Shopify Launches ‘Commerce Components’ to Accelerate Growth
Shopify, which has built a global business enabling small entrepreneurs to set up online stores, is seeking to further its growth by beginning to cater to large, established retailers.
On Tuesday, Shopify officially introduced “Commerce Components” where enterprise retailers — those that typically range from $500 million to multiple billions of dollars in gross merchandise value — can integrate components of Shopify into their own systems on an a la carte basis.
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“We’ve always approached innovation at Shopify by anticipating what retailers need then providing those solutions,” said Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify. “Commerce Components by Shopify opens our infrastructure so enterprise retailers don’t have to waste time, engineering power and money building critical foundations Shopify has already perfected, and instead frees them up to customize, differentiate and scale.”
Finkelstein said it’s the first time Shopify is giving the world’s largest retailers access to its component infrastructure.
Mattel’s portfolio of toy brands; JB Hi-Fi, Australia’s largest home entertainment retailer; fashion and shoe retailer Steve Madden, and Staples, which sells business and home office supplies and home essentials, are tapping into Commerce Components, according to Shopify.
Along with introducing Commerce Components, Shopify continues to focus its offerings on entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses, and high growth direct-to-consumer businesses.
Launched in Ottawa, Canada, in 2006, Shopify said it powers more than 10 percent of U.S. e-commerce and has processed more than half a trillion dollars. Shopify is built on the premise that given the rapid pace of tech evolution and shifting customer expectations, retailers and brands must achieve real-time innovation to remain competitive in the world of e-commerce. While providing the infrastructure for this, the company underscores that it still gives businesses “full control” of their brand identity, customer relationships and data.
There are more than 30 components offered by Shopify, among them Shop Pay, a one-click checkout system processing up to 40,000 checkouts per minute per store. There are also components for shipping and logistics; unifying physical retail and online sales with custom integrations that work with any point of sale system for an omnichannel approach; chat and support services; data analysis; cross-border selling, and targeting discounts and promotions to the right customers, among other components.
Shopify provides flexible APIs, or application programming interfaces, so its modular components can be integrated “seamlessly” into the back office functions and services of retailers and brands.
“Brands using Commerce Components will have access to our globally scaled infrastructure with more than 275 network edge points around the world, or nodes, that enable lightning-fast storefronts no matter where customers are in the world,” the company indicated.
Shopify is considered the largest commerce ecosystem in the world. It has a dedicated account team with solutions architects, 24/7 support and a network of agency partners and system integrators including Deloitte, EY and KPMG. Shopify’s global infrastructure contains more than 150 network edge points of presence that enables lightning-fast storefronts no matter where customers are in the world.
“We know that retailers have myriad opportunities in the digital and data age, whether it’s the shifting digital advertising landscape or showing up for their customers in a differentiated way during a looming recession,” Sam Roddick, global Deloitte digital leader, said in a statement. “In challenging times, we have seen best-in-class alliances between our clients and their platform partners unlock these opportunities. That’s why we’re thrilled to work with Shopify to bring Commerce Components by Shopify to enterprise retailers globally.”
“Innovation is at the heart of Mattel,” Sven Gerjets, Mattel’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “We first worked with Shopify on a project called Mattel Creations, a platform for creators to reimagine the most iconic toys in the world. Creations empowered Mattel to move quickly, meet our customers where they are, and most importantly leverage Shopify’s infrastructure to scale globally. It was hugely successful, and we’re excited to transform our brand offerings using Commerce Components.”
