Shopify - statistics & facts
E-commerce sites are complex platforms serving as digital shopping windows, payment checkouts, hubs for fulfillment services, and marketing tools. Cloud-based software providers like Shopify have successfully specialized in e-commerce suites able to streamline these processes seamlessly. Founded in 2006 in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify is now a global player, accounting for roughly ten percent of the worldwide e-commerce software market.
From Decathlon to Fashion Nova , Netflix, and ColourPoP, several well-known international brands have built their online stores on Shopify – contributing to the growing Gross Merchandise Volume of the company.
In the competitive e-commerce industry, small retailers require a constantly expanding range of marketing and fulfillment services, which Shopify has highly invested in. The company’s strive for innovation is confirmed by the year-over-year increasing investment in technology: Shopify’s research and development spending nearly quadrupled between 2018 and 2021 before skyrocketing in 2023.
Shopify’s meticulous attention to merchants' needs and a strategy which has avoided sensationalism are driving forces behind the optimistic prospects about profitability and growing price of their shares.
How Shopify’s business works
Since going public in 2015, Shopify’s annual revenue increased significantly, hitting over seven billion U.S. dollars in 2023. As stated by the company, the business is based on subscription services and merchant solutions. Merchants can subscribe to get a full package of e-commerce tools - including the upgraded version known as Shopify Plus, while booking additional solutions, mostly related to payment services.In the competitive e-commerce industry, small retailers require a constantly expanding range of marketing and fulfillment services, which Shopify has highly invested in. The company’s strive for innovation is confirmed by the year-over-year increasing investment in technology: Shopify’s research and development spending nearly quadrupled between 2018 and 2021 before skyrocketing in 2023.
It’s the little things
The latest Winter ‘25 conference where Shopify announced innovations for merchants was renamed ‘the Boring edition’ as there was no groundbreaking news, but over 150 small improvements to the current service offering. Among the presented updates, Shopify enhanced AI-powered search on every channel and made life easier for merchants selling in physical stores with better in-store POS payments services. Prior to the event, Shopify acquired Checkout Block. The app allows merchants to customize the checkout process even more through popping out discounts or upselling blocks.Shopify’s meticulous attention to merchants' needs and a strategy which has avoided sensationalism are driving forces behind the optimistic prospects about profitability and growing price of their shares.
