Shopify allows merchants to sell NFTs directly via its platform

Shopify has made it possible for eligible merchants to sell NFTs (non-fungible tokens) through their e-commerce stores.

One of the first out of the traps is the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

If you’ve spent 1 minute on the internet this year, you’ve seen a lot about NFTs. @Shopify we are making it easier for our merchants to sell NFTs directly through their stores, with one of the first being the @ChicagoBulls NFT store. https://t.co/Qv2wKO7RCS
— Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) July 26, 2021

“Before Shopify offered this capability, merchants would have to sell through a third party marketplace, aka less control of the sale and customer relationship,” Shopify President Harley Finkelstein tweeted yesterday.

“Once again we are putting the power back into the hands of merchants and meeting customers how and where they want to buy.”

The Chicago Bulls selected the Flow blockchain for their NFTs.

Shopify merchants can currently choose from Flow and Ethereum, but will have more options in the near future.

“In the future, retail will be everywhere”

Despite facing unprecedented disruption over the past 12 months, physical retailers will most definitely come back in a post-Covid world, Finkelstein recently commented.

In a series of tweets, he argued that the future of retail is not going to be online or offline. Rather, retail will be everywhere. Companies should build their brands accordingly.

“How you’re going to win in retail: capitalise on your customer knowledge and be flexible when it comes to platforms,” Finkelstein said.

Will physical retail come back? Absolutely.

Here is what it means to be a timeless brand in the future of retail (a thread):👇
— Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) March 24, 2021

“You need to be able to sell everywhere from TikTok to Pinterest to a physical store and understand the different customers and merchandising needs between platforms.”

He concluded: “Having a deep understanding of your customer is the power of retailers today and in the future. Owning that relationship and understanding what they want and where they want to buy is key.”