Ecommerce Product Releases: Nov. 27, 2023

This week’s rundown of new products and updates for ecommerce companies includes cybersecurity, fulfillment, tax reporting, social commerce, resale tools, AI, machine learning, real-time payments, and ecommerce marketing,

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: November 27

Walmart introduces Parcel Stations to speed up delivery. Walmart has over 4,000 U.S. stores operating as delivery hubs. The company is now adding parcel stations to its hubs. Parcel stations resemble mini post offices that receive and deliver packages using Walmart’s private fleet to transport online orders. Packages originate in fulfillment centers and move to a sortation center or directly to stores, where they are then delivered to a customer’s home using the last-mile delivery network.

Walmart Parcel Stations

IRS helps casual sellers by delaying the lower Form 1099-K reporting threshold. The IRS has announced a delay of the new reporting threshold for “settlement organizations” — payment apps and marketplaces — for calendar year 2023. Reporting will not be required for 2023 unless the organization receives over $20,000 and has more than 200 transactions in 2023. The IRS is planning for a threshold of $5,000 for tax year 2024 as part of a phase-in to implement the $600 reporting threshold.

U.K.-based fintech Crezco raises $12 million and integrates with accounting platform Xero. Crezco, a U.K. fintech using open banking for B2B invoicing and bill payments, has secured $12 million from MMC Ventures and 13books Capital. Crezco has also integrated with Xero accounting. Crezco’s application will allow small businesses to manage, approve, and pay their bills simply and securely without leaving Xero’s platform.

Security provider CrowdStrike launches on Amazon Business. Cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike has launched Falcon Go, its AI-powered cybersecurity platform for small and medium businesses, now available on Amazon Business. Designed to help SMBs with cybersecurity threats, Falcon Go delivers CrowdStrike’s protection in a simplified package for smaller teams and non-technical users. CrowdStrike says this is its first offering on Amazon’s B2B store and the broadest dedicated distribution channel for CrowdStrike’s SMB offerings to date.

CrowdStrike Falcon Go

TikTok Shop partners with U.K. Royal Mail’s “Click & Drop” service. TikTok Shop has partnered with Royal Mail and its primary shipping solution, Click & Drop. Merchants can integrate Royal Mail’s Click & Drop service with their TikTok Shop account to arrange shipments to customers. Click & Drop will be available to TikTok Shop sellers who install the integration from TikTok’s Service Market in the Seller Center, with merchants also able to set up via Royal Mail.

Paysafe offers network tokenization for merchants with Visa. Paysafe, a multinational online payments company, has extended its collaboration with Visa to integrate Visa Network Tokens as an alternative to primary credit and debit card account numbers. Visa Network Tokens update expired card numbers in real-time, eliminating unnecessary declines and ensuring recurring payment subscriptions remain uninterrupted. The integration allows merchants to access the Visa Network Tokenization Service through Paysafe’s Single Payments API.

Real-time payments platform Volt expands into Australia. Volt, a U.K.-based real-time payments platform, has announced its expansion into Australia. Volt’s gateway will be integrated with PayTo, an Australian digital payment platform that enables consumers to authorize and control payments directly from their bank account. Ticketing platform Megatix is the first merchant in Australia to integrate Volt’s technology. The expansion into Australia follows Volt’s $60 million funding earlier this year.

Volt

Personalization platform Birdseye raises $3 million to help retailers leverage AI. Birdseye, a developer in retail and ecommerce AI, received a seed investment of $3 million from Drive Capital. Birdseye’s platform helps retailers execute hyper-personalized campaigns, matching shoppers with the products they are likely to buy at any given time and price. This technology is powered by an AI algorithm trained on extensive retail transaction data. Through Birdseye’s AI, retailers can also match excess inventory with customers.

Nexi and Microsoft expand partnership for digital payments in Europe. Nexi, a European fintech that supports the global digital economy and payment ecosystem, and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to integrate Nexi’s digital payment services within Microsoft applications. The companies will launch joint go-to-market and communication activities, including partner evangelization and technical training. The integration will start in Italy and extend to other key European markets.

Consumer cashback service CheckRewards receives $1.2 million in funding. CheckRewards, a consumer cashback service leveraging machine learning technology, has received a $1.2 million investment from Mitgo Group, a Germany-based technology company promoting entrepreneurship. CheckRewards is a smart shopping tool that assists with overall budget management, providing access to promotions, cashback rewards for everyday purchases and receipt scans, and expenditure tracking to help manage finances.

Reflaunt and SuperCircle announce joint resale and recycling offering. Reflaunt, a resale technology platform, has partnered with fashion textile recycling platform SuperCircle. The combined offering will enable consumers to resell products through a brand’s website, with Reflaunt handling the resale process and SuperCircle managing the recycling of items unsuitable for resale. According to the companies, integrating resale and recycling services will simplify the process for brands and consumers, offering sustainability and economic value.

Reflaunt

My Top Ecommerce Tools for 2024

There’s no shortage of tools to scale an ecommerce business. There’s even a tool to identify tools. Insert a web address into Built With and discover the site’s tech stack, such as the ecommerce platform, content delivery network, host, analytics provider, plugins, and more.

I could list 50 apps to streamline ecommerce operations or drive conversions. Instead, I’ll highlight five must-haves that, in my experience, can make or break a business.

Insert a web address into Built With and discover the site’s tech stack.

Recover Chargebacks

Frivolous credit card chargebacks can decimate profits. But contesting those chargebacks is time-consuming, requiring evidence and compelling explanations. Luckily, solution providers can manage and automate the process.

The founder of Disputifier, an Austin, Texas-based chargeback-recovery provider, recently appeared on a Practical Ecommerce podcast episode. Chargeflow is another option, among many more.

