Drew Cashmore

While I have yet to read in detail why Shopify's stock is down 20% post earnings, a not widely talked about recent event did catch my eye. That is Shopify’s recent acquihire of Peel Insights. Analytics is a tough category, and has long been afterthought within Shopify as there’s not a clear monetization strategy. Yet Shopify’s Triple Whale investment and deal with Peel point to a large theme that may be at play. Demand generation has long been Shopify Achilles heal, instead relying on the likes of Meta, Google, and TikTok to drive traffic. But in the wake of privacy related issues the efficacy of media platforms in driving DTC sales is in question. This leads to a spiraling effect, as with questions comes: ** Lack of confidence of where to spend ** Lack of confidence means tighter budgets ** Tighter budgets means less revenue growth ** Less revenue growth means lower payment processing revenue for Shopify (e.g. ARR) And where does Peel’s team come into play? Tools like TripleWhale that are pixel-based are having a hard time with tracking in the wake of privacy issues. I see this as a hedged bet to work with a team that is more familiar with compliant first-party data from Shopify as well as showing impacts from external marketing sources. This is another reason why Shopify has worked so hard to in-house data feeds from the likes of Amazon Buy With Prime and TikTok Shops. While analytics may be a loss leader, smart measurement is a critical piece of confidence building both for brands and investors who fund budgets.

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Could Shopify have crushed the e-commerce game sooner if they ditched their snowboarding store earlier and went all-in on software from day one? Or was their cautious pivot the reason they’re thriving today? What would you have done if you were in their position? Let’s dig into the story of Shopify, a brand that’s practically synonymous with e-commerce success today. But here’s the twist—not many people know that Shopify started off as a simple snowboarding gear store. That’s right! Founders Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake initially just wanted to sell snowboards online. However, frustrated by how clunky and inefficient the existing platforms were, they did something bold—they built their own e-commerce software from scratch. When they realized that this software was actually their real goldmine, they pivoted, ditched their original store idea, and launched Shopify as a dedicated e-commerce platform. Fast forward to today, and Shopify has grown into an e-commerce powerhouse, helping millions of businesses build their online presence. But here’s my take—while this pivot was a brilliant move, I can’t help but think: Did they wait too long to make this shift? If they had identified the potential of their software earlier and entered the market with more aggression, would they have outpaced even giants like Amazon in certain segments? If I were in their shoes back then, I would have: Spun off the software immediately as a separate entity, marketing it to other small businesses even while the snowboarding store was still operational. This could have accelerated their transition and positioned Shopify as an e-commerce leader much earlier. Targeted multiple niches instead of relying heavily on just one (snowboarding gear). They might have captured a larger market share before other competitors caught up. Built strategic partnerships earlier to embed their technology into existing platforms, which would have multiplied their reach without burning as much capital. So, here’s my question to you: Was Shopify’s slow pivot from a snowboarding store to a tech company a missed opportunity, or did it set the stage perfectly for their long-term success? If you were the founder, would you have done things differently? Let’s get talking—sometimes, playing it safe means missing the bigger picture. What do you think? #TechTuesday #PivotingStrategy #ShopifyStory #BusinessStrategy #StartupDebate

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Shopify stores are up to 2.4x faster than stores on other platforms, making Shopify stores the FASTEST in the world. This isn’t just an opinion, either. This is coming from publicly available data from Google Core Web Vitals. That’s a BIG deal when speed = sales. We know that milliseconds matter.  Shopify stores are faster by default because of our core infrastructure. We are constantly investing in modernizing our cloud infrastructure and working with best-in-class industry partners. That means you don’t have to spend a lot of time and resources to speed up your site, because we’re already using OUR time and resources to ensure it’s as fast as possible. This makes our server speed up to 3.9x faster than the competition, making Shopify the fastest in commerce. Why would you opt for slow when you can have the fastest site in commerce? The math is simple: Faster store = better shopper experience = higher conversion rate. Learn more about the data and how we build for speed 👇 https://lnkd.in/eJZdGh8d

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With AI becoming more prominent, it's more important than ever to make sure you are promoting the expertise the humans in your organization possess to the humans you are trying to connect with. #ContentMarketing

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It might be obvious but how Marketing professionals view ROI is not as we might think. It's not about either or but how we take it as a KPI for our campaigns and how dominant it will be across our strategy. In this article you can search for the Facts and Key Data about the role of ROI in advertising. #Advertising #Marketing #KPI #Strategy #Financials

