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Shopify Raises Revenue Outlook on Strong Consumer Demand, Shares Jump 20%

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Shopify (SHOP.TO) forecasted upbeat quarterly revenue on Wednesday, citing resilient consumer demand and strong seller performance despite tariff pressures. The Canadian e-commerce platform’s shares surged 20% following the announcement.

Shopify’s merchant base showed steady growth through early August, building on a 31% revenue jump in the April-June quarter. The company’s results helped ease investor concerns over uncertainty caused by shifting U.S. trade policies under President Donald Trump.

“We haven’t seen any drops in U.S. demand, whether inbound, outbound or local. In fact, the U.S. accelerated in the second-quarter,” CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said on the post-earnings call, noting strong growth across all merchant segments. High-volume sellers with more than $50 million in annual gross merchandise volume (GMV), as well as smaller sellers under $2 million, performed particularly well.

Shopify also reported that many merchants have been raising prices, although specific details were not disclosed. This contrasts with e-commerce giant Amazon’s recent statement that it has yet to see a notable rise in prices despite strong retail results.

Analyst Charlie Miner of Third Bridge commented, “The tariff situation is still playing out… but there is clarity on how consumers will react, and Shopify appears largely unaffected so far.”

Looking ahead, Shopify expects third-quarter revenue growth in the mid- to high-twenties percentage range, above analysts’ consensus estimate of 21.54%, based on data from LSEG.

The company’s investments in artificial intelligence-powered tools to help merchants automate tasks such as website building, image generation, and sales data analysis are contributing to its momentum.

Shopify Unveils AI Tool to Build Entire Online Stores from Simple Keywords

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Shopify has launched a powerful new generative AI feature called the “AI Store Builder”, which enables merchants to create complete online storefronts simply by entering descriptive keywords. The feature, announced on Wednesday, marks a major leap in e-commerce automation and user experience.

The AI Store Builder generates three fully designed store layouts — complete with images, product descriptions, and site structure — based on the keywords provided by the user. This allows sellers to bypass the traditionally time-consuming design process, significantly lowering the barrier to launching an online business.

“Instead of just having a merchant click and drag and fill out text fields… we thought, why not ask them more open-ended questions and set up their store in the best likeness we can imagine, using AI,” said Vanessa Lee, Shopify’s Vice President of Product.

First Fully Automated Store Creation Tool

While Shopify has previously offered AI-powered tools — including text generation, image tools, and third-party integrations — the AI Store Builder is the first native feature to fully automate the entire setup of a merchant’s storefront.

The rollout reflects Shopify’s increasing investment in AI-driven services aimed at attracting a broader range of sellers, especially first-time entrepreneurs or small business owners who may not have the resources or technical expertise to build e-commerce sites from scratch.

Strategic Bet on AI

Shopify is positioning AI as a core component of its product ecosystem, offering features that span:

  • AI image generation,

  • Automated product descriptions,

  • Inventory management, and now

  • End-to-end website creation.

This aligns with the broader industry trend of integrating generative AI into consumer-facing platforms to simplify workflows, reduce costs, and personalize user experiences.

The feature is expected to boost merchant onboarding and streamline time-to-launch, especially for users looking to quickly test new product ideas or markets.

Jeff Bezos Leads $72M Investment in AI Data Firm Toloka to Fuel U.S. Expansion

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Jeff Bezos, through his personal firm Bezos Expeditions, is leading a $72 million funding round in Toloka, an AI data solutions company aiming to scale its global presence, particularly in the United States, Toloka told Reuters on Wednesday.

Toloka specializes in training and evaluating AI models using a global network of human experts and testers, providing high-quality data labeling and validation. The company is part of Nebius Group (NBIS.O), an AI infrastructure firm listed on Nasdaq and formerly affiliated with Russian tech giant Yandex.

The investment marks a significant milestone for CEO and founder Olga Megorskaya, who said the funding would accelerate product development by fostering collaboration between AI agents and human experts.

“There will always be the need for control, verification, and help from human experts to ensure that the result is actually of high quality,” she said.

Strategic Backing and Global Shift

The deal comes after Nebius successfully split from Yandex in a $5.4 billion exit from Russia, the largest corporate withdrawal since the 2022 Ukraine invasion. The restructuring allowed Nebius and Toloka to pursue Western capital without violating sanctions.

Other notable participants in the round include Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify, who will also serve as Toloka’s executive chairman. Parakhin emphasized the urgent global demand for trusted AI data solutions.

In late 2023, Nvidia invested in a $700 million private placement in Nebius, highlighting growing institutional interest in AI infrastructure and tools.

With this latest funding round:

  • Bezos Expeditions and other new investors gain equity

  • Nebius retains a majority economic stake, but gives up majority voting control, enabling Toloka to operate independently

  • A future funding round is anticipated, Megorskaya said

The investment underscores a broader trend of scaling AI companies focused on high-quality data pipelines, as tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic increasingly rely on curated training datasets for safe and effective AI model development.