Crasman participated in the Shopify Flow Partner Days in London last December. There were impressive figures presented:

• Transactions worth $9.3 billion were made through Shopify during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend (+24% compared to the previous year)

• 61 million customers have purchased from Shopify stores

• Record sales of $4.2 million per minute.

• This year, over $1.3 billion has been invested in Shopify's product development 

• The platform is being developed by over 4,500 contributors

• Gartner: Best capability for digital commerce (Q4/2022)

Shopify indeed withstands load and is developing at a record pace. This is clearly great news both for us suppliers and for customers who have chosen Shopify.

The Partner Day was attended by suppliers from across Europe, and the following three themes were reiterated in all discussions:

• Accelerated migration from Adobe, Salesforce, and Commercetools to Shopify.

• Shopify's strengths include ease of use, scalability, and rapid development with the power of the ecosystem. 

• There is a huge growth potential in Shopify's B2B e-commerce.
  
  
  

Among Crasman's clients, there are those who have transitioned from Magento to Shopify, and several new B2B e-commerce projects are underway.

E-commerce Megatrends in EY's Study

Perhaps the most interesting speech was given by Ernst & Young (EY), which has 52,000 consultants and 1,500 designers in its network. According to their extensive research, companies intend to invest $5 billion in e-commerce by 2026. They observed the greatest potential in regulated industries where high standards and specialised expertise are essential. According to EY's study, consumers are now shifting their purchases to campaigns due to lower prices. E-commerce is therefore expected to deliver reliability during massive visitor spikes. Young people are willing to pay slightly more to get exactly the products they want, and consumer readiness to purchase quality has increased overall.

It's very interesting that a consultant firm for large accounts like EY often chooses Shopify for large client projects. EY highlighted Shopify's scalability, customisability, ease of use (for the business and the customer), and seamless integration (connectors) as their selection criteria. EY reported that their clients expect immediate customer support, excellent customer relationship management, and exceptional backend expertise from their suppliers. Services are purchased from multiple partners and cooperation must be seamless.

At the event, it was gratifying to see the extensive support available for Shopify's partner network, and Shopify's future appears bright in every aspect.