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Shopify Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryInternet
Founders
Headquarters
Ottawa, Ontario
,
Canada
Area served
Worldwide
Revenue$151.7 Million[1] (2017)
2,914,659,000 United States dollar (2021) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
8,300 (2023) Edit this on Wikidata
Websiteshopify.com

Shopify is both a Canadian e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario and the name of its computer software platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems.[2]

The Shopify company was founded in 2004, and its software platform was initially based on earlier software written by its founders for their online snowboard store.[3][4] The company reports that it has more than 500,000 merchants using its platform,[5] with total gross merchandise volume exceeding $45 billion.[5][6][7][8]

History

Shopify was founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake after attempting to open Snowdevil, an online store for snowboarding equipment. Unsatisfied with the existing e-commerce products on the market, Lütke, a computer programmer by trade, decided to build his own.[4][9][10]

Lütke used the open source web application framework Ruby on Rails to build Snowdevil's online store, and launched it after two months of development.[11][12] The Snowdevil founders launched the platform as Shopify in June 2006.[11]

In June 2009, Shopify launched an API platform and App Store. The API allows developers to create applications for Shopify online stores and then sell them on the Shopify App Store.[7] Several companies have developed apps that integrate with the Shopify platform.[13][14]

A Shopify window display in north London.

In April 2010, Shopify launched a free mobile app on the Apple App Store. The app lets Shopify store owners view and manage their stores from iOS mobile devices.[15] In 2010, Shopify started its Build-A-Business competition, in which participants create a business using its commerce platform.[16][17] The winners of the competition receive cash prizes and mentorship from entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson, Eric Ries and others.[17] Shopify was named Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Company by the Ottawa Business Journal in 2010.[11] The company received $7 million from an initial series A round of venture capital financing in December 2010.[18][19] Its Series B round generated $15 million in October 2011.[20]

In February 2012, Shopify acquired Select Start Studios Inc ("S3"), a mobile software developer, along with 20 of the company's mobile engineers and designers.[21][22] In August 2013, Shopify acquired Jet Cooper, a 25-person design studio based in Toronto.[23]

In August 2013, Shopify announced the launch of Shopify Payments, which allowed merchants to accept credit cards without requiring a third party payment gateway.[24] The company also announced the launch of an iPad-centric point of sale system. It uses an iPad to accept payments from debit and credit cards. The company received $100 million in Series C funding in December 2013.[25]

By 2014, the platform hosted approximately 120,000 online retailers,[12][15][26] and was listed as #3 in Deloitte’s Fast50 in Canada, as well as #7 in Deloitte’s Fast 500 of North America.[27] Shopify earned $105 million in revenue in 2014, twice as much as it raised the previous year.[28]

On April 14, 2015, Shopify filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols "SHOP" and "SH" respectively.[29][30] Shopify went public on May 21, 2015, and in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, started trading at $28, more than 60% higher than its USD$17 offering price, with its IPO raising more than $131 million.[31][32]

In September 2015, Amazon.com announced it would be closing its Amazon Webstore service for merchants, and had selected Shopify as the preferred migration provider;[33] Shopify's shares jumped more than 20% upon the news.

On October 3, 2016, Shopify acquired Boltmade.[34] In November 2016, Shopify partnered with Paystack which allowed Nigerian online retailers to accept payments from customers around the world.[35] On November 22, 2016, Shopify launched Frenzy, a mobile app that improves flash sales.[36] On December 5, 2016, Shopify acquired Toronto-based mobile product development studio Tiny Hearts. The Tiny Hearts building has been turned into a Shopify research and development office.[37]

In January 2017, Shopify announced integration with Amazon that would allow merchants to sell on Amazon from their Shopify stores.[38] Shopify's stock rose almost 10% upon this announcement.[38]

In April 2017, Shopify introduced a Bluetooth enabled debit and credit card reader for brick and mortar retail purchases.[39]

In October 2017, Famous short-seller Andrew Left, released a detailed report which described the e-commerce platform as a "get-rich-quick" scheme that is against Federal Trade Commission regulations. [40][41] The day of the report the stock plunged more than 11%.[42] The main question he posed was "Outside the roughly 50,000 verifiable merchants working with Shopify, who are the other 450,000 the company says it has?."

