Latest news with #ShopifyMagic
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The AI Race: How Shopify Positions Itself to Win
Key Points AI is lowering the barriers for merchants, helping them do more with less. An AI-first culture is making Shopify faster, better, and stronger. AI adoption helps Shopify improve its financials. 10 stocks we like better than Shopify › Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) has always been a platform built to empower entrepreneurs. But as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how businesses operate, Shopify is leaning in -- not just with new features but with a full-stack transformation. The company is reengineering its platform, product, and internal culture around it. Above all, it's positioning itself to emerge as one of the winners in this next technology cycle. 1. AI as a merchant superpower The most visible impact of AI is on the merchants themselves. Shopify is embedding AI into tools that make it dramatically easier to build, run, and scale a business -- often with fewer people and less effort. A prime example is Shopify's new AI-powered Store Builder, which can generate an entire storefront -- layout, product descriptions, and banners -- from a simple brand description. It's a game-changer for new entrepreneurs. The company also significantly expanded its AI assistant, Sidekick, which now supports all 20 languages in the Shopify admin. Sidekick offers both text and voice chat, and can generate images, run sales reports, create customer segments, and even filter orders. It's more than a chatbot -- it's a digital co-pilot for every aspect of e-commerce. Shopify also launched Shopify Magic, a suite of free AI features embedded throughout the platform, automating everything from email marketing to content generation. By making powerful tools easily accessible, Shopify helps merchants do more with less. It lowers the technical and creative barriers to entry, attracts more first-time entrepreneurs, and increases productivity for existing sellers. The result is more merchants, better retention, and a long-term expansion of Shopify's total addressable market. 2. AI-first company culture and operating model While serving customers is the priority, Shopify is also making sure that it's getting the most out of this revolutionary technology. Internally, Shopify has declared an "AI-first" mindset, making sure that AI is embedded into the company's way of doing things. For instance, founder and CEO Tobi Lütke has declared that AI literacy is now a baseline expectation across Shopify and that employees must find ways to learn AI skills. The company will add AI usage questions to its performance reviews, with employees -- including all executives -- expected to integrate AI into daily workflows. In other words, Shopify is reshaping its organizational DNA around AI, using it not just as a product feature but as a foundation for how the entire company operates. Doing so will likely lead to multiple benefits, including a leaner cost base, the ability to move and innovate faster, and, above all, continuously staying ahead of the competition. 4. Long-term margin expansion and operating leverage Shopify's AI strategy isn't just about smarter features -- it's a lever for financial upside. AI allows the company to serve more merchants with less incremental cost, driving improved operating leverage. At the same time, by launching enterprise-grade AI tools, Shopify is extending its reach beyond SMBs and tapping into larger customers with higher lifetime value. So, its AI strategy creates a rare combination: higher growth and higher margins, two ingredients that compound into significant long-term shareholder value. Shopify's AI investments could unlock a new phase of scalable, profitable growth -- boosting free cash flow and supporting long-term valuation expansion. What it means for investors Shopify isn't just adopting AI -- it's being transformed by it. From merchant-facing features to internal operations, the company is weaving AI into everything it does. For investors, this is more than a tech upgrade. It's a strategic shift that improves customer outcomes, increases organizational agility, and enhances the company's long-term financial profile. What's more, Shopify is quietly evolving into an AI-powered commerce operating system -- and that could make it one of the most important platforms in the next era of online business. It's a company that investors should keep an eye on. Should you invest $1,000 in Shopify right now? Before you buy stock in Shopify, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Shopify wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $634,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,046,799!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,037% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Lawrence Nga has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The AI Race: How Shopify Positions Itself to Win was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
AI Is Transforming Retail. Here's How Small Businesses Can Benefit.
