Ecommerce players can buy a .shop domain on September 26

The .shop top-level domain will be generally available starting September 26, which means everyone can buy a .shop domain. If it’s still available, that is. Lots of major brands and retailers already registered during the so called Sunrise phase, with applications for names including etsy.shop, walmart.shop and facebook.shop.

.shop is owned by the Japanese company GMO Registry. It secured the rights of this top-level domain in January this year when it bought the rights for over 41 million dollars, beating companies such as Google and Amazon who also applied as an operator.

The .shop top-level domain was first launched with a Sunrise phase for trademark holders starting June 30. This phase allows trademark holders to secure domain names that correspond to their trademarks before .shop becomes available to the general public. The company behind .shop also launched a pioneer program for businesses who believe in the potential of .shop and wo wanted to be one of the first to set up shop at .shop. Today, GMO Registry announced it partnered with Wizishop, a French ecommerce solution provider, which moved its corporate presence to Wizi.shop.

European brands account for 64% of .shop applications

Currently there are over 1,200 domain name registrations, which makes .shop one of the top-level domains with the greatest number of registrations during the Sunrise phase of the release schedule, GMO Registry revealed. Right now there’s an early access program, but the top-level domain will be generally available on September 26. According to a blog post from GMO Registry, espcially European brands are showing an affinity with .shop, as they account for 64 percent of all applications. There’s a strong demand for such domains from brands who are active in fashion, luxury and sports.