Each week we publish an overview of new products from companies serving e-commerce and omnichannel merchants. This week’s posts include updates on biometric security, robotics, product images, e-commerce personalization, AI-powered sales assistants, cross-border payments, and selling in the metaverse.
Have an e-commerce product release? Email us at releases@practicalecommerce.com.
New Tools for Sellers: September 12, 2024
Shopify is integrating Checkout into gaming platform Roblox. Shopify announced a partnership with Roblox As the gaming platform’s commerce integration partner, Shopify plans to add its Checkout solution to Roblox with a major launch planned for early 2025. Shopify Sell physical items directly within Roblox games without leaving the platform, allowing creators and brands to engage with a global audience of nearly 80 million active Roblox users every day.
Roblox vs Shopify
Amazon teams up with Covariant on AI models for robots. Amazon signed an agreement with CovarianceCovariant is a Bay Area-based company that builds advanced AI models to help automate warehouse operations using robots. Amazon has acquired a non-exclusive license to Covariant’s robotics-based models (Amazon’s Robot System Learning and working for the customer. A group of Covariant research scientists and engineers will join Amazon’s fulfillment technology and robotics team for implementation.
Mastercard has chosen India as the location to launch its Payment Passkey service. MasterCard has launched its Payment Passkey service for the first time in India as a pilot with payment aggregators, online merchants and large banks. Payment Passkey uses device-based biometric authentication. Authentication Method There are various authentication methods available to ensure safe online shopping, including fingerprints and facial scans, and Mastercard’s Payment Passkey service uses tokenization to protect consumers’ payment details and biometric data, ensuring the data isn’t shared with third parties and is useless to fraudsters.
Bloomreach uses Nvidia NeMo to integrate generative AI into e-commerce search. BloomreachBloomreach, an e-commerce personalization platform, has announced that it is integrating generative AI using Nvidia NIM embedded microservices into its search and merchandising platform. According to Bloomreach, NIM microservices (powered by the Nvidia NeMo platform, part of the Nvidia AI enterprise software stack) deliver deeper search relevance in a flexible platform that allows customization by commerce teams. The integration into Bloomreach’s search and merchandising platform will: Customized Online Shopping Flexibility, performance and relevance.
Bloomreach
Alibaba has enabled payments through Tencent’s WeChat Pay app. China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tencent Holdings Ltd., with its core Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms. WeChat WeChat has over 1.3 billion users worldwide, mainly In ChinaWeChat Pay is one of the largest mobile payment apps in China, and by allowing users to transact with WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba is aiming to expand its market share in China’s developing regions.
ChannelEngine launches Vendor Hub to help Amazon merchants recover revenue. Channel EngineChannelEngine, an e-commerce marketplace integrator, has launched Vendor Hub with a Collections Management solution. The tool automates the collection of revenue lost due to operational discrepancies in Amazon’s first-party selling model. For brands selling through Amazon vendors, around 3.5% of revenue remains unpaid due to unresolved disputes over shortages and pricing discrepancies, according to ChannelEngine. In addition to collections management, Vendor Hub increases operational efficiency with a solution to manage purchase orders and catalogs.
UK-based Warehow has secured £2.1 million in funding to strengthen its fulfilment services. Warehousea UK-based e-commerce Accomplished Warehow, the platform, has raised GBP2.1 million (USD2.8 million) in a Series A funding round led by Midlands Engine Investment Fund II. Warehow provides online order management solutions specifically for fashion and home goods businesses, helping brands sell on popular marketplaces and platforms such as Shopify and TikTok, handling everything from storing inventory to fulfilling orders.
Warehouse
Amazon launches generative AI-powered shopping assistant “Rufus” in the UK Amazon Rufus launches beta for UK customers Rufus is an AI-powered shopping assistant trained on Amazon’s product catalogue and information from across the web. Rufus can answer customers’ questions about shopping needs, products, comparisons, recommendations, and discovery. Rufus is launching to select UK customers on Amazon’s mobile app, with more to come in the coming weeks.
JD.com offers enhanced delivery options and free shipping in the US, Japan and Singapore. JD Global Sales, JD.com’s JD Global Sales, an international e-commerce arm serving Chinese consumers around the world, has announced it is enhancing its delivery services for customers in the United States, Japan and Singapore. Shoppers will now have access to improved logistics, including consolidated shipping and three direct delivery models (Air Express, Air Standard and Sea Economical). JD Global Sales is also introducing free local delivery services for qualifying orders.
Cymbio has launched Cymagery AI to speed up product content uploads. SymbioThe marketplace and dropship automation platform has launched Cymagery AI, an image uploading and editing suite that automates product content marketing. Image upload It has a range of features, from validating copyright compliance to allowing users to: (i) automatically adjust image size, margins, and filenames, (ii) edit and remove backgrounds, (iii) scale images, (iv) instantly access AI-generated swatches, and (v) convert image formats. According to Cymbio, Cymagery AI automates the order sync process for online marketplaces, accelerating time to market for sellers.
Cart.com’s DataFeedWatch brings native AI to feed management. Data Feed Watch Cart.com, a platform for managing and optimizing product feeds, has integrated AI into their feed marketing engine. The AI uses all available product data to create keyword-rich titles and descriptions based on best practices for 200 product types. Marketers retain full control and can decide whether to use the AI-generated content or not.
DataFeedWatch by Cart.com
