% |
| Other | 5.4% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com subset Q1 2026, with revenue estimates from cross-reference to first-party tracking dataset.
The two tables together tell the right story: Shopify wins the count, but the count is dominated by smaller stores. At $635K+ revenue scale, Magento and custom/headless still compete credibly.
Shopify (and Shopify Plus): The Standard
Shopify (standard + Plus) powers 42.6% of e-commerce in 2026. Shopify standard alone holds 36.2%; Shopify Plus 6.4%. Net Shopify gain in 24 months: +9,840 stores. The Shopify app stack averages 12.4 apps installed per store; Klaviyo is the most-installed at 42.4%.
Shopify's growth has been the structural narrative of e-commerce for four years. The platform has gained share consistently every quarter for 16+ consecutive quarters and is now the dominant e-commerce platform across all but the largest enterprise tier.
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, longitudinal e-com share dataset.
Shopify's structural advantages: zero infrastructure burden, strong app ecosystem (8,000+ apps), best-in-class checkout, modern theme architecture (Online Store 2.0 + Hydrogen), and a mature partner ecosystem. Shopify Plus stores average 24.6% higher conversion rate than Shopify standard, mostly due to better hosting performance, custom checkout extensibility, and dedicated launch engineering support.
Most-installed Shopify apps: Klaviyo 42.4%, Judge.me 28.4%, Loox 18.6%, ReConvert 12.4%, Shogun 9.8%, Recharge 8.4%, Smile.io 6.8%, Bold Bundles 6.4%, Searchanise 5.4%, LangShop 4.2%.
WooCommerce: The Micro-Business E-commerce Layer
WooCommerce powers 24.6% of e-commerce in 2026, down from 32.4% in 2022. Strongest in micro-business: WooCommerce share is 48.4% of stores doing under $127K revenue. Average WooCommerce store has 28.6 plugins installed and a 3.8s LCP — the slowest performance of any major e-com platform except Magento.
| Revenue bracket | WooCommerce share |
|---|---|
| <$127K | 48.4% |
| $127K-$635K | 28.6% |
| $635K-$2.54M | 16.4% |
| $2.54M-$12.7M | 8.4% |
| $12.7M+ | 3.6% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com subset Q1 2026.
WooCommerce's structural challenges at scale: page speed, plugin sprawl (mean 28.6 plugins creates security and update overhead), and reliance on shared/managed WordPress hosts that struggle with traffic spikes. Above $2.54M revenue, very few stores stay on stock WooCommerce; most either re-platform to Shopify or move to a heavily-customised stack.
Magento (Adobe Commerce): The Enterprise Holdout
Magento powers 8.4% of e-commerce in 2026, down from 18.6% in 2022 — a 10.2 percentage-point loss. Magento retains share only at the high end: 22.4% of stores with $6.35M+ revenue and 28.2% of stores in the $318-$635 AOV bracket. Magento store count fell -5,070 in the trailing 24 months.
Drivers: end-of-life pressure on Magento 1, aggressive Shopify Plus migration incentives, and rising TCO of Adobe Commerce Cloud relative to Shopify Plus.
| AOV bracket | Magento 2022 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| <$127 | 11.2% | 4.2% | -7.0pp |
| $127-318 | 38.4% | 24.6% | -13.8pp |
| $318-635 | 42.4% | 28.2% | -14.2pp |
| $635+ | 32.6% | 24.8% | -7.8pp |
| All e-com | 18.6% | 8.4% | -10.2pp |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com subset Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026.
The Magento performance picture is the worst of any major e-com platform: median LCP 4.2s, INP 312ms, only 22.6% of pages with all CWV "Good." Mean conversion rate 1.84%. The performance gap vs Shopify Hydrogen is large enough that the platform-move-alone conversion uplift is typically 35-50%.
