New E-Commerce Tools in April
Every week, Practical Ecommerce publishes a summary of new e-commerce tools from companies offering services to e-commerce and omnichannel merchants. This edition includes updates on curated content, shoppable videos, AI-powered search, composable commerce, payments, subscription plans, and paywalls.
New E-commerce Tools for Merchants: April 15
Squarespace adds subscription features to earn recurring revenue. To help entrepreneurs monetize content, Squarespace has introduced subscription features. Users can turn articles into a passive income stream by adding a paywall to their blog, setting the price, and choosing between a one-time fee or a recurring subscription. Video creators can monetize content by charging for access to their library or placing a paywall directly on a video player. Entrepreneurs can sell individual pieces of content or bundle various content types.
YouTube launches new e-commerce tools for creators. YouTube has introduced features that allow creators to create curated shopping collections, produce shoppable videos, monetize videos, and more. Shopping collections offer a new way for creators to curate products. All shopping creators can now mass-tag products in videos. YouTube is also launching an Affiliate Hub directly in the app, allowing creators to access the latest list of shopping partners, commission rates, promo codes, and even request samples.
Cognizant collaborates with Shopify and Google Cloud in enterprise retail. Cognizant has partnered with Shopify and Google Cloud for global retailers and brands. The partnership combines Shopify’s commerce platform, Google Cloud’s infrastructure, and Cognizant’s retail industry advisory and technology implementation specialists. By leveraging Shopify’s commerce operating system built on Google Cloud, brands will have the technology necessary for Cognizant to execute digital transformation across various retail scenarios.
Bloomreach expands its partnership with Google Cloud in AI-powered search and marketing. Bloomreach, an e-commerce personalization platform, has extended its partnership with Google Cloud to enhance Bloomreach Discovery. Customers will benefit from the combination of Google Cloud’s advanced generative AI innovation and Bloomreach’s proprietary AI, Loomi, as well as its commerce dataset and revenue-generating platform capabilities. Google Cloud will enhance the strength of Bloomreach engines. Including improved recall, ranking, automated merchandising, personalization, and cross-channel conversational commerce functions.
E-commerce Innovations: eBay’s ‘Shop the Look’, Amazon Update & Shein Webinar
eBay introduces a generative AI-powered e-commerce tool called “Shop the Look”. eBay has launched a feature named “Shop the Look”, offering an immersive carousel view of looks tailored to customers’ shopping habits. It includes interactive hotspots displaying similar items and outfit inspirations. “Shop the Look” evolves with customers’ tastes by taking cues from their shopping habits. The feature is now available for iOS users in the USA and the UK, with an Android version coming later this year.
Amazon updates its Add Products tool to search for products and add offers in bulk. Amazon has updated its Add Products listing tool, helping users search for items already listed for sale in the Amazon store and add up to 500 offers in bulk. Users can search for up to 20 products and add information such as price and quantity. These offers will then be directly offered at once in Seller Central. They can also search for up to 500 products and generate a pre-filled Excel template. Eventually, this allows or quick listing of offers using bulk uploads.
Shein will host a webinar for US merchants interested in selling on its marketplace. Asia-based Shein is hosting a live webinar for US sellers interested in selling on its marketplace. The webinar will take place on April 25, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. PST, providing an overview of how to sell on the Shein marketplace, including fees, product categories, and seller requirements. According to StoreAutomator, Shein is looking for US-based merchants with at least $2 million in annual revenue who ship directly to customers from the USA.
For further insights, check out Practical Ecommerce’s article.