New Ecommerce Tools: April 15, 2024

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on curated content, shoppable video, AI-powered search, composable commerce, payments, subscription plans, and paywalls.

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

New Tools for Merchants: April 15

Squarespace adds subscription features to earn recurring revenue. To help entrepreneurs monetize content, Squarespace has launched subscription features. Users can turn articles into a passive income stream by adding a paywall to their blog, setting the price, and choosing a one-time fee or recurring subscription. Video creators can monetize content by charging for access to their library or placing a paywall directly on a video player. Entrepreneurs can sell individual pieces of content or bundle various content types.

Squarespace

YouTube launches new shopping tools for creators. YouTube has introduced features that allow creators to curate shoppable collections, produce shoppable videos, monetize videos, and more. Shopping Collections is a new way for creators to curate products. All shopping creators can now ​tag products across videos in bulk.​ YouTube is also launching an Affiliate Hub directly in the app so creators can find the latest list of Shopping partners, commission rates, promo codes, and even request samples.

Cognizant partners with Shopify and Google Cloud on enterprise retail. Cognizant has partnered with Shopify and Google Cloud for global retailers and brands. The partnership combines Shopify’s commerce platform, Google Cloud’s core infrastructure, and Cognizant’s retail industry advisory and technology implementation specialists. By utilizing Shopify’s commerce operating system, built on Google Cloud, along with the suite of Google Cloud offerings, brands will have the technology needed for Cognizant to execute digital transformation through various retail scenarios.

Bloomreach enhances its partnership with Google Cloud on AI-powered search and marketing. Bloomreach, a platform for ecommerce personalization, has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to enhance Bloomreach Discovery. Customers will benefit from the combination of Google Cloud’s advanced generative AI innovation and Bloomreach’s proprietary AI — Loomi — as well as its commerce data set and revenue-generating platform capabilities. Google Cloud will amplify the strength of Bloomreach engines, including enhanced recall, ranking, automated merchandising, personalization, and cross-channel conversational commerce.

Bloomreach

eBay introduces generative AI-powered “shop the look” feature. eBay has launched a shop-the-look functionality, which provides an immersive carousel of looks tailored to customers’ shopping history, complete with interactive hotspots that reveal similar items and outfit inspirations. Shop the look evolves with customers’ tastes by taking cues from their shopping habits. The feature is now available in iOS for U.S. and U.K. customers, with Android coming later this year.

Amazon updates its Add Products tool to search for products and add offers in bulk. Amazon has updated its Add Products listing tool to help users search in bulk for items already listed for sale in Amazon’s store and add up to 500 offers. Search for up to 20 products and add information, such as price and quantity, to submit your offers in one go in Seller Central. Search for up to 500 products and generate a pre-filled Excel template. Use a spreadsheet to list offers quickly using bulk uploads.

Shein will host a webinar for U.S. merchants interested in selling on its marketplace. Asia-based Shein is hosting a live webinar for U.S. sellers interested in selling on its marketplace, which opened to third-party sellers last year. The webinar will take place on April 25, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. PST, with an overview of how to sell on the Shein marketplace, including fees, product categories, and seller requirements. According to StoreAutomator, Shein is looking for U.S.-based merchants with at least $2 million in annual revenue that ship directly to customers from the U.S.

Shein Marketplace Webinar

LTImindtree introduces a composable storefront on Salesforce. LTImindtree, a global technology and consulting company, has released Composable Storefront Quick Launch to provide retailers with ecommerce components that suit their demands. The feature is built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud. LTImindtree’s composable storefront allows retailers to create customized shopping experiences to increase business growth with over 20 user-interface enhancements and features, including Salesforce Einstein, personalization, campaign management, and Wishlist.

U.K.-based Mimo raises £15.5 million to simplify B2B payments. Mimo, a U.K.-based payments platform, has secured a £15.5 million investment led by Northzone to launch a platform that simplifies B2B payments. Mimo offers one tool to manage money, analytics, and insights to get a better overview of your business. Mimo will deploy the funding to build its B2B payments functionality for SMBs and expand its headcount.

Mexico-based BNPL provider Kueski unveils in-store mobile payments. Kueski, a buy-now pay-later and online consumer lender in Latin America, has launched an in-store version of Kueski Pay. Customers can now complete transactions in physical stores through the Kueski mobile app, regardless of internet connection. Kueski announced earlier this year that it is now available on Amazon Mexico and is a payment option for some of the world’s largest brands, including Estée Lauder, MAC, Clinique, and Adidas.

Ecommerce developer Spresso secures Series A funding managed by BlackRock. Spresso, a provider of AI-powered applications for ecommerce businesses, has announced an initial Series A investment from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. According to Spresso, the investment will help accelerate the company’s global expansion, providing businesses with a suite of data-driven tools, including pricing intelligence from AI-driven algorithms to analyze customer and market behavior, an ecommerce platform to build and manage online stores and spend management analytics.

