A Shopify spree

Amazon.com isn’t the only company demonstrating phenomenal growth in the $3.5 trillion retail e-commerce market. For example, there’s Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), which provides a platform to help businesses both large and small build out their online presence and increase their sales. In its most recent quarter, Shopify’s sales shot up 50 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, and the total number of merchants on the platform now sits around 820,000. Shopify’s merchant solutions (which include payment transactions, fees and hardware sales) increased sales by 58 percent, and sales from subscription solutions jumped 40 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, Shopify is expanding its revenue streams by boosting its Shopify Plus service, which helps major brands and large companies with enterprise e-commerce services. Shopify Plus now accounts for 26 percent of the company’s monthly recurring revenue, up from 22 percent in the first quarter of 2018. The company is also venturing into fulfillment, launching a network of fulfillment centers. Shopify’s share price has skyrocketed more than 100 percent over the past year, and with the company’s potential to tap the ecommerce market further, it still has plenty of room to grow. Risk-tolerant, long-term investors who are looking for a compelling e-commerce play able to scale along with businesses as they grow their online sales should consider snapping up some shares of Shopify. (The Motley Fool owns shares of and has recommended Shopify.)