Get Your Products on ChatGPT Shopping

ChatGPT now recommends products directly in search results. The feature has no ads (so far). Hence any ecommerce business can presumably gain visibility for free.

The recommendations follow from relevant prompts with clear shopping intent. ChatGPT provides info on each product it recommends, including (i) customer ratings from multiple sources, (ii) pricing from multiple sellers, and (iii) explanations of its selections.

Here’s how to expose your products to ChatGPT.

A prompt on ChatGPT for “drip coffee makers” produced multiple recommendations with images, sources, ratings, and a “Top Picks Explained” section. Click image to enlarge.

Get in the Database

In a post titled “Help ChatGPT discover your products,” OpenAI states it is considering a product feed submission feature (likely similar to Google Shopping) and provides a form to receive notifications when it’s live.

Ecommerce businesses should sign up now to become early adopters — before other (bigger) brands.

The post also reminds merchants to ensure OpenAI’s crawler can access their sites. Some content management systems and plugins block OpenAI bots by default. Check your robots.txt file to ensure it doesn’t block “OAI-SearchBot.” Log file analyzers from Screaming Frog and others can confirm the bot is crawling your site.

Knowatoa’s free “AI Search Console” discloses which generative AI bots have access.

Use Schema Markup

ChatGPT supports structured data markup from Schema.org. Thus including detailed product schema will likely increase your chances of being recommended. Searchers’ purchase intent prompts are often very specific with dimensions, colors, and similar.

In a related post, ChatGPT states it will recommend products based in part on the user’s prompt history. Using its memory feature, ChatGPT might know, for example, the searcher’s color and style preferences and will recommend products accordingly.

Searchers’ purchase intent prompts typically seek specific features. A detailed product schema with many facets (colors, sizes, dimensions, warranty, styles, compatibility, etcetera) will increase the likelihood of a recommendation.

Monitor External Product Reviews

In the same related post, ChatGPT states it relies on multiple public sources when displaying product reviews and ratings. While testing, I’ve seen ratings from Target, Amazon, Wired, Business Insider, and others.

Keep an eye on ratings and reviews to encourage ChatGPT’s recommendations. I’ve yet to see a ChatGPT recommendation with bad reviews. Some platforms (Better Business Bureau) often lean towards negative reviews, while others (Facebook) are typically positive (e.g., Facebook).

Shopper Approved can help improve your product ratings by adding positive reviews from your site to external platforms as needed.

New Ecommerce Tools: May 1, 2025

We publish a rundown each week of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates from ChatGPT (shopping), BigCommerce (B2B portal), PayPal (programmatic ads), eBay (Klarna partnership), WooCommerce (Affirm partnership), Caro Holdings (AI customer service), and more.

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

New Tools for Merchants

OpenAI adds shopping to ChatGPT. OpenAI is launching a shopping experience on ChatGPT, including product picks and buy buttons. ChatGPT recommends products to prospective shoppers based on what the platform knows about their preferences, as well as product reviews pulled from across the web. Shoppers will be redirected to the merchant’s website to finish the transaction.

ChatGPT’s product recommendations. Image from OpenAI.

BigCommerce and Silk Commerce launch hub for dealers, distributors, franchises. BigCommerce has announced the launch of Distributed Ecommerce Hub, a joint offering with systems integrator and digital commerce agency Silk Commerce. Distributed Ecommerce Hub empowers manufacturers, brands, and franchisors to create and centrally manage branded storefronts for their dealer, distributor, or franchise networks. The platform is designed for businesses that have outgrown traditional multi-storefront architecture or need deeper enablement across distributed sales channels, according to BigCommerce.

Skypad launches analytics platform for Walmart Marketplace sellers. Skypad, a retail analytics platform, has announced its availability to Walmart Marketplace sellers. Skypad states that its platform offers solutions for sales and inventory analytics, helping sellers optimize performance, streamline operations, and increase profitability across multiple retail channels. Sellers get real-time sales and inventory reports in one place. In addition to Walmart Marketplace, Skypad aggregates data from all retail channels. Companies can select weekly, monthly, or ad hoc reports.

Znode releases distributed SaaS platform for B2B ecommerce. Znode, a scalable B2B ecommerce platform, has released its latest version. New features include embedded AI for generating product descriptions and search engine content, a visual page builder for drag-and-drop creation, dynamic data, hydrated search for enhanced product discovery, pre-configured business intelligence reports via Microsoft Power BI (for data visualization), and React Next.js front-end accelerators. Customers can run an unlimited number of storefronts and portals, manage an unlimited number of catalogs, and more.

Znode

PayPal launches programmatic ads powered by shopping data. PayPal has launched Offsite Ads for advertisers to tap into PayPal’s transaction graph and reach consumers across the open web through display and video advertising. PayPal Offsite Ads is powered by actual purchase data across merchants. This enables brands to reach relevant audiences based on real shopping intent. Advertisers can leverage PayPal’s understanding of when and where people buy, across a range of categories, to inform smarter media buying decisions.

