E-commerce is changing at a rapid pace, there were a series of launches and updates of e-commerce products at the end of June 2019, including digital currency, shipping and logistics, multi-channel sales and augmented reality (AR) innovative tools, etc. Let’s review the top 12 popular e-commerce events for the first half year of 2019.
1. Headless Commerce Service is Launched by Adobe Commerce Cloud
Adobe Commerce Cloud announced a headless commerce service which can simplify continuous integration and delivery process and enables customers to iterate their code base quickly and flexible. No matter small or big businesses can deploy new features into his/her products multiple times a day in order to respond to the customers’ changes quickly and massively.
2. Cryptocurrency--Libra is Published by Facebook
Facebook announced the publishment of Libra, a new digital currency based on blockchain technology. Consisted of three parts, the mission of Libra is to build an infrastructure of the global monetary and financial system for billions of people. The three parts work together to create a more inclusive and universal financial system, including a blockchain foundation, a reserve asset of intrinsic value, and an independent Libra society which supports ecosystems. Besides, a digital wallet-- Calibra is to be launched in 2020 by Facebook.
3. New Insight of Competitiveness -- Site Overview is Offered by Alexa.com
The subsidiary of Amazon -- Alexa.com offers free insights of competitiveness for marketers now. Alexa Site Overview serves more than 3 million unique users each month and reveals the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of the brand, including website related data, audience insights, keywords, and competitiveness analysis. Web analytics also helps marketers identify and capitalize the digital opportunities for their potential and existing customers. In addition, Site Overview can also help agents develop the perfect marketing plan and provide faster results for customers.
4. Shopify Build Logistics Network for U.S. Sellers
Shopify plans to invest $1 billion in launching new logistics network in the U.S. to help small businesses remain competitive with Amazon and allow sellers on Shopify deliver products faster and cheaper. Adopted by the intelligent inventory allocation technology as well as machine learning, the network can predict the nearest logistics center and the best inventory for each position to ensure fast and low-cost delivery.
5. ShippingEasy has Launched a Multi-channel Customer Marketing Suite
ShippingEasy has launched a multi-channel suite with new functions for customer marketing to enable online sellers of all sizes (especially sells on Amazon and Shopify) to take full advantage of their data for better customer understanding and ceaseless repeat business. The expanded customer marketing suite including Amazon feedback management, easy drag & drop template builder, powerful subdivision rules, email marketing campaign on a discarded shopping cart, and more.
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6. Whitebox Raised $ 5 million for Its E-commerce Logistics Platform
Whitebox, a direct-to-customer e-commerce logistics startup, raised $ 5 million in A round of funding. Whitebox not only helps companies outsource the entire e-commerce process, but also calculate the inventory which maintains the minimum storage cost.
7. SureDone Augmented the Automation Engine to Support the Marketplace and Complicated Integration
SureDone is a multi-channel e-commerce listing and order management platform designed to improve the efficiency and automation of online business for brands, enterprises, and growing e-commerce sellers. The advanced automation engines enable the complex connections and integrated workflows of API required by the partners.
The automation engine of SureDone is a connector between the business data and background system that sellers can define connection types and field variables through files configurations. These data can be imported and exported to SureDone to facilitate product listing, inventory management, order handling, ship tracking, and other logistics requirements.
8. Google Launched New Immersive Advertising for YouTube Through Advertising Display Optimization
Google launched a new 3D advertising format and provided a new AR display and Live functions for YouTube promotion. Customers can trial make-up while watching videos on YouTube. Google provide virtual product samples that can deal with multiple skin tones through machine learning and AR technology. AR Beauty Try-On is available through FameBit -- an internal brand content platform of YouTube.
9. Amazon Expands its Airline Network for Prime Shipping
Amazon announced a partnership with GECAS (GE: Capital Aviation Services) at the Paris International Air Show for leasing 15 Boeing 737-800 cargo aircrafts. The 15 aircrafts is a complement of the previously announced five Boeing 737-800 leased from GECAS earlier of this year. The air service of Amazon can deliver hundreds of thousands of packages per day because the aircrafts will fly to the United States on more than 20 routes across Amazon’s air network with the advanced algorithms and software for capacity and route planning.
Amazon will also open new aviation facilities this year at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Great Wilmington Airport and Rockford International Airport in Chicago. The chief aviation hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport will officially open in 2021.
10. Sizzle is to be Introduced in Canada
Payments company Sezzle announced its platform will serve thousands of online stores in Canada, including Italian sportswear brand Kappa. In the United States, more than 3,300 retailers chose Sezzle as their preferred installment plan.
Sezzle offers six weeks of interest-free installments with no extra cost which provide customers, especially the Millennials who have no credit history a more convenient and responsible payment method. The “shop now, pay later” solution of Sezzle allows customers to meet their spot purchase demand without disrupting their monthly budgets or enduring onerous credit checks.
11. Insite Software Launched the Latest Version of Its E-commerce Platform
Insite Software, a provider of digital commerce solutions for manufacturers and distributors, launched the latest version of its e-commerce platform InsiteCommerce. The new version improves the search function of Insite, support email list alerts, power share of multiple customer lists, enhances security, and provides integration of the cloud platform of InRiver products data.
12. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Declared the Availability of AWS Security Hub
