I’d have to find a word better than explosive to describe the hottest Canadian tech stock. Shopify (TSX:SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) is still scorching hot to this very day. The stock is up 147.6% year to date.
I’ve been wary of the fiery performance of SHOP that I kept saying will burst at the seams. You might balk at the steep price, but the tech stock is proving to be a viable investment for long-term investors.
Top-rated e-commerce platform Investors will always go for companies with a strong brand and extraordinary growth. And Shopify has both. Sales estimates this year are $1.51 billion with a forecast for 32.5% growth in 2020. But there are factors other than fantastic sales that make SHOP a must-have and -hold stock.
Shopify’s SaaS platform is scalable. Merchants using the company’s system are assured of a crash-free site. Hence, the customer experience is always easy and fast with no lag time. On top of that, Shopify’s system is secure.
Customers have nothing to fear regarding the disclosure of personal information, including credit cards, to other parties when shopping online. Shopify is now certified as Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. The Shopify has complied with the six different categories set out by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
Seamless integration is Shopify’s trademark. Because its application programming interface (API) is fast and easy, it satisfies all users. Shopify’s API allows clients to connect to their existing IT platform and accounting systems.
Shopify Plus has constantly been introducing pre-approved apps. The addition of features and customization has been going on for the last six years. Shopify itself ensures the quality of the ecosystem that produces add-ons and plug-ins. The company also regulates and oversees the ecosystem.
Since Shopify knows that e-commerce should be open all the time, the company provides 24/7 support. You don’t have to count days and expect a reply after filling out an online form. Email, live chat, and phone are all always available.
There are built-in automation features in Shopify Plus to give marketing automation capabilities in online sites to further drive sales. The advanced reporting for SEO feature helps online businesses to show up fast on search engines, too.
Continuous growth Those are just some advantages that Shopify’s cloud-based multichannel commerce platform brings to the e-commerce space. All the options and features present in the platform are helpful to spawn more business for small- and medium-sized retailers and the large-volume sellers.
I can say that Shopify is in a league of its own and the best e-commerce option for businesses worldwide. The factors that made its platform successful are its ease of use, that it’s super user-friendly, and a greater focus on customer experience and marketing over systems maintenance.
Shopify is a tech stock for keeps, and its growth momentum will not stop. As the company’s founder and CEO Tobias Lütke said, “Shopify is fiercely interested in the problems that new merchants are facing, that growing merchants face.” Shopify will be there to help online entrepreneurs build their businesses for years to come.
Fool contributor Christopher Liew has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Tom Gardner owns shares of Shopify. The Motley Fool owns shares of Shopify and Shopify. Shopify is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.
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