Shopify’s reasoning cites several security concerns — the potential for stolen data and the lack of Shopify’s own fraud protection.
Why Can’t Shopify Merchants Use “Buy With Prime”?
Now, research firm Marketplace Pulse reports that Shopify is sending its sellers warnings as soon as they add that code. Sellers can still use the “unsupported external checkout script,” but won’t receive any support from Shopify, which warns: Shopify continues on to say that it can’t guarantee that various features will continue working, including fraud protection and order accuracy. But that’s an apparent reversal of the company’s earlier position. When the integration first became available this past July, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke told investors on the first-quarter earnings meeting that the integration “fits perfectly into our worldview, and it’s not nearly as zero-sum as some people make it out to be.” Reports indicate that internal opinions have always differed, however. According to The Information in May, Shopify employees debated if they should allow the integration at all.
How Can Small Businesses Benefit?
In the short term, that can be helpful for small businesses, since each company has an incentive to offer a better experience than the other. But when it comes to restricting the tools that sellers have to boost sales — like offering a frictionless one-click buying option — it’s not as great. Other options include Squarespace, for its stellar marketing features, as well as our budget pick, Square Online, which works great with the popular POS. Shopify is still the best website builder for larger ecommerce businesses.
