Lightspeed buys Ecwid and NuOrder for $925M to ‘unify commerce ecosystem’

Lightspeed, the company behind an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system used by the likes of Sony, Goop, and Five Guys, has announced plans to acquire Shopify rival Ecwid and digital catalog builder NuOrder in deals worth $500 million and $425 million, respectively.

The acquisitions come as brands across the spectrum have had to adapt to a new commercial landscape, with shoppers flocking to ecommerce in record numbers. Founded out of Montreal, Canada in 2005, Lightspeed went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) just nine months ago (after going public in Toronto in 2019), with its shares more than doubling to give it a current market cap of $9.5 billion.

Lightspeed’s software enables multi-channel retailers to synchronize their inventory across all locations, accept appointments for in-store services, manage Google shopping ads, and handle online and in-store payments.

Ecwid is a software-as-a-service platform that lets anyone set up their own digital store, with tools for creating websites, managing orders, and accepting payments. NuOrder, meanwhile, is designed to make it easier for brands to showcase their inventory to retailers with a drag-and-drop interface for inserting visual and textual content.

According to Lightspeed founder and CEO Dax Dasilva, the combined acquisitions — which it expects to close by the end of September — will help it unite merchants, suppliers, and consumers. “As economies reopen and business creation accelerates, we hope to embolden entrepreneurs with the tools they need to simplify their operations and scale their ambitions,” he said in a press release.