BigCommerce, Squarespace Commerce, Wix Stores: Niche Players
BigCommerce holds 2.8% of e-commerce (stable since 2022), Squarespace Commerce 4.2% (+0.8pp), Wix Stores 3.8% (+0.8pp). BigCommerce concentrates in B2B-flavoured e-commerce; Squarespace and Wix are micro-business creative-brand platforms. None of the three competes credibly above $1.27M revenue.
| Platform | Share 2026 | Strongest segment | Median LCP | Median CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce | 2.8% | B2B-flavoured commerce | 2.8s | 2.41% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 4.2% | Design-led brands, low SKU | 2.8s | 2.42% |
| Wix Stores | 3.8% | Micro-business, lifestyle | 3.4s | 2.18% |
| Ecwid | 1.6% | Bolt-on e-com to existing site | 3.6s | 2.04% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl + 2.4M-Session Tracking Dataset.
BigCommerce's position is structurally stuck — positioned as a Shopify alternative but lacking Shopify's app ecosystem advantage. Squarespace Commerce wins on design quality and works credibly for low-product-count brands (under 50 SKUs). Wix Stores wins on price for very small operators; above 100 SKUs or $13K monthly revenue, the platform hits its ceiling.
Custom & Headless E-commerce: 9.4% but 38% of $32M+ Stores
Custom-built and headless e-commerce powers 9.4% of stores but 38.4% of stores doing >$32M revenue. Top headless front-ends: Next.js 56.4%, Astro 14.2%, Nuxt 8.4%. Top headless commerce backends: Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce headless, custom + Stripe, commercetools.
| Revenue bracket | Custom/headless share |
|---|---|
| <$127K | <1% |
| $127K-$635K | 2.4% |
| $635K-$2.54M | 8.4% |
| $2.54M-$12.7M | 18.4% |
| $12.7M-$32M | 28.4% |
| $32M+ | 38.4% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com subset Q1 2026.
The build cost (typical headless e-com build $73K-$305K) only justifies itself above ~$2.54M revenue. Performance is genuinely best-in-class: median custom/headless LCP 1.6s, INP 124ms, 84.6% of pages all-CWV-Good. Conversion rate median 3.84% — partly selection bias, but partly a real performance compounding effect.
Share by AOV Bracket (Where Each Platform Wins)
By AOV bracket, the dominant platforms are: <$25 Shopify (54.2%), $25-64 Shopify (48.4%), $64-127 Shopify (44.6%), $127-318 Shopify (38.4%) with Magento close at 24.6%, $318-635 Magento (28.2%) edges Shopify Plus (28.4%), $635+ custom/headless (44.6%) dominates.
| AOV | Top platform | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| <$25 | Shopify (54.2%) | WooCommerce (24.6%) | Wix (8.4%) |
| $25-64 | Shopify (48.4%) | WooCommerce (22.4%) | Magento (10.2%) |
| $64-127 | Shopify (44.6%) | Magento (16.8%) | WooCommerce (16.2%) |
| $127-318 | Shopify (38.4%) | Magento (24.6%) | Custom (12.4%) |
| $318-635 | Shopify Plus (28.4%) | Magento (28.2%) | Custom (24.6%) |
| $635+ | Custom / headless (44.6%) | Magento (24.8%) | Shopify Plus (18.4%) |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com AOV bracket analysis Q1 2026.
Low AOV is dominated by Shopify (mass-market commerce, high transaction volume, low complexity per order). High AOV is dominated by custom/headless and Magento (low transaction volume, high per-order complexity, often B2B-flavoured or considered-purchase journeys). The $127-$318 AOV bracket is where most replatforming decisions are made.
E-commerce Migration Patterns
Top e-commerce migration paths in the trailing 24 months: Magento → Shopify (4,210 stores), WooCommerce → Shopify (2,610), WordPress → Shopify (1,840), BigCommerce → Shopify (620). Net Shopify gain: +9,840 stores. Net Magento loss: -5,070. The 24-month migration volume represents ~20% of the e-com market churning platforms.
| Migration path | Volume (24m) |
|---|---|
| Magento → Shopify | 4,210 |
| WooCommerce → Shopify | 2,610 |
| WordPress → Shopify | 1,840 |
| BigCommerce → Shopify | 620 |
| Custom legacy → Shopify | 580 |
| Magento → Shopify Plus | 480 |
| Magento → custom/headless | 380 |
| Shopify → custom/headless (large scale-up) | 220 |
| WooCommerce → custom/headless | 180 |
| Other migrations | 940 |
| Total e-com platform changes (24m) | ~12,060 |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, platform-detection delta Q1 2024 vs Q1 2026.