Recovery providers typically receive alerts from payment platforms of chargeback claims and then automate the reply process with compelling evidence and, often, AI-driven responses. Many providers charge a fee only for successful recoveries.

Customer Support

Quick and reliable customer support is essential for conversions and repeat sales. Yet managing those queries can be overwhelming, occurring across multiple channels such as email, chat, social media, and phone.

That’s the purpose of customer support software — i.e., “help desks.” Gorgias is an example. It’s a help desk for ecommerce companies. It connects with leading platforms — Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, more — and Zapier.

Gorgias syncs all customer history and communications into one interface. Support personnel can view and adjust order info, refunds, loyalty points, and shipping details. Merchants can tag and automate rules based on this data.

Advertising Attribution

Attributing advertising to sales is seemingly a never-ending challenge for merchants. Many analytics platforms can help. Google Analytics, for example, has built-in “data-driven” attribution features.

Triple Whale is another (paid) provider, although it’s limited to Shopify stores. The app launched in 2021, shortly after Apple’s iOS 14.5 update. Shopify has since invested in the platform. Triple Whale centralizes ecommerce data into one easy-to-use dashboard, disclosing advertising spend versus revenue across all channels, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more.

Customer Retention

Acquiring customers is expensive. Long-term ecommerce success usually depends on retaining those buyers for repeat sales.

Beyond retention, however, is knowing which customers could drive the most lifetime value. RetentionX is an analytics platform to help merchants understand customer purchasing behavior, such as the frequency, category, and order value.

RetentionX can reveal, for example, if a customer buys marked-down items or premium goods. Does the customer purchase once yearly or monthly? Data from RetentionX enables sellers to develop data-driven strategies to not only retain customers but also focus on the most profitable.

Email and SMS Marketing

Scaling an ecommerce business requires more than quality products. It means building direct, first-party relationships with existing and would-be customers. That’s the value of an email or SMS subscriber list. It’s among the most important assets of any online business.

Direct access to customers eliminates intermediaries, enables relationship building, and facilitates marketing automation. Many email marketing platforms exist — Mailchimp, Constant Contact, MailUp, Sendlane, and many more.

But Klaviyo is purpose-built for ecommerce. Klaviyo focuses on Shopify stores, although it syncs with other platforms, too.

Klaviyo’s ecommerce integrations facilitate targeted email and SMS automation. Using Klaviyo, a merchant can send personalized, automated emails to shoppers based on their actions, such as browsing a product or buying specific categories.

Klaviyo’s pricing model is based on the number of contacts. It can get pricey. Some Shopify merchants choose Sendlane, which charges by sending volume.

Klaviyo went public on the New York Stock Exchange two months ago. Shopify is a longstanding investor.

Ecommerce Product Releases: Nov. 20, 2023

“Ecommerce Product Releases” is our weekly rundown of new releases and updates from companies offering services to online merchants. This installment addresses video commerce, ecommerce marketing, social commerce, cross-border payments, composable commerce, fraud protection, SMS payments, and supply chain management.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: November 20

Video commerce platform Bambuser launches in-video social selling. Bambuser, a video commerce platform, has launched Social Selling, enabling companies to create shoppable videos directly on social media. When a product is featured in a video, a product card appears on screen with a unique shop code, taking viewers directly to the product detail page by simply typing the code in the chat. Social Selling will initially launch on Facebook, with other platforms coming.

Bambuser Social Selling

Amazon says it will run shopping ads on Snap. Amazon said it would allow Snapchat U.S. users to buy products directly from the Snapchat app. The tie-up will enable customers to shop directly from Amazon ads on Snapchat and check out without leaving the app, per Amazon. Potential buyers would also see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details on select Amazon product ads on Snapchat.

BNPL provider Afterpay partners with ecommerce tech platform Rokt to expand ads business. Rokt, an ecommerce post-sale marketing platform, has partnered with Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later provider. Leveraging Rokt’s technology, Afterpay and its retail partners can deliver targeted advertising to customers during checkout. According to Rokt, this creates a more engaging shopping experience, deepening customer lifetime value.

UPS introduces the Supply Chain Symphony Portal. UPS has released the UPS Supply Chain Symphony Portal, which integrates supply chain components into a single platform. From real-time inventory checks to data-driven performance monitoring and specialized healthcare modules, UPS Supply Chain Symphony syncs previously stand-alone UPS tools, including shipping services, global logistics and distribution, global freight forwarding, customs brokerage, supplier management, express critical service, mail innovations, and coyote logistics service.

UPS Supply Chain Symphony Portal

London-based Diginius launches app to streamline Microsoft Shopping campaigns for Shopify stores. Diginius, a SaaS digital performance platform, has launched Diginius Shopping for Shopify. According to Diginius, the app streamlines Microsoft Shopping management for Shopify store owners advertising on Bing. Store owners can create a Microsoft Advertising account in-app, automate product feed syncing between the Shopify store and Microsoft ads while managing campaigns, and track advertising metrics.

Composable commerce platform Kibo announces product enhancements. Kibo Commerce, a composable commerce platform, has announced a series of product updates for customers and partners. Kibo resources now include Kibo Academy with self-paced training videos and Kibo Partner Portal with new onboarding documents, training, demo videos, and go-to-market assets. Kibo is also offering the ability to use Kibo Commerce free for 60 days. Users can access a free sandbox of Kibo’s composable platform and Kibo Academy videos.

Amazon to sell Hyundai cars. In 2024, auto dealers will be able to sell vehicles in Amazon’s U.S. store, starting with Hyundai. As part of a multiyear agreement, Hyundai will also migrate its on-premises applications to AWS, and AWS and Hyundai have implemented a program to train Hyundai engineers in critical cloud skills. Starting in 2025, customers who purchase Hyundai vehicles can access a hands-free Alexa experience.

