Shopify acquires Handshake, ready to face Amazon and eBay?

    Shopify, Handshake, Amazon, eBay

    E-commerce platform Shopify has plans for expansion of the services for B2B business through its platform. To meet this goal, it has acquired Handshake, a New York startup offering an e-commerce platform for the trade of wholesale goods. It has confirmed the deal in a short statement:

    “Handshake is now a part of Shopify. We consider acquisitions in the normal course of business as we focus on making commerce better for everyone.” The exact value of the deal is not disclosed, but according to sources, it would be just under $100 million.

    The new team, reports say, will be operating as part of Shopify’s extended service tier, Shopify Plus, headed by David Moellenkamp. Glen Coates, who had been the founder and CEO of Handshake, is now the director of product at Shopify Plus.

    With this acquisition, the opportunity that Handshake has offered to Shopify is the e-commerce Business-to-Business market, where items are sold wholesale to other retailers and may be offered to consumers.

    In a  recent report, the  B2B e-commerce sales in the U.S. alone passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2018. Handshake’s current customers include the likes of Bugaboo, Williams-Sonoma, and Roland. This latest acquisition by Shopify underscores how it’s also growing and expanding its scope. It is on the path of collision with brands like Alibaba and Amazon, the two of the most successful global brands as B2B marketplaces.