Shopify as Core Commerce Platform
Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge, on the state of ecommerce post-COVID
Shopify won the part of ecommerce software that matters most, becoming the default operating system not just for small brands, but for very large merchants that once would have needed a heavier custom stack. The upmarket move matters because it shifts Shopify from a website builder into core commerce infrastructure, handling storefront, checkout, payments, international selling, B2B, and retail from one admin panel with less integration work and lower operating overhead.
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The clearest proof is workflow breadth. Shopify now pitches one platform for B2C, B2B, retail, headless builds, and cross border selling, which means a brand can run consumer storefronts, wholesale portals, POS, and global markets without stitching together multiple core systems.
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The main challengers are still fragmented by tradeoff. BigCommerce remains strongest with enterprise and composable positioning, but reported 5,825 enterprise accounts and $350.8M ARR in Q1 2025, showing a much smaller installed base and slower growth engine than Shopify’s broader ecosystem pull.
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That is why adjacent apps feel more pressure than Shopify itself. Ridge moved off Klaviyo after cost friction, and its broader stack favors cheaper substitutes in commoditized categories while keeping Shopify as the anchor system. Once the commerce core is trusted, point solutions compete harder on price and ROI.
The next phase is Shopify deepening from storefront software into full commerce infrastructure for larger merchants. As more brands adopt Shopify for B2B, international sales, and in store operations, competitors will be pushed toward narrower specialist roles or migration driven replacement projects, while Shopify captures more of the stack and more of the profit pool.