Step into the dynamic realm of eCommerce with our January roundup! From cutting-edge technologies to global trends and innovative partnerships, we’ve curated the latest buzz in the industry. Join us for a brief exploration of the groundbreaking developments shaping the future of online commerce this month.
Table of Contents
Featured news
Visa introduces a Web3 loyalty program, enabling brands to connect with consumers.
Visa has introduced a Web3 loyalty engagement program to connect with tech-savvy customers. This new service, powered by SmartMedia Technologies, allows brands to interact with the next generation of consumers in digital and virtual spaces.
Brands can use immersive techniques like gamified giveaways, augmented reality treasure hunts, and inventive ways to earn and redeem loyalty points.
This enterprise platform acts as a bridge between traditional Web2 and the innovative Web3, offering customizable experiences and special offers for consumers.
Walmart and Unity collaborated to introduce immersive commerce for physical goods in gaming experiences.
Walmart and Unity, a platform known for creating real-time 3D content, have revealed a collaboration that allows Unity developers to seamlessly incorporate Walmart’s commerce APIs (application programming interfaces) directly into their games and apps.
This integration empowers creators to offer physical items for sale within real-time 3D experiences across more than 20 platforms.
By doing so, it opens up innovative ways to bridge the gap between customers’ virtual and physical lifestyles. Additionally, this collaboration establishes new monetization channels for games and experiences developed using Unity.
Amazon announces the integration of Buy with Prime into the Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud merchants now have the capability to integrate Amazon Buy with Prime into their shopping experiences.
With Buy with Prime for Salesforce, shoppers can search and filter for Prime-eligible items directly within the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform.
This integration enables Salesforce merchants to provide the advantages of Prime, such as free delivery and 24/7 live chat support, enhancing the overall shopping experience for customers.
The rollout of Buy with Prime for Salesforce is initially invitation-only for select Salesforce merchants.
X collaborates with Shopify for in-stream product promotion.
X has entered into a partnership with Shopify to provide merchants with additional advertising opportunities on the social platform.
According to a post on the X Business account, this collaboration of X and Shopify will empower “all Shopify merchants to reach even more customers by leveraging the power of X.”
The partnership aims to enhance the advertising capabilities of Shopify merchants, allowing them to connect with a broader audience through the X platform effectively.
Meta introduces creator management tools.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has introduced Creator Management Tools within its Business Suite.
These tools are designed to assist agencies and creators in managing their relationships on Facebook. The features include connecting accounts and providing access to assets, optimizing the payout process, and linking payment accounts to specific monetization products.
The goal is to streamline the management of relationships between creators and agencies on the platform, offering more efficient ways to handle account access, asset sharing, and payment processes.
Meta introduces the IP Reporting Center to enhance brand protection.
Meta has introduced several updates and features to enhance brand protection for businesses:
- Brand Rights Protection: The new version of Brand Rights Protection includes features such as saved searches, cross-surface search capabilities, and an expanded reference library. These improvements aim to provide businesses with more effective tools for protecting their brand presence on Meta’s platforms.
- Intellectual Property Reporting Center: Meta has launched a new Intellectual Property Reporting Center, offering a logged-in reporting experience and the ability to track reports. This center is designed to streamline the reporting process for intellectual property concerns, providing a more organized and trackable system.
- Rights Manager Updates: The Rights Manager tool has been updated with new features, including automatic blocking and image attribution. These updates are intended to assist businesses in managing images at scale and enforcing rights more effectively.
These enhancements collectively aim to offer businesses more comprehensive and efficient tools for protecting their intellectual property and brand presence on Meta’s platforms.
PayPal and Venmo reveal AI-driven products.
PayPal announced six pending AI-driven personalization features. The new PayPal accelerated checkout integrates passkeys to enable customers to log in with their face or fingerprint with one tap.
Fastlane is a new one-click checkout experience.
Smart Receipts allow customers to track purchases. Advanced offers enable merchants to reach customers based on actual online purchases.
CashPass provides personalized cash-back offers.
Finally, Venmo, a PayPal subsidiary, is enhancing business profiles to improve discovery.
Emerging tech
Ex.co introduces vertical video players for publishers’ websites.
Ex.co, a video technology platform catering to publishers, has unveiled a new vertical video player designed for optimal viewing on the mobile web, complemented by a desktop version.
This player is specifically crafted for vertical video content, featuring a 10:16 aspect ratio, mirroring the format commonly seen on social platforms.
Additionally, the player incorporates familiar swiping-gesture controls, allowing users to navigate seamlessly between videos.
Factlix employs AI to detect counterfeit content in consumer reviews.
Factlix is a newly launched AI-powered technology designed to identify fraudulent consumer reviews before they are published.
Operating on decisional AI, Factlix is capable of recognizing and comprehending patterns in online content and its associated groups. It utilizes these patterns to evaluate the authenticity of the content in question.
