New Ecommerce Tools: December 5, 2024

Every week we curate and publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on virtual stores, tax management, cross-border commerce, circular packaging, sponsored product display, product images, and quick commerce.

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

New Tools for Merchants

Walmart updates virtual store with seasonal shopping features. Expanding its Realm experience with virtual-world developer Emperia, Walmart has added four new virtual shops themed as mountain chalet, holiday party, the white elephant game, and the sweetest gifts. Influencers curate gift ideas within the virtual spaces. Walmart also debuted a feature to create and share wish lists. Earlier this year, Walmart launched Realm with three environments.

Walmart Realm

Shopify supports multi-currency payouts. Shopify now supports payouts in multiple currencies for European merchants. The feature is available for users of Shopify Advanced and Plus in six European countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, and Austria. Payout currencies include the U.S. dollar, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Danish krone, euro, Hungarian forint, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Polish złoty, Romanian leu, Singapore dollar, South African rand, Swedish krona, Swiss franc, and Czech koruna.

Solidgate launches cross-regional tax management platform. Solidgate, a payment processing platform, has launched its tax compliance portal, a self-service, pay-per-use solution to simplify VAT and sales tax management for multinational businesses. The new portal automatically synchronizes data from hundreds of payment processors — including Worldpay, Adyen, Checkout.com, Nuvei, and Stripe — and calculates applicable taxes based on predefined parameters, such as customer location and transaction type.

Movopack raises funds to launch circular packaging in U.K. Movopack has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to launch its circular ecommerce packaging in the U.K. The company produces its reusable packaging from recycled plastic bottles and recycled polypropylene (plastic), designed to withstand postal handling and be reused up to 20 times. Movopack’s packaging can be returned via Royal Mail. The E.U. mandates that at least 10% of ecommerce packaging must be reusable by 2030, increasing to 50% by 2040.

Movopack

Flipkart to expand quick commerce to more cities. Flipkart, an India-based ecommerce company backed by Walmart, is planning to expand Minutes, its fast delivery service, amid rising demand for 10-minute deliveries. Flipkart Minutes is currently live in the pilot stage in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi. Flipkart began piloting Minutes in Bengaluru in August and expanded to the Delhi region in September. Flipkart’s move came in response to the rise of Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Tata-owned BigBasket.

Walmart and DoorDash partner across Canada. DoorDash Canada and Walmart Canada have announced a collaboration spanning 300 Walmart Supercenters across 10 Canadian provinces. Customers shopping on DoorDash can now browse thousands of unique items from Walmart, ranging from fresh produce and kitchenware to pet food and electronics, including private-label brands. All Walmart Supercenters on DoorDash will be available on DashPass (a subscription program), providing $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible orders.

GroupBy and Topsort partner to optimize sponsored product display. GroupBy, a provider of ecommerce search and product discovery, has announced an integration with Topsort, an AI and auction-based retail media infrastructure company. By combining GroupBy’s AI-driven platform with Topsort’s retail media capabilities, merchants can increase visibility for sponsored products, ensuring only relevant products will be sent for validation in Topsort’s retail media platform.

GroupBy

Aiarty Image Matting released for ecommerce photos. Aiarty, part of Digiarty Software, has launched Image Matting, an AI-powered tool to streamline image processing for ecommerce businesses. Following the release of Aiarty’s Image Enhancer, Image Matting utilizes AI models for background removal and bulk background replacement. Together, the tools enable ecommerce sellers to enhance product visuals across channels and remove and replace the backgrounds on up to 3,000 images at once.

HSBC launches a platform for domestic and international payments. HSBC, a London-based bank and financial services provider, has launched Smart Transact, a one-stop domestic and cross-border payments platform. Users can access additional services, including corporate cards and integrated HSBC tools. Smart Transact is available in India, the U.K., the U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, The Netherlands, and France.

ImageKit unveils API to simplify video post-production and delivery. ImageKit, a developer of media solutions, has launched its video API to automate the time-consuming and repetitive tasks required to publish videos across the web. ImageKit allows users to resize and transform videos in real-time by modifying URL parameters and optimizing for any device or platform without manual effort. The video API features real-time tools such as resizing and cropping, adaptive streaming capabilities, overlays, styling options for captions, and more.

Mollie and PayPal partner on payments for marketplace platforms. Mollie, a payment processing company, has partnered with PayPal to deliver payment solutions for marketplace platforms across Europe. The partnership enhances Mollie’s range of Europe-based payment options, including credit and debit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, buy-now-pay-later options, and local payment methods.

Mollie