What it is: Shopify shows significant growth

Why it is important: The company is thriving as a platform for brands and retailers offering frictionless services

The Shopify platform, which provides retailers and brands with the tools they need to sell online has benefited from the rush to e-commerce with quarterly revenues up 110% to $988.6 m from processing orders with a gross merchandise value of $ 37.3 bn. According to Shopify’s president, “the centre of gravity is now online”. He added that the company is emphasising reducing friction for customers so they can build strong customer relationships and more easily manage the increasing complexity of their back-office operations as they scale.

Discovering new buyers is a pain point for Shopify as the cost of customer acquisition increases. In this respect, it has found it useful to make unexpected connections such as with recently bankrupted Lord and Taylor which has now launched on Shopify. For some observers, Shopify is a sign that there exists e-commerce beyond Amazon. The company has expanded its ecosystem and noted that roughly 45 800 partners referred a merchant to Shopify over the past 12 months, an increase of 73%. It has also been building its fulfilment network to help retailers handle their inventory with more flexibility.

The managing director, EMEA, of Shopify is presenting at the IADS CEO meeting on 29 April 2021.

Shopify Sales Double as E-commerce Gains