Reception

Shopify has been well received by tech website CNET, which said the platform is "clean, simple, and easy-to-use."[43] The service has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal,[44] The New York Times,[3] The Vancouver Sun,[45] The Financial Post, TechCrunch,[46] and Mashable.[12][47]

Shopify was included in Fast Company's list of Most Innovative Companies of 2012.[48] In 2013, Shopify was included on CNBC's Disrupter 50 list.[49] The company's CEO, Tobias Lütke, won The Globe and Mail's CEO of the Year in 2014.[50]

Criticism

In 2017, the #DeleteShopify hashtag campaign called for a boycott of Shopify for allowing the far-right Breitbart News website to host a shop on its platform.[51][52][53] Shopify's CEO, Tobias Lütke, responded to the criticism,[54] saying "refusing to do business with the site would constitute a violation of free speech".[55][56]

Also controversial, Trump's sales on the Canadian e-commerce platform for Make America Great Again (MAGA), which has been labelled as hypocritical.[57] [58] This MAGA merchandise includes t-shirts for those with Alzheimer's that say “I love waking up and remembering that Donald Trump is president.”

In October 2017, Famous short-seller Andrew Left, released a detailed report which described the e-commerce platform as a "get-rich-quick" scheme that is against Federal Trade Commission regulations.[40][41] The day of the report the stock plunged more than 11%.[42] The main question he posed was "Outside the roughly 50,000 verifiable merchants working with Shopify, who are the other 450,000 the company says it has?." Third-party marketing tactics are expected to be improved going forward.[59]