Factlix specializes in detecting fraudulent content, whether it is generated by humans or machines, providing a solution to combat misleading or deceptive reviews in the online space.
Lily AI introduces content generation to enhance product discovery.
Lily AI, a retail technology platform, has introduced AI-powered content generation. This technology allows merchants and marketers to automate the creation of copy for titles and descriptions.
The generated content is designed to be search-optimized, data-driven, and consistent with the brand.
This tool not only enhances efficiency for site merchandisers, copywriters, and other digital creatives but also accelerates the production of email and advertising campaigns by leveraging artificial intelligence for content generation.
Video commerce platform Firework debuts an AI virtual shopping assistant.
Firework, a video commerce and engagement platform for brands and retailers, has introduced AVA (AI Virtual Assistant), a video sales tool designed for commerce.
AVA serves as a constantly available brand and product expert, equipped to answer customer inquiries, provide guidance based on past purchase history, and even demonstrate products in real time.
This AI-driven virtual assistant aims to enhance the customer experience by offering personalized assistance and information, contributing to a more interactive and engaging shopping environment for users on the Firework platform.
Amazon utilizes product images from third-party sellers.
Effective January 31, Amazon has introduced a policy to display product images for certain hardline product types from multiple selling partners if necessary.
Each product detail page is required to have at least three images, including the product on a white background, an environment, and an image with size and fit information.
If these images are missing, Amazon may add them from various selling partners to ensure visual consistency and comprehensive information for customers.
Dopple unveils an app to offer 3D shopping experiences for Shopify stores.
Dopple, a 3D augmented reality platform, has introduced an app specifically designed for Shopify stores.
This integration enables shoppers to utilize 3D augmented reality to configure and customize products in real-time. The features offered by Dopple’s integration with Shopify include a snapshot function for capturing images of the 3D visualizer, auto rotation to indicate a product’s interactivity, and custom loading screens.
Dopple’s platform seamlessly integrates into various aspects of Shopify, including product pages and email marketing, providing an enhanced and interactive shopping experience for customers.
Global Trends
Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao, introduces grouped delivery service in the U.S.
Cainiao, Alibaba Group Holding’s logistics unit, is set to launch a new U.S. service allowing consumers to consolidate multiple purchases, thereby reducing delivery times to as little as five days.
The cross-border shipping service, as stated by Cainiao, primarily aims to assist Chinese consumers and students in the U.S. who often make purchases on China-based ecommerce sites.
This initiative is likely to streamline and expedite the shipping process for such consumers.
FedEx unveils Fdx, a new ecommerce platform.
FedEx has introduced Fdx, an ecommerce logistics platform designed to connect the entire customer journey. Fdx aims to assist merchants in making strategic decisions throughout the entire process, from the point of demand to delivery and returns.
According to FedEx, Fdx provides various functionalities, including helping merchants connect with high-value customers, sharing estimated delivery dates and times, offering real-time visibility into shipments, and providing access to detailed carbon emissions data, among other features.
This platform is positioned to enhance the overall logistics and customer experience for businesses utilizing FedEx services.
Shopify and Manhattan Associates collaborate to develop an order management solution.
Manhattan Associates, a supply chain commerce company, has collaborated with Shopify to introduce an enterprise order management solution.
This integrated platform will not only feature order management capabilities but also incorporate Manhattan’s post-purchase customer service tools.
Manhattan Associates and Shopify are partnering to optimize order fulfillment and customer service processes by combining supply chain commerce expertise with eCommerce capabilities.
Visa’s Cybersource and Ingenico join forces to create a secure commerce platform.
Ingenico, a player in payment acceptance and services, has joined forces with Cybersource, Visa’s global payment and fraud management platform.
The partnership aims to establish a global unified commerce solution, starting with the Asia Pacific region and subsequently expanding to other regions. The collaboration involves integrating Ingenico’s Axium application on the Cybersource open payment platform.
Axium comprises smart point-of-sale terminals powered by Android and a suite of business applications. This partnership is expected to enhance the capabilities and reach of the unified commerce solution, providing businesses with efficient and secure payment solutions.
SumUp, a global fintech, unveils fresh tools catering to small businesses.
SumUp, a payment-processing provider, will now offer customers digital cards and the ability to add Mastercard to a wallet. Users will be able to use tap to pay in Europe.
SumUp’s online store (for businesses to set up a free ecommerce site) has been updated to process and review orders almost instantly and provide order analysis, discount codes, and various shipping options. Point of Sale Lite and POS Pro are also new SumUp offerings.
Innovative Solutions/Partnerships
Poshmark provides webinars for hosting Posh Show live-selling events.
Poshmark is providing webinars to educate sellers on hosting live-selling events known as Posh Shows.
The “Intro to Posh Shows” webinar by Poshmark aims to guide merchants through their first live sessions and demonstrate the effective use of various features to enhance their shows.
Attending this webinar also allows sellers to skip the waiting list and become hosts.
Pitney Bowes and PackageHub unveil a no-box, no-label returns drop-off network.