Transaction guarantee platform Vesta partners with Stripe for fraud protection. Vesta, a transaction guarantee platform, has partnered with Stripe to enable a comprehensive fraud prevention and risk protection service that indemnifies merchants for losses from fraudulent transactions. Under the partnership, Vesta Payment Guarantee will incorporate Stripe Radar risk scores to offer fraud and revenue protection options to increase transaction approval rates and thwart first-party and third-party chargebacks.

Vesta

Asia-based payment platform PingPong and fintech Modifi partner on B2B cross-border payments. Fintech Modifi has announced a global B2B buy-now, pay-later functionality in partnership with PingPong, an Asia-based payment platform in 200-plus countries. The collaboration will enable cross-border exporters and merchants to offer BNPL payment options to their B2B customers. Sellers can benefit from instant invoice payments. Meanwhile, buyers enjoy a suite of adaptable and flexible payment terms.

Amazon adds buyer benefits to its offsite “Buy with Prime” program. Last year, Amazon introduced Buy with Prime to let merchants offer customers Amazon’s checkout to Prime members. Amazon has added benefits wherein Prime members can view and track orders placed through Buy with Prime, both on Amazon.com and in the mobile app. Prime members can access round-the-clock customer service through a live chat feature on an order detail page and use the Prime returns process.

B2B payments platform VerityPay introduces B2C payments with SMS integration. VerityPay, a B2B SaaS payments platform, is enabling businesses to make payments via SMS directly into the digital wallets of their customers, similar to PayPal and Venmo. VerityPay’s SMS integration allows businesses to transfer funds and make payments without needing app installations, QR codes, or payment cards. According to VerityPay, the SMS integration employs encryption and multi-factor authentication to protect both senders’ and receivers’ financial data.

American Express to create “Door to Shop Small” experience for Small Business Saturday. American Express has announced that its 14th annual Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25, 2023, will introduce a “Door to Shop Small” augmented reality experience to help get more shoppers through the physical and virtual doors of businesses. Physical, blue door frame installations will pop up in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City, and New York City’s Gansevoort Plaza. Integrated QR codes will drive visitors to the AR experience to browse hand-picked small business products.

American Express “Door to Shop Small”

21 New Shopify Tools to Explore

Shopify publishes a twice-yearly rundown, called “Editions,” of upgrades to its platform. Editions Summer ’23, released in August, contains more than 100 new tools and features. Here is a list of some of those. There are tools for AI and B2B and an assortment of apps to extend an online store.

New Shopify Tools

Shopify Magic is the platform’s generative AI trained on proprietary data and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Magic can produce product descriptions, on-brand content, and email campaigns through Shopify Email. Through Shopify Inbox, generate personalized FAQs and responses from your store.

Shopify Magic

Sidekick is Shopify’s chatbot-like AI tool for operational assistance for ecommerce merchants. Sidekick responds to everyday language to perform time-consuming tasks and improve a store.

Shopify Marketplace Connect is an app to connect and integrate a Shopify product catalog with multiple marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy. Sync products, inventory, and orders in real time. Manage, synchronize, and measure performance from the Shopify dashboard. Sell in all global regions and categories with built-in currency conversion.

TikTok app enables merchants to connect a Shopify account to a TikTok Shop. Sync products to TikTok while managing orders in Shopify.

Shopify Collective is a new dropship feature allowing retailers to sell products from other Shopify sellers, who fulfill and ship the products. Retailers using Shopify Collective can search for items to sell and invite suppliers to connect.

Shopify Collective

Checkout has 17 new APIs and updates to customize and extend the experience — such as upselling subscriptions or offering pre-orders for out-of-stock items during checkout. Additionally, apps can inject custom validation logic into the cart and checkout, customize delivery options, and validate or correct a buyer’s address. Developers can preview the one-page checkout, thank you page, and new customer account pages directly in the checkout editor.

One-page Checkout is now the default Shopify checkout, providing a shorter, faster, and more intuitive experience for buyers. Merchants can test an app built for the three-page checkout to ensure the best experience across both layouts.

Shopify Subscriptions is a free app to set up and manage recurring, scheduled product sales. Offer subscription plans with various frequencies and discount types for single or multiple products. Customers can pause or skip orders, update payment and shipping details, and more. Display a subscription widget on your online store.

Shopify Flow, now available for basic plans, enables merchants to build custom automation without coding. Connect apps to automate tasks such as reordering inventory or identifying potential fraud. Use Flow to enable or disable sales channels automatically.

Shopify Flow

Marketing Automation Templates sync with Shopify Email to automate welcome emails, first-purchase upsells, re-engagement campaigns, and more. Templates are customizable to reflect branding.

Shopify Bundles is a free app to create fixed bundles and multipacks from the platform’s admin. ​​Customize your bundle product page with images, variants, and product options. Inventory is updated in real-time to avoid overselling. Customers can choose from options like size or color for products in the bundle.

Themes now have built-in support for animations, including fade-in on scroll, special effects for image banners, and hover effects on cards and buttons. Customize the announcement bar and header. Install conversion-driving apps, such as wishlists and loyalty programs, and display them beside your cart.

Shopify POS has been streamlined for more efficient workflows. Staff can refund return values to existing physical and digital gift cards. Pick-up locations are prioritized by proximity. Add a custom QR code to receipts, directing customers to feedback surveys, discount codes, or other URLs. Cancel orders and void payments easily if customers change their minds.

Shopify POS

Flex Sections leverage CSS Flexbox to create custom frontend layouts with simple drag-and-drop editing. Control alignment within sections of your store. Resize, group, and edit elements.

Smart Order Routing automatically ships orders from the best fulfillment location — i.e., a warehouse, a retail store, or a third-party logistics provider.

