The spread of the Delta variant has catalyzed the further development of independent e-commerce sites

Foreign media analysts said that due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the new coronavirus around the world, offline consumption, which had just recovered, has been frozen again. In the short term, the stock price of Shopify, an independent website building platform, may rise rapidly.

" The new coronavirus Delta variant will extend online shopping time again , which is good news for independent e-commerce sites . "

In the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic, from January to June 2020 , offline sales were hit hard, and many small and micro enterprises transformed into independent online sites . The number of merchants on the Shopify platform surged by 20% in half a year .

In the first half of this year, the global epidemic situation has improved, offline consumption has begun to pick up, and the growth of many e-commerce platforms has slowed down.

However, things are unpredictable. The sudden outbreak of the Delta variant once again drove consumers from offline to online, and Shopify's stock price once again soared in a short period of time.

Shopify 's Q2 earnings report showed that its revenue grew 57% in the second quarter, beating expectations. Revenue of $1.12 billion was $80 million higher than analysts' expectations, according to Investor's Business Daily .

This can also be confirmed by its soaring stock price. Since its IPO in May 2015, Shopify's stock price has soared by about 5,600%, far exceeding the 110% of the S&P 500 and Amazon's 679%. In the decade from 2010 to 2020 , Shopify's revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 82%, far higher than Amazon's 27.5% growth rate during the same period. In the second quarter of 2021, adjusted earnings per share were $2.24, $1.27 higher than expected and 113% higher than the previous year .

As the industry leader in e-commerce independent website construction worldwide, Shopify 's strong growth demonstrates investors' optimism about the future development trend of independent websites. Under the uncertain situation of repeated epidemics, offline sales are in turmoil, and online sales are the general trend.

At this stage, although Apple ’s crackdown on user tracking may reduce the effectiveness of digital advertising , analysts say that the rapid spread of the Delta variant will once again catalyze the further development of independent e-commerce sites .

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