Here is a list of product releases and updates for late-January from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on shipping, visual search, augmented reality in shopping, order management, and headless ecommerce applications.
Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.
Ecommerce Product Releases
Pinterest’s new AR tech lets users ‘try on’ makeup. Pinterest has launched Try On in its mobile app. Users open the Pinterest camera in search, click “Try on” to find makeup shades, and swipe up to shop from brands such as Estée Lauder, Sephora, BareMinerals, Neutrogena, and L’Oréal. A “try on” button will also appear on select products, as well as in search with related terms such as “matte lipstick” or “red lips.” Pinterest integrated Try On with skin-tone features. Try On does not use skin smoothing or image-altering effects.
Pinterest ‘Try On’
FedEx Ground now delivers residential packages on Sunday, year-round. FedEx announced that FedEx Ground has officially started delivering FedEx Home Delivery packages on Sunday for most of the U.S., to serve the ecommerce market better. Delivering residential packages on Sunday speeds up most deliveries by one or two days, which especially helps shippers and consumers of healthcare and perishable goods. FedEx Ground began delivering residential packages on Sundays during the most recent peak holiday season.
UPS launches ecommerce plugins for small business storefronts. UPS has announced a free plugin to make UPS tools and services available within WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart, and Magento. The offering is part of the recently announced UPS Digital Access Program, which natively integrates UPS’s services into ecommerce platforms and provides competitive shipping rates to users. By offering these plug-ins, UPS helps merchants open a UPS account and manage multiple aspects of shipping and fulfillment inside their existing ecommerce platform. The plugins also allow merchants with UPS accounts to access their negotiated rates and integrate UPS delivery services into their platform. Businesses can open a UPS account within the plugins and get discounts of up to 55 percent off daily rates.
Product Hunt launches YourStack, a platform for people and products. The team behind Product Hunt, a product-discovery site, has launched YourStack, a social network where consumers talk about the products they enjoy, recommend their favorite products, and follow product experts. The site will also have pro tips, product hacks, and questions to spark group discussion.
YourStack
Google’s new feature makes it easier to shop from search results. Google has launched a new way for customers in the U.S. to explore apparel and accessory products surfaced on mobile. Now when you search for clothing, shoes, and accessories, Google will present (in addition to search results) a new section displaying the most popular products from stores around the web to filter and browse. The goal is to help more merchants connect with shoppers looking for these items. The feature is free. Merchants that meet Google’s policy guidelines and sell products in these categories are eligible.
GoDaddy acquires Over to help sellers create visual content online. GoDaddy, the web hosting company, has agreed to acquire Over, the company behind the Over app, which helps small businesses create impactful visual content. Using a library of customizable templates and layouts, the Over app helps to create content quickly on a mobile phone for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and other popular social platforms, as well as email marketing campaigns and websites. Over will bolster GoDaddy’s small business focus.
Commerce.js raises $1.7 million to build an API-first ecommerce platform for developers and designers. Commerce.js, which provides headless ecommerce infrastructure, has raised $1.72 million in its first round of funding. The investment was led by Initialized Capital and Global Founders Capital, with additional support from Correlation Ventures, AngelPad, Palm Drive Capital, and Basecamp Alumni Ventures Group. The financing will enable the company to grow its platform for supporting larger direct-to-consumer brands and businesses. Commerce.js’s API-first ecommerce platform lets developers and designers build custom ecommerce experiences quickly. Commerce.js helps developers integrate ecommerce into any platform, device, or tech stack with its SDKs and APIs.
Commerce.js
Google Dataset Search is out of beta, with new features. Google Dataset Search, Google’s search tool to find datasets stored across the web through keyword searches, has launched out of beta with new features. Users can now filter the results based on data types (e.g., tables, images, text) and whether the dataset is free. If a dataset is about a geographic area, users can see the map. Dataset Search is available on mobile with improved data descriptions. The number of datasets in Dataset Search continues to grow. Webmasters can expose a dataset by describing it using Schema.org’s structured data.
Deck Commerce launches new order management features. Deck Commerce, a distributed order management service for omnichannel commerce, announced the launch of new order management features to help retailers improve the shopping experience. New features include prebuilt third-party integrations for traditional payment gateways, buy-now pay-later options, post-purchase experiences, and chargebacks. Core product updates include scheduled delivery date, new multi-point fulfillment workflows, additions to return-merchandise-authorization workflows, and more.
Deck Commerce