Qliro partners with Two to launch B2B BNPL across the Nordics. Two, a Europe-based provider of B2B payments technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Qliro, a Nordic payments provider, to introduce its B2B buy-now, pay-later solutions to small and mid-size businesses across that region. Two’s B2B BNPL capabilities will directly integrate into Qliro’s existing checkout.

Square updates point-of-sale app. Square has announced a new point-of-sale app. The app is designed with feature sets tailored to each industry, providing sellers with a personalized POS experience that equips them with the right tools for their business.

Banuba launches Shopify augmented reality try-on plugin. Banuba, a provider of augmented reality technology, has launched a virtual try-on plugin for Shopify that simplifies the integration of AR features. The Banuba virtual try-on plugin lets users test makeup on their screens. It also features an AI-powered recommendation tool that automatically analyzes users’ appearances and suggests cosmetics that complement their looks.

Banuba’s virtual try-on plugin.

PSQ Payments launches integration with Shopify. PSQ Payments, a payment platform from PublicSquare, has announced the launch of its direct integration with Shopify. The PSQ Payments app offers features such as an optimized Shopify checkout, a comprehensive merchant dashboard for real-time tracking of payments and refunds, built-in fraud protection, and refund management.

eBay and Klarna expand BNPL partnership to the U.S. eBay has expanded its global partnership with Klarna, a buy-now-pay-later provider, to the U.S. market. Shoppers in the U.S. can pay for eligible eBay purchases using Klarna’s flexible payment options, including “Pay in 4.” Additionally, Klarna has recently introduced its resell feature to U.S. eBay shoppers.

Caro Holdings launches AI chat agent platform. Caro Holdings has announced the release of its AI chat agent, an intelligent, always-on assistant designed to help businesses reduce costs and deliver premium customer service without the need for additional staff. Caro’s smart agents can handle a variety of support tasks, including answering FAQs such as return policies or product details, scheduling appointments through chat, order tracking, identifying buyers, and gathering reviews and insights.

Affirm and WooCommerce bring partnership to the U.K. WooCommerce announced an expansion to the U.K. of its partnership with Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later provider. WooCommerce merchants in the U.K. can now integrate Affirm and offer customers customizable payment options at checkout. Approved customers can select the customized payment plan that best suits their needs.

Affirm

Multiple Stores, 1 Backend: Pros and Cons

For 20 years I’ve managed data for both large and small ecommerce companies. I’ve migrated data from one platform to another, cleansed data, optimized data for search engines, enhanced data for conversions, and more.

Ecommerce firms with multiple storefronts and overlapping products pose unique data challenges. Combining the storefronts into a single backend centralizes the data and streamlines oversight. But it comes with costs.

What follows are my pros and cons for combining multiple storefronts with the same products into one backend.

Pros

Time management. Multiple storefronts with separate backends mean uploading the same images, descriptions, and product data repeatedly. Combining that info into a single backend saves much time. It eliminates the need to log in to each store and streamlines the process of adding and updating the same products.

Analytics. A single backend makes combined performance tracking (for all stores) easier. It eliminates the need for a separate business intelligence tool to view all data in one place.

Inventory management. Multiple storefronts with different backends typically require third-party software to track overall quantities of the same item. When all stores point to the same backend, standard inventory management tools — native to many ecommerce platforms — can fill that need.

Different regions. Targeting different global regions from multiple storefronts is often easier with the same backend. For example, a merchant could sell the same product in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K., and use country-specific top-level domains, such as .ca, .co.uk, and .au, to attract local customers. Consumers in each of those countries speak English, allowing the same (or very similar) product descriptions and images. Sellers would need to customize only the currencies, payment, and shipping methods.

Cons

Search engine optimization. Utilizing the same backend to display the same products in different stores results in duplicate search-engine data, such as titles, product descriptions, and images, all competing against each other for rankings. The result is likely lower overall search visibility for all of them.

Unique prices. The same price across all stores prevents standalone prices and discounts. A workaround is custom pricing per channel or customer group. For example, a merchant may sell the same product on both a B2C and a B2B site. The B2B price could be quantity-based versus a single-item amount for B2C customers. This assumes the ecommerce platform has that functionality. In my experience, managing different price groups and price levels is more complex when using the same backend.

Promotional flexibility. Promotions for specific items on specific storements are difficult with a single backend, if not impossible. An example is adding banners for sale items in one store but not another. Some ecommerce platforms allow for unique promos by storefront. Others are SKU-based regardless of the store.

Risk. A single backend risks disabling all storefronts due to data breaches, fraud, platform errors, traffic spikes, and similar issues. Sometimes putting eggs in multiple baskets is better.

Customer, order management. Some ecommerce platforms allow customer segmentation by storefront. Others do not, which complicates emails, audience targeting, and overall marketing initiatives. Without a clear storefront distinction, it can be confusing to know which store drove which order.

