Ecommerce Product Releases: May 1, 2019

Here is a list of new platforms, services, and integrations for late-April from companies that cater to online merchants. There are updates on blockchain, video production, email marketing, and international shipping and returns.

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

Ecommerce Product Releases

Amazon Managed Blockchain now available. Amazon Web Services has announced the general availability of Amazon Managed Blockchain, a service to create and manage scalable blockchain networks. Customers who want to allow multiple parties to execute transactions and maintain a cryptographically verifiable record of them without the need for a trusted, central authority can quickly set up a blockchain network spanning multiple AWS accounts.

Amazon Managed Blockchain

Shopify launches new hardware for in-store shopping. Shopify has launched a new retail hardware collection with three devices: The Shopify Tap & Chip Reader, Dock, and Retail Stand. The new retail hardware is designed for merchants and customers, to deliver a positive shopping experience.

How-to video maker Jumprope launches app. Jumprope, the social network for instructional videos, has launched its iOS app. Users can create step-by-step how-to videos without any video-editing experience. “By switching from free-form linear video to something much more structured, we can make it much easier for people to share their knowledge and hacks,” says Jumprope co-founder and CEO Jake Poses.

Jumprope

Adjust foils in-app bot attacks with Unbotify, a new standalone product. Adjust, a player in mobile measurement and fraud prevention, has announced the launch of Unbotify to end in-app bot fraud. Contrary to mobile ad fraud, in-app bot fraud does not target an app’s marketing budget but attacks its business model after an install. Bots can be programmed to carry out various in-app events, and because they mimic human behavior, this type of fraud has become one of the hardest to detect and fight. The launch follows Adjust’s acquisition of Unbotify in January. The companies’ shared mission is to provide the most robust solution to one of the major problems of application security: stopping malicious bots.

GetResponse launches new Autofunnel to simplify email marketing. Autofunnel by GetResponse provides small business owners with integrated marketing tools and a step-by-step process to attract customers online, drive sales, and measure results. Autofunnel provides a path to reach customers, along with inbound and outbound marketing tools, including advertising, social media, email, web forms, landing pages, webinars, ecommerce, abandoned shopping cart recovery, and more. Autofunnel pricing starts at $49 per month.

GetResponse

Amazon’s “Key for Garage” is now available. Amazon announced that Key for Garage is now available to customers. Key for Garage allows eligible Amazon Prime members to get deliveries in their garage using the Key Smart Garage Kit. Select “In-Garage delivery” at check out on Amazon.com to have packages delivered securely and conveniently in your garage. Additionally, customers can check the status of their garage door in the Key by Amazon app and remotely open or close it.

Hipshipper is now offering free international returns for U.S. marketplace sellers. Hipshipper, an end-to-end, cross-border shipping service for U.S.-based marketplace sellers, has announced it’s now offering free international returns as a core feature. Hipshipper will shoulder the costs of returned items, relieving both sellers and buyers of the obstacle. This adds to Hipshipper’s effort to enable U.S.-based sellers to compete globally.

Hipshipper

Yotpo and Klaviyo integration propels email for D2C brands. Commerce marketing players Yotpo and Klaviyo have announced an integration upgrade to create powerful email experiences for direct-to-consumer brands. Building on Klaviyo and Yotpo’s existing loyalty program integration, the enhancement allows brands to leverage user-generated content and data to convert email subscribers into buyers more effectively. With the integration, customer reviews can be sorted by topic and product to automatically show the most relevant social proof in email campaigns.

Acuity Scheduling, an online appointment platform, joins Squarespace. Squarespace has incorporated Acuity Scheduling, which helps small businesses schedule and manage appointments. Acuity has been integrated with Squarespace’s page building system for several years. Nothing will change with how Acuity customers interact with the platform. Squarespace will offer Acuity as a standalone product as well as an integration.

Happy Returns receives investment from PayPal. Happy Returns, a provider of return and logistics solutions for retailers and their customers, has announced a strategic investment from PayPal as part of an $11 million financing round. Happy Returns’ is a combination of software, services, and logistics that enables retailers to offer a best-in-class return experience, including the ability to return products in-person through Happy Returns’ nationwide network of “Return Bar” locations.

Happy Returns