Shopify is blowing people’s minds today after it launched a new mobile shopping app. Many are characterizing it as a “marketplace” that could put pressure on Amazon.
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that powers over a million merchants. Its new Shop app is a “first-of-its-kind mobile shopping app designed to create a more intuitive online shopping experience from product discovery to package delivery.”
Aggregation is what makes a marketplace, and consultant Tom Critchlow pointed out a glaring omission in the Shop app: the lack of search. Another shortcoming he identified: “it shows local shopify stores which is a cool feature except it only uses your last delivery address with no way to edit? Odd.”
Anthony Ha gave Shop a whirl and reported on TechCrunch that it’s actually an update and rebrand of Arrive, an app for tracking packages.
“Shop includes those same package tracking capabilities, but it also allows consumers to browse a feed of recommended products, learn more about each brand and make purchases using the one-click Shop Pay checkout process,” he wrote.
In today’s press release, Shopify touted the following Shop features:
- Local filters: Shop’s users can locate nearby merchants to support local businesses. The app identifies businesses currently offering shipping, pick-up, and highlights return policies.
- Seamless payment and checkout: Through Shop Pay, shoppers have fast and easy checkout across all brands on the app.
- Transparent tracking: With the innovative technology of Arrive, all order and tracking information is stored in one convenient place. Tracking shows the status of each package and provides real-time updates.
- Customized recommendations: Through personalized recommendations, like new releases and deals from the brands shoppers love, Shop ensures merchants’ customers consistently rediscover the storefronts of their favorite brands, as well as new brands.
You can download iOS and Android versions of the Shop app, and more information can be found on the Shopify website.
