New Ecommerce Tools: January 23, 2025

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on generative AI search, website builders, fulfillment, marketing platforms, reverse logistics, mobile payments, cross-border ecommerce, and click-to-cancel requirements.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Perplexity releases Sonar API with real-time AI search. AI search engine Perplexity has launched Sonar and Sonar Pro API, enabling developers to integrate Perplexity’s generative search capabilities with real-time information and citations. Sonar API is the base version, which is cheaper and quicker and includes citations and the ability to customize sources. Sonar Pro API can handle in-depth, multi-step queries with added extensibility, such as double the number of citations per search, more nuanced searches, and follow-up questions.

Sonar API by Perplexity

Wix and Worldline partner to expand ecommerce payments in Europe and Asia. Website builder Wix has partnered with payment provider Worldline in select Europe and Asia Pacific countries. New and existing Worldline customers can access Wix’s platform to build and manage an online store. Wix users can leverage Worldline’s local payment processing services and distribution networks.

Amazon launches portal to help FBA sellers with reimbursable opportunities. Amazon has launched an “Inventory Defect and Reimbursement” portal to streamline seller operations and provide transparency into Fulfillment by Amazon’s defects practices. Sellers can manage inventory defects and reimbursements within warehouse lost, warehouse damage, and customer returns — all through the IDR portal. Sellers get visibility into defects and their status, detailed information for each defect, a view of defects from multiple reports and policy checks, and insights into defect frequency and the resolution rationale.

Veho launches premium economy delivery service. Veho, a technology company operating alternative U.S. delivery platforms, has launched a Premium Economy service for parcel delivery in five days or less. Veho says Premium Economy will provide a cost-effective alternative to USPS and UPS services and is well suited for consumer brands shipping lightweight parcels, subscription brands shipping non-perishable goods, and third-party logistics providers.

Veho

Omnisend adds reporting functionality to its ecommerce marketing platform. Ecommerce email and SMS platform Omnisend has launched upgraded reporting functionality, allowing merchants to analyze emails, SMS, and push notifications in one reporting platform for any date range. Businesses can now compare the performance of each channel with full data history, comparisons of each channel’s revenue, and control over sales attribution to different channels.

DHL Supply Chain acquires reverse logistics platform. DHL Supply Chain, part of logistics provider DHL Group, has acquired Inmar Supply Chain Solutions, a division of Inmar Intelligence and a returns solutions provider for the retail ecommerce industry. The acquisition will result in 14 return centers joining DHL Supply Chain, expanding the company’s North American footprint, which currently stands at over 520 warehouses. DHL Supply Chain will strengthen its returns capabilities to include product remarketing, recall management, and supply chain performance analytics.

Swap and Avalara partner on cross-border commerce. Swap, an ecommerce logistics platform, has partnered with Avalara, a provider of tax compliance automation software. Swap and Avalara will collaborate to enable cross-border compliance for brands selling on marketplaces and platforms. According to Swap, the integrated offering reduces cross-border complexity and compliance risk and ensures timely payments of duties, taxes, and fees.

Swap

Amazon launches a suite of foundational models. Amazon has launched Nova, a suite of foundation models to help businesses leverage artificial intelligence. By tapping into a company’s data sources, Amazon Nova can deliver tailored insights, recommendations, and more. Nova features natural language understanding, integration with popular business apps, price performance, and enterprise-grade security features. Use cases include customer support, content generation, data analysis, and personalized product or service recommendations.

Deluxe launches mobile app dlxPAY for merchants. Deluxe, a payments and data company, has launched dlxPAY, a mobile app to enhance the payment experience for merchants and partners. dlxPAY offers merchants a suite of features to streamline payment processing, including real-time transaction management, advanced security, and customizable notifications. Additionally, the app integrates with Ingenico’s Moby 5500 card reader device, adding flexibility for businesses that require mobile payment solutions, including contactless and Europay, Mastercard, and Visa chip card acceptance.

Cloudways hosting launches AI-powered diagnostic solutions for SMBs. Cloudways, part of DigitalOcean Holdings, is launching Cloudways Copilot, a suite of AI services that bring intelligent managed hosting to small- and medium-sized businesses. Cloudways Copilot empowers digital businesses to address website-related problems by automatically detecting, diagnosing, and supporting the resolution in real time. The rollout of AI-powered issue diagnostics is the first phase of the Cloudways Copilot launch.

Chargebee subscription management helps with click-to-cancel requirements. Chargebee, a subscription management platform, has announced that its Retention feature helps businesses meet the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s new click-to-cancel requirements. The FTC now mandates a straightforward cancellation process for consumers, targeting subscription services that use features such as automatic renewals or free-to-pay conversions. Chargebee Retention helps businesses comply with the new requirements and provides insights into why customers leave.

Chargebee

Squarespace’s Tools Aid Ecommerce Novices

New ecommerce entrepreneurs are not typically software engineers or graphic designers. Many online stores therefore look alike, since founders, as skilled as they are, rely on basic templates.

Content management systems and ecommerce platforms provide flexible and customizable theme options, but most require development or design expertise.

