What does the e-commerce stack in DIY and tools really look like? For this report we identified around 2,700 active tool, power tool and DIY shops worldwide from the HTTP Archive (as of August 2026) and analysed which shop system they run on and which payment methods, marketing and review tools they use.
Key findings
- Shopify leads at 30.6%, but WooCommerce (25.0%) is almost level, and the DACH systems Shopware (7.9%) and JTL (4.0%) are above-average.
- This makes the industry self-hosted-heavy and offers a large, mixed migration pool beyond Shopify.
- Checkout is PayPal-first (34.7%) ahead of Apple Pay (19.9%), typical for a function- and price-oriented buyer base.
- For reviews, Trusted Shops (5.4%) is strikingly strong, a clear DACH signal, alongside Judge.me (7.5%).
- Marketing adoption is low (17.4%) because tools are bought in a strongly search- and need-driven way.
Which shop system does the tools industry use?
Shopify leads at 30.6%, but WooCommerce is almost level at 25.0%, and with Shopware (7.9%) and JTL (4.0%) two DACH-typical systems are above-average. The industry is clearly more self-hosted-heavy than pure DTC segments.
| Shop system | Share of tool shops |
|---|---|
| Shopify | 30.6% |
| WooCommerce | 25.0% |
| Shopware | 7.9% |
| JTL Shop | 4.0% |
| Wix eCommerce | 3.7% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 1.7% |
| Magento | 1.3% |
| PrestaShop | 0.9% |
| plentymarkets | 0.7% |
Share of 2,744 classified tool shops. The Wappalyzer catch-all "Cart Functionality" is excluded.
How do customers pay in tool shops?
Unlike in most DTC industries, PayPal leads clearly ahead of Apple Pay here, typical for a function- and price-oriented, often commercial buyer base in the DACH region.
| Payment method | Share of tool shops |
|---|---|
| PayPal | 34.7% |
| Apple Pay | 19.9% |
| Shop Pay | 17.3% |
| Google Pay | 15.5% |
| Klarna | 7.7% |
| Stripe | 2.4% |
Which review tools do tool shops use?
19.3% of all tool shops use a detectable review tool. Alongside Judge.me, Trusted Shops is strikingly strong, a clear DACH signal.
| Review tool | Share of tool shops |
|---|---|
| Judge.me | 7.5% |
| Trusted Shops | 5.4% |
| Trustpilot | 2.5% |
| Trustindex | 1.2% |
| Loox | 1.1% |
19.3% of tool shops use at least one detectable review tool.
What do tool shops run email marketing with?
Marketing adoption is lower than in DTC industries: only 17.4% of shops use a tool. Tools are bought strongly via search and concrete need rather than newsletters. Klaviyo and Mailchimp are level.
| Marketing tool | Share of tool shops |
|---|---|
| Klaviyo | 6.0% |
| Mailchimp | 5.9% |
| PushOwl | 2.0% |
| Sendinblue (Brevo) | 1.2% |
| HubSpot | 1.1% |
17.4% of tool shops use at least one marketing automation tool.
How do tool shops communicate with customers?
20.8% of tool shops use a chat or support tool, led by WhatsApp Business, fitting consultation-heavy product and application questions.
| Chat / support tool | Share of tool shops |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business Chat | 16.0% |
| Zendesk | 1.2% |
| Facebook Chat Plugin | 1.1% |
| Tawk.to | 0.8% |
20.8% of tool shops use at least one live chat or support tool.
What this means for your shop
The tools industry is mixed: Shopify leads narrowly at 30.6%, but WooCommerce, Shopware and JTL together form a large self-hosted base, especially in the DACH region. This is a broad, heterogeneous migration pool.
The stack is need- and search-driven: PayPal clearly ahead of Apple Pay, low marketing adoption, but DACH-typical trust signals like Trusted Shops. Customers search specifically for the right tool rather than buying via newsletter.
For a migration Shopify is attractive where a tool retailer wants to professionalise and mobile-optimise its business. The decisive requirement is a clean catalogue and search structure for many variants and spare parts.
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Frequently asked questions Which shop system do most tool shops use?
Which tools do successful tool shops use?
How were the tool shops identified?
Sources & methodology
This is our own analysis of the technology detection of the HTTP Archive (crawl of 1 August 2026, mobile home pages, deduplicated per domain). From all shops detected as e-commerce, we classified tool shops via the shop description (OpenGraph and Twitter metadata), limited to shops with unambiguous product signals (e.g. tools, power tools, drill, hardware store) and excluding repair workshops and service providers. A manual sample check found around 80% precision. All percentages refer to the 2,744 classified shops. The automatic technology detection is not perfect in every individual case.
Conducted by
Richard Roth
SEO & GEO Strategist
Till Täubrich
Shopify Development & Migration
Research and analysis by the team at store2x, specialised in Shopify migration and SEO.