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Amazon acquires Shopify competitor Selz

Australia-based company helps sellers build online stores

Amazon has acquired Selz, a provider of technology that allows sellers to build an online storefront. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has acquired e-commerce platform Selz, the company confirmed to CNBC.

In a statement posted to the Selz site on Jan. 15 but not publicly acknowledged by Amazon until Tuesday, Selz founder Martin Rushe said the startup has reached an “agreement to be acquired by Amazon.”

Selz, based in Sydney, has built a platform to enable small businesses to sell across channels. It allows the seller to manage the entire process — from sales to payments, from fulfillment to returns — in a single place. It offers a number of tools to sellers, including automated email for consumers that abandon items in their carts, and themes that allow for attractive display of inventory.

Terms were not disclosed.


Selz is a direct competitor of Shopify. It is not the first foray for Amazon into the space dominated by Shopify. The e-commerce giant previously operated the Amazon Webstore, which allowed sellers to build digital storefronts on Amazon’s platform. That business closed in 2015. 

Brian Straight

Brian Straight leads FreightWaves' Modern Shipper brand as Managing Editor. A journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he has covered everything from a presidential election, to professional sports and Little League baseball, and for more than 10 years has covered trucking and logistics. Before joining FreightWaves, he was previously responsible for the editorial quality and production of Fleet Owner magazine and fleetowner.com. Brian lives in Connecticut with his wife and two kids and spends his time coaching his son’s baseball team, golfing with his daughter, and pursuing his never-ending quest to become a professional bowler. You can reach him at bstraight@freightwaves.com.