Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-December from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on content creation, app development tools, digital goods, chargebacks, pay-later financing, and video editing.
Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.
Ecommerce Product Releases
Pinterest acquires Vochi, a video creation and editing app. Pinterest has acquired Vochi, an app for creating and editing videos. Acquiring Vochi is part of Pinterest’s commitment to helping creators produce quality videos. Better content can provide pinners with more ways to watch, make, and shop creator ideas. Vochi was founded in 2019 and will continue as a standalone app for now.
Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a free suite of tools. Adobe has launched Creative Cloud Express, a quick and easy web and mobile app to create social graphics, videos, and professional content — replacing Adobe Spark. Creative Cloud Express offers thousands of templates plus assets for social media content, logos, and more. The suite includes tools to remove backgrounds, animate text, add branding, and more. Free users can access up to 1 million images, thousands of templates, and dozens of fonts.
AWS announces Amplify Studio. Amazon Web Services has announced AWS Amplify Studio, a new visual development environment for developers to create web application user interfaces with minimal coding. With Amplify Studio, developers can create a UI using a library of prebuilt components, collaborate with user experience designers, and connect their UI to AWS services through a point-and-click interface without writing code. After finalizing on AWS Amplify Studio, a developer’s UI is converted into JavaScript or TypeScript, which saves writing thousands of lines of code and facilitates customized parts of the application’s design and behavior. There are no upfront fees or commitments to use Amplify Studio. Customers only pay for the AWS services that run the application’s backend.
PayPal powers pay-later offerings for Wix merchants. PayPal has announced that Wix merchants can offer PayPal’s “Pay in 4” and PayPal Credit through a dedicated Pay Later checkout button and present Pay in 4 messaging earlier in the shopping journey. Pay in 4 allows consumers to split purchases into four interest-free equal payments every two weeks. Consumers can choose a credit card, debit card, or direct bank withdrawal as a repayment method and will not incur late fees if a payment is missed. PayPal Credit offers six months of financing on purchases of at least $99. Wix businesses can add PayPal Pay Later buttons to their product page, cart, and at checkout.
Wix
Ecommerce aggregator Quinio secures $20 million in financing. Quinio, a Mexican company that acquires and scales Latin American brands, announced the closing of a $20 million debt and equity round. The financing was led by Cometa, AlleyCorp, DILA Capital, Western Technology Investment, GBM Ventures, and Bridge Partners. Quinio will use the capital to acquire more than 30 brands and scale its team. Quinio aims to buy medium-sized brands with unique “bestseller” products and that sell online through their website, Mercado Libre, or Amazon.
Fabric launches B2B commerce platform. Fabric, a headless commerce provider, has launched a platform for distributors, manufacturers, and wholesalers. Fabric helps companies deliver modern customer experiences where legacy technologies previously constrained them. B2B sales teams can now point potential customers to a self-service commerce platform for simple orders, allowing the teams to support more complex inquiries requiring a higher degree of expertise and service.
SendOwl, a platform for selling digital goods, raises $4.5 million. SendOwl, a platform to sell and deliver digital products, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding from Defy.vc, with participation from Stripe and others. SendOwl enables creators and businesses to sell digital goods such as ebooks, podcasts, online courses, memberships, coaching services, live remote events, and more — all from an existing website or blog. Current SendOwl customers include Universal Music Group and fitness influencer Kayla Itsines.
SendOwl
Talkable collaborates with Tapcart to deliver in-app referrals to ecommerce brands. Tapcart, a mobile app-building platform, has launched an integration with Talkable, a referral and loyalty service. The integration allows ecommerce brands to launch referral programs within their mobile apps. The integration is available to enterprise customers of either company and enables ecommerce brands to empower end-users to become brand advocates and reward them with gift cards and discounts.
ChargeSentry launches chargeback response service. ChargeSentry announced the launch of its chargeback response service for small and medium-sized merchants. The service offers budget-minded monthly pricing and provides fact-based information to increase win rates. It automates all chargeback responses, requiring no additional effort from the merchant. Merchant customers that don’t win the value of their ChargeSentry subscription get their money back, ensuring a 100% return on investment.
Alibaba.com announces 50 small businesses receiving $10,000 grants. Alibaba.com has announced the 50 entrepreneurs who will receive $10,000 each from its first-ever grants program. Recipients were selected from more than 12,000 applicants who submitted their product idea or go-to-market strategy to Alibaba.com’s panel of expert judges. The Alibaba.com Grants Program, created in partnership with Hello Alice, a community of underrepresented entrepreneurs in the U.S., aims to support today’s entrepreneur economy by providing much-needed capital and resources to online businesses. The 50 recipients include entrepreneurs who help create a more healthy, sustainable, beautiful, knowledgeable, or equitable world.
Alibaba.com Grants Program
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Sig Ueland, Khareem Sudlow