Verify

To be sure, my pros and cons depend on the ecommerce platform. Some facilitate multi-store backends better than others. Before consolidating, verify the capabilities, particularly for SEO, inventory management, marketing, and pricing.

ChatGPT Shopping Is Coming

Diligent code hounds discovered Shopify variable names in ChatGPT’s JavaScript, leading to speculation that the ecommerce platform might soon announce a new AI integration.

Several sources reported finding the Shopify-related code on April 20, 2025, beginning with Alexey Shabanov’s article in TestingCatalog.

Shabanov displayed screen captures of the code and speculated that OpenAI might have an affiliate relationship with Shopify.

The article also noted that ChatGPT already has some ecommerce capabilities in its Operator research agent, including the ability to book travel and order groceries.

ChatGPT’s Code

Finding a Shopify reference in ChatGPT’s code is as simple as opening up the inspection tool in a web browser.

In Chrome or a browser derived from it:

• Navigate to Chatgpt.com and right-click.
• In the menu, select “Inspect.”
• Open the “Sources” tab.
• Find the “assets” folder, which may be under a CDN.
• Right-click on the folder and select “search in folder.”
• Type “shopify” and find the references.

The code for ChatGPT 4o included a Shopify reference on April 24, 2025, using the Arc browser. Click image to enlarge.

AI Shopping

The Shopify discovery generated buzz in the ecommerce community, but it is not surprising.

AI-powered shopping became inevitable with the mainstream adoption of large language models. Consumers who utilize AI tools for research and internet searches will also want to shop.

This apparent relationship with OpenAI is also not the first time Shopify has worked with an AI tool. In November 2024, Perplexity announced its “Buy with Pro” feature, which integrates with Shopify.

“When you ask Perplexity a shopping question, you’ll still get the precise, objective answers you expect, plus easy-to-read product cards showing the most relevant items, along with key details presented in a simple, visual format. These cards aren’t sponsored — they’re unbiased recommendations, tailored to your search by our AI,” Perplexity stated in its announcement.

Separately, on April 18, 2025, Microsoft announced a merchant program for its Copilot AI. Online shops can apply to integrate with the Copilot app to “gain visibility, acquire more customers, and generate sales.”

Finally, since at least 2024 Google Shopping has integrated AI into various features and search results.

AI Optimization

AI-powered shopping assistants represent concerns and opportunities for online sellers. A core question for merchants is whether AI shopping will be organic or paid.

Perplexity, for example, has stated that it does not earn revenue for including Shopify-based products in its results. For the moment, it’s an organic promotional channel for online merchants.

Similarly, Microsoft does not appear to require merchants to pay for inclusion in its program.

Thus if AI tools do not charge merchants, the trend could lead to practices similar to search engine optimization. Online sellers would optimize product feeds to match likely prompts and otherwise retain traditional SEO tactics.

Paid Inclusion

It is also possible that merchants will pay to list products in an AI shopping assistant or a premium tier.

Payment could have a few forms. Sellers could build an AI storefront not unlike Amazon Seller Central. A monthly fee could provide access to the platform and enable direct product listings.

Alternatively, merchants could list products via a feed or platform integration and then pay for featured products, which might include an add-to-cart link or click-to-buy feature, similar to ChatGPT’s apparent integration with Shopify.

Merchants would presumably treat paid inclusions like other advertising channels, weighing customer acquisition costs against average order value or customer lifetime value.

Fragmented or Concentrated?

A second consideration for the forthcoming AI shopping trend is whether the market will be fragmented or concentrated.

The market would be fragmented if the various AI tools developed their own product discovery and indexing tools. Merchants would provide product feeds to ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Grok, and others individually or via a feed distribution tool.

Conversely, if it developed strategic partnerships with top AI providers, Shopify could concentrate AI shopping on its platform. Merchants would work with one tool — Shopify — and disseminate product info to all leading AI platforms.

New Ecommerce Tools: April 24, 2025

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes releases from Spur (testing), ShipBob (order fulfillment), Lili (financial tools), RedTrack (media buying), BlueSnap (payments), Captiv8 (influencers), Bringg (delivery), InPost (parcel lockers), and Ordergroove (subscriptions).

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

New Tools for Merchants

Spur raises $4.5 million to build AI testing for online retailers. Spur, which provides ecommerce retailers and travel booking platforms with AI-powered testing that emulates consumer shopping behavior, has secured $4.5 million from investors including First Round, Pear VC, Neo, Conviction, Liquid2Ventures, and Predictive Venture Partners. Spur will use the funds to build its AI quality assurance platform and hire roles in applied AI, business operations, and go-to-market tools.

Spur

Shipping platform ShipBob partners with Temu. ShipBob, a supply chain and fulfillment platform for small and medium-sized businesses, has announced a partnership and integration with global marketplace Temu. ShipBob merchants can expand their customer base by accessing Temu’s vast resource of shoppers, while ShipBob fulfills orders from a U.S. warehouse. ShipBob merchants can connect their account to Temu in just a few clicks, and then sync products, inventory, orders, and tracking information.