Some platforms — Shopify and others — allow users who can write code to manipulate themes to a single pixel. Conversely, exceptional site design tools such as Webflow don’t require code but still have a steep learning curve with complex Figma- or Photoshop-like interfaces.

Squarespace

Entrepreneurs may not think of Squarespace when opening an online shop, but I recently worked with the platform and concluded two helpful features — Blueprint AI and the grid-based editor — make it a “just right” solution for founders with limited products who want much visual control.

Blueprint AI

Squarespace launched Blueprint AI last year to assist merchants in building a semi-custom website. The AI guides the user through a series of questions, designing the website as it goes.

The process is interactive, real-time, and editable, generating an attractive and branded site.

Squarespace offers templates and a guided design option called Blueprint AI.

Here is a glimpse into the process.

First, Blueprint AI wants to know the name of the business and its personality. I called this example “Latin Quote Art Shop” and chose the brand personality as “Bold,” one of seven options.

• Professional
• Playful
• Sophisticated
• Friendly
• Bold
• Quirky
• Innovative

Next, I selected sections for the home page and chose each layout. My Latin quotes example will have an introduction and a product area, among other sections.

Users can add pages during the guided Blueprint AI design or later.

It is easy to add pages after Blueprint AI builds its initial design. For example, I could add a “shop” page containing the product catalog and pages for “about” and “contact.”

Blueprint AI offers a limited selection of color palettes organized with labels from the brand personality. This step was disappointing given the capabilities of generative AI, which could easily provide more colors and even suggest them based on text descriptions.

The color palette is limited but easy to use.

Next, I selected a font from a tiny list, confirming again that Blueprint AI is a guided tool, not generative.

The tool, however, becomes part of the Squarespace editor. For example, Blueprint AI surmised my Latin Quotes Art Shop offered art supplies because it recommended the headline “Unleash your inner artist.” But the shop’s purpose was to sell wall art featuring Latin quotes.

Once in the editor, a user can prompt Blueprint AI to generate text.

I then prompted, “Write a blurb about the Latin Quote Art Shop, which sells framed wall art that features famous Latin quotes like “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam” and nine iterations. The AI eventually produced “Let words inspire.”

Squarespace editor

The second impressive feature was the Squarespace editor. In 2020, Squarespace updated the tool and released the Fluid Engine component.

Fluid Engine has many options for colors and layouts, but its grid system might be the most helpful.

A user can select, drag, and resize any element or section of a page and have it “snap” to the grid. The resulting layout will automatically fit desktop and mobile layouts, precisely positioned.

The underlying design grid is simple and useful.

I routinely work in multiple ecommerce platforms — Shopify, WordPress, Ghost, Wix, others. The Squarespace editor is among the best.

The Squarespace editor produces layouts that are both unique and conventional.

Just Right

In short, Squarespace may be a “just right” fit for ecommerce startups needing a lot of visual control for a limited product catalog. The platform’s AI tool and snap-in-place grid are much easier than code-based theme modifiers or complicated editors.

New Ecommerce Tools: January 16, 2025

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on cross-border selling, online advertising, generative AI, post-purchase tools, and B2B and B2C platforms.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Passport acquires Brand Access for localized cross-border selling. Passport, an international ecommerce solutions provider, has acquired Brand Access, a market leader in localized cross-border selling for direct-to-consumer brands. The acquisition will help merchants unlock their global potential by integrating locally managed services such as in-country logistics and marketplace management in key regions, including Canada, the U.K., and the E.U.

Passport

eBay to acquire Caramel for online automotive transactions. eBay has agreed to acquire Caramel, an online automotive transaction provider. According to eBay, Caramel’s platform provides a secure digital transaction experience to handle vehicle sales (including paperwork, ownership transfer, financing, and transportation) on Caramel’s site or app, through an independent dealer, or via marketplace and auction partners.

Microsoft Advertising launches tools for retailers. Microsoft Advertising has released two tools for retailers: “Curate for Commerce” and “Sponsored Promotions by Brands.” Curate for Commerce enables retailers to monetize first-party data to increase revenue for their commerce media program and provide shoppers with targeted ads from partners. Sponsored Promotions by Brands helps companies engage shoppers across Microsoft Edge, Bing, and retail partners’ websites, creating personalized, data-driven experiences.

BigCommerce updates Catalyst for one-click storefront. BigCommerce has announced updates to Catalyst, its storefront technology. With one click from the control panel, marketers can now launch and design a store that comes optimized out of the box. Catalyst is integrated with core BigCommerce functionality, including customizable checkouts, APIs, core catalog and inventory management, multi-storefront capabilities, and B2B functionality.

BigCommerce Catalyst

Salesforce unveils AI solutions for retail. Salesforce has launched two AI-powered services for retailers: “Agentforce for Retail” and “Retail Cloud with Modern POS.” Agentforce for Retail includes a library of pre-built skills to create AI agents that automate time-consuming tasks, such as order management and appointment scheduling, and to deploy rapid shopper personalization at scale. Retail Cloud with Modern POS combines online and offline shopping data together onto a single platform.

