Fastly Could Be the Biggest Winner From Shopify's Deal With Walmart
Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) is on a roll. Just weeks after announcing a deal to help power the back-office needs of Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB) new Shops platform, the e-commerce management provider has now inked a deal with Walmart (NYSE: WMT). Merchants utilizing Shopify's platform can now integrate their businesses with Walmart Marketplace, a site catering to third parties looking to sell online. Per Walmart's press release:
The [Walmart] U.S. eCommerce business grew 74% in total last quarter, and growth in marketplace outpaced the overall business even as first-party sales were strong. As we launch this integration with Shopify, we are focused on U.S.-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours and have a track record of exceeding customers' expectations.
For big-box store juggernaut Walmart and e-commerce leader Amazon -- the target of Walmart's move here -- the news is little more than a shoulder shrug. It's just another shot fired in the battle for the future of retail. For Shopify, however, it's a bigger deal, as it's becoming increasingly clear the future of retail favors smaller businesses and ample choice for consumers. Retailing and merchandising are becoming outlets for entrepreneurship again -- as they should have been all along.
Source Fool.com
