New Ecommerce Tools: May 29, 2024

Every week we publish a rundown of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce and omnichannel merchants. This installment includes updates on generative AI, product images, page speed optimization, automated marketing, digital payments, omnichannel management, and the metaverse.

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New Tools for Merchants: May 29

GoDaddy expands Generative AI Prompt Library capabilities. GoDaddy has expanded its Small Business GenAI Prompt Library. Business owners now have access to more than 185 prompts, with 43 new prompts added across five new categories. A clip-to-copy icon makes transferring an AI prompt from the library to a chatbot easier. GoDaddy has also expanded access to its GenAI Prompt Library in India, alongside a Spanish-language library in Mexico, Colombia, and Spain, as well as a Portuguese library in Brazil.

Shopify applies for a patent on personalized AI-generated images for ads. Shopify has filed a patent application for “tuning AI-generated images.” This patent would seemingly expand on the company’s existing AI tools, allowing merchants to personalize AI-generated images used in advertising. Shopify’s system collects data from a merchant’s online storefront, such as product images and categories. The models train on large sets of “regularization images” of products in the same category. The system would then allow merchants to generate and edit photos of their products.

WP Rocket’s WordPress plugin can optimize LCP Core Web Vitals. WP Rocket, a WordPress page speed performance plugin, has released a new version to help publishers optimize for Largest Contentful Paint, a page speed metric that shows how quickly the main content of a web page is loaded. This latest version of WP Rocket contains Automatic LCP optimization for on-page elements from the main content so that they are served first, raising the LCP scores and providing a better user experience.

Walmart launches Realm with influencer-led virtual shops. The new Walmart Realm is a digital shopping experience with influencer-led virtual shops in immersive worlds. Three initial virtual shops highlight fashion, beauty, and home products selected by popular creator partners. The shops are (i) So Jelly, an underwater playground, (ii) Y’allternative, a gothic Western destination, and (iii) Go Chromatic, a futuristic metallic world. Walmart Realm also includes creators’ social content and three mini-games inspired by the featured products.

Google invests $350 million in India’s ecommerce giant Flipkart. Google is investing nearly $350 million in Flipkart, the Bengaluru-based and Walmart-backed ecommerce marketplace. “Google’s proposed investment and its Cloud collaboration will help Flipkart expand its business and advance the modernization of its digital infrastructure to serve customers across the country,” Flipkart said in a statement. The funding round led by Walmart values Flipkart at $37 billion.

Wunderkind launches AI-powered Autonomous Marketing Platform. Wunderkind has launched its AI-powered Autonomous Marketing Platform and its first application, Studio, which brings self-service tools to the creative workflow for marketers. Wunderkind’s Autonomous Marketing Platform leverages AI to streamline the marketing build, reporting, and optimization process. The generative AI capabilities in Studio empower marketers to optimize messaging, based on Wunderkind’s observation across trillions of consumer interactions.

Fast Simon launches GenAI Hybrid Search for ecommerce search results. Fast Simon, a provider of AI-powered shopping optimization, has announced GenAI Hybrid Search, a tool to deliver accurate and relevant search results. GenAI Hybrid Search combines keyword and vector search with multimodal AI, which leverages various data types, including text and images, to give AI more context. According to Fast Simon, the combination reduces the incidence of “no results” and produces more relevant responses, even with long-tail queries or queries with similar semantic meanings but different keywords.

Google launches generative AI tools for product images. Now on Product Studio from Google, merchants can generate product images that match a unique brand style. Upload an image with an aesthetic, add a prompt describing the scene, and within moments Product Studio will generate campaign-ready content. Product Studio can also create videos from just one photo. With just the click of a button, animate components of still product images to create short videos or playful product GIFs for social media.

OneStock raises $72 million for omnichannel order management. OneStock, a provider of order management systems, has announced a $72 million investment from Summit Partners. OneStock provides a platform to manage end-to-end order fulfillment and visibility, empowering retailers to offer a “buy anywhere, deliver anywhere, return anywhere” experience. The funding will be used for international expansion, particularly into the U.S. market. OneStock is an Adobe Gold Partner and an official integrated partner with Shopify.

eBay launches Recommerce Day for pre-loved shopping. On May 21, eBay ran its inaugural Recommerce Day, celebrating the release of its annual 2024 Recommerce Report, measuring eBay seller and buyer insights and motivations around pre-loved shopping. Recommerce Day featured a takeover of the eBay home page with opportunities to learn more about recommerce, find pre-loved deals, and participate in an eBay Live program featuring used items. Throughout the day, followers had opportunities to win pre-owned and refurbished prizes during the eBay livestream.

Visa partners with SKUx to ease digital payments for clients. Visa has partnered with digital payments provider SKUx to provide improved payment experiences to selective merchants and consumer packaged goods companies leveraging SKUx’s solutions. These solutions address various client needs, such as customer acquisition, loyalty programs, consumer care, and recovery. Visa clients can access the digital payments platform of SKUx and improve B2B and B2C payment flows for merchants.