Lili partners with ecommerce platforms for financial tools. Lili, a financial platform for small business owners, has launched a suite of monetary tools. Through Connect, Lili’s embedded finance integration, ecommerce platforms can offer tailored banking, accounting, and tax solutions to simplify and manage their businesses’ finances. Through Connect’s ecommerce partners, including Convesio, North Commerce, and Hostinger, merchants can open a business checking account directly.

RedTrack launches AI agents for ecommerce media buyers. RedTrack, an AI-driven automation and analytics platform for ecommerce media buyers, has launched its AI-powered agents to simplify reporting, insights, and campaign optimization. The multi-agent system transforms how media buyers interact with data, providing automated reports and actionable insights from a single screen. RedTrack’s AI-driven automation consolidates, analyzes, and presents insights. Media buyers can ask the right question, and the platform will generate in-depth analysis and deliver actionable insights instantly, per RedTrack.

RedTrack

Payment platform BlueSnap partners with ecommerce platform Shopware. BlueSnap, a payment orchestration platform for B2B and B2C companies, is now a payment partner for the open-source ecommerce platform Shopware. Shopware customers in the U.S. and Canada can access a suite of payment features through BlueSnap, including credit card processing, payment links, secure storage, and mobile wallets Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Influencer platform Captiv8 launches Storefronts. Captiv8, an influencer marketing platform for enterprise brands, has launched Storefronts, empowering any brand, regardless of vertical, to launch a curated, creator-powered storefront with no technical integrations required. According to Captiv8, brands can (i) go live in minutes with full merchant attribution tracking. (ii) blend brand and influencer presence in a community-first shopping experience, and (iii) enable purchases directly from social feeds.

Bringg launches Dynamic Delivery Slots. Bringg, a last-mile solutions provider, has announced its newest platform extension, Dynamic Delivery Slots, enabling merchants to offer delivery windows during ecommerce checkout. According to Bringg, the new extension instantly and continuously evaluates both internal and external variables, including real-time capacity, order requirements, driver compliance, service area, and blackouts.

Bringg

Thunes expands global network with Business Payments. Thunes, a worldwide payment network, has launched cross-border Business Payments. Members of Thunes’ direct global network — enterprises, merchants, neo-banks, traditional banks mobile wallets — can experience faster business payments in over 30 currencies (including USD, EUR, and CNY) and across more than 50 countries.

ShipSaving updates shipping software. ShipSaving, a shipping software provider for ecommerce businesses, has upgraded its platform, introducing a refreshed user interface and features that simplify day-to-day shipping tasks, such as order management, shipping labels, and shipment status monitoring. Merchants can customize packing slips and tracking emails, provide real-time shipping and delivery updates, and automate shipping methods based on SKU, weight, item quantity, total value, and destination.

InPost acquires U.K. parcel firm Yodel. InPost, a Poland-based parcel locker company, has acquired U.K.-based parcel delivery firm Yodel. The merger will make InPost the third-largest independent logistics player in the U.K., building on the partnership established in 2024, when Yodel began providing last-mile services through InPost’s locker-to-door service. The acquisition will enable InPost to accelerate its growth in Britain with an increase to 300 million parcels annually and 700 ecommerce stores.

Ordergroove launches Frontier for AI-powered subscription management. Ordergroove, a subscription and membership software provider for enterprise brands and retailers, has announced Frontier, a suite of AI-powered tools to grow recurring revenue. “AI Assistant” is a GPT-powered conversational layer that helps brands get answers instantly across the Help Center, Developer Docs, and Academy. “Disengaged Subscriptions Concierge” utilizes intelligent recommendations to manage lapsed subscribers effectively. “Recovery Optimizer” identifies the optimal mix of timing and retry logic to recover failed subscription payments.

Ordergroove

New Ecommerce Tools: April 17, 2025

We publish a rundown each week of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on tools to reduce tariff exposure, influencer marketing, installment payments, shipping, logistics platforms, and conversational AI for customer service.

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

New Tools for Merchants

PolyAI unveils Agent Studio with generative AI for customer service. PolyAI, a provider of AI agents for enterprise customer service, has launched its latest version of Agent Studio, a voice-first omnichannel platform for conversational AI. The platform offers safety features while providing new agent control and self-service capabilities. Users can provide feedback on agent behavior, knowledge, and speech recognition performance to train models to react best for their customers. Analytics confirm tuning choices and deliver deep-dive conversational review.

