Image Source: UnsplashIn a bid to bolster its online sales and further compete with fellow omnichannel giant Walmart (WMT – Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN – Free Report), Target (TGT – Free Report) announced a partnership with Shopify (SHOP – Free Report) on Monday to enhance its e-commerce marketplace.The collaboration will allow merchants using Shopify’s popular global commerce platform to sell their products on Target Plus, an invite-only third-party marketplace. That said, let’s see if now is a good time to buy Shopify or Target’s stock amid their intriguing partnership.Much-Needed Partnership (Especially for Target)While partnering with Target should benefit Shopify’s expansion after going public in 2015, the collaboration is much needed for Target to catch up to Walmart’s lofty e-commerce expansion. To that point, Walmart’s e-commerce sales totaled $100 billion last year compared to Target’s $19.4 billion.Closing the Gap on Walmart appears to be at the forefront of Target’s focus with the company’s total sales expected to slightly dip to $106.88 billion in its current fiscal 2025 but projected to rebound and rise 4% in FY26 to $110.84 billion.In comparison, Walmart’s top line is expected to expand by 4% in what is its current FY25 as well and is projected to rise another 3% in FY26 to $700.05 billion.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchAs for Shopify, its growth trajectory remains very compelling with total sales forecasted to jump 20% in its FY24 to $8.51 billion versus $7.06 billion last year. Plus, FY25 sales are projected to climb another 19% to $10.13 billion.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchEarnings OutlookBased on Zacks estimates, Target’s annual earnings are expected to be up 4% in FY25 and are projected to jump another 13% in FY26 to $10.51 per share. However, FY26 projections would reflect a 22% decrease over the last five years with earnings at a very impressive $13.56 per share in Target’s FY22.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPivoting to Shopify, annual earnings are expected to soar 34% this year to $0.99 per share compared to $0.74 a share in 2023. More impressive, FY25 EPS is forecasted to leap another 24% to $1.23 and would represent a 272% increase over the last five years with earnings at $0.33 a share in FY21.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPerformance ComparisonYear to date, Shopify’s stock is down -16% with Target shares up +3% but both have underperformed the S&P 500’s +14% and the Nasdaq’s +17% along with Amazon’s +23% and Walmart’s +28%.This comes as Shopify’s stock has soared +125% over the last five years which has topped the broader indexes, Amazon’s +98% and Walmart’s +83% while Target’s +72% has lagged its commerce peers.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchTakeawayAlthough Shopify and Target’s price performance has been subpar this year both stocks currently land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In this regard, longer-term investors may certainly be rewarded as the collaboration between Shopify and Target should strengthen the favorable outlook for both companies.More By This Author:3 Crypto Stocks To Buy From Bitcoin’s Long-Term Perspective3 Cheap Stocks To Buy For Growth & Value Top Stock Picks For Week Of June 24, 2024