It has slain countless retailers, moved into multiple product categories and is increasingly seeing off even online native businesses like eBay.
There is not a more formidable e-commerce business than Amazon. It has slain countless retailers, moved into multiple product categories and is increasingly seeing off even online native businesses like eBay.
On first impressions, it would therefore seem puzzling that Shopify, a Canadian based provider of e-commerce platform technology, is growing so remarkably well; revenues have grown by over 400% in the last three years.
The idea behind Shopify was to provide entrepreneurs and small merchants with a ready to use e-commerce platform that can rival the online shopping experience that Amazon provide, but that is also highly customisable. This enables merchants to showcase their brand, develop a unique shopping experience and build a direct relationship with customers, which they wouldn’t be able to do through eBay’s or Amazon’s uniform selling platforms.
Shopify’s partner network of third party developers build plug-in apps, such as ‘loyalty cards’ or upselling features, which help merchants to boost sales and keep the Shopify platform up-to-date with the latest technology The growth story of Shopify is certainly enticing but there is always a catch...the business has yet to record any profit! Investors will hope the business can reach scale so it finally does.
