Shopify, SPACs and Status: My Interview with Jim O'Shaughnessy (Part One)

To grow its take rate significantly from here, Shopify would need to deliver a value it currently lacks: demand gen(-eration). I've written about the powerful combo of free software, marketplace services, and demand gen in my "business in a box" post a few weeks ago. Because 50% of e-commerce searches already start on Amazon, the incumbent has a hu... See more

I think it’s inevitable that Shopify will become a consumer destination, but the way it monetizes demand gen will need to be aligned with its role as a Platform.

When we look back over the past 100 years, traditional commerce (and the culture it indirectly endorsed) was primarily curated by a single person’s point-of-view. Even when commerce moved online, to places like Amazon or Farfetch, retailers still controlled the types of things consumers purchased. Online commerce didn’t innovate a new shopping expe... See more