Ecommerce Product Releases: March 2, 2022

Here is a list of product releases and updates for late February from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on mobile payments, product recommendations, user monitoring, fulfillment, and direct-to-consumer conversions.

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

Ecommerce Product Releases

Walmart Fulfillment Services offers incentives for new sellers. In celebration of its second anniversary, Walmart Fulfillment Services is offering incentives to new sellers who sign up between February 21 and April 30, 2022. Sellers receive free storage and 10% off fulfillment for the first 90 days. Sellers’ customers have access to Walmart Customer Care or can return the item at their local Walmart store — over 4,700 in the U.S. alone.

Walmart Fulfillment Services

GoDaddy releases QR Codes to accept payments on mobile phones. Small business owners can now accept payments using a unique one-time QR code generated on their smartphone via the free GoDaddy Mobile App without a terminal, dongle, or card reader. Customers simply scan the QR code from their smartphone and complete the transaction using their preferred credit or debit card. Each QR code is personalized, and for enhanced security, the code automatically expires once the transaction completes. This latest feature of GoDaddy Payments offers a contactless way to pay, so more than credit card information stays protected.

Drip acquires on-site engagement platform Sleeknote. Drip, a provider of marketing automation services for the ecommerce industry, has announced its acquisition of Sleeknote, a cloud-based provider of forms and on-site engagement tools. Sleeknote helps businesses capture customers’ data such as email addresses, SMS numbers, and consumer preferences when they visit a brand’s website. This information informs and powers relevant, personalized marketing communications enabled by Drip’s platform.

Skipify announces investment round for frictionless commerce. Skipify, a developer that enables instant checkout on merchant websites and marketing channels, has announced a strategic investment round from PayPal Ventures, Synchrony, Amex Ventures, and Okta Ventures. The round, in addition to the recent Series A funding, follows Skipify’s partnership with Google to enable shopping and interactive features inside the email channel. Skipify’s Modern Checkout Stack provides merchants with tools to offer instant checkout across their website, marketing channels, and apps.

Skipify

BigCommerce and Digital River collaborate on global sales. BigCommerce has announced its integration with Digital River, a global commerce enabler, to provide BigCommerce merchants with an all-in-one global commerce service that manages payments, tax, fraud, and compliance to simplify cross-border selling and accelerate global expansion. With a single integration, merchants can utilize Digital River’s Merchant of Record business model to mitigate risks and maximize conversions by delivering localized checkout experiences for onshore and cross-border sales directly from their BigCommerce store. Merchants can deploy the entry into new markets in as little as six weeks and simplify cross-border selling processes that significantly decrease operational costs.

Uptime.com releases advanced user monitoring. Uptime.com, a website monitoring service, has announced the release of advanced Real User Monitoring to its suite of uptime and performance monitoring tools. Real User Monitoring gives merchants upgraded tooling to analyze website visitor data by device, operating system, browser, and geographic location and compare current metrics to pre-set performance baselines.

Depict.ai raises $17 million for its product recommendation platform. Depict.ai, which provides AI-based product recommendations for any ecommerce store without requiring historical sales data, has announced a $17 million Series A investment led by Tiger Global, with participation from Initialized Capital, EQT Ventures, Y Combinator, and a team of angels. The Series A investment comes a year after Depict.ai raised $2.8 million in seed funding. The new capital will help keep up with demand, the company stated.

Depict.ai

Extend named BigCommerce Elite Technology Partner. BigCommerce has designated Extend, a warranty provider, as an Elite Technology Partner. Merchants can now integrate Extend’s tech-enabled product protection stack through the BigCommerce App Marketplace. Extend allows merchants to build better customer relationships and increase revenue with its product protection platform, which offers optimization, claims resolution, and a seamless customer experience powered by artificial intelligence.

Optimizely and Google Cloud partner for next-gen testing. Optimizely, an A/B and multivariate testing platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud. As part of the multi-year agreement, Optimizely and Google Cloud will collaborate closely on co-innovation, developing new and expanded digital testing and experimentation offerings to new and existing customers.

Ownit connects social, commerce, and payments for DTC brands. Ownit has launched Connected Checkout to help direct-to-consumer brands drive conversions across multiple channels — social media posts, email, text messages, or an online ad. Shoppers who click an Ownit Connected Checkout link are instantly delivered recommended buying options based on price, shipping cost, delivery time, promotions, loyalty programs, and return policies. The process helps shoppers make the best purchase decision without researching and comparing all choices. Ownit integrates with commerce platforms (such as Shopify and Amazon) and payment gateways (such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, and PayPal).

Ownit