AI is transforming the retail industry but can offer many benefits for small businesses From changing the way customers search for products to sparking debates on the growing use of AI in high-profile advertising campaigns, the impact of AI on the retail industry is evident. While the pace of change may seem daunting for small retail businesses that lack the large budgets of their corporate counterparts, there is a real opportunity for these businesses to leverage AI to save money and time, maximize the potential of their teams, and market to today's consumers in powerful ways. What types of tasks should retailers be looking to improve with AI? According to Arnaud Gallet, director of the National Retail Federation's Retail's Big Show Europe, the key to leveraging AI in small businesses without huge budgets is focusing on 'low-barrier, high-impact use cases that improve efficiency and customer experience.'AI personalization at scale AI personalization at scale is a perfect example of this type of use case. 'What used to require a dedicated team to pull customer data, build manual segments, and write dozens of message variants can now be done by one person in a few clicks', explains Adil Wali, chief product officer of marketing automation company Klaviyo. The use of AI can help create 'smarter, more granular segments based on behavior.' The benefits of this approach are clear, with improved conversion rates and higher customer satisfaction compared to more traditional methods of blanket messaging to an entire email list, regardless of current and past behaviour. As Wali puts it, 'it's not just about efficiency, it's about unlocking the kind of marketing that builds lasting relationships'. For small businesses, this is 'levelling the playing field…surfacing insights that were previously hidden in data'. It's not replacing teams of people; it's adding capabilities that were previously out of reach for small businesses. Teams can respond in real-time, providing customers with a more personalized experience that feels to improve the efficiency of repetitive tasks The most significant opportunity for small businesses lies in streamlining or enhancing some of the most basic and repetitive tasks while improving the overall customer experience. 'Practical starting points include using AI to generate or refine product descriptions with tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, or Shopify Magic, improving SEO and saving time,' shares Gallet. Gallet goes on to highlight that everything from FAQs and basic support tasks can be outsourced to 'AI chatbots'. In contrast, 'dynamic FAQs and help articles can be maintained with platforms like Notion AI,' and 'AI-powered apps on tablets or smartphones for instant access to product info and stock levels' can empower store staff. While these may not be the most revolutionary uses for AI, they offer the benefits of being practical, easy to implement, and straightforward to measure in terms of improved efficiency. As Gallet explains, 'The common thread isn't flashy tech—it's smart, customer-first applications of AI that respect the brand's voice and the customer's trust.'AI and declarative commerce Software company Shopify is looking beyond improving the efficiency of repetitive tasks and is experimenting with 'declarative commerce'. Deann Evans, Shopify's managing director for EMEA explains declarative commerce as 'rather than instructing software on what to do - such as setting up a campaign or editing a storefront', instead allowing business owners to 'express what they want to achieve - such as creating a campaign to attract new customers - and letting the technology take care of the execution.' This shift, moving from 'commands to intent', lies behind Shopify's new Horizon theme, which allows users to 'just describe your vision, and AI creates the design'. 'This new approach, where platforms respond to business goals, not just manual tasks, could become the next great inflection point in retail strategy, ' states Evans. It is also a perfect example of how AI can make life easier for time-poor small business owners who want the result without having to work through the technical in retail - transparency builds trust While AI offers significant advances for small businesses and enormous opportunities for improving efficiency, there are key considerations that need to be taken into account to incorporate AI in a way that avoids 'compromising customer trust or weakening brand image,' according to Gallet. 'This involves using clear editorial guidelines to ensure that AI-generated content stays true to the brand's universe,' he elaborates. Another key consideration? Transparency. 'Customers should be informed when AI is used, especially in automated customer service or personalized campaigns'. Big retailers are already navigating this and can serve as inspiration. Gallet highlights online retailer Zalando, which 'uses AI to solve real customer pain points, like size and fit, while being transparent about when and how AI is involved—proving that clarity builds trust.' AI in retail - the road ahead While small businesses must navigate the potential pitfalls of AI, by taking actions such as having clear policies in place to collect and use data correctly, there is a massive opportunity for AI to make them more efficient and profitable. AI offers 'the capabilities to boost loyalty, streamline discovery and create seamless onsite experiences, without the need for vast technical budgets and expertise,' as Evans puts it. And with declarative commerce becoming a reality, she goes on to envision a future 'where merchants simply express their goals and watch as their tools and systems orchestrate the necessary changes across their entire business….It's retail, re-imagined.'