Algolia introduces Shopping Guides, a generative AI tool. Algolia, an AI search and discovery platform, has launched Shopping Guides, a content generation tool to assist shoppers on B2C and B2B ecommerce websites. Shopping Guides uses generative AI to create informative and comparison-based articles, providing shoppers with insights throughout their shopping journey.

Commercetools introduces InStore for unified omnichannel commerce. Commercetools, a developer of composable commerce applications, has launched Commercetools InStore, an application that brings its capabilities into physical stores. With this addition, Commercetools lets enterprise retailers deliver seamless, consistent shopping experiences across online and offline channels, managing pricing, promotions, products, carts, and orders in one place. For existing Commercetools customers, InStore removes the need for redundant integrations, enabling real-time inventory updates, cross-channel workflows, and personalized in-store experiences.

Commercetools

ParcelLab launches post-purchase Copilot and AI Email Editor. ParcelLab, a post-purchase experience platform, has launched Copilot and AI Email Editor to manage and personalize post-purchase journeys. Copilot is an AI assistant that helps teams optimize customer communications and touchpoints and identify and improve operations, providing real-time insights. ParcelLab’s AI Email Editor automates and personalizes email communications in over 160 languages.

Genesy AI raises €5 million to build AI agents for B2B sales. Genesy, a platform of AI-powered sales agents that autonomously identify and engage potential B2B customers, has closed a €5 million ($5.2 million) seed round led by Samaipata, a pan-European venture capital firm focused on early-stage digital businesses. Genesy’s mission is to transform B2B sales processes using AI sales agents. Genesy will use the proceeds to expand its team and enter markets such as the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, and The Netherlands.

Amazon Ads brings generative AI to Marketing Cloud. Amazon Ads has announced a structured-query-language (SQL) generator for Marketing Cloud, a generative AI that helps advertisers develop insights from Marketing Cloud signals. According to Amazon, the new capability provides a natural language interface through which advertisers can generate SQL queries for their desired audience use case and then build custom audiences for Amazon Ads campaigns across the entire marketing funnel, including streaming TV, audio, and digital channels.

Amazon Ads

New Ecommerce Tools: January 9, 2025

Every week we publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on marketplaces, supply chain platforms, shipping, returns, cross-border payments, and AI-generated product videos.

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

New Tools for Merchants

TalkShopLive introduces TSL Shoppettes for product videos. TalkShopLive, a video commerce platform, has introduced TSL Shoppettes, short-form shoppable videos for social commerce. TSL Shoppettes enable merchants to schedule up to 90-second vertical videos featuring one to five items each. The videos allow consumers on Meta platforms to purchase products with a simple “Shop” comment, triggering direct links to buy via Instagram DMs or Facebook Messenger.

TalkShopLive

Meta tests eBay listings in Facebook Marketplace. Meta is launching a test for Facebook users in Germany, France, and the U.S. to browse eBay listings directly on its Marketplace and complete the transaction on eBay. Meta is conducting the trial as it seeks to resolve European Union charges leveled last year of anti-competitive behavior. E.U. antitrust regulators accused Meta of illegally shutting out competitors by tying Marketplace to its social network.

USPS offers new same-day and next-day services for volume sellers. The U.S. Postal Service has announced plans to offer same-day and next-day services, but with limitations. USPS Ground Advantage Next Day Priority will offer competitive pricing to meet the needs of businesses with threshold daily shipping volumes of 10 pieces at 10 pounds or less. It’s also offering same-day and next-day deliveries through USPS Connect.

Poshmark partners with Loop to transform missed returns into resales.. Poshmark, a fashion resale marketplace, and Loop, an operations platform for Shopify brands, are partnering to transform missed returns into resale opportunities. The partnership addresses a common consumer pain point: missing a return window or attempting to return a final sale item. Available to U.S. shoppers across Loop’s network of merchants, the new service allows consumers to resell non-returnable items on Poshmark while creating new revenue streams for the merchants.

Poshmark

Avataar releases a tool for creating AI-generated product videos. Avataar, a generative AI-powered content platform, has released Velocity, a tool that creates low-cost product videos from a link. The company’s optional API can integrate with merchants’ platforms to create product videos automatically.

Supply chain platform Tecsys launches an order management connector for Shopify. Tecsys, a provider of supply chain management tools, has announced the availability of its OrderDynamics OMS connector for Shopify to help merchants streamline fulfillment. The OrderDynamics connector integrates with Shopify stores, providing real-time inventory updates across fulfillment centers, warehouses, and stores. Participating brands have up-to-date stock data, preventing overselling and stockouts and allowing for more accurate and timely deliveries.

Later acquires social influencer app Mavely. Later, a platform for influencer marketing and social media management, announced its acquisition of Mavely, which helps brands monetize content. According to Later, the $250 million acquisition accelerates its ability to deliver full-funnel impact and measurable ROI for marketers while enabling creators to maximize their earnings through social commerce. Later’s AI predictive analytics will leverage first-party performance data from Mavely’s network of more than 120,000 creators.

