Shopify's COO On The Key Difference Between His Company, Amazon

Shopify Inc SHOP makes it easier for other businesses to sell online, which makes it the "brand behind the brand," saidCOO Harley Finkelstein.

What Happened

Outside of the investment community, few consumers are aware of Shopify, and this was done by design, Finkelstein said during a "Barron's Roundtable" discussion on Fox Business.

Shopify's core purpose more than 10 years ago was to help online businesses create a "beautiful" online store, the COO said. Fast forward to today, and many of those businesses have become really big, he said. 

Today, Shopify helps 1 million businesses of all sizes better sell to consumers online and offline, the exec said, adding that this makes Shopify the world's first-ever "retail operating system."

Why It's Important

E-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN also facilitates online sellers reaching clients, but Shopify stands out in one important way, Finkelstein said. 

Amazon is "renting customers" to brands on its platform, while Shopify believes in complete independence and allows customers to buy directly from a brand without a middleman like Amazon, the COO said. 

"Entrepreneurs large and small — they want to have a direct relationship with the end consumer," he said. "And that's what Shopify does."

What's Next

The majority of Shopify's merchants are located in the U.S., and a common theme was a weakness in order fulfillment, Finkelstein said.

Shopify recognized a future opportunity in helping smaller companies better ship products through an initiative: the Shopify Fulfillment Network.

Most important, Shopify will help its merchants better compete with today's "delivery expectations," he said.

The stock was down 2.93% at $307.49 at the time of publication. 

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Photo courtesy of Shopify.