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Choose your eCommerce Platform wisely - your new marketplace may not yet exist

Platform selection - there is no all encompassing "best" - there is the best for you. What needs to be solved by you is what means best for you - access to markets, mobile reach, social platforms - your own capability and this, I cannot stress enough has to be the ultimate determining factor. You can buy a Ferrari, if you can't drive, what's the point - live in Ireland, no need for a Ferrari. I will review Magento in the coming months but I have done alot of work on Shopify in the last 6 months. In my opinion, they are now bearing the fruit of some excellent strategic partners put in place some time ago.

Shopify upped their game this last 12 months and they have some excellent partnerships - least of all their Facebook Shops. Ahead of the curve there - or too early if you are a shareholder - these latest developments I am happy to talk through in detail. Upgrades in Magento 2.0 and Bigcommerce too all doing well in this space. I don't believe it is because of their sclabaility but the intimate platform (non eCommerce) platforms they are intrinsically connected to. This makes them more interesting, agile and workable than other competitors. Size of Co may be a factor - agility and access to markets is what multi-channel and marketplace espoused for 15 years now - the next phase of marketplaces is being decoupled with IoT and other community based channels:

Highlights from Shopify Unite 2017

  • More Channel Integrations: Expose your products to massive new audiences like Wish, Kik and soon, Buzzfeed! Learn more about Sales Channels here.

  • New Chip & Swipe Reader: There's never been a better time to sell in person, the sleek new card reader lets you accept credit cards securely from anywhere you do business. Get yours here (available to U.S merchants). When this goes global and it should - the potential for bringing online to the high st is enormous - This changes retail/supply chain and all in between - those who get on this early, will definitely see quick benefit and strong uptake. Not to mention tapping into the 90% or so of the people who do not yet buy online.

  • Introducing Shopify Pay: We’re bringing mobile checkout from 16 fields down to 2 with Shopify Pay. It will be made available to every store using Shopify Payments, at no additional cost. Learn more about Shopify Pay here.

  • Enabling In-Game Purchases: In-game transactions are already popular in the world of gaming. But the Unity Buy SDK will make physical product purchases possible in-game too. To see this in action, watch the Alto’s Adventure demo in the video above.

I will report back stories from clients successes and failures in the coming months and hold these accountable. In the meantime, I will be getting my ducks in a row on GDPR requirements and the enormity of how this will be regulated in the next 12 months - a storm in a teacup, this is not.

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