About a decade ago, setting up an online store was not only pricey, but you also needed to be something akin to an expert in that field. However, today, this is entirely not the case. Using Shopify’s ecommerce platform, you can open an online store with much ease and convenience.

This essential quality has attracted over 500,000 small business owners to the platform. All these people are united by their passion and great business acumen. These independent business owners have contributed immensely to the huge success that is Shopify.

How it all started

Shopify is a Canadian company with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. It was created in 2004 by Tobias Lutke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake after they launched an online store called Snowdevil geared at selling snowboarding equipment online.

The platform they ultimately created included an application programming interface, as well as a mobile app on the Apple App Store, among others features. Their reputation as one of the top-tier ecommerce platforms solidified when Amazon closed their webstore program and instead used Shopify as their preferred migration provider.

Expansion efforts

Shopify has pushed the boundaries of traditional commerce. They have taken little and created a massive business organization. Shopify merchants have grown their stores much that they started generating millions of sales, and entrepreneurs interested in the ecommerce business also grew as a result.

At that point, there was a need for expansion and they eventually expanded beyond their cyberspace platform with a physical location where entrepreneurs can come to meet with their staff for various reasons.

The exponential growth of the Shopify e-commerce industry 

Shopify stores are constantly expanding to accommodate users from all over the world. This works to their advantage as their net worth increases exponentially with the expansion efforts.

As of October 2019, there were over a million merchants worldwide in the Shopify community with over 218 million buyers. It was noted that over 81% of their traffic was generated via mobile devices.

Shopify annual revenues generated over the years

Keep in mind that the numbers do not end there. This year, revenue from Shopify was over $1.5 billion. This is as opposed to the $1.073 billion generated in2018, and a far cry from the $673.3 million from 2017. These figures show just how incredibly far Shopify has grown.

The global scale of Shopify 

There are over a million Shopify store owners in 175 countries. In the U.S., Shopify ranks as the third-largest online retailer, with Amazon and eBay topping the list.

The use of apps in the Shopify e-commerce industry 

Shopify users are big on apps. About 87% of them use apps and in typical Shopify store fashion, these apps are readily available and are an extra source of revenue to the business.

So far, the Shopify brand has grown into a multi-billion-dollar empire in just over a decade and there is potential for more growth. One of the most effectively organized platforms for ecommerce, the Shopify platform is the perfect way to run an ecommerce store by marketing smarter and ensuring your financial security.