Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) is a commerce platform and eCommerce infrastructure provider connecting small businesses with a large and growing global marketplace. The company was formed in 2004 in Ottawa, Canada as Jaded Pixel Technologies but changed its name to Shopify Inc in 2011. The name change was part of a rebranding strategy that helped accelerate the business and drive it to $5.5 billion in sales in 2022.
As of October 2022, the company boasted “millions” of merchants in 175 countries with more than $543 billion in economic activity generated since launch. In terms of scale, Shopify employs more than 10,000 individuals and is among the top 20 publicly traded companies in Canada.
Shopify was founded by Tobi Lütke. Mr. Lütke had been working on a website for a snowboard store but quickly realized the software was more valuable than just selling snowboards so his team switched gears. The platform was launched in 2006 and it quickly gained momentum. Mr. Lütke is a member of the board of directors and the company’s CEO, a position he has held since 2008.
Shopify is a commerce company but, more importantly, it is an eCommerce commerce company that can assist small businesses with all aspects of their operations. The company is in business to provide an eCommerce platform for small businesses globally. Its platform enables merchants to market, manage, and sell their products through a variety of sales channels that include but are not limited to eCommerce. Channels include the company’s core Shopify.com website as well as brick & mortar locations, pop-ups, social media, and buy-now buttons.
Because branding is such an important part of a business's success the company goes to great lengths to assist its merchants in that regard. The Shopify.com website includes several tools to help with branding that include a business name generator and a logo maker as well as a website builder and a full range of marketing products. Marketing products help merchants with email marketing and Facebook ads as well as automation of the same.
Among the many benefits of using Shopify is acceleration. Businesses that use the website to its fullest are able to accelerate their growth and reach milestones years ahead of their competitors. Brands that use Shopify.com include Heinz, Tupperware, and Netflix. According to data from BuiltWith, the Shopify platform was host to more than 1.58 million websites in 2021 and the figure is growing. Data from W3Techs suggest that more than 4.0% of the top 10 million websites are using Shopify.
