Amazon's Acquisition of Selz Speaks Volumes for Shopify, BigCommerce

If a recent deal is any indication, e-commerce behemoth Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is looking beyond its own online platform for growth. Australian-based Selz quietly reported last month that it's signed an agreement to sell itself to the online shopping giant. Selz helps small companies establish and manage their own e-commerce presence, a la Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) or BigCommerce (NASDAQ: BIGC).

It's a curious move for several reasons, chief of which is the fact that Amazon previously offered its own suite of tools called Webstore. That home-grown service was shuttered in 2016. The fact that it's now changing its mind with the purchase of an existing platform is telling, to say the least. It says there's something to the idea that vendors want more control of their sales process, rather than being part of a massive mix of competition at Amazon.com.

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Source Fool.com