Shopify Help Center now offers merchants an AI-powered assistant to get answers fast.

Shopify Tax Platform provides merchants with integrated tax services from vetted partners. Merchants can utilize Shopify’s embedded tax calculations to handle all sales tax needs.

Shopify Tax Platform

Return Rules make handling returns easier. Set up rules that automatically apply to an order and let customers know about ineligible items and fees before they request a return.

Shopify Credit is a business credit card for eligible merchants. It has no fees, interest, or credit checks and offers cashback rewards on key spending categories.

B2B features have improved on Shopify Plus. The upgrades include native volume pricing, storefront customizations, quick order lists, company account requests, and secure storage for B2B customer credit cards. Business customers can now pay for their orders and invoices with PayPal, and merchants can reconcile payments in the admin.

Hydrogen, Shopify’s React-based stack for headless commerce, has added features to make it easier and faster to build a store. Merchants can use the Mock Shop API to build a prototype storefront without setting up a Shopify account. Merchants with a Shopify store can now connect their live product inventory to a Hydrogen app with a single command.

Hydrogen

Ecommerce Product Releases: Nov. 13, 2023

Here is a list of new product releases and updates from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. There are updates on composable commerce, AI-powered shopping, open banking, tax compliance, logistics, and holiday shopping promotions.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: November 13

Mozilla introduces AI-powered Fakespot Chat to assist with shopping. Mozilla is testing an AI agent and large language model, Fakespot Chat, to guide shoppers by answering questions. Fakespot Chat is currently available for Amazon shoppers in the U.S. Users can click the thumbs up or thumbs down button for accurate or inaccurate responses, improving the model’s accuracy. Mozilla’s goal with Fakespot Chat is to reduce product research time and improve shoppers’ decisions.

Fakespot by Mozilla

Meta lets users purchase on Amazon without leaving Facebook or Instagram. Meta users can now link their Amazon accounts to shop from ads and check out without leaving Facebook and Instagram. The opt-in experience will enable users to see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details on select Amazon product ads. This account linking is voluntary, and users can choose to unlink Amazon and Meta accounts at any time in the Accounts Center.

Commercetools collaborates with PayPal Braintree on consumer checkouts. Commercetools, a developer of composable commerce, is collaborating with PayPal Braintree to offer a range of payment options. The integration includes debit and credit cards, digital wallets, PayPal Later, and local payment methods for 200 markets in 135 currencies. The integration also has customizable fraud tools and dispute automation.

Alibaba launches AI-suite “Aidge” to streamline global commerce operations. Alibaba announced the launch of Aidge, commerce-centric AI-powered APIs to streamline global operations for enterprises. Aidge is built on Alibaba’s large language models and trained on the company’s insights into global ecommerce. During the pilot, Alibaba will test more than 15 APIs with software-as-a-service partners and independent vendors. The APIs cover global commerce-related content localization, marketing, design, and customer service.

Aidge by Alibaba

Open banking platform TrueLayer integrates with Shopify. TrueLayer, an open banking payments network in Europe, announced its new app is live in the Shopify App Store, allowing U.K. and E.U. merchants to add open banking payments to their checkout. TrueLayer’s open banking payments are digitally native and require no manual data entry. Open banking payments allow for real-time settlement of funds and enable businesses to process refunds faster.

ShipStation partners with ChannelEngine to streamline shipping and warehouse operations. ShipStation, an ecommerce shipping platform, has partnered with ChannelEngine, a global marketplace integration platform. Through the collaboration, ShipStation merchants will have access to ChannelEngine’s network of 700 marketplaces and digital sales channels worldwide. Sellers can list on marketplaces, synchronize sales and inventory across all channels, and automate aspects of their ecommerce operations. ShipStation’s integration with ChannelEngine is now live in the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, and North America.

ShippyPro raises $15 million to expand globally. ShippyPro, a commerce shipping platform, announced a $15 million Series B round from Five Elms Capital. Additionally, the company has launched two products: Out Of Home delivery and Data Optimize. Out Of Home delivery lets consumers receive orders at diverse drop-off points, including postal offices, supermarkets, and local shops. Data Optimize provides brands with oversight and control over their shipping info.

Google releases tools to find shopping deals ahead of the holidays. Google is launching a deals destination on Search that helps shoppers find on-sale products across the web. Users will find promotions and markdowns on the deals page in top holiday categories, such as apparel, electronics, toys, and beauty. Chrome can proactively look for discount codes to help shoppers save money. Merchants can manage where their deals show up across Google in their Merchant Center settings.

Google holiday shopping deals.

Vertex partners with Shopify to streamline compliance. Vertex, a global tax software and technology provider, announced a partnership with Shopify. The partnership will enable enterprise merchants using Shopify Tax to automate tax calculation and compliance on a global scale. Vertex states it’s the first global tax technology partner to join Shopify Tax, offering businesses a unified global solution to streamline the complexities of cross-border indirect taxation.

Amazon to launch Black Friday shopping a week early. Amazon announced that its Black Friday event will start Friday, November 17. Amazon will continue the seasonal promotional savings throughout its Cyber Monday weekend event from Saturday, November 25, through Monday, November 27. According to Amazon, new deals will drop as often as every five minutes during select periods throughout the deal events.

ZIM relaunches eCommerce Xpress for China-U.S. West Coast service. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, a global container shipping company, has relaunched ZIM eCommerce Xpress, its expedited line connecting South China to the U.S. West Coast. The service features a 12.5-day transit time from South China to Los Angeles. The service’s first resumed departure will occur from Yantian on November 22, 2023.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

Top Shopify Updates in Editions Summer ’23

Shopify announced in August its twice-yearly Editions update, revealing 100 new features. I’m the co-founder of an ecommerce marketing and consulting firm with many Shopify clients. We closely track upgrades to that platform.

