It's Mr Steal Your Merchant, and he's equipped with a new POS system that could pose a threat to Shopify's customers.
Background: Amazon is the most popular shopping app in the US. and it's got a huge 300 million users globally (double the population of Russia). So it's fair to say it's got customers down pat. Merchants? Not so much.
What happened: Enter: Project Santos. Amazon created this secret taskforce last year, with one mission: to steal Shopify's small biz merchant customers. And it's first mission was to build a point-of-sale (aka POS) system to sell into merchants (like retailers).
What else: The new POS system would handle both in-store and online transactions. And it would have Amazon checkout options, and link to other Amazon services like Prime memberships or Flex delivery.
💡Amazon founder Jeffy B actually named Shopify as one of Amazon's strongest competitors. It's because Shopify offers small businesses the tools to build their own direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites, rather than sell through Amazon.
💡That's where Project Santos started, but it's not the only place it's going. Amazon wants to attract small biz sellers to its online marketplace...but it also wants to tackle bricks-and-mortar businesses.
💡If the POS system does launch, Amazon will have an edge over Shopify in that it could be an all-in-one system for e-commerce sites...but it's also got its foot in in-store businesses.
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