Later

FedEx launches cross-border ecommerce in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. FedEx has launched FedEx International Connect Plus, a shipping service for packages weighing up to 20 kg, in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. FICP offers full tracking visibility for merchants and customers. The service includes notifications to recipients and the ability to choose delivery location, date, and time, including weekends and evenings, via FedEx Delivery Manager.

StoryStream unveils AI-powered video commerce solutions. StoryStream, a provider of AI-driven social shopping and ecommerce content, has launched an AI-powered video commerce platform. According to StoryStream, the platform empowers brands and retailers with immersive storytelling, shoppable videos, and live commerce for personalized and dynamic shopping experiences.

WordPress.com launches Studio Sync for local development. WordPress.com, the website building and hosting platform by Automattic, has released Studio Sync, a tool that synchronizes the hosting platform with Studio, its free and open-source WordPress development app. With Studio Sync, merchants keep local Studio sites connected to WordPress.com.

Briskpe launches a unified platform for cross-border payments. Briskpe, an international payments provider, has introduced a unified cross-border platform integrating account-to-account transfers and card collections powered by PayU and PayPal. Per Briskpe, the platform enables exporters, service providers, and marketplace sellers to manage international transactions efficiently. Briskpe charges a flat 1% fee on account-to-account transactions. The platform supports six major currencies: British pounds, euros, and dollars from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Singapore.

Briskpe

AI Apps to Get Things Done in 2025

Productivity and project management platforms have embraced AI to help individuals and businesses get more done. AI can automate workflows, optimize schedules, utilize data, and more.

Here is a list of tools to help you increase productivity in 2025. There are all-in-one project management platforms and AI assistants to manage tasks and calendars.

TimeHero

TimeHero

TimeHero is an AI-driven time management tool that automatically plans and manages daily tasks and projects. Plan projects with smart workflow templates, built-in multi-task time tracking, and autonomous recurring tasks. TimeHero automatically plans when to work on tasks based on availability. If events or priorities change, TimeHero adjusts everyone’s plan. Automatic risk detection shows when projects fall behind, pinpointing risky tasks and overloaded team members. Use project forecasting to see how schedules look for better decisions. Price: Plans start at $4.60.

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Trevor AI

Trevor

Trevor AI is a daily planning app and time management assistant that schedules and syncs tasks between to-do list applications and calendars in real-time. Schedule tasks through drag-and-drop, auto-scheduling, and in-schedule suggestions. Trevor AI assigns a base duration for each task, which you can overwrite. In-schedule suggestions provide optimal times to accept tasks with a click. Trevor integrates with task managers such as Todoist and Google and Microsoft calendar applications. Price: Free for individuals. Plans start at $5 per month.

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Motion

Motion

Motion is an AI-powered task management system and to-do list app. Its AI assistant prioritizes and timeblocks projects and tasks on your calendar and automatically optimizes your schedule throughout the day. Using deadlines, priorities, and dependencies, Motion’s AI will provide the best task to work on at any moment. Use it to turn a batch of tasks into an optimized plan. Price: Plans start at $12 per month.

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Reclaim

Reclaim

Reclaim, part of Dropbox, is an AI-powered smart calendar assistant. Its Smart Meetings tool automates schedules with participants’ time zones, availability, and priorities. Teams can auto-schedule recurring meetings across any number of people, using advanced AI scheduling to optimize times. Set your amount of focus time, or adjust your calendar for work-life balance. Track skipped or rescheduled meetings, with daily recommendations to teams to keep them connected. Price: Free for one user. Premium plans start at $8 per month.

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Notion

Notion

Notion is a productivity workspace to collaboratively generate ideas, manage projects, and run a business. The workspace includes Kanban boards, tasks, wikis, and databases. Notion AI is a collection of connected AI tools within the workspace. Use search to find answers from Notion and connected apps such as Slack and Google Drive, with answers limited to your trusted sources. Generate and edit text in any document and autofill databases with summaries and insights. Notion also has an integrated calendar to set meetings, manage project timelines and deadlines, and connect to Notion docs and collaborators. Price: Notion is free for individuals. Premium plans start at $10 per month. Notion AI is an additional $8 per month.

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Taskade

Taskade

Taskade is an application layer for AI-driven workflows. Build, train, and deploy custom AI agents that automate tasks across workflows and learn from real-time project data. Automatically generate task lists, flow charts, mind maps, and more. Let AI prioritize and organize tasks, manage progress, and provide insights to streamline your workflow. Automate information gathering, distill web content, research topics, watch competitors, and monitor trends. Price: Free for one AI agent. Premium plans start at $8 per month.

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ClickUp

ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management and productivity platform that features tasks, whiteboards, document collaboration, and chat. Its AI feature, ClickUp Brain, suggests what to work on next, highlights urgent tasks, summarizes documents and notes, and provides information on team members and project targets. Link to knowledge from all files and data sources across Google Drive, GitHub, Figma, Salesforce, and more. Price: Plans start at $7 per month.