Editions Summer ’23 focuses on intelligent workflows. In this post, I’ll highlight the top new features merchants should know.

Shopify’s twice-yearly Editions describes updates to the platform. The Summer ’23 version had more than 100 new features, according to Shopify.

Sidekick

Shopify is jumping on the generative AI bandwagon. Meet Sidekick, Shopify’s new AI-powered admin assistant, which aims to lighten merchant workloads by combining Shopify’s data insights with natural language processing. Per Shopify, merchants can use everyday wording for assistance in improving their store, completing tedious tasks, and making data-driven decisions.

Sidekick is powered by Magic, the company’s generative AI tool launched earlier this year. Sidekick resides in the admin’s right sidebar to field merchant questions on, say, optimal apps, promo codes, and more. Magic itself gained enhancements such as improved blog creation, email marketing support, and suggested chat responses. TechCrunch describes Sidekick as “like ChatGPT, but for e-commerce merchants.”

Sidekick and Magic highlight Shopify’s push into AI to streamline operations and empower merchants through data and automation. The tools aim to save time on administrative work so entrepreneurs can focus on high-value efforts.

Bundles

Shopify Bundles simplifies the offering of discounted product kits wherein shoppers can save money by purchasing an assortment (choosing variations such as colors and sizes) rather than individual items.

Bundling is proven to grow average order value. With a few clicks, merchants can configure bundles for potentially lucrative sales.

This native app makes the process seamless and free. It’s worth testing for any merchant not already bundling.

Subscriptions

Shopify Subscriptions is an intuitive native app for basic product subscription setups. This highly requested feature lets merchants manage most recurring orders, although advanced needs require external third-party tools.

Subscriptions manages subscriber actions such as pausing, skipping, or updating details. The app provides a low-risk entry for merchants looking to test subscriptions, but its promise lies in likely future enhancements.

Flex Sections

Flex sections are coming. When launched, they will harness CSS Flexbox capabilities to create custom responsive layouts easily. Merchants can drag, drop, resize, group, and edit sections to unique store designs.

Flex sections introduce more dynamic multi-directional layouts and streamlined content alignment adjustments. Shopify Magic can assist with copywriting.

The flexibility aims to empower do-it-yourself customization and unique styling.

Checkout Upgrades

Shopify claims checkout conversion rates up to 36% higher than competitors. The forthcoming improvements (for Plus merchants only) include 17 new checkout APIs for enhanced customizations.

Key features in the roadmap include a long-awaited one-page checkout, expanded app integrations, and options for delivery methods and dates.

Checkout enhancements will initially focus on high-volume merchants but will likely extend eventually to the broader Shopify community.

Shopify Collective

Shopify Collective allows U.S. merchants to sell products from other brands, earning a margin without holding inventory while offering shoppers an expanded selection. After connecting, adding a product takes minutes.

The originating seller handles fulfillment and inventory syncing, so overselling is impossible. Teaming up with complementary brands can be an easy revenue boost.

Ecommerce Product Releases: Nov. 6, 2023

Here’s a rundown of new product releases and updates from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. There are updates on same-day deliveries, customer intelligence tools, conversational commerce, financing for ecommerce businesses, payment options, and ecommerce tools for the holidays.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: November 6

Craft Retailer Michaels launches MakerPlace, a marketplace. Michaels, a retailer of craft and creative supplies, has launched its online marketplace, MakerPlace by Michaels. According to Michaels, at launch MakerPlace sellers have listed hundreds of thousands of SKUs alongside classes and how-tos for beginners, hobbyists, and aspiring professionals. MakerPlace offers sellers Basic and Professional membership tiers, as well as multiple shipping options. The launch follows a three-month beta test.

MakerPlace by Michaels

Google releases SMB features to help merchants with the holiday season. Merchants on Google can now identify themselves with a small business attribute on Search and Google Maps. Small merchants using Merchant Center or Business Profile, including those using the Google and YouTube apps on Shopify, can add the attribute to their account. Google is also rolling out Product Studio to all Merchant Center Next users, including a scene generation feature, which uses a text-to-image generative AI model to place products into any creative setting.

Walmart Canada introduces buy-now pay-later payment option. Walmart Canada customers can now choose an interest-free buy-now, pay-later option powered by Klarna when shopping on Walmart.ca and through the Walmart Canada and Klarna mobile apps. Purchases can be split into four manageable, interest-free payments over six weeks. Orders between $50 and $4000 are eligible, with some restrictions.

Miva, Inc. releases update of its ecommerce platform. Miva, Inc., an ecommerce software and service provider for midsize and enterprise merchants, has released version 10.08 of its platform. The update includes version branching to manage changes without impacting previous work or live pages, security protection with decision manager support for CyberSource payments, additional API support, enhanced personally identifiable information security, and additions to coupons and payments.

Miva

UPS rolls out a hyperlocal delivery service. UPS has launched Hyperlocal to provide select customers with a fast, next-day delivery option within a metropolitan service area. The next-day delivery option will help UPS capture “profitable B2B and B2C volume.” According to a source, UPS can use its assets, such as Roadie, a crowdsourced delivery platform, and Ware2Go, where small to midsize businesses can find available warehouse space, to transform the local experience into same-day delivery.

Intuit QuickBooks introduces ecommerce management for product-based businesses. Intuit has announced the availability of ecommerce features for QuickBooks Online to help small businesses manage inventory across sales channels from a central platform. The features sync data and automate invoicing across sales channels, including Shopify, Amazon, and eBay, to QuickBooks Online. Identify top-performing products, get notified when inventory is low, and manage stock adjustments individually or in bulk. Track costs and leverage reports to understand profitability.

