"We bet that the channel mix—the share of dollars that travel through e-commerce rather than physical retail—would permanently leap ahead by 5 or even 10 years. Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make and I got this wrong. Now, we have to adjust."

Shopify chief executive officer Tobi Lütke, writing in a recent letter to employees in which he announced a 10 percent reduction in staff, as reported by newsletter Retail Dive in its story this week, “Retail Disruptors Are Turning to Layoffs to Cut Costs and Restructure.”