Spresso

New Ecommerce Tools: April 8, 2024

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on fulfillment, design services, financing, digital marketing, payments, ecommerce customer support, and shoppable videos.

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

New Tools for Merchants: April 8

ShipStation adds fulfillment consulting. Shipping software platform ShipStation has launched a fulfillment consulting service. In addition to workflow and process optimization, ShipStation consultants will help merchants find the most cost-effective shipping and improve their warehouse layout and order pickup. Experts will also ensure merchants are using all the features of their ShipStation account.

ShipStation Professional Services

WPBeginner launches Pro Services for WordPress design and maintenance. WPBeginner, a site for free WordPress tutorials and resources, has partnered with Seahawk Media to launch WPBeginner Pro Services. With Pro Services, small business owners can hire vetted WordPress professionals to help design a website, launch an ecommerce store, handle customization projects, maintenance, and more.

Revenued launches financial marketplace for small businesses. Revenued, a company that helps small and medium-sized businesses access working capital, has launched an online marketplace to give SMBs access to tailored financial resources and insights to support growth and stability. Revenued’s marketplace focuses on three verticals — banking, insurance, and compliance — with a curated list of vendors and platforms. Revenued intends to expand the marketplace with additional verticals.

Flip partners with AppLovin to relaunch ad marketplace. AppLovin, a marketing platform, and Flip, a social commerce site, have announced that Flip will relaunch its marketing platform for brands utilizing AppLovin’s Axon technology. The partnership will enable Flip to extend its audience network to AppLovin’s 1.4 billion daily users. Additionally, Flip announced it’s raising $144 million in funding, including $50 million from AppLovin.

Flip

Liberis and Shop Circle partner to launch small business ecommerce funding in the U.K. and U.S. Liberis, a global finance platform, has partnered with Shop Circle, an ecommerce software provider, to provide Shop Circle merchants with flexible funding. Shop Circle provides tailored tech stacks and custom packages for Shopify merchants and, now, flexible funding options.

CommentSold launches PopClips for shoppable videos. CommentSold, a provider of video commerce technology, has announced the launch of PopClips to bring shoppable videos on all its platforms, including Videeo for Shopify, Popshoplive, and CommentSold. PopClips offers short video clips wherein five products can be tagged per video. These clips are designed to integrate across various platforms, including websites, mobile apps, and marketing channels such as email and external blogs.

Adyen partners with Adobe Commerce to enable online and in-store payments. Adyen, a fintech platform, is partnering with Adobe Commerce to deliver online and offline payments to global enterprise merchants. According to Adyen, the new partnership enables Adobe Commerce merchants to connect online and offline payments using Adyen’s unified commerce solution. In addition, enterprise merchants operating on Adobe Commerce can leverage Adyen’s checkout, fraud protection, conversion optimization, and data to enhance customer experiences.

Adyen

Skipify and Visa partner to enhance Skipify’s connected wallet. ​​Skipify, a fintech company focused on the checkout experience, has partnered with Visa’s Digital Commerce Program. Skipify customers can link Visa Click to Pay cards with their Skipify Connected Wallet. Once enabled, Skipify’s identity-powered wallet can recognize participating Visa Click to Pay cardholders on a merchant’s website. The integration utilizes advanced Visa network tokenization technology to minimize the risk of fraud and provide a more secure payment environment.

PayPal adds features for small businesses. PayPal enables small businesses to accept payments, including PayPal, Venmo, and PayPal Pay Later products. PayPal will now give small businesses access to four new features to drive payment acceptance. The features are (i) Apple Pay as a checkout option, (ii) the ability to save payment methods with the PayPal vault for faster future checkout, (iii) a real-time account updater to help customers keep payment methods current, and (iv) access to Interchange Plus Plus (IC ++) pricing.

Chase launches Media Solutions platform. Chase has launched Media Solutions, a digital service that allows brands to connect with Chase’s 80 million customers. In turn, those customers benefit from personalized offers and incentives. The launch of Chase Media Solutions follows the integration of Figg, a card-linked marketing platform that Chase acquired in 2022.

Outvio launches Desk for ecommerce customer support. Outvio, a post-purchase platform for ecommerce, has released Outvio Desk, an AI-powered customer support service. Outvio Desk natively collects all data related to online orders, customers, deliveries, and returns and exchanges. The product features AI automation for repetitive, time-consuming delivery tasks and integrates with email, chat, and social media. Users of Outvio Desk can manage engagement on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Outvio

New Ecommerce Tools: April 2, 2024

Our weekly rundown of new tools aims to help ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on customer engagement tools, B2B payments, product discovery, digital marketing, fraud prevention, post-purchase solutions, and conversational commerce.