Oro adds AI capabilities to flagship OroCommerce platform for B2B. Oro, a B2B ecommerce provider, has launched two AI capabilities for its platform: product recommendations with rules-based automation and intelligent real-time customer segmentation. The release also includes a new product information engine, integrating generative AI capabilities with existing PIM assets and other product information — all to create and deliver original product content as needed.

Conversational commerce platform Connectly raises $7.85 million. Connectly, a developer of conversational commerce, has announced its $7.85 million Series A investment led by Volpe Capital, with participation from RX Ventures and Saurabh Gupta. Founded by industry veterans from Facebook, Google, Uber, and NASA and backed initially by Unusual Ventures, Connectly uses proprietary AI models to automate how businesses communicate with customers and sell their products.

Connectly

TikTik announces integration for advertisers using Salesforce Marketing Cloud. TikTok has unveiled a lead generation integration for Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The no-code integration enables TikTok advertisers to transfer leads directly to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a platform for companies to deliver personalized and relevant experiences across touchpoints with AI and first-party data. Leads captured on TikTok sync to Salesforce Marketing Cloud in real-time. Sales and marketing teams can instantly access leads in Salesforce Marketing Cloud for prompt follow-up and personalized engagement.

Viably secures $50 million for financing to Amazon sellers. ​​Viably, a financing provider for ecommerce businesses, has announced the launch of Viably Wholesaler Accelerator, a tailored working capital product to help wholesalers fund and operate their business on Amazon. This product is powered by a $50 million debt financing facility from Viola Credit.

Amazon Business adds Affirm as its first buy now, pay later option at checkout. Amazon and Affirm announced an expanded partnership that makes Affirm the first pay-over-time option available at checkout on Amazon Business. Customers can split the total cost of eligible purchases and pay over time with Affirm without late or hidden fees. Small business owners will receive an instant credit decision and can select from customized pay-over-time options of three to 48 months.

HubSpot to acquire B2B intelligence provider Clearbit. HubSpot has agreed to acquire Clearbit, a B2B data provider. Per HubSpot, the acquisition of Clearbit will bring rich data into HubSpot’s system of record, from tracking website visits to monitoring a company’s news announcements. HubSpot can provide front-office teams comprehensive context about their customers and prospects to identify best-fit customers and purchase intent.

Clearbit

Ecommerce Product Releases: Oct. 30, 2023

Here is a list of new product releases and updates from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. There are updates on AR try-on tools, reverse logistics, delivery insurance, AI-powered advertising, point-of-sale tools, cross-border payments, livestream shopping, and product verification.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: October 30

UPS to acquire Happy Returns for reverse logistics. UPS has agreed to acquire Happy Returns, a U.S.-based software and reverse logistics company, enabling no-box, no-label returns for merchants and consumers. ​​Users can access a returns website, make a box-free return at a convenient nationwide location, and have their items shipped, sorted, and returned to the merchant.

Happy Returns

Shippo and Cover Genius partner on insurance for merchants. Shippo, an ecommerce shipping platform, and Cover Genius, an insurance portal for digital companies, have partnered to launch Shippo Total Protection, providing merchants with global insurance coverage and claims handling. Shippo’s network of 100,000 merchants can now insure an order’s total value, shipping label costs, return shipping for damaged parcels, and reshipping costs for packages across North America and other global regions.

Amazon introduces AI-powered image generation for advertisers. Amazon Ads has launched AI image generation in beta, enabling brands to produce lifestyle imagery to improve ad performance. In the Amazon Ad Console, advertisers select their product and click Generate to launch generative AI imagery based on product details. Advertisers can refine the image by entering short text prompts and can create and test multiple versions to optimize performance.

Google releases new AR beauty tools. Google is bringing AR beauty features to mobile browsers, allowing consumers to try on hair color and foundation and allowing beauty brands to advertise with AR. Shoppers can try on different hair shades from, initially, L’Oreal brands. Other brands, such as Splat and Revlon, will be available soon. Shoppers can also search for a foundation type or name, select a product they’re interested in, and tap “try on.”

Google AR Beauty Tools

Amazon adds small business search filter. Amazon has launched a small business search filter to help shoppers discover products from smaller companies. When a customer’s search results include eligible products from small business brands, the new filter will appear under Business Type in the search filter options. Any brand that meets the Small Business badge criteria and has the badge featured on their products in search or detail pages is eligible for inclusion in small business search filter results.

PredictSpring unveils AI-powered voice assistant for POS solution. PredictSpring, an omni-channel commerce and point-of-sale platform, has launched a voice assistant for in-store retail, allowing natural language interaction between store associates and POS systems. The voice assistant can interpret and respond to complex commands. Associates can quickly find products, view profiles, or complete transactions — all via voice commands. Customers can interact with the POS system when searching for a specific product or during a self-checkout.

Shopify names Gepard PIM as a partner and lists it on the Shopify App Store. Gepard PIM, a product information management platform for ecommerce businesses, is now available through the Shopify App Store. The Gepard PIM allows merchants to collect, manage, enrich, and distribute formatted product data to various sales channels. Shopify sellers can integrate product feeds from multiple content providers. By harnessing Gepard’s AI features, merchants can optimize product data and streamline workflows.

U.S. Bank launches Avvance POS lending solution. U.S. Bank has launched Avvance, a multichannel point-of-sale lending platform. Avvance enables businesses to offer consumer financing during checkout with a quick application and instant decision-making. Avvance lets shoppers pay over time with loan options available during the checkout experience. For business owners, Avvance is embedded in the checkout process, enabling them to offer convenience for their customers without the hassle of managing payments after the sale.

