Shopify and Ebay have both recently announced fulfillment options to help their customers fulfill orders. It seems that they believe they need to help their customers match Amazon’s delivery. Forget the fact that both companies are merely trying to overlay a software layer on top of another company’s physical infrastructure, which seems like a straight path to mediocre results. The bigger issue is that Amazon has already won that game. It seems like Walmart might be able to play along if they can use their stores for fulfillment, but Shopify and Ebay have no physical assets that would let them compete.
The truth is customers will wait for something they really want. Ebay has this already. They have a ton of one of a kind items for sale at any given time. But they aren’t happy with the size business that their niche supports. So they want to be a marketplace of everything, which means they need to compete with Amazon.
The best stores on Shopify have this as well. In fact I would say any store that can succeed off Amazon right now doesn’t really need to beat Amazon. Customers are buying from them for a reason. These stores should concentrate on brand building, and thus Shopify should concentrate on giving brands the best tools possible.