New Ecommerce Tools: June 10, 2024

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on virtual-universe stores, customized checkout, multichannel management, AI website builders, cross-channel commerce, omnichannel fulfillment, product images, and global sourcing.

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

New Tools for Merchants: June 10

Ikea to open a virtual store on Roblox. Ikea is opening a virtual store called The Co-Worker Game on the Roblox on June 24. The virtual store will allow people to immerse themselves in the world of Ikea, with a limited number of paid roles available. This is Ikea’s first foray into mainstream gaming.

Shopify acquires Checkout Blocks for customized checkouts. Shopify has acquired Checkout Blocks, a company offering a no-code solution that lets Shopify merchants customize their checkout. Checkout Blocks enables Shopify Plus merchants to add fields to collect additional data or show new information to their shoppers, control how delivery and payment options are displayed, and design fully branded checkouts. Checkout Blocks is offering its starter plan for free for all Shopify Plus merchants.

Newegg launches SellingPilot, a multichannel marketplace management solution. Newegg Commerce, a marketplace specializing in consumer electronics, has launched SellingPilot, a marketplace management platform. SellingPilot connects with Amazon, Walmart, and others to manage product listings and orders. Using SellingPilot, merchants can (i) leverage AI tools to optimize product descriptions and keywords and streamline customer service, (ii) use email outreach and campaign creation for platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, and (iii) access timely competitive pricing data.

Bluehost WonderSuite unveils AI Website Creator. Bluehost, a WordPress hosting platform, has unveiled AI Website Creator, allowing WordPress users to leverage AI to create personalized websites with relevant content, images, and pages. Bluehost’s WonderSuite, with the AI Website Creator, is included with Bluehost’s WordPress hosting plans. It offers WordPress website building with intuitive AI onboarding (WonderStart), content and block creation (WonderTheme and WonderBlocks), ongoing AI assistance (WonderHelp), and ecommerce functionality to help small business owners sell more products (WonderCart).

Till Payments partners with BigCommerce on cross-channel commerce. Till Payments, a subsidiary of Nuvei, a Canada-based payment processor, has partnered with BigCommerce to deliver transaction processing capabilities for B2C and B2B brands. Till’s Online Checkout for BigCommerce enables merchants to accept payments, pre-authorize transactions, manage refunds, utilize 3DS2 authentication technology, accept multiple currencies, take payments with stored credit cards, and integrate an embedded checkout. BigCommerce’s multichannel merchants can use Till’s payments to unify in-store and online payment services.

Fintech Affirm expands payment offerings with “Pay in 2” and “Pay in 30” options. Affirm, a pay-over-time network, has announced two new payment options, Pay in 2 and Pay in 30. According to Affirm, the options deliver greater choice and flexibility to consumers utilizing Affirm’s app and provide affordability across a wider range of transactions.

eBay releases background enhancement tool for product images. eBay has launched an AI-powered background enhancement tool to help sellers produce product photos from everyday snapshots. The tool removes a background from an existing photo, leaving only the actual item for sale, and then places that item in an AI-generated backdrop selected by the seller. Background enhancement is available to iOS app users and will roll out to Android soon.

“Alibaba Guaranteed” to simplify global sourcing for SMBs. Alibaba has launched Guaranteed to simplify global sourcing and provide a reliable supply chain for small and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. Through Alibaba Guaranteed, buyers can source products at fixed prices with shipping fees included and guaranteed delivery dates. Alibaba will fulfill products sourced. Additionally, the platform handles finance and after-sales services, such as money back for order glitches and free local returns for defects.

Fulfillment platform OneRail acquires Orderbot for omnichannel fulfillment. OneRail, a last-mile delivery fulfillment service with a network of 12 million drivers across North America, has announced the acquisition of Vancouver-based Orderbot, an enterprise inventory and distributed order management platform. According to OneRail, the acquisition combines Orderbot’s inventory and order management capabilities with OneRail’s OmniPoint cloud-based last-mile operating system and delivery network, creating a comprehensive solution that streamlines fulfillment processes, reduces costs, and improves order accuracy.
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Mastercard partners with identity platform Trulioo to streamline onboarding. Trulioo, a global identity verification platform, has partnered with Mastercard to streamline consumers’ digital onboarding on apps and platforms. Trulioo will leverage Mastercard’s Identity solutions to power its Person Match and Risk Intelligence products, providing additional identity insights and risk scores through a customizable dashboard. Trulioo states this will diversify its suite beyond API-based products and enhance consumers’ onboarding processes. The collaboration also augments Mastercard’s Onboard Risk Check product by including Trulioo global business identity verification services.

Bloomreach partners with Valantic and Commercetools to form B2B Accelerator. Bloomreach, an ecommerce personalization platform, has announced an expansion of its partnership with digital consulting company Valantic and composable commerce platform Commercetools through the launch of B2B Accelerator. The Accelerator enables B2B brands to integrate a composable tech stack, including Bloomreach’s Discovery site search. According to Bloomreach, businesses on Accelerator will reduce time to market and time to value and mitigate risks associated with transitioning to composable commerce.