In recent years, the retail sector has had to adapt fast to changing consumer behaviours and the move to online shopping.
But the rapid, unprecedented onset of the coronavirus pandemic has been particularly challenging, with the sector having to be increasingly nimble to respond to the crisis.
The question is, which retailers will emerge as winners? It may well be a company whose entire model is based on online retail and which is prioritising small businesses and disadvantaged communities by giving them a leg up.
Enter: Shopify.
The Canada-headquartered ecommerce company, which does just that, saw its share price climb after it announced a new partnership with Walmart on 15 June. This tie up means it has become the US retail giant’s first commerce platform partner.
But don’t be distracted by the size of the US side of the deal just yet. The partnership sees the launch of a channel that will enable Shopify merchants, many of which are small to medium-sized businesses, to sell their products on Walmart rather than the other way around.
According to a statement from Shopify, more than 120 million US consumers visit Walmart.com every month, so the agreement is a huge opportunity for smaller merchants to get their wares in front of a massive marketplace.
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While Shopify merchants will need to apply to sell through the channel, the company has forecast that by the end of the year 1,200 of them will be selling through the Walmart marketplace.
Shopify, which is based in Ottawa, was launched in 2006, having been founded by Tobi Lütke who came up with the idea for the platform when he went to launch an online snowboard store.
He has served as chief executive of the company since 2008 and has been steering Shopify through the pandemic by unveiling a number of initiatives to support merchants. As a result, new stores created on the Shopify platform grew 62% between 13 March and 24 April this year.
The company now “powers” over one million businesses in more than 175 countries, and its share price has been on an upward trajectory this year — rising more than 105% since the start of 2020.
There are plenty of investors who believe the share price has room to go higher, too, given the ecommerce boom that is underway.
Shopify also confirmed its commitment to indigenous entrepreneurs this month, when it revealed it would be partnering with organisations including Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, Rise2025 and Te Whare Hukahuka.
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The retailer said that along with its partners, it will create “culturally relevant” ecommerce education and provide participants in these communities with six months of free access to its platform.
If you are in the market for what appears to be a company with an unstoppable growth story (that isn’t Amazon), then Shopify may be worth a look.
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