Shopify's AI-powered Sidekick aims to revolutionize e-commerce for merchants 🤖🛍️; AmEx expands dining services with Tock M&A 🤝💸; Ethena's meteoric rise reshaping stablecoin landscape 🚀😳
FinTech is Eating the World, 25 June
Hey Everyone,
Good morning & happy Wednesday! Today’s issue is the most interesting one yet as we’re looking at Shopify which is doubling down on AI to revolutionize e-commerce for merchants (unpacking all their latest AI products & features and what they mean for the future + a bonus deep dive into Shopify & why I’m bullish), American Express that just expanded dining services with the acquisition of Tock and one other M&A (what’s the USP here & how it plays into AmEx’s long-term strategy + a bonus deep dive into the finance giant, unpacking their latest numbers & everything that matters), and Ethena's meteoric rise that's reshaping stablecoin landscape (what’s the USP, holistic recap and what’s next). So let’s jump straight into the thrilling stuff 🌶
Shopify unveils AI-powered Sidekick in a bid to revolutionize e-commerce for merchants 🤖🛍️
The news 🗞️ E-commerce and FinTech giant Shopify SHOP 0.00%↑ has just announced a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed to streamline operations for online merchants.
The centerpiece of this rollout is Sidekick, an AI assistant that's now available in early access to thousands of North American merchants with English-language stores.
Let’s take a quick look at this and see why it matters.
More on this 👉 Sidekick is part of Shopify's "2024 Summer Edition" update, which includes over 150 new features. Read that again - 150 new products and features. I don’t think there’s any other company that ships THIS fast… 👀
This AI chatbot aims to support merchants by helping generate discount codes, create customer segments, and suggest blog post ideas. It leverages the merchant's specific product, order, and customer data to provide tailored insights and guidance. Basically, it’s like Apple Intelligence but just for Shopify Merchants 👏
ICYMI: Apple Intelligence and the future of P2P payments 🤖💸 [a holistic view of the most important AI improvements, why they matter & what’s next + a bonus dive into AI-driven Finance & how Apple can dominate here]
Alongside Sidekick, Shopify has introduced several other AI-powered tools. These include:
Expanded image generation and editing capability, now available on mobile devices, which has already been used to create over a million images in six months.
AI-assisted product categorization to improve listing accuracy and discoverability
AI-generated customer chat responses that merchants can review before sending
The last one is a very smart play as it’s something that Klarna had a massive success with.
ICYMI: Klarna: a profitable FinTech giant that’s poised for sustainable growth in the AI Era 📈🤖 [why this profitable FinTech giant is poised for sustainable growth in the AI Era + more bonus reads & deep dives inside]
Other notable updates include a consolidated "Markets" feature for managing multiple sales channels and expanded advertising capabilities for Shopify Plus sellers on platforms like Google GOOGL 0.00%↑, Instagram, and Facebook META 0.00%↑.
✈️ THE TAKEAWAY
What’s next? 🤔 First and foremost, these developments signal a significant shift in the e-commerce landscape. By integrating AI across its platform, Shopify is not only enhancing the efficiency of its merchants but also setting a new standard for the industry. This move could thus pressure competitors to accelerate their own AI initiatives, potentially leading to a rapid transformation of e-commerce tools and practices. For Shopify, the success of these AI tools could be crucial in reversing its recent slowdown in revenue growth. If merchants find value in these features, it could lead to increased platform loyalty and potentially attract new users from competing platforms. Looking ahead, we may see Shopify further refine and expand these AI capabilities. The company has expressed openness to fully automating customer interactions in the future, which could revolutionize e-commerce customer service. We might also expect Shopify to extend Sidekick's language support and availability to more regions, further globalizing its impact. Zooming out and looking at the broader FinTech industry, Shopify's moves could also accelerate the adoption of AI in areas like inventory management, pricing strategies, and financial forecasting for small to medium-sized businesses. This could lead to more sophisticated, data-driven decision-making becoming the norm even for smaller merchants. Bullish because nobody ships faster than Shopify 😤
ICYMI: Buy the dip? Shopify tops estimates but the stock is down 🤷♂️📉 [unpacking the latest numbers and what they mean & why I’m still bullish on Shopify + some bonus dives inside]