Small Businesses Flock to Shopify

A third option for small businesses that focus on e-commerce has emerged. Shopify presents merchants with access to cloud-based third-party services. From payments to fulfillment, merchants have more control of their brand and customer relationships, a key difference between Amazon services. 

Shopify’s main offering is a cloud-based service that makes it more simple to build and operate an online store. Its latest offerings include warehousing, fulfillment, and small business loans. Shopify Capital has lent small businesses across the country $1.7 billion since its initial launch. 

According to Digital Commerce 360, e-commerce spending grew 44% in 2020 compared to 2019. Contributing to the growth of e-commerce outside of Amazon were smaller retailers paving their own ways to directly reach shoppers. 

Shopify, a 14-year-old company, has become one of the largest providers of software and services for merchants who establish their own online stores, with revenue growing by 86% in 2020. 

Shopify’s rival, Amazon, forces sellers to give up critical customer data, such as email addresses. Neil Bruce, the head of online for Toolstop, a 56-year-old family-run hardware store and wholesaler based in Glasgow, Scotland, said that his company charges an average fee of 14% for each item’s price that he sells on Amazon. 

Unlike Amazon, Shopify strives to level the playing field for small businesses. 

“We view our role as leveling the playing fields so that retailers can, rather than rent customers from these platforms, own the relationship with customers,” Shopify President, Harley Finkelstei, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. 

The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.

1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.

2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.

3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories.

For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.