Every week we publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes updates on automated marketing, social commerce, product reviews, AI-powered shopping agents, value-added tax, drone deliveries, and more.
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New Tools for Merchants
TikTok Shop U.K. introduces automated ad campaigns for sellers. TikTok Shop U.K. has launched GMV Max, an AI-powered campaign management tool that maximizes sellers’ gross merchandise value. Available for products and live shopping sessions, GMV Max automates campaign creation — audience targeting, bidding, creative — to optimize results. Sellers can choose a performance target.
Wix partners with YouTube on social shopping. Wix has integrated with YouTube Shopping, enabling merchants to sell products directly through the video platform. Merchants can display their products in a store format directly on their YouTube profiles and tag products in videos, live streams, and shorts. Merchants can track performance using YouTube’s analytics tools. Product details such as descriptions and images automatically sync between Wix and YouTube.
Test Squared connects sellers with product testers. Test Squared has launched its platform to help sellers generate product reviews quickly and ethically. The platform connects businesses with verified product testers to gather authentic feedback, offering sellers a way to build trust and increase product visibility while ensuring compliance with review regulations.
OpenAI introduces Operator with shopping agents. OpenAI has released Operator, an agent that can perform online tasks, including shopping. Using its own browser, Operator can interact with a web page by typing, clicking, scrolling, and executing browser tasks such as filling out forms and ordering groceries. As part of the release, OpenAI is collaborating with companies such as DoorDash, Instacart, OpenTable, Priceline, StubHub, Thumbtack, and Uber.
Amazon Ads launches Brand+ to leverage shopping, browsing, streaming. Amazon Ads is launching Brand+, which combines data from shopping, browsing, and streaming across the company’s total footprint. The data-powered offering seeks to predict consumers looking for a brand’s product or service within the next three months. Marketers can use Brand+ to deliver messages on (i) video streaming platforms such as Prime Video and Twitch, (ii) video publishers such as BuzzFeed and Fox, and (iii) the streaming marketplace with Fire TV.
Meta introduces ads in Threads. Businesses can extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads by checking a box in Ads Manager. During early testing, ads in the Threads feed will be images that appear between content in the Threads home feed for a small percentage of users. Meta will also give users control over the ads they see.
Klaviyo to be the preferred marketing solution for WooCommerce. Klaviyo, a marketing automation platform, has been named the preferred marketing automation partner for the WooCommerce WordPress plugin. Klaviyo says more than 15,000 brands use its WooCommerce integration to gather and unify real-time data. The consolidated data allows brands to create and manage personalized omnichannel marketing campaigns, streamline product reviews, and improve performance through actionable insights.
Amazon unveils location of first drone delivery in the U.K. In 2023, Amazon announced plans to launch drone deliveries in the U.K. It has now identified the northern city of Darlington as the location of the first planned U.K. Prime Air drone delivery. Amazon will seek permission to build flight operations facilities at the site and apply for authorization from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly drones in the airspace.
eBay U.K. helps sellers with value-added tax. eBay U.K. is running a trial program to help merchants manage value-added tax. Merchants who sell goods in any E.U. country or the U.K. may be required to collect and remit VAT on sales. The eBay trial program enables sellers to automatically download VAT invoices while providing buyers with accessible VAT receipts — all from the view order details page.
PriceSpider launches an API to customize ecommerce shopping and analytics. PriceSpider, a provider of omnichannel selling tools, has launched API Accelerate Suite, featuring two integrations, Custom Commerce and Data Share. Custom Commerce enables brands to access PriceSpider’s omnichannel data to power personalized user experiences across brand-owned media. Data Share provides access to PriceSpider’s data, powered by Snowflake, to track product performance, shopper engagement, and sales.
Ad management platform Shirofune integrates LinkedIn Ads. Shirofune, a Japan-based advertising automation tool, has integrated with LinkedIn Ads. The integration allows advertisers to manage LinkedIn campaigns alongside other ad platforms, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Pinterest, TikTok, X, BigCommerce, and Shopify. Shirofune’s AI-powered platform automates budget allocation and bid adjustments on LinkedIn. It also features enhanced targeting capabilities with automated audience segmentation and performance tracking.