References

  1. ^ Dulaney, Chelsey (February 17, 2016). "Shopify Expects Revenue to Surge in 2016". Forbes. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Bradbury, Danny. Hands-off business a reality The Financial Post. April 21, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Kolodny, Lora. Shopify, a start-Up, Starts Its Own Business Competition “New York Times”. February 2, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Cole, Trevor (November 27, 2014). "Our Canadian CEO of the year you've probably never heard of". Globe & Mail. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "About Shopify". Shopify. Retrieved August 2, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ "Shopify: 2016 in Review". CBC News. July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ a b Duncan, Katherine (March 12, 2012). "How Shopify Became the Go-To Ecommerce Platform for Startups". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 4, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Armental, Maria (April 14, 2015). "Canadian Software Company Shopify Files for U.S.-Canada IPO". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  9. ^ Whittaker, Stephanie. The Web as a safety net The Montreal Gazette. May 4, 2009.
  10. ^ Donnelly, Jim. Shopify picks up $7M in venture funding Ottawa Business Journal. December 13, 2010.
  11. ^ a b c Donnelly, Jim. Fastest Growing Companies Ottawa Business Journal. May 3, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c Duryee, Tricia. E-Commerce Assistant Shopify Raises $7 Million in First Round All Things Digital. December 13, 2010.
  13. ^ "channeladvisor-expands-webstores-solution-with-shopify". Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  14. ^ Novellino, Teresa (December 15, 2014). "Wanelo deal with Shopify gives indie retailers a wing in digital mall". Upstart Business Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Rip Empson (April 11, 2013). "After 7 Years & 50K Storefronts Created, Shopify Launches Major Redesign To Simplify Online Store-Building". TechCrunch.
  16. ^ Kolodny, Lora. Maker of iPad Cases Wins Shopify Competition The New York Times. July 19, 2010.
  17. ^ a b Rip Empson for TechCrunch. July 10, 2012 Shopify Teams Up With Tim Ferriss, Eric Ries, FUBU Founder To Help You Build A $1M eCommerce Biz
  18. ^ Lewis, Rob. Ottawa's Shopify raises $7 Million Series A Funding from Bessemer, FirstMark, and Felicis Techvibes. December 13, 2010.
  19. ^ McLeod, Mark. Shopify Gets Fundified! StartupCFO. December 12, 2010.
  20. ^ Duryee, Tricia. "Shopify Picks Up $15 Million as It Faces New Competition From eBay". All Things D. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  21. ^ Rao, Leena (February 1, 2012). "Ecommerce Platform Shopify Acquires Mobile App Development Studio Select Start". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  22. ^ Berkow, Jameson (February 1, 2012). "Ottawa tech merger: Shopify buys Select Start Studios". Financial Post. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  23. ^ Lindzon, Jared (August 1, 2013). "Shopify acquires design agency Jet Cooper". BetaKit. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  24. ^ Shopify debuts fully integrated credit card payment processing TechCrunch, August 12, 2013
  25. ^ Etherington, Darrell. "Shopify Raises $100M To Drop The 'E' And Become The Commerce Company That Spans On- And Offline". Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  26. ^ Pileci, Vito. Shopify.com makes it easy for new online entrepreneurs The Montreal Gazette. September 20, 2010.
  27. ^ Louis Columbus (November 20, 2014). "Software Companies Are Dominating Deloitte's Technology Fast 500". Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  28. ^ Reader, Ruth (May 21, 2015). "Shopify pops 65% on the NYSE, starts trading above $28 per share". VentureBeat. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  29. ^ "E-Commerce Software Maker Shopify Files for IPO". April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  30. ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (April 14, 2015). "E-commerce company Shopify files for initial public offering". Fortune. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  31. ^ Tech IPO Scorecard: Shopify Skyrockets 51%, While Baozun Rises A Slimmer 4.6%
  32. ^ Abelson, Jeremy; Narasin, Ben (May 21, 2015). "IPO Scorecard: Shopify is another point against bubble proponents". VentureBeat. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  33. ^ "Shares in Shopify Jump 23% Following Integration with Amazon".
  34. ^ "Shopify acquires product design firm Boltmade to boost Shopify Plus". TechCrunch. October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  35. ^ "Nigerian Merchants With Shopify Accounts Can Now Accept Payments Via Paystack | TechCabal". Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  36. ^ "Shopify's experimental product shop launches flash sales app Frenzy". TechCrunch. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  37. ^ Jama, Robleh (December 5, 2016). "We're Joining Shopify". Tiny Hearts studio. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  38. ^ a b "Shopify's E-commerce Revolution". Fortune. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  39. ^ Rao, Leena (April 20, 2017). "Shopify Takes on Square With New Credit Card Reader". Fortune. Retrieved June 4, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  40. ^ a b "Shopify's CEO calls out Citron's Andrew Left as 'short-selling troll' - Article - BNN". BNN. October 11, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  41. ^ a b "Short seller Andrew Left says he's found a 'business dirtier than Herbalife'". Business Insider. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  42. ^ a b "Ignore Citron Report and Use This Dip to Buy Shopify Inc (US) (SHOP) Stock". Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  43. ^ Needleman, Rafe. Shopify makes quick work of setting up shop “CNET”. May 26, 2006.
  44. ^ Lora Kolodny for the Wall Street Journal. December 12, 2013. On Road to IPO, Shopify Raises $100M to ‘Bridge Clicks and Bricks’
  45. ^ Pilieci, Vito. Business booming at Shopify.com “The Vancouver Sun”. September 18, 2010.
  46. ^ Arrington, Michael. Shopify Was Worth the Wait “TechCrunch”. April 15, 2006.
  47. ^ Casel, Brian.40+ Web Design and Development Resources for Beginners “Mashable”. July 23, 2010.
  48. ^ "Most Innovative Companies 2012 - Industries Top 10 - Retail". Fast Company. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  49. ^ "CNBC Disruptor 50". CNBC. May 13, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  50. ^ Knowlton Thomas (November 27, 2014). "Shopify's Tobias Lütke Crowned CEO of 2014". TechVibes. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  51. ^ Alba, Davey (February 12, 2017). "Shopify's Breitbart Fight Proves It: These Days, Tech Has to Take a Side". Wired.
  52. ^ Pearson, Jordan (February 7, 2017). "People Are Calling For a Shopify Boycott Because It Hosts Breitbart's Store". Vice – via Motherboard.
  53. ^ Silcoff, Sean (February 9, 2017). "Shopify caught in political crossfire over refusal to drop Breitbart webstore". The Globe and Mail.
  54. ^ Etherington, Darrell (February 9, 2017). "Shopify CEO attempts to defend continued hosting of Breitbart's online store". TechCrunch.
  55. ^ Tess Townsend (February 8, 2017). "Breitbart gets to keep using Shopify to sell its merchandise". Recode.
  56. ^ Captain, Sean (February 23, 2017). "Shopify, Breitbart, And The B2B Boycotts That Are Dragging Brands Into Politics". Fast Company.
  57. ^ "Trump uses Canadian e-commerce company to sell MAGA merch". Death and Taxes. July 24, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  58. ^ "Make...Canada Great Again? Trump uses foreign company to sell #MAGA merch". Newsweek. July 24, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  59. ^ Expect Shopify to rein in third-party marketing tactics in earnings call: Citi, retrieved November 27, 2017
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