How to migrate from BigCommerce to Shopify in a composable way
Migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify is a platform switch between two mature SaaS ecosystems. That means you’re not only moving data - you’re also changing how data is structured, how APIs behave, and how operational workflows are triggered. In composable commerce terms, the goal is simple: keep your ecosystem stable while replacing one component. The practical way to achieve that is to make the integration layer the constant, and treat the storefront as the variable.
The inherent challenge of a platform-to-platform migration
A direct BigCommerce-to-Shopify migration can work for basic catalog moves, but it becomes risky once your store is intertwined with backend systems and operational logic. The most common failure points usually fall into three areas:
- Data structure conflicts: Product options, variants, customer attributes, and order statuses follow different schemas. Manual mapping is tedious and easy to get wrong, especially at scale.
- Integration disruption: If ERP, CRM, WMS, or PIM integrations are built point-to-point with BigCommerce, they stop working the moment Shopify becomes the storefront. Rebuilding each connection individually is slow and tends to create a brittle landscape.
- Operational downtime: When backend systems are temporarily disconnected from the storefront, teams often fall back on manual order handling and inventory updates - exactly when accuracy matters most.
The core problem is not “data transfer.” It’s dependency. Platform migrations expose how much the storefront has become the hub of your processes.
The role of an iPaaS in preserving business continuity
To mitigate these risks, an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) like Alumio acts as a central middleware layer, decoupling your e-commerce platform from your other business-critical systems. This approach is a core component of accelerating digital transformation, as it provides the architectural flexibility to adapt without widespread disruption. Instead of building brittle, direct connections, your ERP, PIM, and other software are connected to Alumio. The iPaaS then communicates with your e-commerce platform via a dedicated connector.
Switching connectors, not rebuilding integrations
With Alumio acting as the middle layer, migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify becomes significantly more predictable:
- Your integrations to ERP, CRM, WMS, PIM, and other systems remain in place.
- You introduce Shopify as the new storefront endpoint through Alumio.
- You phase out BigCommerce without reworking your entire integration landscape.
This is the practical composable outcome: your ecosystem doesn’t have to be redesigned every time you swap a platform.
Mapping and transforming data between BigCommerce and Shopify
BigCommerce and Shopify don’t “speak” the same data language. Alumio helps bridge that gap by enabling mapping and transformation so Shopify receives data in the right structure and format - and your backend systems still receive the fields and statuses they depend on.
Common transformation needs include:
- Product and variant modelling: Ensuring options, variants, SKUs, and attributes land correctly in Shopify.
- Order and fulfillment status translation: Aligning BigCommerce order states with Shopify’s conventions so ERP/WMS logic remains consistent.
- Customer and address normalization: Standardizing customer data formats so CRM and marketing tooling continue working cleanly.
The goal isn’t just to make Shopify accept the data - it’s to keep the operational meaning of the data intact across the stack.
Comparing platform costs and calculating your TCO
A crucial step before any migration is a thorough analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). While BigCommerce is known for its pricing model that avoids transaction fees on its standard plans, Shopify’s structure is different. A complete TCO calculation must look beyond the monthly subscription fee.
- Subscription plans: Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer tiered plans. BigCommerce plans (Standard, Plus, Pro) are often differentiated by annual sales volume thresholds, while Shopify plans (Basic, Shopify, Advanced) are structured around features and transaction fees.
- Transaction fees: Unlike BigCommerce, Shopify's standard plans impose transaction fees if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments. These fees can have a considerable impact on your profit margins and must be factored into your TCO.
- API limits and enterprise tiers: For high-volume businesses, API call limits are a critical factor. Both BigCommerce Enterprise and Shopify Plus offer significantly higher API limits, dedicated support, and advanced features. If your business relies on real-time data synchronization for inventory or order processing, an enterprise-level plan is often a necessity to avoid operational bottlenecks.
- App ecosystems: Evaluate the cost of apps required to replicate your current functionality. A feature that is native to BigCommerce might require a paid app in the Shopify ecosystem.
A comprehensive TCO analysis ensures you select the right Shopify plan for your operational needs and budget, preventing unexpected costs post-migration.
Executing a phased migration with the Alumio iPaaS
Using an iPaaS enables a phased and controlled migration, which significantly reduces risk compared to a "big bang" approach where everything is switched at once.
1. Establish the integration foundation
Start by connecting Alumio to your backend systems and preparing the Shopify endpoint. The aim is to ensure that once data starts moving, it has a stable destination and consistent rules for how it should be processed.
2. Conduct an initial data load
Next, migrate historical datasets - products, customers, and orders - from BigCommerce into Shopify. Alumio can ingest the data, transform it to match Shopify’s structure, and help surface inconsistencies through logging and validation - so issues are addressed before Shopify becomes customer-facing.
3. Synchronize systems for parallel operation
During testing, you can run BigCommerce and Shopify in parallel while keeping critical datasets aligned. For example:
- New orders from the live BigCommerce store can continue to reach ERP without disruption.
- Inventory updates from ERP/WMS can be kept consistent across both platforms.
- Your team can validate Shopify workflows while live operations continue normally.
This phase is where you catch edge cases that rarely show up in a purely “imported data” environment.
4. Switch to Shopify once workflows are verified
After validation, you make Shopify the primary storefront endpoint in Alumio and deactivate BigCommerce flows. Because backend integrations were connected to Alumio - not hardwired to BigCommerce - fulfillment, finance, and customer service workflows remain stable at the moment the storefront changes.
Building a future-ready commerce architecture
Migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify can be more than a platform change. Done well, it becomes an architecture upgrade: fewer point integrations, less platform dependency, and a clearer separation between storefront experience and operational systems.
Using Alumio iPaaS to orchestrate the migration helps preserve integration continuity, reduces data inconsistencies, and supports a phased rollout that protects day-to-day operations. The longer-term benefit is structural: when your integration layer is centralized, future changes—new channels, new tools, new platforms - become easier to execute without destabilizing the rest of the stack.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