Avvance

Agora makes livestream shopping tech widely available. Agora, a platform for real-time engagement APIs, has announced the availability of its technology to brands, marketplaces, and platforms to power livestream shopping experiences. The functionality allows sellers to invite external participants into their shows by sending them a link or QR code. Agora’s solution also supports live auctions, personal shopper experiences, and ecommerce-related video chat for customer service.

Signifyd integrates fraud protection into Payment Services for Adobe Commerce. Signifyd is integrating its Commerce Protection Platform with Adobe Commerce. Signifyd’s AI-powered decision model offers a financial guarantee covering all chargebacks on approved orders, whether disputes arise from traditional payment fraud or from consumer complaints, such as a package never arrived or an order was never placed.

Node launches beta for shopping without passwords. I Own My Data has released Node, a commerce provider offering secure online shopping without accounts. Node says it leverages cryptography to put customers at the center of the transaction with control over their information on any site and all within one app, making transacting easier and more secure for merchants and their customers.

Amazon updates product authenticity tool. Amazon has updated its product authenticity tool, Amazon Transparency, as part of its efforts to combat counterfeiters. Amazon Transparency now integrates with a brand’s own product serialization system. When a product is listed for sale in Amazon’s store, the company verifies the code to ensure only authentic products are delivered to customers. According to Amazon, brands can gain the protective benefits of Transparency as quickly as two weeks after enrollment.

Amazon Transparency

Ecommerce Product Releases: Oct. 23, 2023

Here is a list of new product releases and updates from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. There are updates on drone deliveries, generative AI, tracking, verified reviews, social media ads, shoppable videos, and livestream shopping.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: October 23

Live commerce platform TalkShopLive releases HD studio app. TalkShopLive, a live commerce platform, has launched Studio, a broadcast-quality mobile app allowing creators, entrepreneurs, retailers, and brands to host live shopping shows from their mobile devices in high-definition. The app manages up to four participants simultaneously during a live show. Sellers can highlight products within the live shows, mirroring the desktop platform technology.

TalkShopLive

Amazon introduces Consult-a-Friend. Amazon has launched Consult-a-Friend, a mobile social shopping experience that lets you request, view, and manage your friends’ feedback on products within the Amazon shopping app. Select a product you’d like to engage a friend on, tap the “Share” button, and select your preferred messaging app and designated recipients. Once friends reply, you can view their collective sentiment and scroll to see all commentary.

Square releases new generative AI features. Square has announced 10 new generative AI features that sellers can use to automate operations. Among the new features, merchants can now add hyperreal AI-generated backgrounds and choose from 50 style prompts with the latest version of the Photo Studio app. Also, Square Marketing offers integrated AI to generate personalized email copy, and Square Online’s AI-assisted copy generator helps sellers with short- or long-form website content.

Shopify releases Mobile Checkout SDKs for iOS and Android. Shopify’s Mobile Checkout SDKs enable app developers to deliver customizable checkout experiences. According to Shopify, the SDKs provide a fully-featured checkout that preserves a merchant’s customizations and business logic, including the rules and user-interface extensions encoded in the presentation layer. Shopify has launched the developer preview of the checkout SDK for iOS, with an Android SDK coming soon.

Shopify Mobile Checkout

Snap introduces ad tools to help advertisers connect with creators. Snap has introduced Creator Collab Campaigns, a suite of products for advertisers to partner with the creator community on Snapchat. The Creator Discovery API enables partners to plug into the creator roster for details such as name, username, bio, follower count, and age. Advertisers can place branded content within creator-driven Stories, and public creators can now tag their branded content with the Paid Partnership tag.

Marketplaces partner on Coalition for Trusted Reviews. Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Glassdoor, Tripadvisor, and Trustpilot have teamed up to launch the Coalition for Trusted Reviews, a collaboration to protect access to trustworthy consumer reviews. The group has agreed to engage in several key areas to protect consumers and partners from fraudulent content. Members will define practices for hosting online reviews and sharing methods of fake review detection.

BNPL-provider Klarna expands marketing solutions through partnership with Rokt. Rokt, a provider of post-purchase ecommerce tools, has partnered with Klarna, a buy-now, pay-later service. According to Rokt, the Klarna partnership allows brands to target consumer segments by demographic and location, ensuring ads are relevant and compelling to the shopper. This new offering also enables Klarna shoppers to access offers from brands such as Hulu, HelloFresh, and Adore Me.

Amazon is launching drone deliveries in Italy, the U.K., and new U.S. locations. Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery system will expand to Italy, the U.K., and the U.S. by late 2024. Amazon says it will name the specific cities in the coming months. Drones will be integrated into Amazon’s delivery network and deployed from some same-day delivery sites. In Italy and the U.K., Amazon will integrate into some of its fulfillment centers.

Amazon Prime Air – MK30 drone

​​Etsy Payments expands to seven new countries. Etsy Payments has announced a multimarket expansion to sellers in seven new countries: Ukraine, Thailand, India, Japan, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Sellers enrolled in Etsy Payments can access benefits such as purchase protection, dedicated support, and centralized financial info. Etsy Payments is being rolled out now for sellers in Ukraine and Thailand, with India, Japan, Argentina, Chile, and Peru coming by the end of 2023.

PayPal’s app adds tracking feature. PayPal has launched a free package tracking feature on its app. PayPal’s app sends live push notifications when a delivery status changes and if there’s been an update to the order. There’s also a visual tracking capability to follow packages on a live map. The feature also works on purchases where PayPal wasn’t used for checkout.

YouTube to help creators with shoppable videos. YouTube has introduced features allowing users to add timestamps to videos for tagged products and to tag affiliate products in bulk across a video library. With the timestamps feature, creators can make the shopping button appear at the relevant points in their video. The feature is available only on long-form content, and the video must be at least one minute with a maximum of 30 seconds between timestamps.

