Andy Jassy Says "Simple To Put Up a Website"; Shopify Says "Just Watch"
If I didn't know any better, Amazon was taking jabs at Shopify. In an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer on Mad Money, he said the following:
* It's simple to put up a website.
* The hard part is finding customers, and pick/pack/ship.
Furthermore, he said that as a result of handling this hard part, Amazon even at its size, is great for SMBs. Of which it has a few million of them using its platform.
In truth, Amazon has been a boon for many businesses, but it's a little like the rabbit sleeping next to the wolf. Enjoy the benefits; don't get too comfortable, and sleep with maybe both eyes open.
Jassy believes that Shopify perhaps has the opposite proposition. Very aligned to merchants, but working on easy things.
As if commerce is easy (cue eyerolls 🙄 ), but I know what he means. Setting up an eCommerce store has now become as easy as setting up a blog -- and just as cheap. Shopify is dependent on its payment margins, which over the long-term could have downward pressure on margins if you believe that the industry will become more digitized, or based on crypto.
This is the same reason that Shopify's long-term bets will continue to be misunderstood if you view Shopify from a platform lens only -- some of its newer bets do not fit into this bucket. Shop App, in particular, is one of the more interesting elements. The loyalty and points business has largely stayed the same for 20 years.
Amazon and Paypal are waking up to the fact Shopify might be setting up a virtuous cycle here where they can control both supply and demand. In fact, this is the most logical outcome of their Commerce Components by Shopify bet -- access to more consumer behavior and influence. The reason?
Given the fact that most Enterprise retailers (where all the consumers are) are generally not replatforming unless there is a big corporate event involved, Shopify's biggest influence remains with Shop Pay and Shop Checkout. Why? It's easier to pull off.
All this adds up to one thing: The Shopify of the future is still much more likely to look like what Paypal might have been with great leadership than what Demandware might have been if they hadn't been acquired.
The eCommerce platform itself is a commodity sideshow.
A global payments engine, loyalty and points program combined with a media network is in their future. It's just a natural progression of the lowest hanging fruit in front of the company.