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

New Tools for Merchants: April 2

Twilio launches Unified Profiles and Agent Copilot to combine customer data and AI. Twilio has launched two new products within Flex, its cloud-based engagement platform: Unified Profiles and Agent Copilot. Unified Profiles provides businesses access to a native data layer powered by Segment (Twilio’s customer data platform), enabling the collection and activation of real-time, consented data for personalized interactions. Agent Copilot leverages this data alongside AI to empower employees with automation and enhanced productivity.

Twilio Flex

TreviPay introduces B2B financing and payment application features. TreviPay, a B2B payments and invoicing network, has announced a self-financing option and enhanced payment application features to give sellers more control over their trade credit portfolio. The new services give B2B sellers choices over how they fund growth.

Digital River unveils eCompass to drive international expansion. Digital River, a platform for cross-border ecommerce, has launched eCompass to help brands identify and evaluate global expansion opportunities. Powered by transaction data from 150 million global consumers, eCompass gives brands market-level insights and access to Digital River’s proprietary benchmarking data through new interactive dashboards.

Post-purchase platform Route announces expanded integrations. Route, a post-purchase package tracking and protection service, has teamed up with Klaviyo, Recharge, Salesforce, Status, and Zendesk. The integrations allow merchants to integrate Route with their existing ecommerce systems, streamlining operations and optimizing customer experiences. Route states that it powers shipment tracking, package protection, and carbon offsetting for 13,000 merchants. Route’s integrations with leading platforms, tech tools, and carriers build upon its core post-purchase customer experience tools.

Route

Adobe introduces Firefly Services and Custom Models. Adobe has announced Firefly Services and Custom Models to change how brands create and produce personalized content at scale. With Firefly Services, brands can access over 20 generative and creative APIs, tools, and services that eliminate manual and repetitive tasks, from resizing assets to generating and expanding backgrounds for merchandising and ecommerce. These capabilities are embedded into Adobe’s Cloud applications.

Google launches updated product discovery tools for shopping. To provide users with a personalized shopping experience, Google is releasing product discovery elements, including style recommendations, brand preferences, generative AI for item search, and virtual try-ons. When users search for apparel, style recommendations will appear to rate options and provide personalized results. Brands can offer additional looks for more personalization. AI image generation provides realistic visuals to match a shopper’s vision. And virtual try-ons ensure apparel looks as intended.

Zorang introduces ContentHubGPT for Walmart Marketplace. Zorang, a content and commerce company, has released ContentHubGPT for Walmart Marketplace. This generative AI-based content suite allows Marketplace sellers to create engaging story-like descriptions for their product content. According to Zorang, ContentHubGPT for Walmart Marketplace is a comprehensive solution to generate search-engine-friendly product titles, feature bullets, descriptions, and more.

Walmart Marketplace – Zorang

Mastercard and Worldpay partner to prevent merchant chargebacks. Mastercard and Worldpay are enhancing the transaction experience by helping merchants resolve payment disputes faster and with fewer chargebacks. Through the partnership, Worldpay, a global payment technology provider, will offer Mastercard’s Alerts to its 1 million merchants worldwide. The service provides an early warning that helps prevent a dispute from becoming a chargeback, reducing fraud.

Claspo integrates with Shopify, enabling marketing widgets for merchants. Claspo, a website pop-up and widget-building platform, has announced its integration with Shopify. Claspo states that its Shopify app allows merchants to easily create widgets for various marketing goals without technical hurdles and extensive learning. Per Claspo, merchants can manage and scale widgets and boost sales globally with detailed geotargeting and dynamic languages, with minimal effort and reduced risk of errors.

Dashbot integrates with Amazon Lex for conversational analytics. Dashbot, a language data and conversational AI platform, has integrated with Lex, Amazon’s platform for building conversational interfaces. The collaboration harnesses Amazon Alexa’s natural language capabilities while providing insights through Dashbot’s analytics platform. Through Alexa, users gain granular visibility into communicating with Lex chatbots, identify conversational trends and sentiment, and pinpoint areas for conversation flows, refining chatbot responses based on real-world user data.

Bidpath unveils AuctionPay for online auction payments. Bidpath, a provider of online auction software, has launched AuctionPay, a payment platform. According to Bidpath, AuctionPay simplifies payment processing, offering affordability and efficiency to enhance core operations. Bidpath aims to boost bidder participation and reduce transaction fees by ensuring a seamless and secure payment process.

AuctionPay

New Ecommerce Tools: March 25, 2024

Every week we publish a list of new products and services for ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on livestream commerce, cross-border transactions, logistics, omnichannel sales, customer experience platforms, fraud prevention, and email and SMS marketing.

