Jason Shindler’s Post

Target and Shopify’s announced a win-win partnership. Target will allow Shopify to add sellers to their marketplace. ⭐️Benefit for Target: 3P marketplaces tend to be lucrative (retailers get a cut of sellers’ profits and can sell ads or fulfillment services.) It also importantly gives the customer greater selection, which increases spend & LTV! Their comps have been trending negative and management is under scrutiny. 🎯Target Plus is extremely behind here w/1k sellers vs. 135k at Walmart and 2M on Amazon (estimates by Marketplace Pulse, a e-commerce research tracker.) ⭐️Benefit for Shopify. They are the platform that helps their brands acheive greater scale. Target can serve as upper funnel (discovery) for smaller brands, and these customers can later purchase directly from their .com 💯“If you’re selling today, you need to be everywhere potential customers are, period. We’re constantly unlocking opportunities for our merchants to reach new customers wherever they shop.” - Shopify President Harley Finkelstein https://lnkd.in/gKhAEGhQ #futureofcx #futureofretail #futureofcommerce #marketplaces #digitaladvertising #ecommerce #businessnews #technology #retail

Target is partnering with Shopify to bring more products to its marketplace. This deal makes sense for Shopify, less so for Target. Target previously outsourced core operations (their entire e-commerce experience), but it did not work out. Amazon used to run Target's e-commerce site, including all the core technology, until 2011, when Target finally took it back over. By outsourcing core parts of its business (selection, distribution, listing), Target will ultimately have difficulty making hay with this deal unless it can use new selections to acquire customers who traditionally shop at other retailers. That seems unlikely when you consider that they compete against Amazon and Walmart; which are heavily invested in marketplace-style selection. Target is facing headwinds with its brick & mortar and getting its core customers back in shopping. Target has been struggling to establish its B&M operations in a post-COVID world, and now it is being dragged into a pricing war with Walmart. They missed earnings for the first time in several quarters and announced they were decreasing prices across everyday essentials. This is what is keeping TGT stock cheap despite a 3% dividend.

Target has struck a deal with Shopify to discover new brands and hot items for its third-party marketplace. For Target, adding the items could help drive online traffic as the discounter tries to get back to sales and e-commerce growth. Third-party marketplaces tend to be lucrative businesses as retailers get a cut of sellers’ profits and can sell ads or fulfillment services.

I really like the thinking behind this partnership with Target. Target+, the 3rd party marketplace is going to be filled up with some of the best Shopify products for online and in some cases in-store placement. My question is - since Target does not offer fulfillment, does Shopify limit the products to those merchants who've been able to earn a Shop Promise badge for fast delivery? I would worry that drop shipper products that takes weeks to get would erode the confidence in the Target eCommerce brand. However, I think this could be a great leveler for enabling D2C brands to get access to Target shoppers and also participate in retail media with Roundel to accelerate their exposure.

Buy with Prime and Shopify's relationship has become a big win-win. Just look at the moves both companies have made behind the scenes: A few years ago, Shopify bought Deliverr for $2.1B, to tackle fulfillment in-house. It was their answer to FBA. But just last year, they sold Deliverr to Flexport, essentially exiting the fulfillment game. Around the same time, Amazon bought a smaller Shopify competitor. But they eventually shut it down. Those employees now work on the BWP team. That's a pretty telling move about how Amazon views its relationship with Shopify. They're shutting down competitors and investing in deepening the relationship. When BWP first launched, Shopify warned sellers on their platform that using BWP violated Shopify terms, but they didn't enforce anything. That warning is long gone. Buy with Prime has become too mutually beneficial. Previously, DTC brands that wanted to use Amazon for fulfillment on their Shopify site had to use a "Buy on Amazon" button that directed them to their Amazon storefront. It was clunky and lowered conversion. Meanwhile, BWP taps into the "Prime Promise" while keeping customers on site. With BWP, customers know they'll get fast, reliable shipping. Few delivery networks can boast pretty much universal 2-day delivery. By plugging into that via BWP, Shopify sellers get a little extra legitimacy, and conversions have increased. That Prime Promise is no joke. Conversion rates on DTC sites are around 1-3%. On Amazon, they're closer to 13%. All the while, Amazon gets even more customer data, and its fulfillment network benefits from further scale. DTC brands, are you using BWP? If not, what's holding you back? #BWP #Shopify #ECommerce

