Research

03 / RESEARCH AREA

Inside the
Shopify ecosystem.

Empirical research into the structure of the Shopify app market, the distribution of adoption and the dynamics of competition.

THE GUIDING QUESTION

How do you launch a successful SaaS business in the Shopify ecosystem—and where do opportunities remain?

For Shopify app founders & analysts

A SUGGESTED ROUTE THROUGH THE RESEARCH

Start with the question
you are working on.

For Shopify app founders and analysts, the key is to separate category conditions from broad market assumptions. For merchants, the same research provides context for evaluating the ecosystem their stores depend on.

Follow the market over time

Read the longitudinal extension on platform governance and application survival, then compare its evidence with the original snapshot.

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem: A Longitudinal Study of Platform Governance and Application Survival →

Start with market structure

Examine the 55-category concentration analysis before drawing conclusions about a particular app category.

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem →

Consider entry timing

Read the founder perspective on growth across 50 categories, with the 90-day observation window kept in view.

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem →

Inspect the measurement

Review the data coverage, methodology and limitations before applying the findings.

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem →

SOURCE DOCUMENTS

Research in this area

Browse this collection →

03 / Shopify Ecosystem

Preprint

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem: A Longitudinal Study of Platform Governance and Application Survival

Extends the original snapshot with weekly app observations from 2019–2026 to examine platform governance, competition and application survival.

F. Assabese, P.-J. Celis · Judge.me; G. Destefanis · UCL

Read the research →

31 pp. ↓

03 / Shopify Ecosystem

Published paper

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem

A September 2025 snapshot of 4,213 active apps and 55 categories, examining concentration and the relationship between entry timing and recent growth.

F. Assabese · Judge.me, G. Destefanis · UCL

Read the research →

8 pp. ↓

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Examining how your team builds?

Explore AI & Engineering →

Inside the
Shopify ecosystem.

How do you launch a successful SaaS business in the Shopify ecosystem—and where do opportunities remain?

How do you launch a successful SaaS business in the Shopify ecosystem—and where do opportunities remain?

Start with the question
you are working on.

Follow the market over time

Start with market structure

Consider entry timing

Inspect the measurement

Research in this area

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem: A Longitudinal Study of Platform Governance and Application Survival

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem

Examining how your team builds?

Examining how your team builds?

RESEARCH PROGRAMMES

RESEARCH PROGRAMMES

THE RESEARCH HUB

THE RESEARCH HUB

Inside theShopify ecosystem.

How do you launch a successful SaaS business in the Shopify ecosystem—and where do opportunities remain?

How do you launch a successful SaaS business in the Shopify ecosystem—and where do opportunities remain?

Start with the questionyou are working on.

Follow the market over time

Start with market structure

Consider entry timing

Inspect the measurement

Research in this area

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem: A Longitudinal Study of Platform Governance and Application Survival

Scale, Concentration, and Entry Timing in the Shopify App Ecosystem

Examining how your team builds?

Examining how your team builds?

Inside the
Shopify ecosystem.

Start with the question
you are working on.