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shopify Stock Below $130: A Potential TFSA Accelerator for Tax-Free Capital Gains
Written by Amy Legate-Wolfe at The Motley Fool Canada It can be tricky navigating the stock market when things feel a bit shaky. However, sometimes, when a strong company's stock price takes a bit of a dip, it can be a chance for investors to grab a good deal, especially if you're holding it inside a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). One Canadian company that fits this bill is Shopify (TSX:SHOP). If its stock price drops to a certain point, it could be a real opportunity for Canadian investors to see some significant tax-free gains down the road. Shopify stock is a big deal in the world of e-commerce. It provides a platform that allows all sorts of businesses, big and small, to create and manage their own online stores. The system is reliable, and it's always coming up with new ideas, which has made it a popular choice for businesses selling online all over the world. In the last three months of 2024, Shopify stock reported some impressive numbers. Its revenue hit US$2.81 billion, which was a whopping 31% increase compared to the same period the year before. The total value of all the goods sold through the platform, which is called gross merchandise volume, or GMV, also jumped by 26% to US$94.46 billion. That's a lot of online shopping happening! Despite these strong results, Shopify's stock price has seen some ups and downs. There have been some worries about profit margins, partly because it's investing in new artificial intelligence (AI) features like 'Shopify Magic.' This has led the company to predict that gross profit will grow at a low-twenties percentage rate in the current quarter. That's still growth, but maybe a little less than what some analysts were hoping for. As of writing, Shopify stock trades at around $128 on the TSX. This was after jumping around 8% as the markets began to rally. This price might look appealing to investors who are thinking long term, especially when you consider that the company has consistently grown its revenue and is grabbing a bigger share of the e-commerce market. It's like getting a chance to buy into a growing business at a potentially good price. Putting your Shopify stock inside a TFSA comes with a nice perk, as any gains you make on that investment, like the stock price going up, won't be taxed when you eventually take the money out, as long as you follow the TFSA rules. This makes a TFSA a smart place to hold investments that you think have good potential for growth, like Shopify stock. It means more of your investment gains stay in your pocket. Shopify stock seems to be setting itself up for more growth in the future by focusing on new ideas and expanding its reach around the world. Its work on improving its platform with AI tools is aimed at giving businesses better ways to manage operations. Plus, international markets are actually growing faster than their North American business, with a particularly strong 33% growth rate in Europe. This shows it's successfully tapping into new markets. Of course, like any investment, buying Shopify stock comes with some risks. However, the company's strong underlying business and its plans for the future suggest it has the potential for the stock to appreciate over the long term. For Canadian investors looking for growth opportunities within their TFSA, taking a look at Shopify stock below $130 could be a smart move. It's all about seeing the potential for future gains from a company that's a leader in a growing industry. The post Shopify Stock Below $130: A Potential TFSA Accelerator for Tax-Free Capital Gains appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Shopify, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Shopify wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,345.77!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 24 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 4/21/25 More reading Made in Canada: 5 Homegrown Stocks Ready for the 'Buy Local' Revolution [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
13-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Business Tech News: Shopify CEO Says AI First Before Employees
Toronto , Canada - 22 May 2019; Tobias Lütke, CEO, Shopify, (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile ... More via Getty Images) Here are five things in business tech news that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them? Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke has implemented a new hiring policy that prioritizes artificial intelligence (AI) over human hires. In a memo to employees, Lütke stated that teams must demonstrate why their needs cannot be fulfilled using AI before requesting additional resources. This approach reflects Shopify's commitment to integrating AI into its operations, including employee performance reviews. The company has already embraced generative AI tools – such as Shopify Magic and Sidekick – to enhance productivity. However, this shift has also led to significant layoffs in recent years. (Source: The Verge) Why this is important for your business: This strategy seems a little extreme. And it's curious to me that it became public. Is this more of a PR stunt than an actual strategy to impress shareholders and show the world how ahead of the game Shopify is? Making an announcement like this also isn't exactly the best way to attract and retain talent to an organization. As I've written repeatedly, AI will be replacing employees. Big companies