Ecommerce Pulse: February 2024

Discover the pulse of ecommerce: fresh takes on industry news, updates, and cutting-edge product launches in February 2024.

Paul Ryazanov

CEO, MageCloud | eCommerce Consultant & Speaker

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Latest Industry Partnerships, Updates and Innovations

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Discover the pulse of ecommerce: fresh takes on industry news, updates, and cutting-edge product launches.

Stay in the loop with the latest developments in e-commerce and omnichannel businesses. This roundup highlights a range of updates, from advancements in generative AI assistants, inventory management solutions, and live streaming capabilities to marketplace enhancements and international shipping innovations.

We intend to maintain this post as a regularly updated resource.

Latest Industry Partnerships, Updates and Innovations

→ Shopify’s Winter ’24 Edition launch: with around 100 new tools across conversion, channels, marketing, and operations. Highlights include a web performance dashboard, AI-powered storefront search, and a subscription app for conversion. Channels feature POS Ship from Store and Markets Pro for cross-border selling. Marketing introduces smarter retargeting algorithms, while operations bring new financial solutions and AI tools like Shopify Line of Credit and a Media Editor.tions.

→ Meta unveils Engaged-view for enhanced video insights and performance: This new attribution setting enables advertisers to measure conversions within a day of a video ad play. Engaged-view is counted in ads measurement reporting when a viewer plays a video ad for at least 10 seconds and converts within a one-day window. This feature applies to all placements except for non-skippable Facebook in-stream video ads.

→ Amazon unveils Rufus, a generative AI shopping assistant: Amazon unveils Rufus, a generative AI shopping assistant. Trained on product data, reviews, and web info, Rufus answers questions, offers comparisons, and gives context-based recommendations. Rolling out in beta, initially on a mobile app for a select group of users, Rufus aims to enhance the shopping experience with AI-powered assistance.

→ Yelp unveils AI-driven functionalities for local businesses: Yelp launches AI-powered features in its winter update, offering local businesses business summaries, reviewer recognition, and an improved visual experience. The update also includes a revamped business owner interface with market insights and AI-driven smart budgets for optimized ad spending, facilitating local business growth and competitiveness.

→ eBay launches Active Listings, allowing sellers to create markdown sale events directly from the tab: Personalized recommendations and actionable tips are provided for faster item sales. Sellers can then set up automated offers based on factors like category, price, and condition, enhancing the overall selling experience.

→ AccessiBe introduces a Shopify app for accessible ecommerce: The app, aimed at enhancing the accessibility of online stores for individuals with disabilities, streamlines the installation process, seamlessly integrating AccessiBe into the merchant’s Shopify store. Aligned with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act, AccessiBe’s app simplifies the shopping experience, emphasizing inclusivity in ecommerce.

→ Klarna, the BNPL provider, has launched “Sign in with Klarna” to simplify online shopping: By leveraging “Sign in with Klarna,” consumers can save time and gain access to personalized offers from various merchants. Following a beta launch with Maitres, a restaurant app, and Tradera, a marketplace, this new feature is now accessible in 23 countries.

→ Wix, a SaaS website builder, has teamed up with Global-e Online to enable international selling: Through this partnership, merchants can offer customers localized payment methods and checkout options, support transactions in multiple currencies, utilize customizable pricing and tailor their offerings to specific markets. This collaboration enhances the global reach and capabilities for Wix merchants, facilitating a seamless international selling experience.

→ UPS introduces weekend residential delivery for Standard Service in Canada: The service now includes Saturday deliveries for customers who typically receive shipments on Mondays. Initially available in Montreal, Laval, Calgary, and Greater Vancouver, the expanded service is expected to cover most addresses in major Canadian cities by March, offering increased convenience for weekend deliveries.

→ AfterShip, a delivery tracking service, now offers Apple Wallet Order Tracking: Shoppers using this feature can receive real-time updates and track online orders directly through Apple Wallet. Exclusive to AfterShip’s merchant customers, users can add order details to Apple Wallet and stay updated by clicking “Track with Apple Wallet” on the merchant’s pages or in notifications.

→ Salesforce has introduced Marketing Cloud Growth to assist small businesses.: A tailored edition is designed to assist small businesses in expanding through customer management, AI, and data capabilities. This edition seamlessly integrates automation across sales, service, and commerce, utilizing Salesforce’s trusted customer platform, Einstein 1. Marketers can also access Data Cloud to leverage first-party data for personalized customer experiences.

→ Google releases free AI-powered cyber tools to enhance online security: The open-source resource leverages AI for file type identification, aiding in the detection of malware. Already integrated into Gmail and Google Drive, the tool is available at no cost. Additionally, Google commits to further investments in grants and partnerships to advance AI-driven cybersecurity research initiatives, along with an expansion of cybersecurity seminars.

→ Loop broadens its reverse logistics services for merchants and logistics partners with new offerings: Loop expands its reverse logistics services for merchants and logistics partners, integrating with Two Boxes for improved return processing, enabling warehouse partners to connect data seamlessly, and introducing Dynamic Routing for flexible item destination control.

→ Mollie Capital extends financing to U.K. merchants: With Mollie Capital, retailers can access up to £250,000 without relying on conventional lenders. Eligible merchants, who have a 90-day payment processing history with Mollie, can apply swiftly in just five minutes. Upon approval, funds are transferred within 24 hours, providing a quick and streamlined financial solution for businesses.

→ TaskUs optimizes TaskGPT by harnessing the capabilities of Amazon Web Services (AWS): TaskUs uses Amazon Web Services, specifically Amazon Bedrock, to power TaskGPT for generating AI-driven responses in customer service. With AWS Bedrock’s unified API approach, TaskGPT utilizes both Amazon’s and third-party genAI foundation models, ensuring secure and efficient responses in multiple languages, 24/7.

→ TD Bank introduces tap-to-pay on iPhone for small and micro U.S. businesses: It allows businesses to accept contactless payments using mobile phones without additional hardware. This feature seamlessly integrates with storefront POS systems, offering a convenient point-of-sale solution.