Shopify revenue grew 47% in Q4 as merchants take advantage of new marketing capabilities

E-commerce provider Shopify reported [PDF] $505.2 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 on Wednesday, an increase of 47% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. Annual revenues topped $1.57 billion in 2019, up 47% from 2018.

The company attributes the growth to a number of factors, including additional of marketing capabilities available to merchants on the platform such as Shopify Email and native chat for merchant sites.

Why we care

Shopify is aiming to become a centralized, end-to-end retail and marketing platform for merchants. The company continues to invest in efforts to build an affordable operational framework for merchants to grow — and maintain a competitive edge against Amazon. In 2019, Shopify launched its Shopify Distribution network, acquired 6 River Systems, added machine-learning powered inventory management systems and introduced Shopify Email. Shopify Marketing also launched an integration with Microsoft Advertising that allows merchants to expand their reach within the Microsoft Search Network from within Shopify’s platform.

“With consumer expectations rising for fast and affordable delivery, fulfillment poses a challenge to all businesses,” said Shopify CEO Harley Finklestein on the company’s earnings call Wednesday. “Combining our economies of scale with the automate fulfillment technology from 6 River Systems, we will enable our merchants to better compete with the largest business on the planet.”

More on the news

• 45% percent of eligible merchants in the US and Canada used Shopify Shipping in the fourth quarter, up from less than 40% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
• Mobile orders accounted for 80% of web traffic and 68% of orders last quarter, up from 78% and 66%, respectively, from the same period a year ago.
• Subscription Solutions revenue increased 37% year-over-year to $183.2 million.
• Monthly recurring revenue also grew 32% year-over-year to $53.9 million, primarily due to new merchants coming on board, the company said.

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About The Author

Jennifer Cannon

Jennifer Videtta Cannon serves as Third Door Media's Senior Editor, covering topics from email marketing and analytics to CRM and project management. With over a decade of organizational digital marketing experience, she has overseen digital marketing operations for NHL franchises and held roles at tech companies including Salesforce, advising enterprise marketers on maximizing their martech capabilities. Jennifer formerly organized the Inbound Marketing Summit and holds a certificate in Digital Marketing Analytics from MIT Sloan School of Management.