Pitney Bowes, a global shipping and mailing company, has partnered with PackageHub, a franchise system for retail shipping stores, to introduce a returns drop-off network.
This network facilitates no-box and no-label returns at almost 1,000 locations across the United States.
eCommerce brands that are already utilizing Pitney Bowes’ returns service will gain instant access to this drop-off network, requiring no additional integration.
This launch expands on the existing network of 30,000 postal locations that offer Pitney Bowes’ no-label returns service.
Vencru integrates with Shopify to automate accounting for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Vencru, an all-in-one accounting and inventory management software, has introduced its integration with Shopify. This integration aims to streamline and automate accounting and inventory management processes for Shopify stores.
Vencru offers a range of features, including multichannel sales tracking, real-time inventory management, financial reporting, automatic journal entries, sales tax calculation, and multi-currency support.
By integrating with Shopify, Vencru seeks to provide users with a comprehensive solution for managing various aspects of their eCommerce business efficiently.
MarketGap upgrades its Amazon FBA calculator to provide enhanced features for sellers.
MarketGap, a research tool to help sellers find a market gap on Amazon by estimating product sales, has announced enhancements to its Amazon FBA calculator with more precise, AI-driven calculations.
According to MarketGap, its Amazon FBA calculator can estimate prospective profits by considering factors such as FBA fees, sales volume, commodities, and shipping costs.
BigCommerce and Marketplacer collaborate to enable multi-vendor marketplaces.
BigCommerce, a provider of open SaaS eCommerce solutions, and Marketplacer, a platform facilitating the launch and growth of marketplaces, have entered into a strategic partnership.
As a result of this collaboration, BigCommerce customers gain the capability to convert their online stores into marketplaces that support multiple currencies and languages.
This partnership allows businesses using BigCommerce to expand their reach and cater to diverse customer bases with the added flexibility of multi-currency and multi-language support within their marketplace offerings.
Fabric, a commerce platform, introduces integrated order management functionality.
Fabric has released its Order Management System (OMS), offering services like dropshipping to streamline real-time inventory and order management.
The Fabric OMS is designed to integrate seamlessly with Fabric’s commerce platform. This integration allows merchants to manage their inventory and orders more efficiently.
Fabric highlights that its integrated commerce and OMS system can help merchants mitigate issues like out-of-stock, optimize inventory through promotions and markdowns, and reduce returns by improving catalog enrichment.
The goal is to provide a comprehensive solution that enhances various aspects of the order management process for merchants.
Tulip announces Pay, a payment integration powered by Stripe.
Tulip, a retail customer engagement platform, has introduced Tulip Pay, a payment integration system powered by the Stripe financial infrastructure platform.
With Tulip Pay, clients can leverage the capabilities of Stripe to facilitate various in-person retail transactions, including in-store, curbside, buy online pickup in-store, reserve online pickup in-store, and buy online return in-store.
This system aims to provide retailers using Tulip with a comprehensive and seamless payment solution, enhancing the overall customer experience across different transaction scenarios.
TreviPay partners with Mastercard to launch Universal Acceptance.
TreviPay, a B2B payments and invoicing network, has launched its Universal Acceptance service in collaboration with Mastercard.
This service is designed to broaden supplier access to TreviPay’s payments and invoicing technology. Suppliers accepting Mastercard can use Universal Acceptance to offer net terms, trade-credit financing, and SKU-level invoicing to business buyers, leveraging Mastercard’s commercial payment capabilities.
This initiative aims to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of B2B transactions, providing additional options for buyers and suppliers in the payment and financing processes.
Nuvei collaborates with Adobe to elevate ecommerce payments.
Nuvei, a Canadian fintech company, has collaborated with Adobe to offer payment technology to B2B and B2C businesses using Adobe Commerce.
The integration with Nuvei provides Adobe Commerce merchants access to over 680 regional payment methods, allowing them to create local and personalized experiences for their customers.
Additionally, businesses using Adobe Commerce can utilize the integration to expand internationally, and it facilitates U.S. Automated Clearing House (ACH) account-to-account transactions.
This partnership aims to enhance the payment capabilities for businesses operating on the Adobe Commerce platform.
Klarna introduces Plus subscriptions in the U.S.
Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later platform, has introduced Klarna Plus, a subscription service available to eligible U.S. consumers through the Klarna app for a monthly fee of $7.99.
Klarna Plus offers subscribers access to various features and perks, including waived service fees on Klarna’s One Time Card, double rewards points, and exclusive deals with popular brands.
This subscription service aims to provide additional benefits and value to Klarna users, enhancing their overall experience on the platform.
Conclusion
January’s eCommerce journey: innovation, adaptability, and endless possibilities. Whether you’re a tech buff or a business owner, remember that staying tuned to trends is your ticket to success. Cheers to your dynamic ventures in the digital marketplace! Stay tuned and sign up to our newsletter for more eCommerce insights delivering directly to your inbox.