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

New Tools for Merchants: March 25

Checkout.com partners with Bolt to provide accelerated checkout. Bolt, a checkout technology company, and Checkout.com, a payment solutions provider, have announced a partnership. Through this collaboration, Bolt will become Checkout.com’s exclusive one-click checkout provider, and Checkout.com will become Bolt’s preferred payment partner. Bolt will integrate with Checkout.com to expand payment options for new and existing merchants. Checkout.com will leverage Bolt’s network of merchants and over 80 million shoppers.

Bolt

ParcelLab announces Order Tracking for Salesforce on AppExchange. ParcelLab, a post-purchase software provider, has launched Order Tracking for Salesforce Service Cloud on Salesforce AppExchange, an enterprise marketplace for partner apps and experts. Order Tracking for Salesforce provides customer service agents with a unified view of all relevant orders and return information, including product details, shipping status, communications, and the customer’s order history, to resolve delivery questions quickly.

Cirro Fulfillment integrates with Shopify. Cirro Fulfillment has integrated with Shopify. Shopify merchants can now connect their store data with Cirro Fulfillment for enhanced logistics management. Cirro Fulfillment has more than 4,000 clients using its fulfillment service in over 80 centers globally.

Merkle launches a global messaging solution. Merkle, a customer experience management platform, has launched Intelligent Messaging to create unified brand experiences by blending AI assistance and human interaction. With Intelligent Messaging, Merkle says it can create turnkey chat experiences across social and messaging platforms, delivering always-on conversational interactions throughout the customer journey.

Merkle

​​Cart.com launches Constellation AI for product merchandising and inventory management. Cart.com, a provider of unified commerce and logistics solutions for B2C and B2B companies, launched Constellation AI, a suite of features embedded across the company’s platform. According to Cart.com, Constellation AI leverages machine learning algorithms, predictive modeling, and generative AI to make selling and listing products more efficient. Features include new sales channel identification, product title and description generation, intelligent repricing, and AI-powered demand forecasting.

PriceSpider launches new commerce enablement capabilities. PriceSpider, a customer journey platform, has released tools to build omnichannel experiences. Auto-Create automates product feed maintenance and management. Enhanced data sharing provides brands using a dedicated warehouse with direct query capabilities, API connectivity, and native connectors. The Click to Retailer feature offers brands purchase paths created and enabled within minutes through self-service admin.

Commerce experience platform Nosto integrates with Klaviyo for personalized cross-channel shopping. Nosto, a commerce experience platform, has announced an integration with automated marketing provider Klaviyo, enabling retailers to build personalized shopping journeys. Brands can now import Klaviyo’s segments and email lists into Nosto and provide a personalized, on-site experience. Using Nosto’s segment details within Klaviyo, brands can create relevant email and SMS campaigns with personalized content based on shoppers’ behaviors and affinities, such as color and size preferences.

Nosto

AliExpress launches livestream shopping in the U.K. AliExpress, an Alibaba-owned retail marketplace, has launched a livestreaming ecommerce service in the U.K. through a partnership with Vogue Business. Shoppers can browse a platform where local models, actors, and TV personalities host livestream videos to sell products. Each creator will earn a commission on every sale made via their streams and could potentially develop their own fashion collections through a competition later in the year.

Digital agency Verndale acquires Yaksa to expand ecommerce services. Verndale, a Boston-based agency, has announced the acquisition of Yaksa, a commerce experience agency based in Montréal. This acquisition aims to enhance Verndale’s market presence, expand its service offerings, and deliver value to clients. Yaksa will continue to operate under its own brand for the short term. According to Verndale, the expanded company is now one of the largest independent digital experience agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

Cashfree Payments launches RiskShield to prevent payment fraud. Cashfree Payments, an India-based payments platform and API banking company, has launched RiskShield, a real-time management solution for payment gateways. RiskShield uses advanced AI and machine learning across a merchant network to identify fraudulent transaction patterns and empower merchants with controls to define specific rules for their businesses. According to Cashfree Payments, RiskShield mitigates fraud, minimizes litigation risks, and improves transaction experiences.
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Pandion secures $41.5 million for its residential parcel delivery network. Pandion, a residential delivery network for ecommerce parcels, launched by Amazon Air founder Scott Ruffin, has announced a $41.5 million Series B funding round led by Revolution Growth. Pandion states it will use the funding to accelerate the expansions of its network, including building new technology offerings, expanding its geographic reach, and increasing delivery speed for customers such as Saks Fifth Avenue.

Pandion

AI Platforms for Competitor Research

Market research tools have used machine learning for years, mostly for enterprise companies. But AI is now accessible for any business to study competing brands, market gaps, and more.

Here are four AI platforms for competitor research.