PolyAI Agent Studio

Swap launches service for tariff reduction. Swap, a backend connector of operating systems, has unveiled Clear by Swap Global, a tariff reduction service. According to Swap, the service partners with brands to reduce exposure to tariffs through leveraging a B2B2C model and provides customers 2-day delivery from U.K. and E.U. warehouses. Partners utilize a streamlined invoicing platform and end-to-end setup to ensure all U.S. operations are structured for customs, tax, and legal compliance.

eBay releases simplified mobile selling tool with Magical Listing AI technology. eBay has simplified the listing experience, integrating its Magical Listing technology with a guided, mobile-friendly flow to improve the ease, speed, and quality of listing creation. The new experience starts with photos and a title and leverages AI automation, maximizing image match and inference capabilities to suggest product details and suitable categories, so sellers can review and approve content and list more quickly.

Sprout Social launches AI-powered updates to its influencer marketing platform. Sprout Social, a social media management platform, has released its updated influencer marketing tool. Sprout Social Influencer Marketing features a refreshed design, AI-driven natural language discovery, and data analysis. Updated features include AI-powered creator search, Creator Lists, Brand Fit Score, and customizable brand safety reporting. Sprout’s search is now topic-led to match how networks serve content, enabling brands to identify creators to foster partnerships quickly.

Sprout Social

iDenfy launches a know-your-customer identity plugin for Shopify. iDenfy, an identity verification provider, has introduced its new “Know Your Customer” tool for Shopify merchants. According to iDenfy, the app is a no-code solution for merchants who don’t want to build an ID verification tool from scratch. iDenfy’s integration provides businesses with an automated verification system that ensures compliance while reducing fraud risks, helping save time and money on integration and management.

Affirm and Shopify accelerate global expansion of Shop Pay Installments. Affirm, a buy-now, pay-later network, and Shopify are accelerating the international expansion plans of Shop Pay Installments, exclusively powered by Affirm. Shop Pay Installments will become available to Shopify merchants in Canada and the U.K. this summer, with cross-border commerce capabilities between the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. to follow. The companies will expand to Australia and Western Europe next, starting with France, Germany, and The Netherlands.

Temu and PlentyOne partner to streamline global expansion for sellers. China-based marketplace Temu has reached a collaborative agreement with PlentyOne, an ecommerce enterprise resource planning provider, to help sellers expand into international markets. With the implementation of PlentyOne’s marketplace infrastructure, Temu’s vendors can improve their efficiency across operational facets such as inventory management and order fulfillment while exploring new avenues for global market expansion. Vendors within the PlentyOne network gain access to Temu’s marketing and logistics capabilities.

PlentyOne

UPS introduces Ground Saver and Ground with Freight Pricing. UPS has introduced two ground shipping options: Ground Saver and Ground with Freight Pricing. Ground Saver is an economical shipping option that takes a day or two longer than regular UPS Ground service. Ground with Freight Pricing is for businesses with shipments over 150 pounds looking for small package reliability while saving money compared to traditional less-than-truckload carriers, with no additional costs for lift-gate, inside delivery, or pallet weight.

Warp launches FlowSkip, unifying B2B and D2C freight. Warp, a middle-mile logistics provider, has launched FlowSkip, a freight service combining B2B and D2C shipments through a shared cross-dock and truck network. According to Warp, by leveraging zone-skip routing and real-time orchestration, FlowSkip improves speed, reduces costs, and unlocks efficiencies. For D2C shipments, FlowSkip utilizes zone-skip trucks to bypass legacy parcel sortation networks. Retailers and apparel brands use FlowSkip to streamline store replenishment and wholesale less-than-truckload orders.

JD.com launches retail platform Joybuy in London. China-based ecommerce giant JD.com has launched its retail platform, Joybuy, in London as part of its international expansion. Joybuy provides a range of products, including daily essentials, beauty items, electronics, and home goods from domestic and global brands. Joybuy features promotions such as discounts, free shipping, and options for same-day or next-day delivery. The platform is undergoing a soft launch with select users while it recruits merchants.

Amazon Freight launches less-than-truckload inbound shipping. Amazon Freight is now offering less-than-truckload services to customers shipping inbound to Amazon’s facilities. Businesses with shipments that won’t fill an entire trailer can book a portion, depending on the space they need. Like Amazon Freight FTL (full truckload), Freight’s LTL inbound offering utilizes the Amazon network, including 60,000 trailers and advanced tech capabilities. Access LTL and FTL via the self-service portal.

Amazon Freight

New Ecommerce Tools: April 10, 2025

Every week we publish a curated digest of new products and services that could help ecommerce merchants. This installment covers new initiatives from Amazon, PayPal, Doola, Appriss Retail, DHL, Temu, Visa, Spire, Best Buy, and more.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Amazon launches “Buy for Me” feature to purchase products from other brands’ sites. Amazon is testing a new feature in the Amazon Shopping app. “Buy for Me” helps shoppers discover and purchase select products from other brands’ sites if they are not sold in Amazon’s store. Buy for Me is live in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android for select consumers for a limited number of brands and products.

Amazon’s Buy for Me

PayPal Launches ads platform in the U.K. PayPal Ads has launched in the U.K., delivering personalized ads to shoppers based on their past purchases to improve sales and the shopping experience. PayPal Ads will deliver insights based on shopping intent and transaction data, allowing brands to optimize ad messaging and full-funnel campaigns.