Nosto and Shopware announce partnership. Nosto, a commerce experience platform, and Shopware, an omnichannel commerce platform, have announced a partnership for ecommerce brands. According to Nosto, the partnership will give ecommerce brands built on Shopware access to AI-powered personalization and merchandising tools to build relevant online shopping experiences. Core features include dashboard and analytics, segmentation and insights, catalog explorer, and A/B testing and optimization.

Shopware

Ecommerce Product Releases: Oct. 16, 2023

Here is a list of new product releases and updates from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. There are updates on holiday shipping, B2B payments, returns and reverse logistics, digital wallets, social media advertising, AI shopping search, and virtual try-ons.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.

Product Releases: October 16

WooCommerce and Veem partner to extend B2B payments to merchants. Veem, a global payments provider, has announced its B2B extension is now available on the WooCommerce marketplace. The extension will enable businesses to (i) integrate payment collection into their checkout flow without incurring interchange fees and (ii) manage domestic and international payables.

Veem

USPS announces holiday shipping and mailing deadlines. The U.S. Postal Service has provided 2023 holiday shipping and mailing deadlines for December 25 delivery for domestic, international, and military shipping destinations. The USPS also announced it will not implement peak or demand surcharges this holiday season.

WooCommerce releases update with database and product layout improvements. WooCommerce has announced the release of WooCommerce 8.2.0. The release includes (i) High-Performance Order Storage, providing an easy-to-understand and solid database structure for orders and addresses, and (ii) Product Collection patterns for a customizable product layout in a list or grid.

Blue Yonder to acquire Doddle for ecommerce returns and reverse logistics. Blue Yonder, a London-based supply chain provider, has agreed to acquire Doddle, a first and last-mile technology company. The acquisition will allow Blue Yonder’s supply chain management and commerce offerings to expand with final mile, returns management, and reverse logistics options through Doddle’s self-service return kiosks and pick-up and drop-off networks.

Doodle

Meta releases new ad features for Reels. Meta’s new ad features for Reels include text, template, and music optimizations. It also includes an enhanced Advantage+ creative suite in Ads Manager, automatically showing the optimized version of creative. With Collection ads —  featuring one large video or image with smaller accompanying images — people can swipe through and learn more about products. Additionally, Meta has enabled multi-destination calls-to-action for Reels carousel ads.

GoDaddy and Paze partner to simplify online checkouts. GoDaddy and Paze, a digital wallet provider, are partnering to help small businesses improve online checkouts. Paze consumers can skip manual card entry and pay without creating new user names or passwords. Businesses with a GoDaddy store using GoDaddy Payments can accept Paze transactions. Paze is available as a pilot on GoDaddy’s platform, with the full launch coming soon.

Perfect Corp. and Walmart to offer AR-powered makeup virtual try-on. Perfect Corp., an artificial intelligence and augmented reality beauty and fashion technology provider, has announced a collaboration with Walmart to launch a makeup virtual try-on experience via the Walmart iOS app. According to Perfect, the experience will allow Walmart shoppers to virtually try makeup products across the blush, lip color, eye shadow, and bronzer categories.

Walmart Virtual Try-On by Perfect Corp

Discover Global Network launches tokenization platform. Discover Global Network, the payments brand of Discover, has launched a cloud-based network tokenization platform to allow companies to integrate stored payment tokens as part of their payment experience. The platform is an extension of the Discover Stored Payment Tokens offering and better supports the payment relationship between merchants and token requestor aggregators. It also provides Discover partners with a token solution to deploy at scale with their merchants.

BNPL-provider Klarna adds an AI-driven photo feature to entice shoppers. Klarna, a buy-now, pay-later payment provider, has launched an AI-driven shopping feature, developed with OpenAI, that allows people to shop by taking a photo of products, which then become available to buy in seconds on the company’s mobile app. Klarna’s new feature identifies more than 10 million items — such as clothes, home decor, and electronics — and compares prices, retailers, and reviews.

Aero Commerce partners with Ordo on open banking payments for retailers. Ordo, an open banking payments-as-a-service provider, has integrated into the Aero Commerce platform. Through the partnership, retailers and agencies can utilize commission-free open banking payments initiated via tokenized links or QR codes. The onboarding process consists of a simple plug-in within the payment platform. Retailers and web agencies can download the Aero package and connect their accounts.

Aero Commerce

Ambi Robotics expands partnership with Pitney Bowes to automate middle-mile sorting. Ambi Robotics, a producer of AI-powered robotic sorting devices, and Pitney Bowes, a global shipping and mailing company, have launched the AmbiSort B-Series parcel sorting solution for middle-mile operations. The AmbiSort B-Series reduces operating costs by streamlining labor-intensive manual sorting. The AmbiSort B-Series adapts to multiple use cases, such as reverse logistics, interfacility sortation, sort-to-carrier, zone-skipping, and automated parcel induction.

Ecommerce platform MarketLeap secures additional seed funding. Luxembourg-based MarketLeap has secured an additional €1.5 million ($1.575 million) in a seed funding round that included investments from Notion Capital, Kima Ventures, and Motier Ventures. The funding takes MarketLeap’s total funding to €2.6 million. MarketLeap, formerly Gonuggets, is an AI-enabled ecommerce operating system that enables digitally native brands to scale their businesses across fragmented ecommerce channels. The company helps brands sell on marketplaces across more than 30 countries.

FedEx enhances automated ecommerce for merchants in India. FedEx Express has expanded automated ecommerce features in FedEx Ship Manager for small businesses in India, who can now link their ecommerce platform to automatically (i) download order info, (ii) create and print labels for multiple orders in one click, and (iii) sync with electronic trade documents. The new features integrate with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop.

FedEx Express