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Monday.com

Monday.com

Monday.com is a productivity and project management platform for teams. Use building blocks, such as boards, views, charts, automations, and integrations, to create custom workflows to manage projects and work, such as sales, social media marketing, and advertising. Monday AI provides an assistant to automate marketing and creative tasks, generate summaries, and more. Start from an AI-powered template, or click the AI icon on any board. Write any prompt in your own words to instantly create an AI automation that fits into your workflow. Aggregate data from multiple apps, including Slack, Google Suite, Mailchimp, Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and Excel. Price: Free for up to two seats. Premium plans start at $9 per month. 

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Asana

Asana

Asana is a work management platform for teams. Create projects, assign tasks, automate workflows, set deadlines, and communicate directly within the platform. Asana includes reporting tools, calendars, and goal tracking. Asana AI lets users design AI agents with a no-code builder and deploy them directly within teams’ workflows. Asana AI also allows users to assign incoming requests automatically, suggest timelines and resource allocations, highlight risks, generate content, and provide real-time insights for data-driven decisions. Use AI to draft goals, standardize them across an organization, and track the progress. Price: Free for up to 10 collaborators. Premium plans start at $10.99 per month.

New Ecommerce Tools: January 2, 2025

We publish a rundown each week of new tools from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on payment platforms, shopping assistants, advertising insights, AI chatbots, mobile services, and parcel delivery.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Klarna to be default payment option for merchants using WooPayments. Klarna, a buy-now-pay-later platform, has expanded its partnership with WooCommerce wherein Klarna will become a network of choice, offered as a default payment method to WooPayments’ merchants globally, alongside traditional card payments.

Klarna

Google Ads launches Brand Report for advertiser insights. Google Ads has introduced Brand Report, a dashboard tool that gives advertisers consolidated insights into campaign reach and frequency. The tool simplifies campaign tracking campaign by providing metrics in one place rather than across multiple reports. Advertisers can filter results by age, gender, and other demographics. Brand Report is accessible directly in the Google Ads dashboard under “Insights and reports.”

Sitoo and Adyen partner on Sitoo Payments. Sitoo, a point-of-sale commerce platform, has partnered with Adyen, a financial technology provider, to launch Sitoo Payments. The new payment solution combines Sitoo’s POS functionality with Adyen’s payment processing capabilities. According to the companies, Sitoo Payments simplifies how retailers manage payments across markets and channels, unifying physical and digital shopping experiences and unlocking payments as a first-party data source.

DHL eCommerce and CTT Expresso partner to create parcel networks for Iberia. DHL eCommerce and CTT Expresso have partnered to address the ecommerce and parcel delivery market across Spain and Portugal, which, combined, form the fourth largest market in Europe. CTT Expresso will acquire the DHL eCommerce business in Portugal, ensuring CTT Expresso becomes the distributor of DHL eCommerce parcel volumes in Portugal. In Spain, DHL eCommerce will concentrate on B2B operations, while CTT Express, the Spanish entity of CTT Expresso, will cater to B2C services.

DHL Group

WeChat tests gifting feature for the holidays, sparking ecommerce potential. China-based super app WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, has added a gift-giving feature to its embedded ecommerce platform, allowing users to send presents to friends for the holiday season. Shoppers can search for products by keywords. All gifts are priced no more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,375) and exclude jewelry and tutoring classes. After the sender completes payment, the recipient must accept the gift and submit a postal address within 24 hours.

Coralogix acquires AI observability platform Aporia. Coralogix, a data monitoring platform, has acquired Aporia, a startup focusing on tools to observe and secure AI workloads and set guardrails to avoid hallucinations or unintended disclosures. As part of this acquisition, Coralogix will launch a dedicated AI research center, Coralogix AI, which Aporia co-founders will lead. Aporia’s technology will integrate into Coralogix’s service.

Gigs raises $73 million to help companies launch mobile services. Gigs, a platform for mobile services, has raised $73 million in a round led by Ribbit Capital and investments from Google’s Gradient and Speedinvest. Gigs will use the funding to expand its geographical footprint and invest in an expanded suite of products and services for tech companies. According to Gigs, this will enable more tech brands to innovate in telecom, provide more value to customers, and tap into a recurring revenue stream.

Gigs

LXRGuide to launch Intellichat AI chatbot for small businesses. LXRGuide, an AI-powered small business growth platform developed by NetElixir, will launch in January its Strategic Growth Dashboard and Intellichat, an advanced conversational AI chatbot designed to help small businesses thrive in a competitive market traditionally dominated by larger brands with specialized marketing resources.

Fiserv enhances embedded finance capability with acquisition of Payfare. Fiserv, a provider of payments and financial services technology, has agreed to acquire Payfare Inc., a payroll management platform. This acquisition complements the embedded finance solutions of Fiserv with card program management, a white-label consumer app, and a microservices orchestration layer. According to Fiserv, Payfare offerings enhance the Fiserv solution in embedded banking, payments, and lending.

Google expands Gemini’s research mode to 40 languages. Google is expanding Gemini’s latest in-depth research mode to 40 more languages. ​​Google launched the multi-step in-depth research mode in December, allowing Google One AI premium plan users to unlock an AI-powered research assistant. Gemini’s supported languages include Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Danish, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Malayalam, Marathi, Polish, Portuguese, Swahili, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Thani, Ukrainian, and Urdu.

