Shopify: 4X More Global Partners vs Next Largest E-commerce

As Shopify recently beat Q3 revenue expectations with shares soaring 25%, its President Harley Finkelstein credits their exceptional ecosystem 📈. “We’ve proven that serving both start-ups and large companies is not mutually exclusive, especially when you have one of the best ecosystems on the planet.”

💎 Shopify has become a benchmark for ecosystem strategy

“Our partner ecosystem is the largest ecosystem of commerce partners in the world with four times more global partners than the next largest commerce provider.”

Finkelstein breaks down key elements of the ecosystem, as he emphasizes its critical role:

“our community of developers and partners that are dedicated to commerce,

more than 10,000 apps in our app store,

top system integrators like IBM and Deloitte…

strong platform partnerships like Stripe globally

as well as newer partnerships like the expanded ones we are building with Flexport and Adyen.”

🎯 The partnership flywheel is central to Shopify's success

“One of Shopify's greatest strengths is creating world-class partnerships with commerce and product companies that are a win-win for both parties. This is central to the flywheel that every company tries to cultivate that we actually have and are incredibly proud of. Our ecosystem is critically important to the success of our merchants.

If our partners succeed, our merchants succeed, and we succeed. This is by design, and it's happening across all dimensions of our business.”

🏆 Large Ecosystem, Vast Opportunities for Partners

Significantly for the developer community, Shopify has demonstrated that building a multi-billion-dollar business on the back of its ecosystem is possible. Klaviyo, after launching their app in the Shopify App Store in 2018, has recently IPOed with a market cap of $7Bn.

“On the app side, our long-term partner Klaviyo... has successfully IPOed, which demonstrates the strength of Shopify's ecosystem in helping our partners find success.”

⚡️ Co-opetition - Making Bold Moves

Shopify, much like Microsoft, is unafraid to partner with its biggest competitors. Shopify partnership with Amazon underscores its confidence in its platform and commitment to making customers successful.

“We announced our partnership with Amazon... giving merchants the choice to offer Buy with Prime directly within their Shopify Checkout... processed by Shopify Payments.”

💎 Results: Top Line Growth & Profitability

Shopify's approach illustrates that ecosystems aren't just support structures but fundamental to business strategy and growth.

“Our results showcased the durability of our business model as we delivered a compelling combination of both top line growth and profitability, with revenue growing 25% year over year and free cash flow margin reaching 16%,” said Jeff Hoffmeister, Shopify's CFO.

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