E-commerce platform, Shopify, has reported its fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts’ estimates and provided a strong sales forecast for the year ahead.

Sales grew by 47 per cent to US $505.2 million in the quarter, the Ottawa-based Shopify announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Analysts expected around $481.6 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For 2020, Shopify said its revenue is $2.13 billion to $2.16 billion (US dollar), in comparison to thee $2.12 billion projection by analysts.

In addition, Shopify’s platform surpassed one million merchants last year, boosted by holiday sales and add-on services such as payment and marketing tools.

Shopify is now experiencing a surge in sales to its highest point in almost four years.