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According to this report, Canadian shoppers are getting more hesitant about retail tech & social media ads. Here's what it means for your business: 📉 Key Findings: - Tech Hesitation: Many Canadians are cautious about embracing new retail technologies, preferring familiar, in-store interactions. - Ad Skepticism: Social media advertisements are met with growing skepticism, with shoppers questioning their authenticity and relevance. - Consumer Trust: Building trust through transparency and proven value is more critical than ever for brands aiming to leverage new technologies. 🔑 What This Means for You: - To navigate these challenges, it's more important than ever to have a strategic, expert-driven marketing approach. - Building consumer trust and effectively communicating your value proposition and brand story requires nuanced, skilled marketing to ensure the message-market fit is correct. - Using an omnichannel approach is increasingly important to build trust. - Crafting personalized marketing campaigns helps resonate with your target audience's preferences and concerns. Personalization is becoming imperative. 💡 With a deep understanding of marketing, I’ve guided businesses through similar challenges, turning skepticism into loyalty. Reach out to discuss how I can align your marketing with these shifting consumer trends. Comment below to let me know how your business is navigating the consumer trust challenges. 👇 To read the article: https://lnkd.in/gnWwxf7U #RetailTrends #MarketingStrategy #ConsumerBehavior #RetailTech #CustomerTrust #MarketingConsultant #DigitalMarketing #MarketingTechnology #StartupMarketing #SocialMediaAdvertising #Marketing

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Yesterday, Shopify announced an exciting new partnership with YouTube, enabling seamless shopping directly within videos and live streams. This collaboration allows brands to tap into YouTube creators' engaged audiences, enhancing authenticity and driving sales with a frictionless shopping experience. They’re calling it "shop while you watch." Shopify is making a smart move here by leaning into a few key trends: 1. Video content is more powerful than ever. 2. Content creators on YouTube (and other social platforms) have an increasingly significant influence on purchasing decisions. While I love that Shopify is directly challenging TikTok Shop head-on, I do see some limitations with shoppable videos from creators: - Creators often don't own the products they promote. When a product is gifted, it’s harder for shoppers to relate, as the endorsement may not feel as genuine as a real customer’s experience. - Partnering with creators can be costly. I always advise brands that their best creators are often their existing customers. They have smartphones capable of producing high-quality content and frequently share polished versions of their experiences on social media. Collecting content from satisfied customers and showcasing it on your website remains one of the most effective ways to build authenticity and trust. Moast is a great tool for achieving that.

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Your Shopify site needs more than curb appeal. Like a mullet, it needs a "party in the back-end." 👇 Let me explain: Shopify says they're "2.4x faster" than other platforms. But is it enough for advanced retailers? What happens when you include: → Advanced features most large retailers need → Third-party scripts Harry Finkelstein is right when he said: "That's a BIG deal when speed = sales." Milliseconds do matter. But for 8-figure+ DTC shops, Shopify's basics aren't enough. Even some of Shopify's native features hurt speed. 1. Consent tracking  2. Dynamic checkout carts These are two of the top reasons for low INP scores. That's where Nostra comes in. We love Shopify. It's why we build exclusively for it. But our focus? Helping larger brands level up their site speed. So you don't have to touch code. Or sacrifice your UX. P.S. Join me and Nihar Kulkarni from ROSWELL this Weds for Shopify CRO tips powering 75+ stores with $250 million in GMV: https://hubs.ly/Q02C6s1d0

