Shopify says it’s upgrading its partnership program by boosting incentives for its partners to earn more revenue and launching a global certification program to help them develop new skills.
The changes, announced this week, will see the Ottawa-based e-commerce giant “significantly” expand its partner incentive program.
Shopify says the expanded program will allow its partners to earn twice as much or more through revenue sharing and commissions from referring new merchants to platforms such as Shopify Plus and its point-of-sale app.
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The company says it’s also looking to help partners close more deals through joint marketing and co-selling programs.
“Our merchant needs are continuously evolving,” Ritu Khanna, Shopify’s vice-president of partnerships, said in a statement. “At Shopify, we’re building new tools to ensure partners have the resources to meet these needs. Together, we will help merchants navigate the next era of commerce.”
Shopify said it will also offer business foundation and technical certification programs to help its partners “demonstrate product expertise and quickly upskill their teams” as more new products are rolled out.
The company says its partners now have access to “an expanded product and sales enablement resource library” in their dashboards as well as tools such as live webinars to help them grow their businesses.
“Shopify’s pace of product innovation is unprecedented, and their exciting new vision for training and education will unlock more capabilities for EY teams to deepen skills faster and more efficiently,” Ottawa-based Warren Tomlin, EY’s Global Shopify Alliance Leader, said in a statement.
“Having access to these tools will accelerate the ability to help EY clients react faster, do more and exceed new consumer expectations.”
In addition, Shopify said it’s expanding its lineup of in-person and virtual events aimed at supporting its partners, starting with its Partner Education Day on April 4. The company said it will also be hosting an in-person event this fall to “celebrate and recognize top-performing commercial partners.”
The announcement comes just over a week after Shopify reported a bigger-than-expected net loss in its most recent quarter ending Dec. 31.
Shopify recorded a loss of US$623.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, compared with a net loss of US$371.3 million during the same period the year before.
The company posted revenues of US$1.7 billion for the quarter, up 26 per cent from the previous year.
Shopify shares were down about three and a half per cent on Friday to $55.38 in late-afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
