Shopify Could Emerge As Another Benefactor Of Apple's Privacy Concerns: FT

Shopify Inc SHOP aimed to fill a promising gap in marketing data left by Apple Inc’s AAPL privacy crackdown.
Shopify offered retailers a new way to target potential customers through prominent ad platforms, Financial Times reports.
Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s president, told FT that after collaborating with Meta Platforms Inc META and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google in 2022, its “Audiences” marketing tool was a key area of focus.
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The shift of focus came when the e-commerce industry slowdown forced Shopify to a cutback on other parts of its business.
The new tool allows retailers to pool customer data and upload it to Meta and Google’s advertising platforms.
Marketers can then target ads at “lookalike” customers more likely to buy their products because they purchased similar items from another retailer.
The system aimed to bypass Apple’s rules against tracking iPhone users, which put a multibillion-dollar dent in the online ad industry last year and contend with Amazon.com Inc’s AMZN fast-growing ads business.
Shopify Audiences could offer a much-needed growth opportunity when threatening recession and cash-strapped consumers squeezed retailers. “Especially right now, merchants want to be able to find more customers,” Finkelstein added.
Finkelstein said Shopify prioritized initiatives with a “much shorter-term payback,” including expanding its business lending arm, Capital, to new regions and its fulfillment network, backed by its $2.1 billion acquisition of Deliverr.
Price Action: SHOP closed lower by 1.08% at $34.72 on Friday.