The .SHOP domain extension sells itself. There are currently 670,000+ .SHOP registrations worldwide, and more than 51,000 active online shops hosted on this top-level-domain (TLD). Recently, .SHOP saw a surge in registrations, as existing businesses moved online, and people started new ventures in a shifting COVID-19 economy.

Here, we’ll take a look at how people are using .SHOP domains — including some COVID-19 success stories — and why .SHOP is a strong choice for resellers and website owners.

Why use .SHOP for your online store name?

.SHOP is one of those new domain extensions that just makes sense. It’s purpose and benefits seem clear. But it comes with a few upsides that aren’t immediately obvious:

You’ll help your brand stand out in a cluttered ecommerce space. Building a brand in an online landscape that gets more competitive every day is challenging, and small efforts add up. Your .SHOP domain could catch a potential customer’s eye in the sea of .COM/CA/local-TLD search results. And it emphasizes that you sell what they’re looking for.

Relatedly, you’ll be including an SEO keyword right in your URL.

.SHOP is playful and still has a novelty factor that can make your website stand out in the minds of visitors. Your site might even be the first .SHOP they’ve stumbled upon!

  It’s short and easy to pronounce, which makes for a catchy, memorable website name. This is super important for word-of-mouth referrals and advertising.

“Shop” is a word commonly understood by non-English speakers, which makes it an excellent choice for global companies.

Why include .SHOP in your new domain extensions offering?

When curating a TLD lineup, it’s important to be selective and choose options that will resonate with your customers. You’ve got an opportunity to surprise them with a .COM alternative they didn’t even know existed! .SHOP is a great TLD to offer because:

In many cases, you’re enabling your customer to turn their brand into their URL — just think how many stores include “shop” in their name.

.SHOP is competitively priced (and currently on sale!) as an affordable .COM alternative.

It’s easy to market because its purpose is clear.

  There’s a huge potential market and room for growth as more businesses, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists hop online.

It has global appeal and will perform well in different markets.

How are .SHOP domain names being used for ecommerce?

Between March and June of 2020, new .SHOP registrations with shopping carts more than doubled among Tucows domain registrants.

Tucows’ new .SHOP registrations with a shopping cart (Q1 2019 – Q2 2020)

But .SHOP has seen steady growth since its launch in 2016. It’s used by entrepreneurs, mom-and-pops, SMBs, and large corporations for a variety of ecommerce purposes.

Serving local customers via online stores during COVID-19

During these difficult times, many people are making an extra effort to support their community by shopping local. An online presence that lets customers purchase and order products from home is now a must-have for independent businesses who once relied on brick and mortar traffic.

In the interest of supporting local, we wanted to highlight a couple Canadian small businesses that have built their online presence on a .SHOP domain:

Vancouver-based mysistersclosetvancouver.shop is a social enterprise business that sells used clothes in support of Battered Women’s Support Services. They used their website to bring their offline inventory online and to safely accept used clothing donations during the COVID crisis.

Also in response to COVID, Kitchener-based baker, Chantelle Villeneuve. moved her business online with bonapatreat.shop to allow for delivery, pickup, and online sales. She’s since reopened the physical shop, but continues to serve customers with her new online presence.

Separating your ecommerce function from your corporate website

Businesses with established company websites are choosing .SHOP domains as a dedicated space for online sales while continuing to use their existing domain for corporate or product information.

Take for example, Arrowine, a Virginian wine retailer that has long promoted their brick and mortar store using arrowine.com. When COVID-19 hit, they registered arrowine.shop for online ordering, with contactless pick-up in the store’s parking lot.

He may not have a “corporate” website, but Fritz Meinecke, a German youtuber with 941, 000 subscribers, launched his online merch shop using fritzmeinecke.shop — a move that speaks to the domain extension’s global appeal.

Which leads us to our next point…

Cross-border ecommerce

Many businesses who start out operating locally will turn to a more global domain choice like .SHOP once they shift their focus to include other markets.

Netherlands-based Superfood guru actually made the switch from .NL to .SHOP after their SEO agency advised them to use ‘.shop’ for their Dutch domain name and ‘.shop/en’ for the English one.

Etsy, Amazon, and other marketplaces

Businesses who sell products on platforms such as Etsy and Amazon are benefiting from using a crisp, clean .SHOP domain to point to their marketplace page. Once they set up their own online store, these .SHOP users can simply direct their domain to their new site. This ensures that they don’t lose customers when they make the switch.

Services for ecommerce businesses

Choosing a .SHOP domain is also a great way to signal to your audience that your product is targeted to ecommerce businesses. We have seen webshop builders, like obodo.shop, and other ecommerce services developed on .SHOP domain names.

Presenting your customer with new domain extensions that make sense

Website owners have a confounding number of domain extensions to choose from. If you can point them to a TLD that serves their brand and reflects their purpose or niche, it’s a win for both of you. This can take the form of great content that highlights TLDs specific to their industry, or a smart name search tool that will deliver fresh, marketable domain ideas.

We think .SHOP is an intuitive fit for anyone looking to grow an online business. And pssst…if offering great prices on domains is your priority, check out our full TLD lineup or log in to view out our full list of domain extensions on sale.

This post was sponsored by .SHOP.