Alibaba partners with marketplace in South Korea. Alibaba is establishing an online shopping venture with South Korean retailer E-Mart, a division of retailer Shinsegae Group, to combine the assets of their online platforms, AliExpress Korea and Gmarket, in a 50-50 joint venture with the two platforms operating independently. Shinsegae Group said it expects cooperation with Alibaba to help bolster its Gmarket services and customer experience.

Alibaba

New Ecommerce Tools: December 26, 2024

We publish a rundown each week of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on return solutions, pay-over-time services, first-order discounts, China-based sales, CPQ pricing, virtual try-ons, and more.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Swap launches AI-powered returns solution for DTC brands on Shopify. Swap, a shipping and packaging system for direct-to-consumer brands, has launched an AI-powered feature to streamline return operations for Shopify stores. Swap states it is an “ecommerce operating system” that can improve brands’ shipping, tracking, package protection, and returns, including cross-border.

Swap

WooCommerce designates Affirm as a leading pay-over-time provider. WooCommerce has selected Affirm as a leading pay-over-time provider, making Affirm a default payment service for the platform. Merchants using WooCommerce’s integrated payment solution, WooPayments, can offer Affirm’s customized pay-over-time plans at checkout. Eligible merchants can also access Affirm’s Pay-in-30 offering. This addition will enable merchants to offer Affirm across a wider range of transactions, making flexible payment plans available to more shoppers.

Google Merchant Center adds first-order discount option for retailers. Google has launched a feature in Merchant Center that enables retailers to offer discounts to new customers. Merchants can now configure targeted promotions specifically for first-time buyers through their Merchant Center accounts. The new discount type appears as a selectable option under the “Promotion conditions” section when creating promotional offers. The implementation allows retailers to specify percentage-based discounts exclusively for new customers making their initial purchases.

Walmart partners with Meituan to bolster China-based ecommerce unit. Walmart has teamed with China’s Meituan, a shopping and delivery platform, where Meituan will provide local delivery service for Walmart products and begin featuring the retail giant on its app. In a WeChat post, Walmart’s China unit stated that the collaboration will bolster its ecommerce efforts, which makes up close to half its sales in that country. The partnership comes approximately four months after Walmart sold its stake in JD.com.

Meituan

DealHub introduces API-first CPQ to deliver automated headless quoting. DealHub.io, an enterprise-grade configure-price-quote platform, has released its API-first, headless quoting architecture. The new quoting environment supports automation across all sales channels, including ecommerce and self-service portals. The headless environment provides a composable and modular architecture that can be seamlessly integrated with revenue applications and custom user interfaces.

Bell Media and Shopsense AI bring curated shoppable TV to Canadian viewers. Bell Media, a Canada-based media and entertainment company, has partnered with Shopsense AI, a provider of shoppable TV technology, to bring shopping experiences to Canadian viewers. The partnership will debut on daily shows “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg” and “Etalk.” Brands can sponsor experiences during pivotal moments on those shows and across social media, with a reach of over 1.5 million followers.

ReturnGo enhances post-purchase solutions with Easyship. ReturnGo, a provider of post-purchase tools, has partnered with Easyship, a shipping software provider. As part of this initiative, ReturnGo has launched “LabelGo,” which offers merchants discounted shipping labels from more than 550 global couriers. “Ship by ReturnGo” enables merchants to generate shipping labels directly from the ReturnGo platform. “Return Coverage Revenue Share Model” lets merchants use ReturnGO software at no cost, participating in a revenue share model based on profits from return coverage.

ReturnGo

Fabric debuts AI order management system. Fabric, an order management platform, has introduced its new AI agent. “Fabric AI Order Cloud” provides retailers with a centralized system for managing their orders, inventory, and fulfillment across multiple channels. According to Fabric, the AI-driven OMS delivers real-time data analysis, trend detection, and intelligent recommendations. Retailers can improve omnichannel shopping experiences with AI-enriched product information connected to real-time inventory to enhance product discovery, search engine visibility, site search, and conversions.

CallRail broadens attribution capabilities to include AI-powered search engines. CallRail, an AI-powered lead intelligence platform, has launched new capabilities to enable businesses to track and attribute unique traffic from AI-generated search engines, providing a more complete and accurate understanding of lead generation efforts. This new functionality allows businesses to track leads from sources such as ChatGPT, SearchGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini — ensuring that every lead is accounted for.

Worldline payment platform launches FlexPricing. Worldline, a provider of payment services, has launched FlexPricing for independent software vendors. With FlexPricing, software providers can implement various price strategies, including charging a percentage fee on bank transfer transactions, adding custom fees, and letting Worldline take on their billing duties. According to Worldline, FlexPricing empowers companies to enhance revenue models and optimize the billing experience. FlexPricing is available for current and prospective partners on the Worldline North America ecommerce platform.

Perfect Corp’s generative AI APIs driver virtual try-on and AI image enhancement. Perfect Corp., a developer of AI and AR beauty technology, has launched its AI APIs, a comprehensive suite of pre-built beauty and image-processing technologies. Developers can use generative AI to create images directly from text prompts, add color, enhance clarity, remove objects or backgrounds, and more. Perfect says its new APIs integrate into websites, ecommerce platforms, and mobile apps.

