Imagine, for example, opening your favorite brand’s website and being presented with a miniature virtual storefront. You could look at their most popular products as if you were standing on a sidewalk peering into their shop. I imagined this as instructed as was simultaneously bored and depressed. Why does it always have to be about shopping.
It's published by Shopify, so in this case it's because it likely would not have gotten published otherwise. Unfortunately E-commerce companies are not known for their "research for the fun of research".