Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-August from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on business pages, interactive video, onsite abandonment, cybersecurity, WordPress integration, and holiday shipping rates.
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Ecommerce Product Releases
Facebook updates Pages for businesses. Facebook has updated Pages for businesses, with an emphasis on utility, making it easier for people to interact with local businesses and find what they need. Changes include more prominent recommendations, increased events development for local happenings, expanded job tool, a browsable local section in the Facebook app, and a standalone Facebook Local app.
Facebook Pages
FedEx announces holiday surcharge information. FedEx announced that it will not apply additional residential surcharges during the holiday season except for shipments that are oversized, unauthorized, or require additional handling. Peak surcharges for such shipments will be effective Nov. 19 through Dec. 24, 2018. FedEx also announced general changes to surcharges on unauthorized shipments and on some packages requiring additional handling, effective Sept. 3, 2018.
Letgo, a second-hand shopping app, raises an additional $500 million. Letgo, the app-based marketplace for people to sell second-hand goods, announced that it received an additional $500 million in funding from Naspers, the South African ecommerce and media giant. Letgo plans to use the capital for growth areas, such as its core second-hand goods sales as well as newer areas such as the housing listings that it launched last month.
Springbot launches Onsite Abandonment feature to drive conversions for retailers. Springbot, a marketing platform for ecommerce retailers, has announced Onsite Abandonment, a feature to integrate with Springbot Exchange, a data cooperative developed for small to medium-size ecommerce merchants. Onsite Abandonment allows retailers to deliver personalized email marketing messages to current and potential customers who visited their online store but did not make a purchase. Springbot Exchange gives merchants access to data typically available only to large retailers to help them engage more customers. Springbot Exchange and its first feature, Audience Expander, were launched in March 2018. Plans start at $299 per month.
Springbot
Amazon introduces grocery pickup from select Whole Foods Market stores. Amazon and Whole Foods Market announced the launch of grocery pickup beginning in Sacramento and Virginia Beach, with more cities to come throughout 2018. Prime members place their order via the Prime Now app and choose the pickup option at checkout. Customers can choose free pickup in as little as an hour on orders of $35 or in 30 minutes for $4.99. After arriving at the Whole Foods Market store, customers park in a reserved spot and an employee will place groceries into their car within minutes. In addition to grocery pickup, Prime members in dozens of cities can also enjoy grocery delivery from Whole Foods Market. Shoppers can also use Alexa to add items to their cart at any time, as in “Alexa, add eggs to my Whole Foods cart.”
ShipWorks integrates with Overstock.com. ShipWorks, the enterprise shipping software program for ecommerce merchants and warehouses, has integrated with Overstock.com, the home goods and furniture retailer. With the integration, Overstock.com orders can be downloaded into ShipWorks manually or on an automated schedule. Users can manage their Overstock.com shipments with the ShipWorks rules feature, which helps automate a wide range of shipping conditions. Once enabled, the ShipWorks ShipSense tool can further automate repeat shipping tasks by learning key characteristics of orders and automatically entering shipment information such as carton dimensions, weight, and product value. When orders are processed, ShipWorks then updates the Overstock store with shipment details, including order status, carrier, and tracking information.
FastSpring introduces WordPress plugin for digital commerce. FastSpring, a platform to sell digital products, announced the release of its WordPress plugin. The plugin offers businesses the ability to sell software, SaaS, and other digital items. Merchants can set up their online store in the FastSpring platform and use the ecommerce plugin to integrate directly into WordPress without the need for a developer. They can update products, pricing, and discounts in the FastSpring store. The WordPress site would update in real-time, and all transactions processed through the WordPress site are reflected in FastSpring. Contact for pricing.
FastSpring
Walmart and JD.com invest $500 million in a Chinese online delivery company. Dada-JD Daojia, a Chinese online grocery and delivery company, has raised $500 million from Walmart and JD.com in its latest round of financing. The company is made up of two businesses: Dada, which operates a network of 5 million delivery men, and JD Daojia, which provides one-hour grocery delivery. “We are confident that this deeper collaboration with Dada-JD Daojia will enhance our omnichannel footprint and deliver a better online-to-offline customer experience,” said Wern-Yuen Tan, president and C.E.O. of Walmart China.
Sonatype offers developers free security scan tool on GitHub. Sonatype, which helps enterprises detect and fix vulnerabilities in open source library dependencies, has announced a free tool called DepShield that offers a basic level of protection for GitHub developers. DepShield checks code for vulnerabilities against Sonatype’s OSS Index with recommendations on how to proceed. The company has a commercial version to automate fixes. The free version lets developers know if there are issues and how to fix them.
Facebook buys Vidpresso to make live broadcasts more interactive. Facebook has acquired Vidpresso, which offers technology to display polls, comments, and other elements from Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks — on the screen. The acquisition is part of Facebook’s continued push in video, including Watch Party for Facebook groups and the ability to launch videos as live moments with real-time chat. Facebook acquired Vidpresso’s seven-person team and its technology, but not the company itself. Vidpresso’s employees will join Facebook’s offices while continuing to provide clients such as BuzzFeed and Nasdaq access to their services.
Vidpresso