Perfect Corp

New Ecommerce Tools: December 19, 2024

Each week we handpick new products and services for ecommerce merchants and curate them in a list. This installment includes updates on returns, payment financing, AI-powered assistants, social commerce, shipping, and security tools.

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

New Tools for Merchants

eBay and Klarna expand BNPL partnership. eBay and Klarna have expanded their collaboration to European markets. eBay is offering Klarna’s buy-now-pay-later payments to shoppers in the U.K., Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands, with more markets coming soon. Payment options include interest-free “pay in 3,” pay in 30 days, or financing for larger purchases. The European expansion follows eBay’s recent announcement of free selling in the U.K.

Ebay and Klarna

Amazon integrates Intuit QuickBooks for sellers. Intuit QuickBooks is now a preferred partner of Amazon for financial management solutions — integrated directly into Amazon Seller Central starting in mid-2025. The expanded Amazon-Intuit partnership will allow sellers to bring their existing Amazon data into Intuit products to understand and optimize profitability, manage cash flow, access capital, and simplify taxes.

Wix releases AI-powered virtual agent for customers. Wix.com, a website builder platform, has launched the AI Site-Chat virtual agent. According to Wix, with AI Site-Chat, businesses can connect with visitors anytime, answer questions, and provide relevant information in real-time. The customizable Site-Chat attempts to recognize the intent behind each user query, allowing it to deliver more precise search results and tailored recommendations.

Shopify releases Winter ’25 Boring Edition. Shopify has released its Winter ’25 Edition, called The Boring Edition, with more than 150 updates. According to Shopify, cart loading times are reduced, and checkout buttons are up to 58% faster. New customization options include checkout blocks, chat integration, and expansion of draft orders. Shopify POS has been updated, and Shopify Flow now automates more tasks, including returns and exchanges, marketing campaigns, and targeting with segment-based triggers.

Shopify’s Winter ’25 Boring Edition

ShipStation and Adobe Commerce partner on shipping tools for merchants. ShipStation, a shipping software from Auctane, has announced an expanded relationship with Adobe Commerce to provide merchants with shipping options to compare prices, print shipping labels, automate workflows, and more. Adobe Commerce sellers can unlock shipping features through the ShipStation extension, including in-cart delivery options within online storefronts and shipping cost calculators.

TikTok Shop launches in Ireland and Spain. TikTok Shop has launched in Ireland and Spain. Per TikTok, upcoming features include live shopping, shoppable videos in the “for you” feed, product showcases, affiliate programs, shop ads, and secure checkout. The launch in Ireland is in collaboration with Guaranteed Irish, which assists in identifying Irish products and merchants for consumers.

Shipium partners with DoorDash to improve local delivery for merchants. Shipium, an end-to-end shipping platform for ecommerce sellers, has partnered with DoorDash Drive On-Demand, a white-label fulfillment platform. Shipium customers now have immediate access to DoorDash’s services through the pre-integrated carrier network. Customers establish a relationship with DoorDash Drive On-Demand and turn on services. DoorDash Drive On-Demand helps retailers offer and outsource local delivery.

DoorDash’s Drive On-Demand

Loop acquires Wonderment to expand its returns platform. Loop, a commerce returns platform, has acquired Wonderment, customer experience and order-tracking software for ​​Shopify merchants. Wonderment’s tracking product includes real-time shipment insights, page tracking, proactive alerts, one-click integrations, and more, all from a single interface. Loop says the acquisition brings its merchants AI-powered insights that transform shipping and returns data into actionable intelligence.

Bloomreach Discovery launches self-service features to accelerate integrations. Bloomreach has released features to accelerate integrations with Discovery, its AI search and merchandising platform. Self-service Catalog Creation allows partners to create and manage product catalogs. Catalog Management helps users manage catalogs programmatically using APIs. API Key Management simplifies the management of Discovery modules. Feed and Indexing enables users to upload and index product data. Finally, Web Typescript SDK streamlines the integration of Bloomreach search features for front-end developers.

GroupBy partners with adCaptcha to strengthen ecommerce security. GroupBy, an ecommerce search and product discovery provider, has partnered with adCaptcha, a verification platform, to combine security measures with personalized product discovery. GroupBy and adCaptcha’s partnership empowers merchants to identify and block malicious bot traffic. According to the companies, by reducing bot traffic with adCaptcha and by leveraging GroupBy’s AI-powered ecommerce search and product discovery platform, retailers can focus on serving real customers with intent-driven search results.

Cart.com acquires OceanX and deepens capabilities for health and beauty brands. Cart.com, a unified commerce solutions provider, has acquired OceanX, the fulfillment operations arm of Guthy-Renker., the multi-brand, omnichannel retailer. According to Cart.com, the acquisition strengthens its position in enterprise logistics and expands capabilities to support high-volume beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands. Cart.com will add two new facilities totaling over 600,000 square feet to its network, including a distribution hub in Southern California and its third facility near Columbus, Ohio.

