Resources and insights

AI is reshaping ecommerce. Learn why Shopify is leading AI-assisted commerce and how ShopIQ helps direct selling companies modernize without added risk.

DIY ecommerce promises control for direct selling companies, but often creates hidden cost, risk, and fragility that compound as the business grows.

Rodger Smith shares why he joined ShopIQ after years working in direct selling, MLM software, and ecommerce. He explains how infrastructure, not products or people, often limits growth, why Shopify has become the ecommerce standard, and why thoughtful architecture is essential for modernizing direct selling without sacrificing trust or scale.

ShopIQ, the Shopify-integrated commerce platform built for direct selling and community-driven commerce models, today announced that Rodger Smith has joined the company as President and CEO.

Shopify can power modern direct selling, but only when it is implemented intentionally. This post breaks down what “Shopify done right” actually means, where teams go wrong, and how the right architecture supports growth without turning your tech stack into a fragile mess.

When direct selling stalls, the cause is rarely products or people. It is infrastructure. This post explores how systems quietly become growth bottlenecks, why workarounds compound over time, and what leaders should evaluate if they want technology that supports scale instead of slowing it down.

Direct selling rarely fails all at once. It fades as growth slows, systems strain, and relevance erodes. Drawing on real-world experience and industry examples, this post explains why legacy platforms and DIY builds quietly hold companies back, what Shopify gets right, where it breaks down for direct selling, and why the real risk today is not moving too fast, but waiting too long to modernize.