Shopify has announced a partnership with USPS to power the launch of its new shipping service called “Shopify Shipping.”
“Shipping is a fundamental component of any online merchant’s workflow. We’re focused on streamlining shipping and product delivery for our merchants, so they can focus on other aspects of growing their business,” said Louis Kearns, director of product and merchant solutions at Shopify.
The partnership will allow Shopify’s 175,000+ merchants to buy and print shipping labels on its eCommerce platform at preferred USPS rates, which would cut down their shipping expenses by up to 60 percent.
“With Shopify Shipping, not only are we saving merchants time and money, but we’re also giving them the foundation they need to perfect their fulfillment strategy,” he added.
The arrangement will particularly benefit small businesses using Shopify’s platform and its free pickup and dropoff service.
The partnership comes after Amazon shut down its nine-year-old Webstore and made Shopify its preferred business partner for migrating its sellers. The news of a fresh influx of merchants on its platform sent the Ottawa-based company’s share value soaring.
“Many of Shopify’s existing 175,000+ merchants already use Amazon as a sales channel, and this will bridge the gap between our two companies, with just a few simple steps,” said Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s chief platform officer.
As part of its efforts to build up a sturdy infrastructure for its merchants, the company also launched an mPOS app earlier this year, which lets Shopify merchants accept cash, debit, credit and gift cards on an iOS-powered device.
In other news, Shopify, which is currently valued at over $1.2 billion, announced its sixth annual “Build a Business” competition in partnership with the New York Stock Exchange. Last year, the competition reportedly attracted over 21,000 entrepreneurs and is famed as the world’s biggest entrepreneurship challenge.
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