Doola launches Business-in-a-Box for E-commerce. Doola, a developer of all-in-one business portals, has launched Business-in-a-Box for E-Commerce. According to Doola, the tool brings the back-end of ecommerce into one place for sellers by providing limited liability corporation formation, a registered agent service, a virtual business address, an employer tax I.D., a U.S. business bank account, phone number, and payment processor through its partners, bookkeeping, business tax filings, sales tax compliance, business analytics, free U.S. tax consultations, and more.

Appriss Retail introduces returns fraud tool for Shopify. Appriss Retail, a provider of tools to combat returns and claims fraud, has announced an integration with Shopify. The integration equips Shopify merchants with features to protect against returns and claims fraud across all channels. Appriss Retail states it can prevent fraudulent claims and minimize returns, leading to better profitability. The Appriss Retail Returns & Claims App integrates with the Shopify POS app or through a company’s commerce engine.

Appriss Retail

DHL and Temu partner to support local businesses. DHL Group, the global logistics company, has partnered with ecommerce marketplace Temu. The agreement aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises in established and growth markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. As part of the agreement, DHL Group will support Temu’s operations in Europe, including its local-to-local model, which enables local merchandise partners to sell on its platform with local fulfillment.

Visa upgrades Authorize.net, Unified Checkout, ARIC Risk Hub. Visa has expanded its value-added services with three upgrades: reimagined Authorize.net, Unified Checkout, and the ARIC Risk Hub. The new Authorize.net platform features a streamlined user interface and AI capabilities to help businesses analyze data, summarize insights, and identify trends. Part of the Visa Acceptance Solutions platform, Unified Checkout orchestrates over 25 card and alternative payment options. Powered by Visa’s acquisition of Featurespace, the ARIC Risk Hub is a fraud-fighting platform.

Spire launches Pay with Spire, a merchant-branded pay-by-bank POS solution. Spire, a payment solution provider, has launched the Pay with Spire platform, leveraging the Discover Network to deliver a merchant-branded Automated Clearing House payment service at the point of sale with no integration required. Designed for seamless transactions across point-of-sale systems, digital wallets, in-app purchases, and online environments, Pay with Spire reduces merchant processing costs by 50-90%, according to Spire, while offering customers a secure, bank-linked payment option and over 55,000 merchant locations.

Spire

Best Buy debuts creator program and shoppable storefronts. Best Buy has announced a platform to partner with influencers and creators. The program introduces storefronts wherein consumers can shop the latest tech from their favorite influencers and creators, who earn a commission on sales referred through their storefront, with no cap.

Clearco and Cavela partner to help brands optimize vendor sourcing and funding. Clearco, a provider of growth capital for ecommerce companies, has partnered with Cavela, an AI platform to automate product sourcing. The partnership combines Cavela’s private network of over 200,000 suppliers across 40 countries with Clearco’s funding. According to Clearco, the collaboration streamlines ecommerce efficiency with suppliers while providing working capital to fund invoices.

Trustfull launches login solution to combat account takeovers. Trustfull, a developer of identity intelligence for fraud prevention, has launched its login solution, which analyzes behavioral and device-related signals to combat account takeover fraud. Trustfull captures the user’s behavioral patterns and device characteristics during the login enrollment phase. At every subsequent login, Trustfull compares new data against the original enrollment to assess similarity, enabling silent, instant verification for genuine users while flagging when additional checks, like multi-factor authentication and one-time passcodes, are required.

Blackhawk Network helps brands build branded gift card programs. Blackhawk Network, a payment service provider, has launched branded payments for physical and digital gift card programs. According to Blackhawk Network, the offerings encompass end-to-end services available through a single vendor, including digital gifting platforms, card production, AI-driven customer care, comprehensive processing, demand planning, marketing, advanced fraud protection, and distribution.

Blackhawk Network

The Real Test of Unified Commerce

Unified commerce is a retailing strategy combining multiple systems for a single view of customers, products, and profits. The concept has been around for a decade, initially for small and mid-sized retailers to compete with enterprises.

It’s now one of ecommerce’s most promising trends, with Shopify, BigCommerce, and a slew of others offering solutions.

Unified Commerce

Unified commerce merges sales, inventory, and fulfillment software across all channels into a shared, real-time interface for both shoppers and employees, comprising three concepts:

• Composable architecture,
• Experience first,
• Unity across touchpoints.

Composable architecture

Composable architecture (composable commerce) refers to a technology stack of interchangeable components connected via application programming interfaces.

“Composable” means any part of the stack — checkout, product search, order management — is replaceable without breaking everything else.

Combined, the various applications are modular and scalable.

Experience first

Shopify and the research firm Gartner emphasize that unified commerce is “experience-first” or “experience-led,” meaning how a customer, employee, or business interacts with systems is key for building the stack.

