New Ecommerce Tools: July 2, 2024

Every week we publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on shoppable media, AI assistants, personalization, returns forecasting, installment payments, shipping platforms, discount ecommerce, and marketplaces.

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New Tools for Merchants: July 2, 2024

Shopify embeds AI across its platform. Shopify has introduced AI-related products during its semi-annual showcase, Shopify Editions. New features among the 150-plus updates include (i) an AI tool to suggest personalized replies to customer emails, (ii) Magic, an AI-powered media editor, now instantly suggests personalized and intelligent recommendations for all product categories, assigning the right attributes to new products, and (iii) AI image editing is expanding to everywhere images are used, including in the Shopify mobile app.

Amazon to launch a discount marketplace. Amazon plans to launch a new section dedicated to low-priced fashion and lifestyle items, allowing China-based sellers to ship directly to U.S. consumers. According to a presentation by Amazon to select sellers viewed by CNBC, Amazon’s storefront will feature unbranded items, many priced under $20. Amazon will ship the products directly from China to the U.S. and deliver them to shoppers within nine to 11 days.

Bloomreach unveils Loomi AI features for ecommerce teams. Bloomreach, an ecommerce personalization platform, has announced new premium features for its proprietary Loomi AI to customize, optimize, and automate personalization across the customer journey. Premium features for marketers include AutoSegments to automatically identify high-value customer segments, an analytics assistant with a conversational interface, and a variant generator to reduce campaign creation and testing time. New search features include Loomi Search+ with semantic and vector search tech, visual search, and search in 33 languages.

ParcelLab launches Returns Forecast AI to improve visibility for retailers. ParcelLab, a provider of post-purchase experience software, has launched its Returns Forecast AI. According to ParcelLab, the new tool leverages AI to estimate inbound parcels for retailer warehouses, allowing retailers to (i) forecast returns volumes and identify trend changes more accurately, (ii) better plan warehouse resources, and (iii) reduce processing times and operational costs. Returns Forecast AI is designed for retailers to strengthen their ability to anticipate and mitigate the financial impact of returns.

Target partners with Shopify to add third-party sellers to its marketplace. Target has partnered with Shopify to discover new brands and hot items for Target’s marketplace. Shopify will help the retailer discover hot items and make them available for Target’s online shoppers. Target plans to put some popular items found through Shopify on store shelves. Unlike Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, Target only allows brands to join by invitation. It has more than 1,200 sellers. Target says its seller and product count have doubled over the past year.

Pear Commerce secures $10 million to transform shoppable media. Pear Commerce, a retail ecommerce marketing platform for omnichannel brands, has closed a $10 million funding round led by Stage 2 Capital. The funding follows Pear’s recent product launch, Pear Connect, a shoppable ad unit that integrates where-to-buy technology directly into the ad. Pear Connect enhances existing social and display ad creative by serving the in-stock product and retailer combinations most likely to be selected using Pear’s daily inventory scanning technology and ad platform algorithms.

Data analytic platform Baresquare launches AI manager for ecommerce revenue optimization. Baresquare, an AI-powered analytics platform, has launched an autonomous ecommerce AI agent called Tywin. According to Baresquare, Tywin monitors marketing campaigns and customer experience errors, creates revenue forecasts and targets, performs competitive pricing and inventory analysis, and checks online for search engine optimization and external factors such as weather and news events. Users can upload existing revenue plans or allow Tywin to generate forecasts based on historical data.

Adverio launches Amazon PPC Management Services for ecommerce advertising. Adverio, a digital marketing agency, has launched its Amazon PPC Management Services, designed to elevate the advertising performance and sales of ecommerce businesses on Amazon. The offering aims to streamline and enhance the pay-per-click strategies for sellers, leveraging advanced analytics and an understanding of Amazon’s advertising ecosystem. Adverio’s Amazon PPC Management Services cover all aspects of pay-per-click advertising, from initial setup and strategy development to ongoing optimization and performance analysis.

Qoo10 launches Wish+ to expand international sales channels. Two ecommerce platforms, Asia-based Qoo10 and U.S.-based Wish.com, have integrated. The integration provides a unified ecommerce experience on the upgraded Wish+ site and an expanded product inventory to encompass suppliers local to users along with Asia-based brands and manufacturers. The move combines Qoo10’s ecommerce ecosystem of merchants in Korea, Japan, and India with Wish.com’s North America and Europe market presence and inventory of regional and China-based manufacturers.

Visa expands payment options for Amazon customers in Canada. Visa has announced a collaboration with Amazon to provide Canadian consumers with more choices at checkout. When shopping online on Amazon.ca or the Amazon app, eligible RBC and Scotiabank credit cardholders will now have the option to select “Installments enabled by Visa” as their payment method for qualifying purchases. This payment option enables eligible consumers to convert their purchases into smaller, fixed payments over a defined period.

ShipStation streamlines ecommerce shipping in Australia. ShipStation, a cloud-based shipping platform from Auctane, has launched new features to help online businesses in Australia streamline their shipping processes and enhance customer experiences. New features include inventory sync, deliver-by date, harmonization code import, checkout rate control, custom labels, GlobalPost Carrier integration, add-on marketplace, and more. ShipStation also released its High Volume Plan for retailers in Australia and New Zealand, tailored to meet the demands of enterprise parcel delivery.