are doing this. Other organizations will soon be joining in as the technology becomes more affordable and accurate. But announcing that you're effectively doing this is not only a little premature but also isn't a good look. Lance Whitney of ZDNet wrote about the 'variety of compelling advantages' ChatGPT has to offer. He lists five reasons for why he uses it daily despite the available alternatives. Web Searching: ChatGPT's AI-powered search provides direct answers without distractions. Deep Research: With a paid subscription, ChatGPT can conduct detailed research, saving time by compiling comprehensive reports from online sources. Personalized Chats: The chatbot tailors interactions based on user preferences, enhancing the conversational experience. Prompt Writing Assistance: ChatGPT helps users craft effective prompts for various tasks. Replacing Siri: The AI platform's versatility and capabilities make it a strong contender for replacing traditional virtual assistants like Siri. (Source: ZDNet) Why this is important for your business: He loves ChatGPT and so do I. But I also use other AI platforms – Google Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and Perplexity - for certain tasks. Every business person should have a subscription to at least one. They're like having an expert assistant at your disposal to help advise and perform certain tasks for you. ChatGPT and its counterparts will soon be as critical a mobile app as your email, text and phone apps. Management software platform Procore has published its "Future State of Construction" report – highlighting how AI, automation, and workforce changes are transforming the construction industry. Key findings touch on AI automation, workforce shifts, mental health, data utilization and emerging activities. (Source: Stock Titan) Why this is important for your business: The report has extremely valuable insights for companies in the construction field. For example, AI and automation technologies are reducing inefficiencies, with 55 percent of leaders expecting automation to disrupt the industry within five years, and that, with 53 percent of workers retiring by 2036, companies are focusing on upskilling programs to attract and retain talent. My best clients are always looking at information available now and using that to drive their future growth. There's plenty of data here that will help owners and managers of construction firms make decisions this year that will impact their companies in the years to come. Bank of America says it has integrated AI across its operations, with over 90 percent of its 213,000 employees using AI tools to enhance productivity and client service. (Source: Bank Automation News) Why this is important for your business: Like many big financial services firms, the bank has leaned into generative AI tools to assist employees, and make its call center more efficient. The bank is also using AI to power over one million interactive simulations annually, aiding employees in client interactions. I recently wrote about how JP Morgan is implementing AI tools across their organization to accomplish many of the same goals. At Shoptalk's Spring 2025 conference in Las Vegas, retail leaders discussed the transformative role of AI in the industry. Highlights include Customer Experience: AI is enhancing customer service and loss prevention, while shoppers are using AI to assist with purchases. Creative Tools: Meta showcased generative AI tools for ad creation, emphasizing the shift from automation to creative AI. Storytelling: Toys R Us used OpenAI's Sora platform to create a branded video, demonstrating how AI can innovate storytelling methods. Human-AI Collaboration: A recurring theme was that humans with AI will outperform those without it, highlighting the importance of integrating AI into workflows. (Source: Retail Dive) Why this is important for your business: More AI use cases, this time in the retail industry. The above business tech news items all have one thing in common this week: they're showing how AI is being used in different industries, from construction and finance to retail and general every day assistance. In 2025 AI is clearly beginning to mature and larger companies that have invested tens of millions of dollars are starting to receive that return on investment. What's important is that many of these technologies – as they're being teste and rolled out by big corporations – will ultimately trickle down to small and mid sized businesses. Each week I round up the five business tech news stories that impact my company and my clients the most and then provide a little insight.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Magnificent Growth Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist With $500
