Beginning January 26, Shopify merchants will incur a 4% transaction fee on sales using ChatGPT’s checkout, significantly lower than Amazon’s 15% referral fee. This competitive structure—combined with Shopify’s standard 2.9% processing fee—results in a total of approximately 7% for marketplaces, contrasting sharply with Amazon’s 25-30%. Early data from Northbeam suggests AI-assisted searches will boost e-commerce website visits, growing from 0.01% to 0.15% by 2025, indicating rising consumer engagement. ChatGPT positions itself uniquely by allowing organic discovery without mandatory advertising, unlike existing marketplaces such as Walmart and TikTok Shop, which require ongoing promotional spend. While the total potential GMV stands at around $5.5 billion, demonstrating growth, the crucial metric will be consumer adoption rates and the effectiveness of OpenAI’s distinct marketplace model. Sellers now have access to an organic channel for product visibility that could evolve the landscape of online commerce.
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