Shopify visualizes easy e-commerce

Image-based e-commerce is becoming more popular on the consumer side, and now Shopify is making the retailer side more visually based.



The new Sello mobile app from e-commerce platform Shopify allows retailers to create a free online store by taking and posting photos of the products they want to sell, and then adding price and a brief description. No coding is involved.

Retailers can also use Sello to promote and sell products via platforms such as social media, email and SMS text. The only charges are fees from payment processors.



Individual consumers can use Sello, as well as retailers and brands, meaning it could pose competition to third-party retail platforms such as Etsy, eBay and Amazon’s various third-party marketplaces. Users do not have to sell items on the Shopify platform, but the company sees Sello as a possible conduit to broader Shopify usage.



Shopify executives told TechCrunch that they think social promotion will be the primary means for consumers to discover items sold on Sello, with Sello serving as infrastructure for listing and selling products.



Sello comes in the wake of retailers such as Urban Outfitters and social networks such as Pinterest allowing consumers to use photos as a primary vehicle for locating and purchasing items. It makes sense to give retailers and sellers the same easy, visual access to digital commerce. Sello also opens up the business of retail even more to brands and individuals who may want to cut out the middleman and sell products directly to the public.