Operations platform recommendation

Do not build an admin sales/orders/shipping/inventory dashboard from scratch right now. Use Shopify as the system of record and keep this site as the branded front-end.

Why Shopify first

Orders, payments, taxes, refunds, fraud checks, discounts, and customer accounts are already solved.
Inventory and SKU variants are mature enough for apparel sizes, colors, blanks, and limited drops.
Shipping labels, fulfillment status, notifications, and returns can be handled in one admin surface.
Buy Buttons or Storefront API can plug into Astro without replacing the visual site.
It gives human admins one operational console while Paperclip stays focused on software work.

Recommended shape

Set up Shopify for products, inventory, checkout, orders, shipping, tax, and customer support.
Embed Shopify Buy Buttons or use Hydrogen/Storefront API only where the brand experience needs it.
Send regular customer/site reports to a human admin queue.
Send admin-confirmed software bugs to Paperclip's software development team.
Add Paperclip automation later for triage, QA, and release notes — not order fulfillment state.

Alternatives

Medusa or Saleor are viable if we need full OSS ownership and custom fulfillment logic, but they add hosting, security, payment, tax, and admin-maintenance burden. WooCommerce is cheaper but more plugin-heavy. Square is fine for POS-first workflows. For this brand, Shopify is the lowest-risk e2e operational choice.