For a shopper, “experience first” might dictate a system to browse for a product on Instagram, add it to a social commerce cart, purchase it several hours later via the merchant’s website, and pick it up in-store — all without losing context.

Employees have similar experiences. A support rep chatting with a customer via direct messages on X can access her shopping history in any channel and easily check on orders, in-store returns, or even newsletter subscriptions.

Likewise, the merchant’s entire marketing team benefits from the experience-first approach. The composable stack connects all customer touchpoints to a marketing attribution system, providing data for multi-touch attribution and marketing mix modeling.

Unity

In unified commerce, all systems share a single source of truth — for inventory, orders, pricing, customer data, content distribution, and more.

The front-end shopper-facing systems are consistent and connect across:

• Online storefronts,
• Content marketing,
• Brick-and-mortar locations,
• Mobile apps,
• Social media platforms,
• Social commerce integrations,
• Marketplaces,
• Customer service channels.

The company’s back-end systems are tightly integrated for real-time visibility and coordination.

“Unified” means real-time, fully integrated, and seamless across the board.

Advantage Enterprise?

Ironically, unified commerce — conceived to help SMBs — now attracts enterprise companies.

Delivering a seamless, real-time experience across every customer touchpoint and back-end system is technically complex and resource-intensive. Large retailers are more likely to have the capital, engineering staff, and operational maturity to unify legacy systems, integrate emerging channels, and invest in the modular components.

Moreover, unified commerce is more than accessing a few APIs. It means rethinking how systems are constructed, how employees interact with the tools, and how customer data flows securely and consistently through the business.

Thus, while unified commerce via Shopify or BigCommerce could help SMBs, big stores seem to have the advantage.

The Real Test

Despite its promise, unified commerce succeeds only if it drives profits.

Take the hypothetical shopper who begins a buying journey on Instagram only to finish with a buy-online, pick-up in-store purchase from the merchant’s website.

Does the profit from integrating social media with an ecommerce platform justify the investment? Increased conversion rates, reduced returns, better inventory turnover, and higher customer lifetime value — those are the metrics that matter.

How to Change a Domain Name in Shopify

For most Shopify merchants, switching primary domain addresses is easy and automated.

A store might have any number of reasons for changing its internet address, but it’s often a rebrand reflecting new products or focus.

An example is an Idaho-based manufacturer. The direct-to-consumer company originally made fishing rod lockers, and its domain name included “locker.” But the company pivoted to produce primarily high-end trailers for fishing kayaks.

Shoppers were confused when visiting a “locker” site only to find a trailer, so the rebrand made sense.

SnakeRiverLocker.com rebranded to SnakeRiverManufacturing.us.

Switching Shopify Domains

Let’s walk through the process of switching a domain in Shopify.

• Add the new domain connection.
• Change the domain type.
• Shopify creates the redirects.
• Promote the change.

Shopify allows a business to change its primary domain only once.

Add a New Domain

In the Shopify admin, navigate to Settings > Domains and click “Connect existing” if the domain is already registered. Shopify can register a domain on a customer’s behalf if necessary.

Click “Connect existing” if the new domain is already registered. Then enter the URL in the modal.

Type in the domain, and Shopify can connect directly to many registrars, such as GoDaddy. Otherwise, the process takes two or three steps at the registrar to add records to the domain’s DNS.

• Add an “A” record.
• Add a “CNAME” record.
• In some cases, add a “TXT” record.

The setup varies slightly from one domain registrar to another, but the process is generally the same. Shopify will verify the new domain shortly after the records are set up.

Change the Domain Type

Once Shopify verifies it, assign the new domain to your store. Navigate to Settings > Domains. Click on the domain you want to change.

On the lower right of the page is a link, “Change domain type.”

Click “Change domain type” on the lower right.

Change this to “Primary domain,” and in a few moments your Shopify store will be live at the new domain. Ensure the old domain redirects to the new one. Before changing, make sure the domain is correct, as Shopify, once more, allows only a one-time change.

The updated domain type appears on the lower left.

Redirects

An unfortunate side effect of changing a domain is reduced search engine traffic.

“Similar to a new URL structure, domain changes require 301 redirects, which leak equity. I’ve seen rankings slip for months afterward,” wrote my colleague Ann Smarty in a March 2024 article, “Traffic Recovery from Domain Changes.”

While 301 redirects are an established and reliable tool for passing ranking signals, some, like Ann, have suggested that a small percentage of link equity may not transfer to the new domain. This loss can be due to how search engines interpret redirects or the inherent limitations in the redirect process. For example, the redirect requires an extra step for search engine bots.

In her article, Ann describes an audit process (using Google Search Console, the Wayback Machine, Semrush, and Screaming Frog) to help locate redirect errors and excessive redirect chains.

Shopify will generate the initial 301 redirect — oldurl.com/product will point to newurl.com/product — but it cannot prevent the reduction in link equity.

