While many businesses are being impacted by the Amazon.
The ongoing coronavirus crisis has caused problems for businesses of all sizes, with many places across the United States now currently under quarantine in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. While essential businesses have been able to remain open, they've also had to enact new policies, such as remote drop-offs and directed foot-traffic, in an attempt to maintain social distancing. For many others, they can't accept patrons at all.
Shopify is a platform used by many sellers to power their own online stores and as a result, it has proven popular with small, independent businesses. The new app looks to provide more of a centralized experience by bringing together access to all of those stores within the one interface. In addition, providing s with a speedier checkout through Shop Pay, a system that lets people save their payment, shipping, and billing information. As well as the option to track, in real-time, through the same technology that powers the company's Arrive app. Shopify hopes that these additions will not only help businesses survive COVID-19, but also change the way people shop in general. According to Shopify, "a fast and intuitive checkout experience saves a lot of sales you would have otherwise lost.”
Helping Small Businesses Survive The Pandemic
The existence of online marketplaces is essential for the survival of many small businesses, especially those that deal in physical goods. While non-essential businesses are closed in many places, stores shouldn’t expect to see a massive influx of customers when this period of quarantine comes to an end, considering the return to normalcy is expected to be a flatten the curve, the nature of the virus means it will remain a threat until there is a vaccine, and therefore longer-lasting changes will have to remain in effect long after the lockdown orders are lifted.
For businesses new to the platform, Shopify currently offers a 90-day free trial. Once signed up, the service allows businesses to sell their goods from an online store or across social media. s can customize their sites to their preferences, or simply add the functionality to their own, pre-existing site. While the timing of this announcement and app launch is designed to help during the coronavirus outbreak, the app itself is designed to help these businesses over the long-term.
Source: Shopify