Ecommerce Product Releases: December 3, 2017

Here is a list of product releases and updates for late November from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on augmented reality, chat apps, WordPress themes, digital coupons, payment solutions, and shipping tools.

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

Ecommerce Product Releases

Amazon Web Services announces Amazon Sumerian. Amazon Web Services, the cloud hosting service, has announced Amazon Sumerian, a new service that makes it easy to build virtual reality, augmented reality, and three-dimensional applications, and run them on mobile devices, head-mounted displays, digital signage, or web browsers. VR and AR apps created in Amazon Sumerian will run in any browser that supports WebGL or WebVR graphics rendering, including Daydream, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and iOS mobile devices. There is no software to install or upfront costs. Customers pay only for the storage used for 3D assets and the volume of traffic generated to access the virtual scenes they create.

Amazon Sumerian, by Amazon Web Services

Estée Lauder and Google collaborate on voice-enabled beauty experiences. Global beauty brand Estée Lauder has announced a collaboration with Google to offer consumers unique, in-home beauty experiences for the Google Assistant on Google Home, the voice-enabled device. The first initiative is the “Estée Lauder Nighttime Expert” app.

ShipStation launches third-party fulfillment program. ShipStation, a web-based ecommerce shipping solution, has announced the launch of ShipStation Fulfillment Program, which provides ShipStation customers with vetted options to outsource parcel fulfillment. ShipStation customers access the program through a page on the ShipStation website. Once there, customers are matched with qualifying fulfillment providers that were chosen based on specific criteria, including customer base, industry reputation, ratings, and specialized service offerings.

Pusher launches Chatkit for developers, to add chat functionality. Pusher, a developer of scalable real-time infrastructure, has launched Pusher Chatkit, a specialized Chat API solution for developers to add chat services to mobile and web apps. Chatkit provides features such as granular user roles and permissions, private and public chat rooms, typing indicators, online presence, message history, and automatic reconnection. Pusher Chatkit is free while in beta.

Pusher Chatkit

BigCommerce expands relationship with PayPal with new services to merchants. Ecommerce platform BigCommerce has announced an expanded relationship with PayPal to provide businesses with a suite of products and services to help drive increased sales opportunities. BigCommerce customers can more easily offer shoppers flexible consumer financing options with PayPal Credit, access innovative business financing through PayPal Working Capital, and gain increased insight into their shoppers with the recently launched PayPal Marketing Solutions through a new exclusive app for BigCommerce customers.

Insite Software releases InsiteAnalytics for eCommerce. Insite Software, a B2B commerce platform, has released InsiteAnalytics for eCommerce. InsiteAnalytics integrates data from the company’s InsiteCommerce platform with additional data sources from core business systems and third parties, such as Google Analytics. The InsiteAnalytics dashboards are designed around sales analytics, marketing and campaign analytics, and site analytics.

UPS and Shopify join forces to offer guaranteed shipping for merchants. UPS and Shopify are unveiling a platform integration that make UPS’s premium services available to small businesses. Shopify’s small U.S. businesses will now receive competitive, pre-negotiated domestic and international rates that save on list prices, along with a streamlined shipping and fulfillment solution. With UPS services and solutions integrated into the Shopify platform, businesses can now easily manage all aspects of shipping and fulfillment in one place. Several services including UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS Ground are available to meet customer needs at a good value. Tracking and billing are also integrated into Shopify.

Envato launches unlimited downloads of WordPress themes and plugins. Envato Elements now includes unlimited downloads of over 300 premium WordPress themes and plugins, affirming its position as a must-have subscription for designers, web developers, and digital creatives worldwide. Envato Elements has steadily increased its offerings over the past year to include photos and 3D items. The addition of WordPress themes and plugins brings the total number of items available to more than 400,000, all of which annual subscribers have unlimited access to.

Envato Elements

Yowza!! e-coupon app relaunches. IoT Broadband LLC, an Internet-of-things investment company, has announced the relaunch of Yowza!!, an e-coupon app offering thousands of digital discounts and electronic coupons from national and local retailers. For retailers, Yowza!! offers the unique ability to build rewards and loyalty campaigns via the Yowza!! merchant portal.

Adobe Advertising Cloud Search announces new integrations with Microsoft Bing. Adobe Advertising Cloud Search, the company’s search advertising solution, now offers three new enhancements to bid management and optimization of Bing search inventory: Retargeting Lists for Search Ads, Custom Audiences, and Dynamic Search Ads.

NCR and MonkeyMedia Software collaborate to help restaurants scale off-premises operations. NCR Corporation, a point-of-sale provider, has announced a strategic integration with MONKEY, a cloud-based software platform created by MonkeyMedia Software for restaurant takeout, delivery, and catering services. This integration enables NCR Aloha point-of-sale users to seamlessly manage orders placed through the MONKEY platform, eliminating the need for extensive development.

xSellco integrates with Veeqo ecommerce platform. xSellco, the customer support and product-repricing platform, now integrates with Veeqo, an all-in-one solution that helps online sellers manage inventory and orders. Veeqo users can access xSellco’s Helpdesk, Feedback, and Repricer apps through Veeqo’s new marketplace. Helpdesk allows merchants to pull customer requests and queries from all sales channels and social platforms into one centralized platform. Repricer helps merchants stay ahead of competitors by automatically setting prices at optimal levels. Feedback allows retailers to send smart, selective requests for feedback, targeting the right customer at the right time.