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The 0 to 1 journey for brands growing up on Shopify today is nothing like when we started Chubbies in 2011. Here are some observations from the last 10+ years of brand building. --> When building a brand, don’t try to appeal to everyone. Define your audience clearly and engage with them deeply. When we launched Chubbies, Google was the only scalable advertising platform to reach new customers. We have Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Amazon, and more at our disposal today. This is both a blessing and a curse—you have more potential to scale, but you also have much more noise. While your team must develop best marketing practices across all the ad platforms, it’s even more critical that your products stand on their own, selling themselves across these platforms that are starting to behave more and more like marketplaces. To borrow a line from Preston 🩳 Rutherford, your products must stand out in a “sea of sameness.” Chubbies stood for carefree weekends and had a pretty irreverent voice, which made the brand unforgettable and shareable. In 2025, your brand & product must mean something unique—don’t be afraid to be polarizing. --> Don’t fight the retail math; build into it early. Here are a few universal retail truths you must never forget. 1. Master your margins early Get your product gross margin right and build towards profitable unit economics that works from Day One. In apparel, this means over 75% in product margins. It’s different for other categories—you’d know this, and you’d need to build towards hitting the number. 2. Lean into seasonality; don’t fight it Know when your customers buy. Reducing seasonality is rational, but it’s very hard to accomplish. Chubbies’ summer-centric style succeeded because it didn’t try to be “year-round.” We tried to completely own the mindshare of our audience in Spring and summer when we were most relevant. 3. Go where customers buy Whether online, in stores, or pop-up shops, just make it easy for customers to find you. Chubbies succeeded by being accessible in as many channels as possible over time. Expanding into the wholesale and owned store channels was the most effective way we reduced our reliance on ad spend. 4. Beware: economies of scale can be elusive We were taught in Economics 101 that as you get bigger, your per-unit costs should go down. As we scaled Chubbies from $5M to $50M, our supply chain became far more complex, and ultimately, there were many short-term per-unit price increases. The bottom line is that “economies of scale” aren’t always guaranteed—you have to go get them. At GoodDay, we’re continually enhancing operating tools to simplify scaling, make it more efficient, and fine-tune it to meet the demands of today’s market. For anyone starting out, remember that it’s not just about reaching audiences but also about creating an experience they want to return to. Got questions? Drop them in the comments. #omnichannel #ecommerce

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Most Shopify brands focus heavily on marketing but overlook what happens after a customer hits “checkout”. If you think about the difference in checkout to delivery experience between your last Amazon order and last (non PDQ-powered) Shopify experience, you’ll know exactly what I mean. PrettyDamnQuick is bridging that gap by providing end-to-end visibility from the first click to delivery. Think Amazon's level of customer data and logistics insights—but accessible to brands at any scale. Our platform predicts everything from customer preferences to optimal shipping rates, enabling brands to offer a prime-like experience that’s tailored, efficient, and profitable. It’s about giving each customer their own “Amazon experience”—right on your Shopify store. This is the new frontier of e-commerce, where customer satisfaction and profitability go hand in hand.

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Shopify apps can be a good place to start. If your website is built on Shopify and you need a widget to make te website better, check out the app store and see what you can find, you might be surprised. In my conversation wit Aaron Zagha, CMO of Newton Baby, Inc. on The MarTech Matrix Podcast, we discussed how they use the app store and some of the gems they have discovered. Listen in to hear about their experience and find more clips and the full eisorde in the comments section. #eCommerce #ShopifyApps #MarketingTech #MarTechMatrix #Upselling #CMO #NewtonBaby #CustomerExperience Tom Barbaro Cogent Collective

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Shopify is back on track! App Economy Insights just dropped a Shopify Q2 FY24 income statement river, and a few key details stand out to me: 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 Shopify is hitting the gas pedal on Shopify Plus, with 22% Y/Y growth. Even though Shopify Plus merchants pay between $24,000 and $40,000 annually, It’s still only pulling in $146M, OR 7% of topline revenue, 𝐍𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 Net profit made waves, hitting $171M, which is about 8% net margin A massive improvement from the $1.3B net loss in Q2 FY23. Shopify has clearly shifted from recovering to driving profitability. 𝐑&𝐃 R&D investment remains high, accounting for 17% of revenue, down from 38% last year, due to the divestment of Shopify’s logistics and fulfillment business, which had driven higher R&D costs in 2023. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 Shopify Capital reported $42M in loan losses. From $918M in loans and merchant cash advances receivable as of Q2 FY24, up from $816M at the end of FY23, Overall it is looking good. What are your standouts? === 📩 Subscribe to the Conscious Commerce newsletter for more insights on: commerce + wellness + leadership ↳ Delivered every Monday → subscribe.2xecommerce.com

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Target is partnering with Shopify to bring more products to its marketplace. This deal makes sense for Shopify, less so for Target. Target previously outsourced core operations (their entire e-commerce experience), but it did not work out. Amazon used to run Target's e-commerce site, including all the core technology, until 2011, when Target finally took it back over. By outsourcing core parts of its business (selection, distribution, listing), Target will ultimately have difficulty making hay with this deal unless it can use new selections to acquire customers who traditionally shop at other retailers. That seems unlikely when you consider that they compete against Amazon and Walmart; which are heavily invested in marketplace-style selection. Target is facing headwinds with its brick & mortar and getting its core customers back in shopping. Target has been struggling to establish its B&M operations in a post-COVID world, and now it is being dragged into a pricing war with Walmart. They missed earnings for the first time in several quarters and announced they were decreasing prices across everyday essentials. This is what is keeping TGT stock cheap despite a 3% dividend.