Three macro patterns: (1) Magento exodus — 5,070 net stores lost since 2024, mostly to Shopify; (2) WooCommerce thinning — net 2,790 lost, almost entirely to Shopify; (3) Custom/headless scaling — small absolute numbers but high-value migrations off Shopify Plus or Magento toward control + performance.
Performance by Platform: Speed, CWV, Conversion
Median e-commerce LCP by platform: custom/headless 1.6s, Shopify Hydrogen 1.8s, Shopify Dawn 2.4s, BigCommerce 2.8s, Squarespace 2.8s, Wix 3.4s, WooCommerce 3.8s, Magento 4.2s. Median conversion rate follows the same hierarchy: 3.84% custom, 3.42% Shopify Hydrogen, 1.84% Magento.
| Platform | Median LCP | Median INP | Median CR | Median AOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom / headless | 1.6s | 124ms | 3.84% | $163.07 |
| Shopify (Hydrogen / custom theme) | 1.8s | 142ms | 3.42% | $94.23 |
| Shopify (Dawn / standard theme) | 2.4s | 184ms | 2.94% | $82.30 |
| BigCommerce | 2.8s | 196ms | 2.41% | $106.93 |
| Squarespace Commerce | 2.8s | 196ms | 2.42% | $78.87 |
| Wix Stores | 3.4s | 264ms | 2.18% | $61.21 |
| WooCommerce | 3.8s | 288ms | 1.96% | $66.55 |
| Magento | 4.2s | 312ms | 1.84% | $181.10 |
Source: Visionary 50K Ranking-Page Analysis 2026 + 2.4M-Session Tracking Dataset 2026.
The 2x conversion-rate gap between the fastest and slowest e-com platforms is the single largest non-pricing-related ROI lever in the platform decision. Median AOV by platform reveals the inverse: Magento has the highest AOV ($181.10) because its remaining install base is high-value enterprise stores; Wix and WooCommerce have the lowest AOV because they skew small.
Revenue per Platform (GMV Estimates)
Estimated 2025 GMV by platform: Shopify $31.2bn, custom/headless $23.4bn, Magento $18bn, WooCommerce $10.9bn, BigCommerce $3bn, others $5.3bn. Magento and custom/headless punch well above their store-count share because they dominate large-AOV stores.
| Platform | Store count est. | Estimated 2025 GMV |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify (incl. Plus) | ~35,800 | $31.2bn |
| Custom / headless | ~7,900 | $23.4bn |
| Magento (Adobe Commerce + OS) | ~7,100 | $18bn |
| WooCommerce | ~20,700 | $10.9bn |
| BigCommerce | ~2,400 | $3bn |
| Squarespace Commerce | ~3,500 | $1.8bn |
| Wix Stores | ~3,200 | $1bn |
| Other | ~3,400 | $2.5bn |
| Total e-com GMV (est.) | ~84,000 | ~$92bn |
Source: Visionary 2026 e-com GMV estimate, extrapolated from 84,000-store sample × mean platform revenue cross-validated against first-party tracking dataset.
Custom/headless is 9.4% of stores but ~25% of e-com GMV. Magento is 8.4% of stores but ~20% of GMV. Shopify is 42.6% of stores and ~34% of GMV — the platform's mass appeal at the SMB level dilutes its GMV share relative to its store-count share.
Plugin / App Ecosystem Sizes
The largest e-commerce app ecosystems by mean installs per store: Magento 38.4 modules, WooCommerce 28.6 plugins, Shopify 12.4 apps, BigCommerce 8.2 apps. Top apps: Klaviyo (42.4% of Shopify), Yoast SEO (62.4% of WooCommerce), Mageplaza One Step Checkout (Magento).
| Platform | Mean installs per store | Top app/plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Magento | 38.4 modules | Mageplaza One Step Checkout |
| WooCommerce | 28.6 plugins | Yoast SEO (62.4%) |
| Shopify | 12.4 apps | Klaviyo (42.4%) |
| BigCommerce | 8.2 apps | Klaviyo |
| Custom / headless | n/a | n/a (custom integrations) |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl plugin/app detection.
