As the epidemic situation improves, Shopify's traffic will slow down in the third quarter

According to a report from CIBC, as the new crown vaccine becomes more popular in Canada , offline consumption has begun to recover, and people are returning to offline physical stores to shop . The traffic growth rate of e-commerce platforms such as Shopify seems to be slowing down.

CIBC analyst Todd Coupland pointed out in a report that based on the current situation, Shopify 's traffic in the third quarter will increase by about 10% year-on-year , which will be lower than its 68% growth rate in the first quarter .

Although overall web traffic may be down, CIBC said Shopify will outperform its traditional retail competitors in the consumer discretionary sector in the third quarter . Shopify 's main customers are engaged in marketing activities in the fashion, cosmetics and home furnishings sectors , which remain strong growth areas in the e-commerce market .

" This finding is significant. At the beginning of the epidemic, consumers' online shopping was mainly for daily necessities, but now it has slowly shifted to non-essential items such as cosmetics, which are the main products sold by Shopify merchants, " said Coupland.

Analysts believe that as the vaccination rate in Canada and the United States gradually increases, the offline economy will pick up. Some American companies recently released their second- quarter earnings reports to illustrate this problem. The offline economy has begun to recover, and the growth rate of online economic development has begun to slow down.

Despite this, CIBC points out that facing the upcoming back-to-school shopping season and other sales peak seasons, both the online and offline economies will have positive developments .

After experiencing super-fast booming in 2020 , it is difficult for e-commerce platforms to surpass last year's growth this year . However , Shopify's stock price has risen by about 38 % so far this year , and its stock price has nearly tripled in the past 12 months. The rising stock price trend shows the bright prospects of online e-commerce.

Although offline physical consumption may gradually pick up with the global popularization of the new crown vaccine, the growth of online e-commerce may slow down in the next few quarters. However, the consumption habits cultivated during the epidemic will not change easily. Online e-commerce stands out in the information age with its irreplaceable convenience and diversity, and it caters to consumers' shopping methods more. It is still a future development trend favored by the market.

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