The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Amazon has "signed a deal with the e-commerce platform BigCommerce that could dissolve the main difference between Amazon and Shopify Inc."
Here's the difference between the two companies: "Amazon has operated as an online marketplace, while Shopify has been an e-commerce platform — the former shows brands on its website that fit search terms and the latter shows websites for individual brands."
Now, however, "the deal with BigCommerce will allow Amazon's multi-channel fulfillment (MCF) to expand to companies that don't sell on Amazon. MCF has been used by Amazon's growing number of third-party sellers to fulfill orders on their own websites.
Amazon is effectively looking to generate revenue through e-commerce outside of its famous marketplace … It was Amazon's clearest move to rebuff Shopify's rapid growth in the e-commerce market. While Amazon faces a dwindling of its market share growth due to obvious competitors like Walmart and Target, some analysts believe Shopify is the next company that could mine some of Amazon's 40.4% share of the e-commerce market."
- KC's View:
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A sign, I guess, that Amazon is taking the Shopify threat seriously. But maybe also a new business that could be eyed by legislators and regulators who look askance at Amazon's growing power.
