Ecommerce Product Releases: July 1, 2019

Here is a list of product releases and updates from late June from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on digital currencies, shipping and logistics, multichannel marketing, security, and augmented reality.

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

Ecommerce Product Releases

Adobe Commerce Cloud launches headless offering. Adobe Commerce Cloud has announced a “headless commerce” offering that streamlines continuous integration and delivery for quick iterations of a codebase. Merchants of all sizes can deploy new features to production many times a day, to react to changing customer needs at speed and scale.

Adobe Commerce Cloud

Facebook announces Libra cryptocurrency and Calibra digital wallet. Facebook announced the development of Libra, its new digital currency built on the foundation of blockchain technology. The mission for Libra is a global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people. Libra consists of three parts that will work together to create a more inclusive financial system: a blockchain foundation, reserve assets for intrinsic value, and the independent Libra Association tasked with evolving the ecosystem. Facebook also announced Calibra, its digital wallet coming in 2020.

Alexa.com reveals new competitive insights. Alexa.com now equips marketers with free competitive insights. Serving more than 3 million unique users per month, the Alexa Site Overview service reveals a brand’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. This includes relevant data about the site, its audience, and keyword gaps, as well as the same data about competing sites. The website analysis capabilities also help marketers to discover and leverage the digital opportunities of their potential and current clients.

Shopify launches fulfillment network for U.S. merchants. In an effort to help small businesses stay competitive against Amazon, Shopify has launched its new Shopify Fulfillment Network for U.S.-based merchants. The network uses Shopify’s machine-learning smart inventory technology to determine the most efficient fulfillment center for each business.

Shopify Fulfillment Network

ShippingEasy multichannel customer marketing suite. ShippingEasy, a provider of cloud-based shipping, inventory management, and customer marketing services for ecommerce sellers, announced a suite of new features. The multichannel suite is designed to allow online sellers of all sizes, particularly those who sell on Amazon and Shopify, to use their data to better understand customers and build repeat business. The new “Customer Marketing” service provides customer insights, segmentation, and lifecycle analytics to create regular or trigger-based email campaigns to generate reviews, and build awareness of related products.

Whitebox raises $5 million for its ecommerce logistics platform. Direct-to-consumer ecommerce logistics specialist Whitebox has raised $5 million in Series A funding. Whitebox helps businesses outsource their entire ecommerce process. It calculates how much inventory you need to help keep storage costs at a minimum, among other benefits.

SureDone enhances automation engine to support marketplaces and complex integrations. SureDone, a multichannel ecommerce listing and order management platform, has enhanced its automation engine to support complex connection types and integration workflows required by partner APIs. SureDone’s automation engine is an advanced commerce data and system connector that defines connection types and field variables through configuration files. The data can be imported and exported to and from SureDone to facilitate product listing, inventory management, orders, ship tracking, and other logistical requirements.

Immersive branded experiences in YouTube and display ads. Google is bringing augmented reality to YouTube, and interactive 3D assets to display ads. It has launched “AR Beauty Try-On,” which lets viewers virtually try on makeup while following along with YouTube creators for tips, product reviews, and more. Through machine learning and AR technology, it offers realistic, virtual product samples that work on multiple skin tones. AR Beauty Try-On is available through FameBit by YouTube, Google’s in-house branded content platform.

FameBit

Amazon expands Amazon Air network for Prime shipping. At the International Paris Air Show, Amazon announced a partnership with GE Capital Aviation Services to lease 15 Boeing 737-800 cargo airplanes. These planes will be in addition to the five already leased from GECAS, announced earlier this year. The aircraft will fly in the United States out of the more than 20 air gateways in the Amazon Air network. With advanced algorithms and software used for capacity and route planning, the Amazon Air operation can transport hundreds of thousands of packages per day. Amazon will open new air facilities this year at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Wilmington Air Park, and Chicago Rockford International Airport. The main hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will open in 2021.

Sezzle to launch in Canada. Sezzle, an installment payment service, has announced that its platform is now available to Canadian shoppers at thousands of online stores. Sezzle enables shoppers to divide purchases into interest-free installments over six weeks at no additional cost. This provides consumers, particularly those with no credit history or who prefer avoiding credit card debt, a more financially responsible way to pay for their purchases.

Insite Software announces enhancements for InsiteCommerce. Insite Software, a provider of digital commerce solutions for manufacturers and distributors, has announced the latest version of its ecommerce platform. In addition to improving Insite’s search capabilities, the new version enables email list reminders, provides multiple customer list share features, enhances security, and delivers integration with the InRiver product-data cloud platform.

AWS announces general availability of AWS Security Hub. Amazon Web Services has announced the general availability of AWS Security Hub, a service to manage security and compliance across an AWS environment. AWS Security Hub aggregates, organizes, and prioritizes security alerts from AWS services and from the AWS Partner Network, to run automated, continuous compliance checks based on industry standards and practices. Customers pay only for the compliance checks performed and security findings ingested, with no charge for the first 10,000 security finding events each month.

AWS Security Hub