On Wednesday, Shopify unveiled more than 100 new tools to help its merchants sell to other businesses. This includes a tool that allows shoppers to connect their crypto wallets to a store and Apple’s “Tap to Pay” feature on iPhones.
Shopify hit the jackpot during the lockdown as businesses were forced to sell to customers online, but since the economy reopened, the e-commerce company has lost 76 per cent of its pandemic profits. Investors are also beginning to question the company’s future and the way it is trying to stand out from the competition.
To solve the problem that is disrupting the company’s growth, Shopify is now trying to expand into the wholesale market. President Harley Finkelstein says the expansion will open the company up to a much greater path than direct-to-consumer and with “billions in untapped revenue.”
Finkelstein said companies are trying to switch from direct-to-consumer to “connect-to-consumer,” which makes it easier for people to shop on social media and pay with their phones.
“This is the next phase of retail… In many ways, shopping has become a vote with your wallet to support that brand… And that’s what I think connect-to-consumer is all about,” Finkelstein said.