Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) is a Canadian e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It is also the name of its proprietary e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Shopify offers online retailers a suite of services “including payments, marketing, shipping and customer engagement tools to simplify the process of running an online store for small merchants.”
Shopify was founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake. Lütke, a former software engineer at Algonquin College, had built a custom e-commerce platform to sell snowboarding equipment called Snowdevil.
Weinand was a designer and Lake was a web developer. 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. The Snowdevil team was ultimately acquired by Ottawa startup StarSoft International in February 2006.
Lütke, Weinand, and Lake then started working on their own software as a service platform that would be easy to use, allow for fast iteration, and be suitable for small businesses. They launched the platform in June 2006 under the name Jaded Pixel Technologies. The name “Shopify” was chosen after a brainstorming session where Lütke considered words that started with “S” and had some meaning related to stores or shopkeeping.
In June 2009, Shopify launched an iPhone app that allowed physical stores to use Shopify’s system to process credit card payments using an iPhone or iPod Touch. The following year, Shopify released an iPad app, allowing retailers to manage their stores from iOS devices.
In 2010, Shopify started its Build-A-Business competition, in which participants create a business using its platform over the course of four months. The winners receive cash prizes and mentorship from entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Tim Ferriss, Tony Hsieh, Marcus Lemonis, and Daymond John.
In 2011, Shopify partnered with flash sales site Gilt Groupe to provide technology for its members-only flash sales; this was followed by partnerships with Levi Strauss & Co in 2012 and Nestlé Nespresso S.A. in 2013. In 2014, Shopify acquired Select Start Studios Inc., a Toronto-based design studio specializing in e-commerce design; it was renamed Shopify Studios. That same year, Shopify acquired Jet Cooper, a Toronto-based design agency specializing in user experience design; it was also renamed Shopify Studios.
In 2015, Shopify partnered with Google to launch the “Buy with Google” program for select retailers using its platform; the program allows shoppers to purchase products from participating retailers using their Google account credentials. In 2016, Shopify launched “Shop Pay”, a mobile payment system that allows shoppers to pay for items using their fingerprint or face ID; the system is integrated with Apple Pay and Android Pay for seamless checkout across devices. In 2017, Shopify acquired Tictail, an e-commerce platform geared towards small businesses and entrepreneurs; it was later rebranded as Shopify Merchant Solutions.
Is Shopify a Buy Right Now?
Shopify has been one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street over the past year as more businesses shift their operations online due to the pandemic.
The company’s shares have soared nearly 400% since last March as stay-at-home orders drove consumers away from brick-and-mortar stores and towards e-commerce.
Shopify’s platform enables businesses of all sizes to set up shop quickly and easily online without needing any prior coding knowledge or website development experience.
Conclusion
Shopify is definitely a buy right now given the current market conditions and consumer trends.