Promote the New Domain

The Idaho-based trailer brand took two further actions for its name change.

First, the company contacted the most significant websites that link to the business’s Shopify store, asking those site owners to update the link with the new domain. Some publishers made the change.

Second, the company launched a social media campaign with several short and long videos on Instagram and YouTube. Some featured the company’s founder addressing the rebrand, while others focused on its manufacturing standards and products.

The promotions boosted traffic and garnered several new links.

New Ecommerce Tools: April 3, 2025

Our weekly digest highlights the latest innovations for online retailers. This installment covers developments from Perplexity, Shopify, Amazon, Commercetools, UPS, Veho, Pipe17, Chord Commerce, Contentful, Ordoro, and BlueSwitch.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Perplexity partners with Firmly’s agentic shopping. Perplexity, an AI answer engine, announced it will integrate Firmly.ai’s agentic ecommerce technology to scale access to Perplexity’s native shopping experience. By integrating Firmly.ai’s Agentic Commerce platform, Perplexity says it will empower more users to complete their entire shopping journey, from product discovery to secure transaction, without leaving the platform. Merchants can tap into this new sales channel instantly while retaining their merchant-of-record status, ensuring control over transactions, customer relationships, and data, according to Perplexity.

Firmly.ai

Shopify’s AI-powered assistant Sidekick now supports 20 languages. Shopify’s Sidekick, an AI-powered commerce assistant, is expanding from English to 20 supported languages. Sidekick blends Shopify’s platform knowledge with each merchant’s store. Merchants can analyze data, enhance product descriptions, automate routine tasks, and more, according to Shopify. Sidekick automatically detects and responds in the merchant’s language.

Amazon launches AI-powered Interests feature for product discovery. Amazon has introduced AI-powered Interests to help shoppers discover products by checking new items on the marketplace in real time. With Interests, users create personalized shopping prompts, price limits, and preferences, from mainstream to niche, using everyday language. Interests is available to a limited number of U.S. customers, with a full rollout coming soon, per Amazon.

Commercetools launches Payment Hub. Commercetools, an enterprise commerce platform for brands, has launched Payment Hub, giving enterprises control over their payment strategy. Payment Hub allows businesses to negotiate directly with leading payment service providers. Commercetools has also expanded its partnership with Stripe, the first payment-provider integration with Payment Hub.

Commercetools’ Payment Hub

UPS unveils Global Checkout to guarantee cost of fees at checkout. UPS has launched Global Checkout to assist consumers worldwide with buying shipping. UPS Global Checkout guarantees upfront the amount online shoppers pay in duties, fees, and taxes, eliminating the possibility of unexpected delivery costs. Available in 43 origin countries, Global Checkout is one of several new tools UPS offers for cross-border ecommerce.

Veho and Shippo offer 2-5 day delivery to ecommerce brands. Veho, a logistics and technology company that operates U.S. parcel delivery platforms, and Shippo have launched a 2-5 day premium delivery for ecommerce. The integration enables merchants to access Veho’s delivery network through Shippo’s platform, with features including simplified label creation, address validation, proactive tracking, and hassle-free returns. Shippo handles all carrier integrations.

Pipe17 order management partners with Shopify. Pipe17, an order management platform for brands and retailers, has partnered with Shopify. Powered by AI, Pipe17 orchestrates order and inventory updates and real-time visibility. Pipe17 provides Shopify merchants with a managed network of marketplaces, third-party logistics providers, and other commerce applications. The integration will help Shopify’s direct-to-consumer, B2B, and enterprise merchants by simplifying the complexities of omnichannel selling and fulfillment, according to Pipe17.

Pipe17

Chord Commerce raises $5.5 million for AI-driven marketing. Chord Commerce has raised $5.5 million to expand its AI-powered data and marketing platform. Combining AI-powered insights, attribution, and activation, Chord helps commerce brands make faster, more informed decisions and execute real-time marketing strategies, according to the company. Led by M13, with participation from Act One Ventures and GR0 Capital, the investment will help Chord grow its customer base and develop its AI orchestration platform.

Digital experience platform Contentful partners with Shopify. Contentful and Shopify have partnered to connect and synchronize content and commerce systems. Contentful is launching an app in the Shopify Liquid Storefront that empowers marketers to enhance content, streamline localization, and leverage AI-driven personalization.

Shipping platform Ordoro partners with multichannel operations portal SureDone. Ordoro, a shipping and inventory management platform, is partnering with SureDone, a multichannel ecommerce operations portal. According to the companies, SureDone’s capabilities in multichannel listing and automation combined with Ordoro’s shipping and fulfillment features will help online sellers manage operations.

BlueSwitch launches a B2B Shopify agency. BlueSwitch, an ecommerce software developer, has launched B2, a Shopify agency to help enterprise B2B businesses scale. Per BlueSwitch, B2 provides ecommerce solutions to enhance the front-end user experience and back-end technical performance.

B2 by BlueSwitch