Shopify just launched its first marketplace, but not the marketplace you thought it would ;-) 

It launched an expert marketplace of consultants and service providers to help brands on the Shopify platform with all manner of problems, from branding to e-mail marketing and more.

If you are selecting a platform, one of the most important things to have is a robust ecosystem to support it.  It's one of the top criteria that merchants use to select which platform to go with.

My take: They are responding to the whole virtual assistant economy. 

If you visit brands these days (or any company!), UpWork and other virtual assistant providers offer armies of workers to help retailers with various activities.  The average retailer has dozens or even hundreds of remote workers who aren't technically employees that assist with business critical operations.

Shopify keeps creating value in areas that other platforms aren't.