ChatGPT, Gemini

To test, I used paid versions of Gemini and ChatGPT. My prompt for both was:

I own a domain registrar and hosting business. My competitor is GoDaddy. Research this competitor and tell me the biggest pain points of its customers and how those points are opportunities for me. Return results in a table format: pain point => opportunity.

The results were similar from both platforms. I have reproduced the tables for this article.

ChatGPT quoted and linked to its sources:

Gemini provided no sources, but it did cite GoDaddy’s “Aggressive upselling techniques,” which, in my experience, is a frequent complaint. It also offered an option to export the table as a Google Sheet.

IdeaApe

IdeaApe analyzes the online sentiment of any keyword or brand and uses AI to return a detailed description of:

• Buyer personas,
• Pain points for each persona.
• Business opportunities based on the pain points.

In my testing, IdeaApe relied on Reddit, a known channel for discovering and verifying new business ideas.

IdeaApe doesn’t offer a free trial, so I tested it with the fashion brand Zara, one of the demo searches: “What’s annoying with the brand Zara?” IdeaApe produced multiple buyer personas, pain points, and opportunities.

Here are the results for “Ethical Shopper” and “Quality-Conscious Consumer” personas:

Ethical Shopper

• Pain Point 1: Concerned about Zara’s unethical practices, including exploitation of labor and support of controversial political actions, which conflict with their values.

• Pain Point 2: Frustrated by Zara’s environmental impact and the social injustice perpetuated by fast fashion, seeking more sustainable and ethical alternatives.

• Opportunity: Sustainable and Ethical Fashion Line. Launching a dedicated line that focuses on sustainable materials, ethical labor practices, and transparency in the supply chain would directly address the concerns of both the Ethical Shopper and the Socially Conscious Youth. This initiative could include partnerships with ethical brands, certifications to validate claims, and detailed product backstories to ensure customers feel aligned with their values when purchasing.

Quality-Conscious Consumer

• Pain Point 1: Disappointed by the poor quality of Zara’s products, including issues with construction, materials, and durability, leading to a waste of money.

• Pain Point 2: Annoyed by the inconsistency in Zara’s sizing, making online shopping difficult and often resulting in the need for returns or exchanges.

• Opportunity: Quality Assurance Program with Price Matching. Implementing a quality assurance program that guarantees the durability and longevity of products can address the concerns of the Quality-Conscious Consumer. Coupling this with a price-matching policy can also appeal to the Budget-Friendly Shopper, ensuring they feel they are getting the best value for their money. This dual approach would encourage trust and loyalty among customers who prioritize both quality and affordability.

Overall, IdeaApe’s findings were helpful but generic and obvious. It listed the Reddit threads used for the research, although not beside each pain point, which complicated the verification.

Pricing for IdeaApe starts at $24 per month for 50 searches.

Kompyte

Kompyte is a monitoring platform that tracks competitors’ reviews, on-site content, social media, ads, job postings, and more. The tool then uses AI to generate action items and business opportunities.

The platform is helpful for starting a business or keeping an eye on competing companies. (Crayon is a similar technology.)

Kompyte doesn’t offer a free trial. It reveals pricing only after watching a demo.

Charts: How Consumers Use the Internet 2024

GWI is a U.K.-based research firm providing global audience data to merchants and agencies. According to GWI’s 2024 “Connecting the Dots” report, chat and messaging are the most favored apps among internet users, with 94.7% of those aged 16 to 64 stating (in January 2024) they’ve used at least one of these platforms in the last 30 days. Social networks are also widely utilized, with 94.3% of the same age group reporting usage in the past month.

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Nearly 61% of GWI’s survey respondents in the 16 to 64 age group stated that their primary reason for using the internet is “finding information,” making it the most prevalent rationale. “Staying connected with friends and family” is cited by 56.6% of respondents as their primary motivation.

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According to Similarweb, Google.com was the most visited website globally, with 81.1 billion visits in February 2024. YouTube.com and Facebook.com came in second and third with 30.6 billion and 15.3 billion respectively.

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Per the GWI report, Instagram is the most popular social media platform globally, chosen by 16.5% of internet users aged 16 to 64. This percentage is more than double the 7.4% who favored TikTok.

New Ecommerce Tools: March 18, 2024

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on payment platforms, smart search, B2B commerce, resale programs, gated-offer tools, logistics, customer experience platforms, and generative AI tools.

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

New Tools for Merchants: March 18

Amazon launches new generative AI-powered listing tool. In addition to using text or an image to generate product listings, sellers can now leverage existing listings by providing Amazon with a URL, which is automatically parsed by generative AI. This new capability is rolling out and will be available to U.S. sellers in the coming weeks.

“List Your Products” page on Amazon Seller Central.

eBay launches Preloved Partner program. eBay is launching a new pilot program late this month to highlight pre-owned fashion, which sellers can join by invitation only. eBay will display a “Preloved Partner” program badge next to qualified items. Eligible sellers must maintain certain performance metrics, including Top Rated Seller status, a minimum of 95% positive feedback, 30-day returns, and fewer than 1% “Not Received” items.

