New Ecommerce Tools: June 4, 2024

This week’s list of new ecommerce tools for merchants includes updates on drone deliveries, social media marketing, point-of-sale systems, conversational AI, fulfillment, brand-influencer partnerships, and multichannel management.

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

New Tools for Merchants: June 4

Pinterest expands inclusion fund with Shopify to include small businesses. The Pinterest Inclusion Fund and Shopify’s Build Black and Build Native initiatives have joined forces to support small businesses, independent publishers, and boutique creator agencies from historically marginalized communities.

Amazon expands drone deliveries following FAA approval. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has given Amazon Prime Air additional permissions to operate its drones beyond visual line of sight, enabling it to serve more customers via drone and scale its delivery operations. Later this year, drone deliveries will begin integrating into Amazon’s delivery network, meaning drones will deploy from facilities next to its same-day delivery sites.

Walmart expands its InHome delivery service. Walmart is expanding its InHome delivery service to an additional 10 million U.S. households, including those in California. Customers in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ontario can now access the delivery convenience. In addition, Walmart is expanding the service to include customers in Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, bringing the total scale of InHome to more than 50 markets covering over 45 million homes.

Klaviyo launches TikTok integration to boost ad efficiency. Klaviyo has announced an integration with TikTok, enabling businesses to sync their Klaviyo lists and segments to TikTok Audiences. The capability empowers brands to enhance their return on ad spend, deliver personalized advertisements, and build high-impact lookalike audiences to attract new buyers.

Razorpay POS launches Q-Zap for queueless in-store shopping. Razorpay, an India-based payment platform, has introduced Q-Zap, a comprehensive suite designed to revolutionize in-store payments with Razorpay POS. Q-Zap features handheld devices to accept cards and Unified Payments Interface anywhere in stores, kiosks, and vending machines for self-checkout, plug-and-play integrations with over 80 billing partners, and customized backend integrations and front-end apps.

PayPal to build an advertising platform and accelerate consumer product innovation. PayPal has announced leadership appointments to create an advertising platform to help merchants sell more products and services. According to PayPal, the new advertising business will use customer insights to build a personalized platform to drive better performance for merchants while presenting consumers with compelling offers.

New Rakuten+ to connect brands with high-value shoppers. Rakuten, a Tokyo-based cash-back shopping platform, has announced Rakuten+, a membership program for designer brands to connect with engaged Rakuten members. Rakuten+ will offer brands access to its most loyal and active shoppers of designer fashion. These curated shoppers will earn at least 10% cash back on participating brands and retailers year-round, providing designer brands with an opportunity to grow their audiences.

Scurri acquires conversational AI platform HelloDone. Delivery management platform Scurri has announced the acquisition of HelloDone, a U.K.-based conversational AI platform for retailers and brands. HelloDone’s platform answers post-purchase customer queries on channels such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. This enables retailers to automate responses via AI-powered chat for immediate resolutions at scale.

Baidu introduces tools for its mobile ecosystem. China-based online search giant Baidu has announced advances across its mobile products, including Search, Wenku, and the Baidu App — all integrated with large language models and Ernie agents. The revamped Wenku, an integrated platform for document archiving and content creation and sharing, provides over 100 multimodal AI features.

Logie launches AI tools for brand-influencer campaigns. Logie, an AI-powered platform for brand-influencer partnerships, has announced tools to create partnerships for Amazon Prime Day. According to Logie, its intelligent platform leverages AI to identify the most relevant influencers for each brand. This ensures brands align with creators who have the right audience, brand affinity, and content style to deliver impactful campaigns. Logie also empowers creators with access to brand collaborations within their niche.

Shopware and ChannelEngine launch Shopware Multichannel Connect. Shopware, an open-source ecommerce platform, and ChannelEngine, a marketplace integration and management platform, have launched Shopware Multichannel Connect, enabling Shopware merchants to sell across online marketplaces. Shopware Multichannel Connect automates sales on over 950 marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, Zalando, Bol, Otto, and eBay). The integration simplifies the management of product information, inventory, orders, and pricing from a central location.