TryNow raises million for “Try Now Buy Later” service. TryNow, a platform that enables consumers to try items at home before buying, has raised million in Series A funding. Using TryNow, consumers check out for free, try items at home, return unwanted items, and only pay for what they keep. TryNow customers include Shopify Plus brands such as Universal Standard, Roolee, Western Rise, and Solid & Striped.
AWS releases Amazon Lookout for Metrics. Amazon Web Services has announced the general availability of “Amazon Lookout for Metrics,” a managed service that detects anomalies in metrics and helps determine their root cause. Amazon Lookout for Metrics helps customers monitor their business’s most important metrics such as revenue, page views, active users, transaction volume, and mobile app installations. The service also makes it easier to diagnose the root cause of anomalies. There is no up-front commitment or minimum fee, and customers pay only for the number of metrics analyzed per month.
Ecommerce Product Releases
DHL launches 100-percent carbon-neutral U.S. domestic shipping. DHL eCommerce Solutions has launched its existing Expedited Max U.S. domestic shipping as 100-percent carbon-neutral. All Expedited Max CO2 emissions will be offset and included as a standard product feature. Expedited Max domestic parcel tracking will also include a new carbon-neutral GoGreen program message and logo. Additionally, all U.S. outbound flats and parcel customers will have access to a personalized carbon emissions report on the customer web portal. The report will provide customers with visibility of the carbon emissions from their shipments weekly and monthly.
PayPal launches “Checkout with Crypto.” PayPal has announced the launch of Checkout with Crypto, a feature that expands the utility of cryptocurrency. PayPal customers with cryptocurrency holdings in the U.S. will be able to choose Checkout with Crypto at checkout, at millions of global online businesses. Customers using Checkout with Crypto can check out safely and easily, converting cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency, with the certainty of value and no additional transaction fees. Checkout with Crypto will automatically appear in the PayPal wallet at checkout for customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase.
Yotpo raises 0 million to deliver its ecommerce marketing platform. Yotpo has raised 0 million in additional funding. With its largest investment round to date, Yotpo aims to deliver the foundation for its all-in-one ecommerce marketing platform. Yotpo plans to double its product personnel and its research and development teams to accelerate the rollout of its full platform experience, which includes Yotpo SMS Marketing, Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals, Yotpo Reviews, and Yotpo Visual UGC.
Bambuser creates “In-store Solutions” for physical retail environments. Bambuser, a live-streaming platform, has announced the creation of “In-store Solutions” for interactive experiences that connect physical and digital spaces. Serving the evolving needs of brick-and-mortar retailers, property owners, shopping centers, and department stores, the new division will focus on new and value-added customer offerings for attracting and engaging with target audiences in the ever-changing retail landscape. Since launching its live video shopping in 2019, Bambuser has created interactive, shoppable ecommerce experiences for global brands and retailers, including Moda Operandi, Farfetch, and Samsung.
Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.
GoDaddy streamlines posting on Instagram. GoDaddy’s Website + Marketing users can now publish directly to Instagram and monitor comments and views. The dashboard allows for the scheduling of posts as well as content suggestions to improve the quality.
Etsy adds contextual bidding to improve seller ad performance. In an effort to make sellers’ ads more effective, Etsy has added a feature called contextual bidding. Conversion rates differ depending on the context: hour-of-day, day-of-week, platform, and page type. The neural-network-powered platform can determine when the system should bid higher or lower on sellers’ behalf to promote their item to a buyer. The change represents a significant improvement in the flexibility and effectiveness of the automation in Etsy Ads. Sellers who participate in the Etsy Ads program only pay for a promoted listing when buyers click on their ad.
PayPal
Bambuser
DHL eCommerce Solutions
Walmart Marketplace opens to foreign sellers. Nearly 100 China-based sellers have joined the previously U.S.-only Walmart Marketplace over the past few weeks as the company quietly expanded it to allow foreign sellers. Sellers must have a valid Chinese business license, more than a year of operating experience selling on North American marketplaces, and good store ratings. To solve the weeks-long delivery times, Walmart will onboard those sellers to the Walmart Fulfillment Services.
Chord raises million and acquires Yaguara to build headless commerce platform. Chord, a commerce-as-a-service software company, has raised million in Series A investment funding, led by Eclipse Ventures. Chord also announced its acquisition of Yaguara, a business intelligence platform. Chord offers technology and data products that give direct-to-consumer companies the ability to enhance their businesses by building on headless commerce technology and having access to meaningful first-party data. Chord combines a headless commerce stack with a data component to offer what it calls commerce-as-a-service. The recent funding will go to developing more technology and data products and to support growth.
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late March from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on cryptocurrency payments, contextual bidding, carbon-neutral shipping, live-stream commerce, headless commerce, and more.
Chord
