Shopify Shop, Shopify’s Reason to Exist, Google’s Earnings

Strengthens the value proposition of Shopify: This makes the value proposition of Shopify even more compelling for merchants getting started or considering switching platforms they use to power their eCommerce operations since it means that Shopify now also helps with distribution more efficient marketing and customer acquisition, as opposed to pur... See more

For these sorts of e-commerce brands, what’s being sold isn’t just some product with utility. It’s a feeling, a community, an identity. Shopify, being the blank canvas it is, is much more suitable for this kind of projection than Amazon, which, by virtue of being Amazon, effectively eclipses individual brands on its site.

Similarly, should Shopify decide to make its Shop app an actual discovery platform, it should build its recommendation feed around influencers – not shops.

If it executes on demand gen, Shopify would have built the ultimate "business in a box" for online merchants and give them very little incentive to work with Amazon. That's as close to a lights out scenario for the e-commerce giant as we can expect to see.

I think it’s inevitable that Shopify will become a consumer destination, but the way it monetizes demand gen will need to be aligned with its role as a Platform.