Shopify is calling in reinforcements as eCommerce solution providers aim to equip brands and retailers to hold their own against Amazon.
Cognizant, which provides digital solutions, technology consulting and IT services to various industries, is partnering with Shopify and Google to help brands and retailers upgrade their online shops, according to a news release. The collaboration combines Shopify’s online selling platform with Google Cloud’s system and the expertise of Cognizant’s retail technology specialists.
The goal is to make it easier for stores of all sizes to improve their online shopping experience and keep up with trends like personalized shopping, artificial intelligence assistants and fraud protection, among others, aiming to make these digital shops more efficient.
“Consumer expectations are changing more rapidly as Generative AI evolves the nature of digital experiences,” Carrie Tharp, vice president of strategic industries at Google Cloud, said in the release. “This new offering can help retailers more quickly and easily modernize their eCommerce experience on the world’s leading retail commerce platform with the latest AI and digital innovations.”
The move comes as smaller eCommerce merchants such as those relying on Shopify’s technology seek solutions that will enable them to compete with online retail giants such as Amazon. To do this, they need to challenge consumers’ perception that major marketplaces are better able to meet their digital expectations.
For instance, the PYMNTS Intelligence study “How Preferred Payment Availability Can Reduce Cart Abandonment” found that 53% of consumers believe that online marketplaces are better than other eCommerce channels in terms of the availability of their preferred payment method.
Conversely, the report, which drew on insights from a survey of more than 3,500 U.S. consumers, found that only 25% said the same of retailers’ sites and apps and 22% of brands’ sites and apps.
The same study found that for retail categories including electronics, home furnishings and appliances, and clothing and accessories, consumers opt for online marketplaces. Only in grocery are retailers’ sites and apps winning.
Amazon is a force to be reckoned with in retail, according to data from the PYMNTS Intelligence “Whole Paycheck Report“ series. The study, which estimated Amazon and Walmart’s market share in various categories based on their earnings reports from Q1 2019 through Q4 2023 in conjunction with national data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis, found that the former captures 10% of all consumer retail spending.
Consequently, more eCommerce players are turning to partnerships to boost their competitive standing.
In February, software company Wix announced a partnership with Global-e Online, which enables direct-to-consumer cross-border eCommerce, to offer Wix sellers a cross-border selling solution.
The previous month, Canadian FinTech company Nuvei partnered with Adobe to enhance eCommerce payments, making the former’s full payment suite accessible to Adobe Commerce customers.
Also in January, BigCommerce and Marketplacer teamed up to enable the former’s customers to transform their online stores into multi-vendor marketplaces, creating the BigCommerce Marketplace Connector to enable BigCommerce’s customers to allow third-party sellers to list and sell products from their stores.
As the landscape continues to evolve, partnerships like these demonstrate a concerted effort to meet consumer expectations and drive innovation in the face of competition from industry behemoths.