Cart.com

12 Top Online Form Builders, Compared

Form builders are handy tools for engaging users and collecting info, such as contact submissions, surveys, quizzes, polls, and more. Forms can also capture payment details, notify stakeholders, build automated workflows, and more.

Online Form Builders

Google Forms is the default choice for creating basic forms. Build surveys or quizzes in your mobile or web browser. Analyze responses in real time and summarize results at a glance with charts and graphs. Add custom logic that shows questions based on answers. Open the raw data with Google Sheets for deeper analysis or automation. Free with a Google account.

Paperform is a form builder for creating and maintaining automated forms, e-signatures, surveys, bookings, payments, and more — in more than 700 templates. Customize with built-in Unsplash and GIPHY libraries. Use Paperform’s “products” section to include fields for SKU, price, and minimum and maximum quantities. Use the “calculations” function to compute shipping rates and discounts based on real-time user input. Paperform integrates with Stripe, Braintree, PayPal Business, and Square. Automate your schedule and bookings by connecting your calendar. Access native analytics and connect with Google and Facebook. Premium plans start at $24 per month.

Paperform

WPForms is a popular form builder plugin for WordPress by Awesome Motive. WPForms features over 2,000 templates, smart conditional logic, secure payments, electronic signatures, and advanced security tools. Users can describe what they want in an AI chatbot and receive a working form with customizable contact fields, surveys, registration data, and feedback. The AI form builder can translate entire forms into multiple languages, automatically set up conditional logic on form fields, and tweak or adjust forms afterward. Premium plans start at $49.50 per year.

Typeform is a builder for conversational forms, mirroring real dialog by asking questions one at a time. Call for participants by name and ask follow-up questions in real-time based on their answers. Get a detailed analysis of the results for each form question. To build a form, choose from 28 editable question types and access more than 3,000 templates. Free plan available. Premium plans start at $25 per month.

Formstack lets you quickly build online forms via a no-code builder and AI. Capture leads, collect payments, administer surveys, and more. Formstack is a good option for businesses with strict data procedures, including compliance with GDPR or HIPAA. Formstack offers roughly 40 templates and a dozen customizable themes. Connect with CRMs, backend systems, and more. Formstack also provides an add-on conversion kit to run A/B tests and integrate analytics platforms. It also evaluates a form for accessibility. Premium plans start at $83 per month.

Formstack

Microsoft Forms, part of Office 365, facilitates custom surveys, polls, quizzes, and more. Export data to Excel for in-depth analysis and view live using the Present feature. Add or customize questions quickly with the visual editor. Click the Style button for AI-powered theme suggestions. Visualize data with real-time charts and automatically generated reports.  Free with an Office 365 subscription.

JotForm is an easy-to-use online form builder with more than 10,000 templates to cover seemingly any niche. Use the drag-and-drop editor to customize or the advanced editor to go deeper. Automatically send form submissions to CRMs, email marketing services, project management boards, and more with more than 150 integrations. Plus, get paid directly through your form. Free plan offers five forms. Premium plans start at $34 per month.

Wufoo, from SurveyMonkey, is a no-code form builder that collects data, files, and payments. Create registrations, applications, surveys, contact-us, payment forms, and more. Process payments through PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net. Create forms from more than 400 templates. Automate workflows with hundreds of integrations and transfer data to a CRM, marketing automation system, and more. Get notified via text or email when someone completes a form. Collect all types of files through your form and access them directly from your account. Free up to five forms. Premium plans start at $14.08 per month.

Wufoo

Zoho Forms, part of the Zoho Office Suite, is a free no-code app to create forms with customizable themes, situation-specific templates, and more than 30 field types — queries, feedback, orders, and more. Sort and view form entries, export them to spreadsheets, or send the data to your preferred apps. Trigger conditional email or SMS notifications whenever a new record is submitted or updated. Zoho Forms is free.

Feathery is a form builder with advanced logic capabilities for creating automated workflows between applications as users interact with the forms. Define custom logic in a natural language and conditionally show elements and steps of a form based on previous field responses. Pull data from APIs and write to in-house systems. Feathery supports 100-plus integrations to CRMs, email, analytics, payments, and project management tools. Free plan for up to five live forms. Contact for pricing on premium plans.

Ninja Forms is another popular form builder for WordPress. Use the drag-and-drop editor to create multi-page forms easily. Add-ons include Advanced Datepicker, Conditional Logic, File Uploads, Multi-Step Forms, and more. Send or export submissions as PDFs, Excel files, and Google Sheets. Send emails from any form to people who need it. Accept PayPal and credit card payments from any form, as single payments or subscriptions. Basic plan is free. Premium plans start at $59.40 per year.

HubSpot Form Builder is part of the popular marketing platform. Quickly create pop-up or embedded forms using the drag-and-drop form builder. Access templates ranging from registrations to ebook downloads and support queries. Choose from 1,000 form fields and a dozen field types. Follow up with automated emails and notifications. Enroll your contacts in lead nurturing campaigns. Automatically add form submitters to your HubSpot database. HubSpot Form Builder is free.

HubSpot Form Builder