Here is a list of product releases and updates for late-May from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on app development, personalized shopping, fintech, shipping, influencer marketing, and the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation.
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Ecommerce Product Releases
Adobe acquires Magento Commerce. Adobe announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Magento Commerce for $1.68 billion. The addition of the Magento Commerce Cloud will enable commerce to be seamlessly integrated into the Adobe Experience Cloud, delivering a single platform that serves both B2B and B2C customers globally.
Magento Commerce
Amazon launches Marketplace Appstore. Amazon is launching a new store for sellers. The Marketplace Appstore is a new site on Seller Central that features Amazon Marketplace Web Service applications created by Amazon and external developers. The Appstore is in public beta. Participation by developers is by invitation only.
eBay launches Interests, for personalized shopping. eBay has announced the launch of Interests, a new feature that tailors the shopping experience based on an individual’s passions, hobbies, and style. “Our shopping experience should be as individual as each shopper on eBay,” said Bradford Shellhammer, head of browse and personalization for eBay. “By asking people to tell us a little bit about their interests, we’re delivering a personalized store built around the things they care about most.”
PayPal buys iZettle. PayPal announced that it is acquiring European fintech startup iZettle for $2.2 billion. Stockholm-based iZettle builds devices and technology that nearly 500,000 businesses in Europe, Mexico, and Brazil use to accept credit cards. The acquisition sets up a showdown with Square, the popular payment solution used by hundreds of thousands of small brick-and-mortar businesses.
iZettle
Facebook develops search engine for influencer marketing. Facebook is testing a search tool for connecting marketers to social media creators. The search engine’s results page shows a list of creators with their audience match percentage to the search terms, percentage of their followers they reach, engagement rate, follower count, and video views. The business arrangements for product placement or sponsored content creation and sharing are then worked out between the brand and creator without Facebook’s involvement.
Rightpoint launches Spark Commerce for brands. Rightpoint, an independent customer experience agency, announced the launch of Spark Commerce, providing a scalable structure to quickly launch digital commerce storefronts. The Spark Commerce accelerator is equipped with scalable page templates and commerce components. Spark Commerce is powered by Sitecore Experience Commerce 9, a cloud-enabled platform that natively integrates content and commerce so that brands can personalize the end-to-end shopping experience throughout the transaction.
ShipStation announces integration with SPS Commerce. ShipStation, a web-based ecommerce shipping solution, has announced its integration with SPS Commerce, a provider of cloud-based retail supply chain management tools. SPS Commerce empowers its customers with end-to-end electronic data interchange integrations as well as item management and analytics solutions.
Coalition launches new “Focus On The User” campaign against Google. A coalition led by Yelp and TripAdvisor are renewing the fight to stop Google’s practice of putting its knowledge cards atop search query results, sidestepping its ranking algorithm. The campaign was initially launched in 2014, as the European Union was determining whether Google abused its search power on shopping results. Yelp has filed a new complaint on how Google treats local search results.
GDPR becomes enforceable. As of May 25, the new General Data Protection Regulation is enforceable. GDPR is a new law across the European Union and the U.K., replacing the Data Protection Act of 1998. It is intended to strengthen controls that E.U. residents have over their data and right to privacy, requiring greater protection by companies who control and process personal data.
Specle Ltd introduces xColor for lightweight, high-powered, cloud-based color management. Specle Ltd has announced the release of xColor, a new cloud-based color management tool. xColor enables (a) native cloud-based color conversions, (b) integrations with utilities like Dropbox, and (c) global location management. After 30-day free trial, plans start at $49 per month.
FundRequest lets you contribute to open source and earn cryptocurrency. FundRequest, a new platform for incentivizing open-source development, has launched its first product: a blockchain powered integration with GitHub wherein developers can solve open source project issues and be rewarded. The platform integrates directly with GitHub, allowing projects to fund “issues” that developers can solve and be rewarded in cryptocurrency. Businesses pay for the software support they need, and developers receive monetary incentive to contribute to projects.
PayPal acquires Jetlore. PayPal has acquired Jetlore, an artificial-intelligence-powered prediction platform for some of the world’s top retailers. Jetlore empowers online retailers to deliver personalized customer experiences to increase sales and loyalty. With the acquisition, PayPal will enhance and accelerate PayPal Marketing Solutions, adding new capabilities for merchants beyond the online checkout experience.
Jetlore