Platforms & Apps

Ecommerce Product Releases: June 30, 2016

Here is a list of ecommerce-related product releases for the end of June — from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates regarding Pinterest, cheaper shipping rates from Fulfillment by Amazon, and multiple updates on buy buttons.

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

Ecommerce Product Releases

Pinterest launches buyable pins and shopping bags. Pinterest has rolled out buyable pins on Pinterest.com. Previously, buyable pins were only visible on its mobile app. Pinterest has also added shopping bags, so fans can shop for multiple items wherever they are. Pinterest, additionally, announced new automatic object detection and camera search tools to enhance the shopping experience.

Pinterest Blog.

Pinterest Blog.

Amazon expands brands on Dash Button. Amazon.com has added more than 50 new brands to Dash Button for quickly ordering everyday items. According to Amazon, over the last three months orders have doubled among Prime members who use Dash Buttons. Products categories include consumer packaged goods, toys, and musical equipment, including brands such as Campbell’s Soup, Dial Hand Soap, Quilted Northern, and Fifi Water.

Shopgate adds iOS Spotlight search feature. Shopgate, an online shopping platform, has added an iOS Spotlight Indexing feature to its suite of mobile SEO tools. Merchants will now be able to index their apps and app content in Apple’s Spotlight search for iOS 9 or later. Spotlight Indexing is now available for Shopgate apps with the Enterprise package option. Contact for pricing.

Shopgate.

Shopgate.

ToolsGroup offers “Pay as You Grow” commercial terms to early stage online retailers. ToolsGroup, a provider of supply chain software, has announced that it will offer new “Pay as You Grow” commercial terms to early stage online retailers. The new terms let eligible customers use a sliding scale, making a relatively modest initial investment for ToolsGroup’s supply chain planning software, paying more as revenues grow. Growing businesses can now access powerful supply chain planning software, typically only available to larger companies. Contact for pricing.

Pinterest acquires curated shopping-app tote. Last week, Pinterest acquired tote, a curated mobile shopping app. Pinterest has added tote’s talent to the pin board company’s growth and monetization team, as it continues to develop its ecommerce functionality.

Speed Commerce completes restructuring. Speed Commerce Operating Company, a provider of ecommerce solutions for retailers and manufacturers, has restructured the assets of Speed Commerce Inc. and added to the management team. The company’s new owners, led by Garrison Investment Group, have invested approximately $150 million in Speed Commerce through restructuring their prior investments and injecting new growth capital.

Speed Commerce.

Speed Commerce.

ShipStation integrates with UPS U.K. and Australia. Ecommerce shipping solution ShipStation has announced an expansion in services for UPS U.K. and Australia. U.K. and Australian merchants will be able to automate simple tasks, like assigning users to orders, tagging orders, applying shipping services, and more, while housing orders from multiple channels under one dashboard. Price: Plans start at $9 per month.

IBM to offer Apple Pay on the web to WebSphere, Cloud clients. IBM has announced that Apple Pay on the web will be made available to clients that use IBM’s WebSphere Commerce or IBM Commerce on Cloud. WebSphere Commerce currently powers over 12,000 storefronts for online retailers globally. Contact for pricing.

FICO will offer “Enterprise Security Score” for organizations. Analytic software firm FICO announced today that it is developing a FICO Enterprise Security Score, which will rank an organization’s level of cyber security risk. To further this effort, FICO has acquired QuadMetrics, a cyber-risk security scoring and predictive analytics company.

Fico.

Fico.

Pinterest launches new targeting tools for ads. Pinterest is ramping up its ad business with three new targeting tools. “Customer list targeting” reaches existing customers using emails or mobile ad IDs. “Visitor retargeting” reaches people who have visited an advertiser’s site. “Lookalike targeting” reaches a larger group of people who look and act similar to an advertiser’s audience.

Merkle launches Publisher Addressable Marketplaces. Merkle, a data-driven performance marketing agency, has announced the launch of Publisher Addressable Marketplaces (PAM), a consortium of leading publishers, including Trusted Media Brands and Pandora, as well as ad platforms, including Viant and LiveIntent. PAM is a fully integrated solution powered by a combination of Merkle’s customer-management data onboarding and analytics and Sonobi’s JetStream platform that is open to both advertisers and agencies. Contact for pricing.

Facebook lets page owners use Canvas ad format for organic page posts. Previously only available to advertisers, the interactive multimedia Canvas features are now available for organic posts from brand page owners, such as retailers and marketers. Price: Free.

Canvas.

Canvas.

Fulfillment by Amazon cuts shipping rates for small, flat items. Fulfillment by Amazon is cutting fees it charges to merchants for shipping small, flat envelope items. Merchants will pay 67 percent less than the current rate. The new rates will take effect on July 1.

QLess app to reduce wait times. Available for iPhone and Android devices, the QLess app has launched, after recently raising $3.5 million in new investment. The QLess platform eliminates waiting in lines by offering an easy way for customers to join a virtual queue via app, phone call, text, website, or on-site kiosk. Timely updates and notifications alert customers as they move to the front of the queue so they’re always kept in the loop with forecast wait times and can tend to other business while they wait.

Kwik closes $3 million seed round. Kwik, a service that allows customers to reorder their favorite products at the push of a button, has announced the close of a $3 million round of seed funding by Norwest Venture Partners, along with other institutional and individual investors. Kwik will use the funds to accelerate market availability via rigorous business development with brands, retailers, and home delivery services across the United States.

Kwik.

Kwik.

Sig Ueland
Sig Ueland
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