SAP announces composable payment solution. SAP’s new composable payment solution for retailers, Commerce Cloud, integrates with numerous third-party payment service providers, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, and Airwallex. Commerce Cloud’s composable architecture allows retailers to pick payment partners tailored to their unique needs and markets. The new framework is extensible and headless, helping ensure the front- and back-ends are decoupled and operate independently.

Walmart Commerce Technologies releases AI-powered logistics platform. Walmart is making its AI-powered logistics platform — Route Optimization — available to businesses as a SaaS solution through Walmart Commerce Technologies. Route Optimization provides businesses of all sizes the use of AI-driven software to optimize driving routes, pack trailers efficiently, and minimize miles traveled. Walmart says companies using this technology avoided 94 million pounds of carbon dioxide by eliminating 30 million unnecessary miles and optimized routes to bypass 110,000 inefficient paths.

Walmart Commerce Technologies

SheerID and Payment Plugins partner on gated offer platform for WooCommerce merchants. SheerID, a provider of identity verification for commerce, has partnered with Payment Plugins, a developer for WooCommerce, to launch SheerID for WooCommerce. The new platform allows merchants to verify consumer eligibility for gated offers and discounts instantly. SheerID states the platform is a no-code, turnkey solution.

Rebuy introduces Smart Search for ecommerce. Rebuy, an ecommerce personalization platform for Shopify brands, has released Smart Search with the goal of increasing conversion rates and lowering cart abandonment rates through personalized experiences. Rebuy states that Smart Search can be set up and implemented in minutes. Additional enhancements will be released throughout the year, including collections merchandising and semantic search.

Fortis and WooCommerce partner on B2B payment integration. Fortis, a payment and commerce technology service provider, has partnered with WooCommerce. This collaboration aims to provide B2B payment functionality to the WooCommerce platform and Fortis’s expanding back-office ecosystem. Fortis will debut as a verified payments app in the WooCommerce Marketplace and the WordPress Plugins Marketplace.

Fortis

Verndale announces strategic partnership with BigCommerce. Verndale, an ecommerce agency, has partnered with BigCommerce to provide design, development, and optimization services to merchant sites. Verndale’s commerce practice serves mid-market and enterprise clients and works with content management systems, enterprise resource planning platforms, customer relationship management platforms, and product information management databases.

Brevo launches Commerce Suite for customer-data analysis. Brevo, a provider of customer-management applications, has launched Commerce Suite to provide merchants with a 360-degree view of customer data. Brevo says Commerce Suite enables merchants to analyze the full spectrum of their customers’ purchasing habits across all channels, allowing them to send more personalized recommendations. Per Brevo, merchants using Commerce Suite can improve the customer experience through multichannel communication adapted to each customer by email, SMS, chat, and social media — per Brevo.

ShopMy secures $18.5 million to help influencers earn more from promoting products. ShopMy, a marketing platform for content creators, has raised $18.5 million in a round led by Inspired Capital. ShopMy’s platform equips creators with the tools to earn from their product recommendations, such as building digital storefronts, accessing a catalog of millions of products, making commissionable links, and chatting directly with companies. ShopMy will use the money to scale its network of 40,000 creators.​

Zendesk to acquire Ultimate for AI-powered CX automation. Zendesk, a customer service platform, has announced it will acquire Ultimate, a provider of help-desk automation, to deliver a customer-service AI offering. With the addition of Ultimate, Zendesk says it will offer AI agents enhanced intelligence for proactive problem-solving, complementing human expertise. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ultimate

New Ecommerce Tools: March 12, 2024

Every week, we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on promotional tools, AI-based website builders, payment platforms, email and text marketing, logistics, AI assistants, video game commerce, and merchant financing.

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

New Tools for Merchants: March 12

Wix.com launches AI website builder. Wix.com has launched an AI website builder based on conversational chat. Users describe their intent and goals and receive a unique website with features such as scheduling, ecommerce, event management, and more. Customization options include layout, theme, text, images, and apps. Users can refine the site by editing or regenerating.

Wix.com’s AI Website Builder

eBay automates “Offers to Buyers” discounting tool. eBay Store subscribers can now automate sending offers to buyers. Instead of manually initiating offers, merchants can choose the criteria across selected inventory and set the offer terms. Resulting offers will automatically go to eligible buyers interested in existing and new listings. Merchants set how long automatic offers will run, with a maximum of 150 days.

