Toronto
The pandemic has forced businesses worldwide to pivot online to survive, and many have turned to Shopify, a Canadian company that has emerged as a thriving alternative to Amazon.
Founded 15 years ago in Ottawa, Shopify allows businesses to create an e-commerce site in just a few clicks. Already growing with more than one million e-stores at the end of 2019, its user base has exploded.“The retail world that would have existed in 2030 has really been pulled back into 2020,” Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said in an interview with AFP. “It feels like Covid has permanently accelerated the growth of online commerce.” Amid a lockdown of bricks and mortar stores, online commerce has boomed this year. Consumers have grown accustomed to buying over the internet, and industry giants, led by Amazon, have seen sales rocket.At the same time, many businesses that did not have a presence or a direct online sales channel took the plunge as the pandemic took hold.–AFP