Growth stocks can help you compound your savings many times over. The important thing is to maintain a long-term perspective, because even the best companies will occasionally see their share prices fall. Three contributors believe Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF), and Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) are demonstrating the qualities of long-term winners. Don't have much money to invest? No problem. You can buy one share of all three stocks for about $200 right now. Here's why these stocks are good buys today, even if you only have $500 to spend on investments this month. That's enough to make a significant difference in the long run. (Shopify): Over 875 million consumers bought something from a Shopify merchant in 2024. Shopify provides all the tools a business needs to open an online storefront. It has a 12% share of the U.S. e-commerce market, and it continues to expand rapidly in international markets. Shopify's strong growth in 2024 indicates it is still far away from reaching its potential. Revenue grew 26% for the year and 31% year over year in the quarter. It delivered robust top-line growth, while also converting 18% of revenue into free cash flow last year. Shopify has used its growing scale and resources to roll out new artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Shopify Magic and Sidekick, which could attract new merchants. Analysts expect Shopify to nearly double its revenue to $16 billion by 2027, implying a compound annual growth rate between 20% to 25%. Shopify will have to fend off competition from Amazon's Buy with Prime, which allows Prime members to buy directly from merchants' stores while benefiting from the fast shipping and customer service they get from Amazon. But Shopify stock is worth buying in light of these possible pitfalls. Shopify's sticky ecosystem of commerce solutions has attracted millions of merchants in over 175 countries. The stock more than doubled over the last five years, and based on current revenue growth estimates, the shares could double again by 2030. Jennifer Saibil (e.l.f. Beauty): E.l.f. Beauty has been down in the dumps for a while, but it's a fast-growing company and has tons of future opportunity. It targets a young consumer and crosses over between the mass and luxury buyer because it resonates with a broad swath of consumers who are looking for its value-driven approach to cosmetics. Since it's easy on the wallet, it can still generate growth when there's economic pressure, and it might draw new business from customers switching down. Revenue increased 31% year over year in the fiscal 2025 third quarter (ended Dec. 31). Gross margin expanded by 0.4 percentage points to 71%, although net income decreased from $27 million to $17 million, due to a number of factors like increased marketing expense and currency fluctuations. It's the top company in the U.S. for color cosmetics by unit share. That increased 23% in 2024 while most of the major mass brands lost market share, and it's the No. 2 company by dollar share. Management noted that it is the only cosmetics brand out of 988 that has gained market share for 24 consecutive quarters. According to Piper Sandler's Taking Stock with Teens survey, it's the favorite teen makeup brand. It's also the most-purchased brand for millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha consumers. There's still plenty of room to grow. Unaided brand awareness increased from 13% in 2020 to 33% in 2024, and that's still well below most of its legacy competitors. High growth and low brand presence is a powerful combination. There are worries that e.l.f. will feel the pressure of new tariffs to China, which isn't an insignificant concern. But if you have long-term ambitions, you can buy on the dip and hold through this period. E.l.f. stock is down a brutal 67% over the past year, but it trades at a cheap 17 times forward one-year earnings. At this price, e.l.f. stock looks like a real bargain for the forward-thinking investor. Jeremy Bowman (Coupang): International stocks are looking more attractive these days as investors look to diversify away from President Donald Trump's trade war and weakening consumer sentiment. Lofty stock prices already sent U.S. stocks into a correction earlier this month, and those trends seem to be heading in the wrong direction. One attractive option for growth stock investors in the international market is Coupang, an e-commerce company focused on South Korea that is delivering solid growth and has adopted an Amazon-like business model. It's expanded from a first-party e-commerce business to a marketplace. It has a Prime-like membership program called Rocket Wow, and it's growing the business through ancillary services like food delivery and video streaming. Revenue in 2024 rose 29% on a currency-neutral basis to $30.3 billion, or 23% excluding its acquisition of Farfetch, the luxury online fashion platform it bought about a year ago. On a non-GAAP (adjusted) basis, Coupang is minimally profitable, but the company is still very much in its growth phase, and it's seeing skyrocketing growth from its "developing offerings" segment, which includes food delivery under Coupang Eats, mobile and online games, and a fintech business. Revenue from that segment jumped 153% on a currency-neutral basis last year. Coupang has had mixed success outside of South Korea. It currently operates in Taiwan but pulled out of Japan as its costs were too high there. Still, South Korea is a large and growing market and Coupang's ability to expand its business beyond e-commerce also bodes well for future growth. If you're looking for a growth stock to help you diversify outside the U.S., Coupang looks like a great choice. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $288,966!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $42,440!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $526,737!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of March 24, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon and Shopify. John Ballard has positions in Coupang. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Shopify, and e.l.f. Beauty. The Motley Fool recommends Coupang. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Magnificent Growth Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist With $500 was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
