Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke.
Reuters/Lucas Jackson
- Amazon is reportedly working on a rival service to Shopify.
- Shopify’s CEO said if Amazon’s product succeeds, “I actually accomplished my mission.”
- Shopify aims to give power to retailers by helping them operate independent online shops.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke knows Amazon might be coming for his business, and he’s up for the competition.
“I think of Amazon as a worthy rival,” Lutke told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview published Thursday. “If they knock it out of the park and make it super easy to start new businesses on it, then I’m like, I actually accomplished my mission.”
Shopify, which sells software that helps users build independent online stores, has grown massively throughout the pandemic, hitting a $178 billion valuation. Its payment-processing, inventory-management, and other tools power a huge number of small online shops, alongside behemoths like Chipotle, Allbirds, and Staples. Lütke has defined Shopify as the anti-Amazon, an e-commerce company that gives power to sellers and simplifies starting an online business.
“Amazon is trying to build an empire, and Shopify is trying to arm the rebels,” Lütke told Businessweek.
But Amazon is working on a similar product, insiders told Bloomberg Businessweek. Like Shopify, the Amazon tool would allow retailers to build independent online stores. Under Amazon’s current system, sellers only hawk their products through the main Amazon marketplace. If Amazon’s project bears fruit, Lütke told Businessweek he’s up for being the underdog again.
In some ways, though, Shopify is moving in Amazon’s direction. The company is quietly testing a new search feature in its Shop app that would allow buyers to browse items across many merchants at once. Shopify insiders told Insider the function could make Shopify more like Amazon, potentially upsetting sellers.
Shopify also recently rolled out Gift Shop, which allows users to buy gifts from Shopify merchants and send them via text, email, or social media.
Read the original article on Business Insider 
