FisherLeadsMonthly report
The State of New Ecommerce Stores
A monthly report on newly launched ecommerce stores and business websites, everything that went live in September 2026: where they launch, what they are built on, and what they sell, from public signals the day each site appears.
Two platforms carry two thirds of everything new
Two platforms now carry more than two thirds of every new store FisherLeads tracked. Shopify leads at 37.5%, the fastest way for a founder to be selling by the afternoon. WooCommerce follows at 26.7%, a sign the open source, WordPress native route is still thriving. Everything else splits the remaining 35.8% across a long tail.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shopify | 219 | 37.5% |
| 2 | Custom / other | 162 | 27.7% |
| 3 | WooCommerce | 156 | 26.7% |
| 4 | OpenCart | 10 | 1.7% |
| 5 | WordPress | 9 | 1.5% |
| 6 | Tiendanube | 7 | 1.2% |
| 7 | Wix | 6 | 1% |
| 8 | Godaddy | 4 | 0.7% |
The United States is the launch capital
New commerce is not spread evenly. The United States alone produced 26% of every launch FisherLeads saw in September 2026, 0.7× the next six countries combined. The United Kingdom, Germany and Canada follow, but no single market comes close to the American share.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 152 | 26% |
| 2 | India | 43 | 7.4% |
| 3 | France | 42 | 7.2% |
| 4 | Germany | 42 | 7.2% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 32 | 5.5% |
| 6 | Australia | 31 | 5.3% |
| 7 | Brazil | 20 | 3.4% |
| 8 | Canada | 19 | 3.3% |
Apparel leads what the new stores sell
When FisherLeads can read what a store sells, one category stands out. Apparel is the runaway leader among classified stores, ahead of beauty, food and jewellery. Fashion remains the easiest thing to start selling online, and founders still reach for it first.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apparel | 75 | 23.4% |
| 2 | Plumbing | 30 | 9.4% |
| 3 | Outdoor & sports | 19 | 5.9% |
| 4 | Beauty | 19 | 5.9% |
| 5 | Jewelry | 14 | 4.4% |
| 6 | Home decor | 14 | 4.4% |
The first thing new founders buy is an audience
Before a review app or a loyalty program, new stores wire up ads. Meta Ads is the single most common tool FisherLeads detects on a new site, ahead of Google Ads and Cash on Delivery. Paid acquisition, not organic patience, is how most founders plan to win their first customers.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta Ads | 28 | 40.6% |
| 2 | Google Ads | 14 | 20.3% |
| 3 | Cash on Delivery | 10 | 14.5% |
| 4 | TikTok Ads | 10 | 14.5% |
| 5 | Print on Demand | 4 | 5.8% |
| 6 | Dropshipping | 3 | 4.3% |
The themes new Shopify stores launch on
Most new Shopify stores do not commission a custom build. Horizon and Dawn, Shopify’s own free themes, dress the majority of them. For theme and app makers, that is the canvas your product has to live on.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horizon | 55 | 64% |
| 2 | Dawn | 11 | 12.8% |
| 3 | Tinker | 5 | 5.8% |
| 4 | Whisper | 3 | 3.5% |
| 5 | Spotlight | 3 | 3.5% |
| 6 | Ritual | 3 | 3.5% |
| 7 | Ride | 3 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Helio | 3 | 3.5% |
What the new stores charge
Among new stores that expose a catalog, most launch at entry level prices. The cheapest product is under $30 for the majority of them, a reminder that new ecommerce still competes on affordable, impulse friendly goods, even as a fifth reach for the premium end.
| # | Name | New sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Under $15 | 114 | 41.5% |
| 2 | $15 to $30 | 44 | 16% |
| 3 | $30 to $60 | 28 | 10.2% |
| 4 | $60 to $120 | 22 | 8% |
| 5 | $120 and up | 67 | 24.4% |
What the month says
Shopify and WooCommerce are the new default.
Together they carry 64.2% of every new store and business launched this month. Everything else splits a long tail.
The United States is the launch capital.
The US produced 26% of all launches, 0.7× the next six countries combined.
Apparel still leads what they sell.
Among the stores FisherLeads could classify, apparel is the runaway category, ahead of beauty and food.
Methodology
The FisherLeads Index counts new stores and businesses that FisherLeads verified as real, live and newly launched, detected from public launch signals (new SSL certificates and domain records). It is not a claim of every store launched worldwide. This report covers September 2026 and refreshes daily as new launches are confirmed.
Updated 2026-09-01. Every site is verified as a real, live, newly launched store or business before it enters the Index; parked domains, placeholders and recycled sites never count. Launch dates come from each site’s first public launch signal, a newly issued SSL certificate or a new domain record. Figures refresh daily as launches are confirmed.