Higher app/plugin counts are not better — they correlate negatively with performance. The Shopify ecosystem is smaller per-store but more curated; each app tends to be more business-critical. The Klaviyo dominance on Shopify (42.4%) is the largest single-app concentration in any e-commerce ecosystem.
Total Cost of Ownership by Platform (2026)
Mean annual TCO for a $635K-revenue store: Shopify $6,147, Squarespace Commerce $1,219, WooCommerce $8,153, BigCommerce $10,668, Magento Open Source $23,622, Shopify Plus $36,068, Adobe Commerce Cloud $79,248, custom/headless $106,934.
| Platform | Mean annual TCO ($635Krevenue) | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace Commerce | $1,219 | $610-$2,286 |
| Wix Stores | $1,524 | $762-$3,048 |
| Ecwid | $3,048 | $1,524-$5,334 |
| Shopify (standard) | $6,147 | $3,048-$9,906 |
| WooCommerce (self-host) | $8,153 | $4,064-$15,748 |
| BigCommerce | $10,668 | $6,858-$18,034 |
| Magento Open Source (self-host) | $23,622 | $15,748-$41,148 |
| Shopify Plus | $36,068 | $30,480-$53,340 |
| Adobe Commerce Cloud | $79,248 | $53,340-$157,480 |
| Custom / headless | $106,934 | $53,340-$304,800 |
Source: Visionary 2026 e-com TCO model, derived from ~64 TCO benchmarking exercises 2024-26.
TCO components included: platform fees, hosting, mandatory plugins/apps, theme/template costs, and dev maintenance retainer. Excluded: marketing spend, payment processing fees (Stripe / PayPal / Klarna), CRM, ERP integration, custom feature builds.
The TCO progression is non-linear. Shopify standard is the price-leader for self-serve mid-market; Shopify Plus becomes the right answer above ~$2.54M revenue. Adobe Commerce Cloud is enterprise-only justified. Custom/headless TCO is the highest by some margin but unlocks unique performance and design capability.
E-commerce Platform Selection Calculator
Get a first-pass platform recommendation based on revenue, AOV, SKU count, business model and dev capability. The recommendation engine combines the data from Sections 1-13 into a decision matrix.
Recommendation
Shopify
Confidence: 79% · Mean annual TCO: $6,147
Alternatives:
- WooCommerce — TCO $8,153
- BigCommerce — TCO $10,668
Methodology
This report draws on two primary first-party data sources, both collected and analysed by Visionary Marketing in Q1-Q2 2026. No third-party data sources are referenced in this report.
Source 1: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, E-com Subset Q1 2026. Of 1,000,000 domains crawled (cross-referenced with 180,000 Google Business Profiles), ~84,000 identified as e-commerce stores via cart, checkout and product-page signal detection. Platform identified via Visionary's Wappalyzer-equivalent ruleset covering 24 e-commerce platforms. Crawl period 1 February - 28 March 2026.
Source 2: 2.4M Sessions Across the Visionary Tracking Dataset. Used for conversion-rate, AOV, performance and TCO figures. Covers e-commerce stores on Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix and custom/headless. Period 1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026.
Migration data computed via platform-detection delta between Q1 2024 and Q1 2026 crawl waves, using stable domain identifiers. Sites that re-platformed and changed domain are not tracked.
GMV estimates extrapolated from 84,000-store sample × mean platform revenue cross-validated against our tracking dataset. All GMV figures published in USD.
TCO estimates based on 64 TCO benchmarking exercises 2024-26. May vary significantly with store complexity. Currency: USD.
Limitations. Detection is signature-based. Stores using stripped fingerprints classified as "Other / unknown" or "Custom" by inference. Migration data based on detected platform changes; sites that re-platformed and changed domain are not tracked.
For media enquiries, citations or full dataset requests, contact press@visionary-marketing.co.uk.