Ankur Kumar

Author: ankurme

  • The “Front Door” of a Business

    For almost 20 years, HubSpot did one thing brilliantly: whenever you Googled a marketing question, HubSpot’s answer showed up.

    • What’s a CRM? → HubSpot.
    • How to write better emails? → HubSpot.

    This wasn’t just blogging—it was their primary customer acquisition strategy. Every article acted like a front door, bringing people into their business through Google.

    Millions of people entered through that door.

    It worked exceptionally well—for a long time.

    Then the Door Moved

    Instead of typing questions into Google, people began asking AI tools like ChatGPT directly:

    “What’s the best CRM for my company?”

    The question is the same, but now AI provides the answer instantly. The user may never even visit HubSpot’s website.

    The front door people once walked through has quietly moved—into the AI chat.

    This Is Happening Everywhere

    Booking.com

    People now ask AI to plan an entire trip instead of browsing hotel listings.

    WebMD

    Many health questions are answered by AI before anyone visits a medical website.

    Stack Overflow

    Programmers once Googled coding problems and landed on Stack Overflow. Now they ask AI coding assistants first.

    Car Dealerships

    Customers used to begin their car-buying journey by visiting a showroom.

    Today they:

    • Watch YouTube reviews
    • Compare specifications
    • Ask ChatGPT
    • Read forums

    The dealership has become the last stop, not the first.

    IKEA

    People once wandered through IKEA looking for inspiration.

    Now they get ideas from Pinterest or AI-generated room designs first—and visit IKEA only when they’re ready to buy.

    Same story. Different industries.

    The entrance customers use to discover businesses has quietly shifted.

    The Big Question

    Ask yourself:

    How many of your customers still come in through the same door that originally built your business?

    Maybe your front door is:

    • Google
    • Facebook
    • Amazon
    • An App Store
    • Referrals

    Every business has one primary entrance.

    But almost nobody actually owns it.

    And if someone else owns your front door, they can:

    • Change it
    • Move it
    • Shut it

    …and you don’t get a say.

    That’s exactly what’s happening with AI right now.

    A History Lesson

    Yahoo lost its front-door position to Google.

    Now Google may be losing part of that position to AI.

    And someday, AI may lose it to whatever comes next.

    The businesses that win aren’t the ones with the fanciest front door.

    They’re the ones who recognize early that customers have quietly started using a different one.

    The Takeaway

    Don’t confuse “how customers currently find you” with “a permanent competitive advantage.”

    Your product can still be great.

    Your customers can still love you.

    But if the front door shifts and you don’t shift with it, people may simply stop finding you—even though they still need what you offer.

  • Running a true multi-vendor marketplace on Shopify without apps

    Running a true multi-vendor marketplace on Shopify without apps

    Running a true multi-vendor marketplace on Shopify without apps is possible only in a limited/manual way. Shopify is designed as a single-vendor platform, so you’ll need workarounds using built-in features like products, tags, locations, and custom fields.

    Here’s a practical way to do it

    1. Create “Vendors” using Shopify’s built-in field

    Every product in Shopify has a Vendor field.

    What to do:

    • Add each seller as a Vendor name
      • Example:
        • Seller A → Vendor: RahulStore
        • Seller B → Vendor: DelhiCrafts

    Result:

    • You can filter products by vendor in admin
    • You can build collections like:
      • “Products by RahulStore”

    2. Use Tags to Organize Sellers

    Tags give you more flexibility than vendor field.

    Example:

    • Seller A products → seller_rahul
    • Seller B products → seller_delhi

    Use cases:

    • Create automated collections:
      • Condition → Tag = seller_rahul
    • Filter products on frontend

    3. Create Separate Collections for Each Seller

    Steps:

    • Go to Collections → Create Collection
    • Set condition:
      • Vendor = RahulStore OR Tag = seller_rahul

    Result:

    • Each seller gets their own storefront page:
      • /collections/rahulstore
      • /collections/delhicrafts

    4. Show Seller Name on Product Page (Important)

    You need to modify your theme.

    In product template (product.liquid or main-product.liquid):

    <p>Sold by: {{ product.vendor }}</p>

    👉 This helps customers distinguish sellers clearly

    5. Order Management (Manual Split)

    Shopify will NOT split orders per seller automatically.

    Workaround:

    • When an order comes in:
      • Check product vendor
      • Manually inform each seller
      • Share their items

    Better workaround:

    • Export order CSV and filter by vendor

    6. Payments to Sellers (Manual)

    Shopify pays you only, not sellers.

    You must:

    • Track each seller’s sales
    • Deduct commission
    • Pay via:
      • UPI / Bank transfer

    7. Use Locations (Advanced Trick)

    If sellers ship themselves:

    Setup:

    • Add each seller as a Location
    • Assign inventory per location

    Benefit:

    • Helps track stock per seller

    ⚠️ Limitation:

    • Still no automatic order routing per seller

    🧾 8. Add Seller Info using Metafields (Pro Setup)

    You can create custom fields like:

    • Seller name
    • Seller phone/email
    • Seller description

    Then show it on product page using Liquid.

    🚫 Limitations (Important)

    Without apps, you CANNOT:

    • Give seller login dashboards
    • Auto split orders per vendor
    • Auto commission calculation
    • Auto vendor payouts
    • Vendor-specific shipping rules

    Reality Check

    What you’re building is a “multi-seller catalog”, NOT a full marketplace like Amazon.

    If You Want Real Marketplace Features

    You’ll eventually need apps like:

    • Multi Vendor Marketplace apps
    • Or move to platforms like:
      • WooCommerce + Dokan
      • Custom marketplace

    Best Simple Structure (Recommended)

    • Use Vendor field + Tags
    • Create Collections per seller
    • Show seller name on product page
    • Handle orders & payouts manually