"The Buy with Prime Effect: How Shopify and Amazon Just Flipped the E-commerce Chessboard" The Buy with Prime integration between Amazon and Shopify is not just a feature - its a major partnership that can leave a very large impact on the ecosystem ! For Shopify merchants Conversion Boost & FBA Portability are the obvious advantages, but it might be expensive as the charges look to range around 15-25% of sales based on the rate card shared by amazon. Data sharing with amazon might be a concern but i think the advantages may trump the fears with Shopify also endorsing the partnership. The bigger surprise and exciting part for me was the ratings and review portability 😯 . This seems Shopify exclusive for now, couldnt find this on the big commerce webpage. What does this mean? Accelerated Brand Building: Previously, new brands faced a 'chicken and egg' problem: needing reviews to get sales and sales to get reviews. The portability of Amazon reviews to Shopify essentially "transfers" brand trust, accelerating a new brand's market entry. Who Stands to Gain? 🤔 For Amazon 🌐 Universal Identity: By extending Prime benefits to Shopify, Amazon is strategically positioning itself as the 'visa provider' for online shopping—your passport to a frictionless, trusted purchase, irrespective of the platform. It will be really interesting to see into which areas they further expand prime I also think this will accelerate amazons marketplace transition from a retailer. Their 3p revenues as % of online sales have gone from 20% to 60% since 2015. In short, expect lesser increase in vendor central volumes compared to seller central. For Shopify 📈 Market Expansion : This integration makes Shopify more attractive to a wider range of merchants, from SMBs to big brands. It's a strong play to increase market share. Their other partnerships with Instacart & TikTok further strengthens their position as the center of the merchant universe in e-commerce. For Fulfilment & Logistics Players 🚚 Ripple Effect: If Amazon becomes the 'default' fulfilment choice for more Shopify merchants, traditional logistics providers may need to adapt or risk losing market share. Thoughts? Insights? Your expertise adds value, so feel free to share in comments. #amazon #shopify #ecommerce #buywithprime #d2cbrands

Today, Amazon and Shopify have announced a partnership to allow Shopify merchants to offer Buy with Prime on their Shopify stores. This will allow customers to pay with their Amazon wallet and receive fast, free delivery and returns. This move is seen to benefit both companies, with Shopify processing transactions through Shopify Payments and Amazon receiving more volume through its fulfillment network.The Buy with Prime app is now available in Shopify's app ecosystem, and will give US-based merchants access to Amazon's Buy with Prime option. This will allow Prime members to access Prime benefits like fast and free delivery outside of Amazon.com for the first time. The app will also allow customers to select Buy with Prime on product detail pages before completing their order with Shopify's Checkout. Shopify has seen increased retail spending and strong revenue growth, and the partnership is expected to help boost merchant conversions and Amazon's own revenue streams. The Amazon network effect may help boost sales conversions and merchant presence on the platform. Additionally, the app is expected to increase shopper conversion by 25%. This partnership is seen to be a win for both companies. Shopify will retain control of customer data and still process payments, a key revenue driver for the company. Meanwhile, Amazon will benefit from increased volume through its fulfillment network. This partnership makes sense as it mitigates the risk of customers switching to Amazon from Shopify. Overall, the partnership between Amazon and Shopify is expected to benefit both companies, while also providing customers with a more convenient and faster shopping experience. With the Buy with Prime app, customers can enjoy fast and free delivery outside of Amazon.com, while Shopify merchants can benefit from increased conversions and revenue. #amzn #investing

Too many D2C brands are sleeping on tapping into the power of marketplaces. I've been at this e-commerce thing a lot longer than most "e-commerce agencies" have been around. I've seen a lot of growth strategies and I believe that one of the fastest ways to expand your footprint and grow at an accelerated rate is by selling your product where your customers hang out. This could be any of the following: Amazon Ebay Etsy Costco & Walmart Online Channels Mom & Pop Shops That Have Websites Etc. One of the reasons brands don't do this is because they believe "their brand is special... it's superior". It's not -- Get over yourself. While you sleep on this, your competitors are making money.

I am amazed by the incredible growth of Walmart Marketplace, which has reached 100,000 active sellers in less than four years. This is a remarkable achievement that shows how Walmart is transforming its e-commerce strategy and becoming a serious contender in the online retail space. According to a recent report by Marketplace Pulse, Walmart added over 50,000 new sellers in 2023 alone, more than doubling its seller base from the previous year. The report also reveals that Walmart has a high seller retention rate, with 89% of sellers who joined in 2019 still active in 2023. This indicates that sellers are finding success and value on the platform. Walmart Marketplace offers a unique opportunity for sellers to reach millions of loyal Walmart customers who shop online and in-store. Walmart also provides various tools and services to help sellers grow their business, such as Walmart Fulfillment Services, Walmart Advertising, and Walmart Connect. If you are interested in selling on Walmart Marketplace, feel free to connect with me via direct message. We have several clients growing and using Quartile platform to leverage their sales and position in Walmart. You can also read the full report by Marketplace Pulse here to get more insights into the dynamics and trends of the platform here: https://lnkd.in/ew7vphZR. (highly recommended to sign-up for their great content)