Chatfuel launches AI Sales Agents. Chatfuel, a messaging provider for businesses on social media platforms, has announced the availability of a suite of autonomous generative AI agents. Chatfuel says its sales-focused AI agents are optimized for SMBs in ecommerce, enabling customers to proceed through the sales cycle without human involvement. These agents focus on sales workflows such as cross-selling and follow-ups, FAQs, order processing, and other related tasks. Chatfuel already integrates with Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

TalkShopLive launches Instagram “Shoppable Simulcast.“ Video commerce and retail media platform TalkShopLive has launched “Shoppable Simulcast” with Instagram. The product debuted with a livestream featuring artist, producer, songwriter, and actor Benny Blanco preparing recipes from his new cookbook. TalkShopLive’s innovation allows any of its live streams to be simulcasted on a seller’s Instagram account while keeping the shopping element intact. The Instagram integration comes after TalkShopLive launched its Shoppable Simulcast product and first destination with Facebook.

TalkShopLive

Reddit introduces Pro toolkit for businesses. Reddit has launched Pro, a free suite of tools for businesses to grow an organic presence on that platform. Reddit Pro features AI-powered insights, performance analytics, a pro dashboard, and publishing tools to help draft and schedule profile posts. Reddit Pro users can extend the reach of organic posts with the click of a promote button.

PayPal launches Complete Payments for SMBs in Canada and the U.K. PayPal Complete Payments, a global solution for small and mid-sized enterprises, has launched in Canada, the U.K., and roughly 20 European markets. The solution enables SMBs in those regions to accept various payments, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit and debit cards, and more than 20 alternative payment methods. PayPal integrates with several ecommerce platforms, including Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.

Viva.com launches Merchant Advance in Europe. Viva.com, a cloud-based neobank powering card acceptance in 24 European markets, has launched Merchant Advance, a business credit service. Merchant Advance offers transparent capital based on merchant acquiring data and payment history, providing instant loan disbursement. Merchant Advance is available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, with more European countries coming soon.

Viva.com

Sendlane adds Forms to its retention marketing platform. Sendlane, a retention marketing platform for ecommerce brands, has launched a Forms tool to help merchants grow email and SMS lists. The tool features customizable layouts, advanced targeting, and comprehensive performance data. Choose from multiple mobile and desktop layouts to collect consent via email, SMS, or email and SMS. Capture lead details and key data points with inline, pop-up, and banner forms.​​

Logistics provider Geodis launches a multi-carrier parcel shipping platform. Geodis, a global logistics provider, has launched a multi-carrier parcel shipping solution, ​​offering direct carrier connections to optimize ecommerce fulfillment operations. The platform allows customers to directly contact carriers in Geodis’s current network and additional regional and Latin American carriers for an integrated global parcel transportation strategy. According to Geodis, the platform integrates with external warehouse management systems and popular ecommerce platforms to streamline the fulfillment process.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available for Venmo and PayPal Zettle in the U.S. PayPal has announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is available for Venmo business profiles and PayPal Zettle users in the U.S., enabling them to accept contactless card and digital wallet payments directly on their iPhones with no additional cost or hardware. Businesses can add taxes, receive tips, send receipts, and issue refunds. Sales proceeds will settle quickly into a business’s Venmo or PayPal Zettle account.

Xsolla unveils Web Shop 2.0 to power D2C sales for game developers. Xsolla, a video game commerce company, has introduced Xsolla Web Shop 2.0 to help mobile game developers construct direct-to-consumer monetization strategies. Xsolla Web Shop 2.0 features advanced LiveOps tools, A/B testing, a loyalty program, personalized offers, and one-click payments with Xsolla Wallet. Xsolla is also unveiling Instant Web Shop, a fully-functional. templated online store that can power purchases in as little as 24 hours.

Xsolla

AI-powered Transcription Tools, Tested

Transcribing audio and video files was once tedious and time-consuming. No more. With AI, the process is near-instant.

Many transcription services offer automated versions. Here are three AI-powered tools — with my impressions of each.

Audio Writer

Audio Writer

Audio Writer is an OpenAI-powered app for iOS and macOS. I tested it on my iPhone. Users speak into the app or enable access to audio files.

To start, install the app and provide your own OpenAI API key. The app takes just seconds to process and refine a file. From there, users can:

• Rewrite a transcription using an available style: “Simple and Clear,” “Kid-friendly,” “Descriptive,” and “Conversational.”
• Convert the text into a tweet, direct message, formal or casual email, or bulleted list.
• Connect with custom ChatGPT prompts to create specialized transcripts.

Allowing users to speak the audio rather than first recording it saves a lot of time.

Audio Writer’s iOS app costs $15 one time for unlimited access. A free test is available. A paid subscription to OpenAI’s API is required for ongoing use.

Notta

Notta

Notta is a transcription service to create notes from live or archived video and audio meetings. Notta’s transcriptions include auto-correction, timestamps, summaries, and action items. The language translation feature is handy for international teams.