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"It's table stakes for merchants to be everywhere customers are" - Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify Finally a definition of omnichannel that I agree with -- from the lens of the consumer. Shopify & Target announced a partnership to allow select merchants to offer their products on Target Plus, the retailer's third-party marketplace. Why is this such a huge announcement? 1️⃣ It is a stamp of support by two of the largest commerce players that omnichannel is the future You need to be wherever your customers are. 2️⃣ Target brings the power of discovery to Shopify merchants. While Shopify has incredible enablement tools -- it is in the best interest of the merchants to support discovery channels outside of the extremely expensive Meta. Otherwise Amazon will continue to be the beneficiary of brands seeking discovery for their products. 3️⃣ For Target, this partnership provides their consumers with access to top brands that have cemented their success in the DTC world like True Classic & Caden Lane 4️⃣ DTC should not be thought of as separate to retail. They are both shopping experiences for the consumer that should speak to one another. 5️⃣ It cements the importance of marketplaces for both retailers and brands as key growth channels going forward. --- If you still think omnichannel is just a buzz word, you're wrong. If you still think retail & DTC should be thought of separately, you're so behind. Omnichannel is now and the future of how consumers will shop. Brij is building the solution that will help you connect consumer touch points across every channel you sell through. #shopify #target #omnichannel

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Whether you are looking for a brand-focused CMO or a growth-focused CMO, there are two essential traits I focus on: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦-𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: This means being data-driven, and being a doer. Today’s CMOs need to have the right instincts about what signals mean and generate fast hypotheses about why they're happening. But more than that, they need to be doers—able to operationalize insights, execute, and repeat. The ability to focus on growth signals and act on them is the first pillar of a top-tier growth agent. 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐩-𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬: Along with a keen understanding of the market. By understanding the specifics of the market, the CMO can identify the strengths of the business to capitalize on. The equation is simple: 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏&𝐋 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨-𝐭𝐨-𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐩. I cover this in detail on The Growth Trends Show, so be sure to listen to the full conversation, and let me know what you think.

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Just jumped off the Shopify Q3 Earnings call. If you missed it, I'll summarize: Q3 was an incredible quarter for Shopify. Here are the highlights of Q3 2024 Shopify:  1️⃣​ Financially, it was a strong quarter. - GMV was up 24% Year over Year in Q3 - the 5th consecutive quarter where GMV growth was more than 20% - Revenue accelerated to 26% - the 6th consecutive quarter where Shopify delivered 25% or greater top-line growth, excluding logistics - Gross profit grew 24% Year over Year - Our Free Cash Flow Margin expanded to 19% which means we’re delivering profitability that allows us to both grow the business and invest in the future of commerce. 2️⃣​ We’ve built the most integrated platform on the planet where everything in your business works together really really well. Shopify POS is powering more and more large, complex, multi-location merchants like legendary Canadian women's fashion retailer, Laura, which migrated over 130 stores to Shopify’s POS in Q3. We are making every part of commerce work better. This quarter we helped merchants make in-person shopping truly delightful by expanding Tap to Pay in more countries. And, we’re making it easier for our merchants to sell in new countries with our Managed Markets product, which has helped some merchants see an average global sales increase of 40%. The power of our platform is unmatched. 3️⃣ Shopify is increasingly the go-to platform of choice not just for entrepreneurship, but for all of commerce. We are making massive strides across our long-term growth drivers like B2B, international, enterprise, and offline commerce. - We had our single largest B2B GMV month ever, with it growing over 145% Year over Year. This is a trend at this point, marking 5 consecutive quarters of triple digit B2B GMV growth - International GMV continues to outpace the growth of North America accelerating to more than 30% and our international merchants grew 36% Year over Year - In Q3 alone we had 16 enterprise launches on Shopify, including brands like Hanes and On Running. The best brands like Reebok, and Victoria’s Secret and high fashion brands like FashionPhile and Off-white are all coming to Shopify. Our mission has always been the same: make commerce better for everyone and, ultimately, create more entrepreneurs across the world and help them grow bigger and faster. We are doing exactly that. We are focused on helping merchants of all sizes thrive today and in the future. It’s why you see brands come to us and never leave. Thank you to everyone on the Shopify team, our partners, and our incredible community for an exceptional quarter.

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