The best ecommerce agency in Melbourne is the one that passes this check.
Every ranking of Melbourne ecommerce agencies was written by an agency or paid for by one, including this page. So instead of a list, here is the check to run on any agency in twenty minutes, and how we score on it, with the numbers on the client’s own screen.
- No pitch deck
- Findings yours to keep
- Month to month after 90 days
Short answer: the best ecommerce agency in Melbourne for your store is the one that will show you a client’s revenue with a starting point and a timeframe, charge you a flat fee, and fix your tracking before spending your money. Most agencies fail at least one of those three, and you can check all three without a meeting. Our ecommerce growth agency in Melbourne page sets out how we work; below is how we score on the check, and how to run it on anyone else.
How we score on the check
| The check | What most agency sites show | What Sellevate shows |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, with a baseline and dates | Logo walls and percentages with no starting number. | Tuff Gear: A$222K in the 12 months to August 2026, up 274%. Read from the client’s own Shopify admin, published with permission. |
| How the fee is charged | A percentage of ad spend, so the agency earns more when you spend more. | A flat fee stated on the first call. No mark-up on media. Your accounts, your card. |
| A commitment on the timeline | None. The industry norm is to carry no risk. | Live in 90 days or you stop paying until it is. Then month to month. |
| What happens in week one | Campaigns launch. Spend starts before anyone knows if the checkout works. | Tracking, then the site, then the funnel. Findings in writing before you pay a cent. |
| Where they actually are | An Australian landing page for an offshore company. | Geelong, Victoria. ABN on every page, a Google Business Profile you can visit, an hour from Melbourne. |
If that is the agency you were looking for: book a free ten minute call and we will read your store and your ads before it, or send three answers and get the findings in writing within 24 hours. Either way you keep the findings.
Now the same check, for everyone else on your shortlist.
The twenty minute check
Percentages without a baseline are not proof
"500% growth" tells you nothing unless you know the starting number. A brand going from $2,000 to $12,000 a month is 500%. So is $200,000 to $1.2 million. Ask for the from, the to, and how long it took. If an agency cannot show at least one journey that way, they are showing you a percentage because the absolute number is small.
Ask how your ad spend will be billed
If the fee is a percentage of spend, the agency earns more when you spend more, regardless of outcome. A flat fee scoped to your revenue stage removes that conflict and is usually cheaper once the budget grows.
Ask what happens in week one
The right answer is tracking, then the site, then the funnel. If the answer is "we launch campaigns", your money will be spent before anyone knows whether the checkout works.
Check where they are, not where they say they serve
Several agencies ranking for Australian ecommerce searches are UK or US companies with an Australian landing page. That is fine if you know it. Look for an Australian address and an ABN on the site.
Which Melbourne ecommerce agencies are best for large online stores?
Short answer: for a large store, the best agency is one that can work inside your in-house team, run a big catalogue with a process rather than by hand, report profit per order by channel and cover the marketplaces as well as the store. The check above still applies. A large store should add these four questions to it.
Can they work with your team rather than around it?
Large stores usually have a marketing manager, a developer and someone on merchandising. The agency should work in your tools, your reporting and your release calendar, and leave behind work your team can keep running. Ask who owns your account day to day and how senior they are.
Have they run a big catalogue?
Thousands of products change the job. Google Shopping feeds, collection pages that rank and product copy that is not repeated across variants all need a process. In our study of 21,376 products on 108 Australian Shopify stores, 26.1% shared a word-for-word description with another product in the same store, and the problem grows with the catalogue.
Do they report profit, not just ROAS?
At scale, a healthy return on ad spend can still lose money once returns, discounts and shipping are counted. Ask to see a report that shows profit per order by channel, from your own store data.
Do they cover the marketplaces?
Most large Australian stores also sell on Amazon, and the ad budgets compete for the same customer. One team that sees the store and the marketplace stops you paying twice for one sale.
Where we fit: we run Shopify and Shopify Plus stores, Amazon Australia, Google, Meta and Klaviyo as one plan, with a senior team in your accounts. If your store only needs one specialist to sit beside a large in-house team, a specialist agency may suit you better, and we will tell you that on the call.
Melbourne specifically
Melbourne is a big enough market that most national agencies list it, and few are actually there. For an ecommerce brand that rarely matters: the work is remote, the ad platforms are the same, and the fulfilment is at your warehouse. Where it does matter is suburb level targeting for a brand with a physical presence, and photography. Ask whether the team has done either in Melbourne before, not whether they have a Melbourne page.
Questions owners ask
Which Melbourne ecommerce agencies are best for large online stores?
The ones that can work inside your in-house team, run a large catalogue with a process rather than by hand, report profit per order by channel and cover marketplaces such as Amazon as well as the store. Ask every agency on your shortlist to show all four on screen before you sign.
Is Sellevate in Melbourne?
No, we are in Geelong, an hour down the road, and we say so plainly on every page. We run Melbourne brands remotely, with the senior team in your accounts, and we come up when a quarter needs a table rather than a screen.
How much does a Melbourne ecommerce agency cost?
Serious ecommerce retainers in Australia mostly sit between $2,500 and $10,000 a month depending on channels and store size. Ours is a flat monthly fee set by revenue band and stated on the audit call, never a percentage of spend.
What is the fastest way to compare two agencies?
Ask both for one client journey with a starting revenue, an ending revenue and a timeframe, and ask both how they bill ad spend. Those two answers separate agencies faster than any pitch deck.
Real people. Real words.
I usually ignore calls from marketing agencies, but I'm glad I gave Sellevate a chance. They were straightforward, explained everything clearly, and didn't make unrealistic promises. The team has been easy to work with and always available when I need help. Definitely recommend them.
Finding a marketing partner you can trust isn't easy these days. Sellevate has been professional from day one and has made the process simple for us. No jargon, no pressure, just clear communication and a team that's focused on getting results. Very happy with the service.
Great understanding of what we want to achieve and they are driven to exceed. The team is always driving with constant communication. I thoroughly recommend Sellevate.
Reviews: on our Google profile, as clients wrote them.
Rather just get the answer for your business?
The free audit applies all of this to your market, your competitors and your numbers. Ten minutes on a call; the written findings are yours either way.