Users and team members can edit and add notes to any transcript.

Notta supports Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more. It also integrates with Outlook and Google Calendar.

Notta’s free monthly tier provides 120 minutes of transcriptions. Paid plans start at $13.99 per month.

Trint

Trint

Trint transcribes and translates audio and video in multiple languages with captions and timestamps (chapters). Users can combine transcripts into a single article or tutorial, add comments, highlight important moments, and more.

Trent allows file editing and collaboration and can repurpose a transcript into social media posts.

Pricing for Trint starts at $80 per month with a free 7-day full-feature trial.

11 Mobile Apps to Manage a Team

Businesses with remote workers need tools to communicate and collaborate on tasks and projects.

Here is a list of mobile apps to manage a team. There are project management apps, collaborative tools, communication tools, and more. All of the apps are available for Android and iOS.

Team Management Apps

Slack is a productivity platform for team communication and collaboration. Organize channels by topics, projects, or anything else. Run a project and coordinate with your team. Message or call any team member or group. Share and edit documents. Integrate with over 2,500 applications. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $7.25 per month.

Slack

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Trello is a visual tool for teams to plan and manage projects. Use cards, lists, and boards for a clear view of who’s doing what. Add comments, attachments, due dates, and more directly to Trello cards. Create rules, buttons, and commands to automate almost any Trello action. Integrate with other platforms and turn Trello boards into live applications for your team. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $5 per month.

Trello

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Bitrix24 is a unified set of five productivity tools: communications, tasks and projects, customer management, contact center, and website builder. Collaborate through group and private chats, audio and video calls, file sharing, and workgroups. Assign tasks with automatic time tracking. Set reminders and notifications. Work with CRM elements and manage relationships. Price: Free up to 5 GB. Premium plans start at $49 per month.

Bitrix24

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Asana is a platform for tracking and managing tasks, goals, and projects and collaborating with teammates in real-time. Create status updates that keep your team and stakeholders informed. Use features such as multi-homing and @mention to help stakeholders stay informed about a task’s progress, even across multiple projects simultaneously. Establish clear objectives and key results with Asana Goals. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $10.99 per month.

Asana

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Monday is a cloud-based project management system for teams. It offers customizable boards for managing projects, workflows, and tasks. Start a board from scratch or choose one of the 200-plus templates and drag-and-drop building blocks to visualize projects, teams, and processes. Take data from your boards to visualize projects in different ways. Track progress in real-time to see who can take on more work. Price: Free for up to two seats. Premium plans start at $9 per month.

Monday

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Wrike is a tool for project management, planning, and team collaboration. Quickly access folders and projects. Assign and schedule tasks. View and adjust projects in List, Board, Gantt chart, or Workload views. Track time spent on tasks. Use Work Intelligence to automate tasks and predict project risk. Chat about work. Share interactive reports and schedule notifications. Access personal and shared dashboards. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $9.80 per month.

Wrike

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ClickUp is a platform for teams to plan, manage, and collaborate. Build a dashboard from over 50 widgets to manage any scenario. Plan, view, track, and assess goals through completed tasks, time tracked on projects, and bottlenecks in workflows. Distribute workloads through scrum points or assigned tasks. Host discussions, monitor progress, and understand team performance — all in one place. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $7 per month.

ClickUp

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Podio is a project management platform with workspaces defined by hundreds of free Podio apps. Organize and track projects. Get updates and share files via activity streams. Access reports for sales pipelines, project budgets, status of deliverables, and more. Price: Free for up to five users. Premium plans start at $11.20 per month.

Podio

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Smartsheet is a collaborative tool to plan, capture, manage, automate, and report on work. Use sheets to oversee tasks and workflows, plan projects, and maximize your team’s productivity. Plan your project and choose how to visualize tasks, switching between grid, card, Gantt, and calendar views with the same data. View and manage dashboards, sheets, and more in real-time. Automate repetitive processes by sending alerts and requesting approvals and updates. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $7 per month.

Smartsheet

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ProofHub is a project management and team collaboration app. Plan, track, and manage projects of any size. Create custom project templates with task lists, discussion topics, timesheets, notes, and more. Assign tasks to team members and get notified of the results. Use a Gantt chart to plan and visualize projects. Manage your schedule with recurring tasks, automatic reminders, and multiple calendar views. Create custom reports for actionable insights. Price: Free for up to five users. Premium plans start at $89 per month.

ProofHub

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MeisterTask is a tool to manage team projects and tasks. MeisterTask’s Kanban-style boards allow for task management while maintaining an overview of the progress. Get notified about new and completed tasks and set up recurring items. Get insights into your team’s productivity with statistics and reports. Know how long it took to complete a task with built-in time tracking. Price: Free. Premium plans start at $12 per month.

MeisterTask