"In a shockingly short period of time, Amazon went from a plucky upstart to a goliath. Beginning as a humble book retailer, it capitalized on weak markets and outmaneuvered brick-and-mortar businesses that had previously seemed unshakeable. Where once the threat to mom-and-pop shops was Walmart, now it is the Amazon warehouse. In fact, Amazon did what Walmart could not: it made itself indispensable to small businesses, who often faced a difficult choice between selling on Amazon and paying its fiat fees, or facing bankruptcy."
"Its sheer scale, documented labor rights abuses, and exploitation of markets have made it a polarizing presence in our lives. And of course, there's the ever-present cost of Amazon Prime, which makes Amazon the go-to for cheap gadgets, home goods, and more. But with every eye focused on the giant, there's an elephant quietly living in its shadow. Outside of two companies in China - Alibaba and Pinduoduo - the company with the largest market cap next to Amazon is the Canada-based Shopify."
Amazon transformed from an online bookseller into a dominant e-commerce giant that displaced traditional retailers and became indispensable to many small businesses. Its scale, Prime-driven pricing, and marketplace reach pressured merchants to sell on Amazon or risk insolvency. Shopify positioned itself as a major alternative by centering individual brands and enabling merchants to run their own storefronts. Shopify's founders addressed merchant pain points such as payment processing, invoicing, order matching, and shipping to simplify online sales. By betting on small businesses and letting brands take center stage, Shopify captured substantial market value alongside larger e-commerce players.
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