Project Santos, led by consumer vice-president Peter Larsen, is studying the Ottawa-based e-commerce platform with the aim of copying it, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Neither company has commented on the development. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Such taskforces are an established part of Amazon’s corporate strategy—it’s previously set up similar teams focused on Wayfair and Diapers.com parent Quidsi—and the company has attracted regulatory scrutiny for launching private-label products that rival those of vendors. Amazon sunsetted a Shopify-like offering called Webstore in March 2015, and reportedly dismissed the Canadian firm as a threat before its rapid growth prompted a rethink. The two platforms are integrated to allow Shopify merchants to list on Amazon’s marketplace, and CEO Tobi Lütke has said the two don’t “directly compete.” But Shopify executives regularly refer to their work as “arming the rebels”—i.e. independent merchants—and every rebellion needs an empire to fight.