When Amazon had started more than two decades ago as a small online book shop, eBay was the king of the e-commerce industry with its novel auctioning marketplace. Over the years, eBay grew, but eventually, it was Amazon which emerged as the winner. However, e-commerce company Shopify has emerged as an unlikely contender to challenge Amazon and it is now looking increasingly likely after the Canadian company left eBay in the dust this year in terms of valuation. Shopify first listed on the New York Stock Exchange back in 2015 and over the years it has grown steadily.
However, it was in 2019 that the stock has gathered steam and gained 150% in the year so far. It now boasts of the market capitalization of $40 billion and manages to go past the eBay at the start of the year. It is a big moment because it was eBay which had started the online shopping revolution back in the day. However, analysts now feel that with this sort of valuation, Shopify is the most likely challenger for Amazon, the e-commerce juggernaut that operated worldwide. Amazon’s business model of the ‘everything store’ has been panned by a range of retailers over the years and the more well-known ones have even set up their own websites.
However, Amazon continues to chug along with its marketplace and remains the dominant company in this space. On the other hand, Shopify gives its users the chance to have the same technical capabilities that one would want in an online store and given the bulk of the control to the retailers. That is the stark difference between the two companies and one that could propel Shopify into becoming the main challenger to the juggernaut that is Amazon. Shopify allows even the smallest of stores to set up their online store quickly and the company provides all the necessary tools regarding the website and payment options. There is no mention of Shopify anywhere in the websites and even though the people spent a staggering $40 billion on Shopify powered websites, they would not have any idea that the company is in charge of those online stores. Such an operation gives far more control to the retailers and remains the biggest advantage that Shopify enjoys over Amazon. The company is now ready to take on the giant.
