Shopify AI Traffic Soars 7x, Orders Jump 11x Since January
▼ Summary
– Shopify views AI as the most significant technological shift since the internet and is heavily investing in AI-powered shopping agents to support entrepreneurs.
– The company reported a sevenfold increase in traffic from AI tools to its stores and an 11-fold rise in purchases from AI-powered search since January.
– Shopify’s competitive edge comes from its access to vast merchant data and its “founder mode” approach to rapidly developing and launching products.
– The company is collaborating with AI leaders like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot to integrate shopping into AI conversations and prepare merchants for agentic commerce.
– Despite strong Q3 revenue growth of 32% to $2.84 billion, Shopify’s stock declined due to operating income slightly missing estimates.
Shopify is experiencing a dramatic surge in activity driven by artificial intelligence, with traffic from AI tools to its online stores multiplying sevenfold since January and purchases originating from AI-powered search jumping by an impressive eleven times. The e-commerce platform describes AI as an incredible tool for empowering entrepreneurs and considers it the most significant technological shift since the advent of the internet. This perspective was shared during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, following its September partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, emphasized that the company’s competitive edge in the AI era stems from its access to data from millions of merchants and billions of transactions. He also highlighted Shopify’s “founder mode” approach, which prioritizes rapid product development and deployment. This agility extends to internal tools like Scout, an AI system that helps employees sift through hundreds of millions of merchant feedback points to guide better product decisions.
Finkelstein explained that Scout represents just one of many initiatives aimed at transforming internal signals, such as support tickets, usage data, reviews, social interactions, and prompts from its Sidekick assistant, into swift, well-informed actions. He made it clear that AI is central to Shopify’s operational engine, fundamental to everything the company builds, rather than being merely an add-on feature.
Beyond its collaboration with ChatGPT, Shopify is also working with Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot to develop additional in-chat shopping experiences. A recent survey conducted by Shopify revealed that 64% of shoppers are likely to incorporate AI to some degree during their purchasing process. Finkelstein stated that the company has been investing in an infrastructure designed to seamlessly integrate shopping into every AI conversation. By partnering with leading AI firms, Shopify aims to ensure its merchants are better equipped for the future than competitors who are not on the platform.
He acknowledged that the field of “agentic commerce” is still in its infancy, but Shopify is focused on laying the foundational framework for its evolution. The company is preparing for various potential directions this technology might take, ready to adapt to whichever approach gains dominance. Finkelstein drew a parallel to the early days of social commerce, noting that the current situation resembles past industry shifts where commerce expanded beyond a single channel to become an omnipresent possibility.
In its third-quarter financial report, Shopify posted revenue of $2.84 billion, a 32% increase that surpassed analyst expectations. The company reported a profit of $264 million, or 20 cents per share. Despite these strong results, the company’s stock faced some pressure as operating income reached $434 million, slightly below the estimated $437 million.
(Source: TechCrunch)
