Shopify Launches Shop, a One-Stop E-Commerce App

Need to Know

• Shopify has rebranded its Arrive app to launch Shop, an all-in-one native shopping app.
• Shop allows users to browse over a million online stores, make purchases, and track deliveries.
• The e-commerce platform will also contribute to a carbon offsetting initiative for every purchase made through the new app.
• Shop has several features including filters to locate local merchants, transparent tracking, personalized recommendations, and more.

Analysis

Shopify has launched a new app called Shop, which allows users to browse Shopify merchants and make payments in an easy one-click process. Although Shopify continues to assert it is not a direct competitor to Amazon, this is the biggest move yet to step up in the e-commerce landscape.

Shopify, the online platform who is best known for powering the behind-the-scenes tech of over 1 million online stores, initially launched the new service as Arrive, an app for tracking packages and orders, but rebranded and updated to include even more functionality. 

With Shop, users will still have access to tracking functionality, but can also search, browse recommended products, and make purchases all in one place. 

Previously, shopping on a mobile device generally involved using a phone’s browser to visit brands’ individual online stores, but this new app allows shoppers to browse multiple retailers in one native mobile app.   

“We are setting out to reimagine the online shopping experience for customers — to provide them greater convenience, transparency, and personalization,” Shopify said in a statement. 

Other features of Shop include local filters, information about the brands and products, and easy checkout and order tracking. 

“Shopify has focused the last decade on solving complex problems for entrepreneurs by making commerce seamless and accessible,” said Carl Rivera, general manager of Shop. “Now, we want to do the same for customers. We set out to solve the common pain points in the customer’s shopping journey today while developing specific features, like local business discovery, that will be relevant today and in the future.”

For using the new app, Shopify will also contribute to a carbon offsetting program every time shoppers make a purchase. This charitable initiative is part of the Shopify Sustainability Fund and is free to customers. 

Always evolving, Shopify has also recently launched a new email marketing feature to their suite of services, allowing merchants to communicate directly to consumers and manage email marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify app.  

And in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shopify launched an entrepreneurship challenge to app developers and has expanded its Shopify Capital small-business loan program into Canada. 

“In a world of increasing physical separation, we want to help businesses deepen their connection with their customers and, over time, understand what they want to continue to build trust and loyalty.”