The UK eCommerce market continues to mature.
Growth is expected to slow to approximately 3.6 % in 2025, driven by market saturation and stabilising consumer behaviour. At the same time, the competitive landscape is evolving – Shopify continues to gain ground, Magento faces ongoing challenges, and newer SaaS platforms and headless solutions are reshaping the platform ecosystem.
Shopify
Shopify has cemented itself as a top choice for UK merchants. Among the top one million sites globally, Shopify powers approximately 24 % (or 30 % including Shopify Plus).
In the UK, many midsize and even enterprise merchants now adopt Shopify (or Shopify Plus) due to:
- Faster deployment and lower maintenance overhead
- Rich app ecosystem and third‑party integrations
- Multi‑store, multi‑currency, and omnichannel capabilities
In many cases, Shopify now competes head-on with platforms historically reserved for larger enterprises.
Magento / Adobe Commerce
Once the go‑to for complex enterprise stores, Magento (now Adobe Commerce + Magento Open Source) is under pressure:
- Many merchants are migrating from Magento to Shopify or headless alternatives, citing high maintenance costs and complexity
- Despite strong flexibility, Magento demands continuous investments in security, upgrades, and hosting
- In surveys and comparisons, Shopify now often wins on total cost of ownership and ease of scaling
That said, Magento still has niches where it shines: extremely bespoke business logic, deeply custom integrations, or multi‑site B2B setups.
Other eCommerce Platforms
Woocommerce
Woocommerce retains strong presence in the UK. Many SMBs prefer it due to:
- Familiar admin interface
- Cost flexibility (self‑hosting, plugin choices)
- Good for content + commerce hybrids
However, its growth has slowed significantly compared to more modern SaaS platforms.
Wix & Squarespace
These website builders have aggressively improved their eCommerce capabilities.
In 2025:
- Wix and Squarespace now offer robust storefronts, app marketplaces, and built-in features
- Their ease-of-use, security management, and hosting are compelling for beginners and small-to-midsize merchants
- They pose growing competition to WooCommerce for simpler eCommerce use cases
Opencart and Prestashop
These older systems see diminishing adoption. Without strong ecosystems or cloud-native architectures, they struggle to compete with modern SaaS and headless options.
How does the future look like?
Shopify is set to remain the leading choice for UK eCommerce, driven by its flexibility, speed, and ease of use. SaaS platforms like Wix and Squarespace continue to improve, offering strong options for smaller retailers. Headless solutions are gaining traction among larger brands. Magento, by contrast, faces ongoing decline as more businesses seek lower-cost, more scalable alternatives.
So how do you navigate these changes and new platform options? The most effective route is to work with a trusted digital agency that can manage the entire process for you, from platform selection to full migration and ongoing support. Contact us now!
