Every week we prepare and publish a list of new products from companies offering services to e-commerce merchants. This section contains updates on virtual stores, tax management, cross-border trading, circular packaging, sponsored product display, product images and fast trading.
Do you have an e-commerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com.
New tools for traders
Walmart updates virtual store with seasonal shopping features. Walmart has expanded its Realm experience with virtual world developer Emperia, adding four new virtual stores themed around a mountain cabin, a holiday party, a white elephant game, and the sweetest gifts. Influencers choose gift ideas in virtual spaces. Walmart also debuted a feature for creating and sharing wish lists. Earlier this year, Walmart launched Realm with three environments.
Walmart Realm
Shopify supports payments in multiple currencies. Shopify now supports multi-currency payments for European merchants. This feature is available to Shopify Advanced and Plus users in six European countries: UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Austria. Payout currencies include US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Danish Krone, Euro, Hungarian Forint, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Norwegian Krone, Polish Zloty, Romanian Leu, Singapore Dollar, South African Rand, Swedish Krona, Swiss Franc and Czech crown.
Solidgate launches cross-regional tax management platform. Payment processing platform Solidgate has launched its Tax Compliance Portal, a self-service pay-as-you-go solution to simplify VAT and sales tax management for multinationals. The new portal automatically syncs data from hundreds of payment processors – including Worldpay, Adyen, Checkout.com, Nuvei and Stripe – and calculates the appropriate taxes based on pre-defined parameters such as customer location and transaction type.
Movopack raises funds to launch circular packaging in the UK Movopack has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to launch its circular e-commerce packaging in the U.K. The company makes its reusable packaging from recycled plastic bottles and recycled polypropylene (plastic), designed to withstand postal handling and they could be reused up to 20 times. The Movopack can be returned via Royal Mail. The EU mandates that at least 10% of e-commerce packaging must be reusable by 2030, increasing to 50% by 2040.
Movopack
Flipkart to quickly expand the store to more cities. Flipkart, the Walmart-backed Indian e-commerce company, plans to expand Minutes, its express delivery service, amid growing demand for 10-minute deliveries. Flipkart Minutes is currently live in pilot phase in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. Flipkart began piloting Minutes in Bengaluru in August and expanded to the Delhi region in September. Flipkart’s move came in response to the rise of Zomat-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and Tata-owned BigBasket.
Walmart and DoorDash partners across Canada. DoorDash Canada and Walmart Canada have announced a partnership involving 300 Walmart Supercenters in 10 Canadian provinces. Customers shopping on DoorDash can now browse unique items from Walmart, from fresh produce and cookware to pet food and electronics, including private labels. All Walmart Supercenters on DoorDash will be available on DashPass (a subscription program), providing $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible orders.
GroupBy and Topsort partner to optimize the display of sponsored products. GroupBy, a provider of online product search and discovery, has announced an integration with Topsort, an AI and auction-based retail media infrastructure company. By combining GroupBy’s AI-driven platform with Topsort’s retail media capabilities, merchants can increase the visibility of sponsored products and ensure that only relevant products are submitted for verification on Topsort’s retail media platform.
GroupBy
Aiarty Image Matting released for e-commerce photos. Aiarty, part of Digiarty Software, has launched Image Matting, an AI-based tool to streamline image processing for e-commerce businesses. Following the release of Aiarty’s Image Enhancer, Image Matting uses AI models for background removal and bulk background replacement. Together, these tools allow e-commerce sellers to enhance product visuals across channels and remove and replace backgrounds on up to 3,000 images at once.
HSBC launches platform for domestic and international payments. London-based banking and financial services provider HSBC has launched Smart Transact, a one-stop domestic and cross-border payment platform. Users have access to additional services, including corporate cards and integrated HSBC tools. Smart Transact is available in India, UK, US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands and France.
ImageKit exposes APIs to simplify video post-production and delivery. Media solutions developer ImageKit has launched its video API to automate the time-consuming and repetitive tasks required to publish videos on the web. ImageKit allows users to resize and transform videos in real-time by adjusting URL parameters and optimizing for any device or platform without manual effort. The Video API includes real-time tools such as resizing and cropping, adaptive streaming features, overlays, caption styling options, and more.
Mollie and PayPal work together on payments for marketplace platforms. Payment processing company Mollie has partnered with PayPal to provide payment solutions for marketplace platforms across Europe. The partnership expands Mollie’s range of payment options in Europe, including credit and debit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, buy-now-pay-later options and local payment methods.
Molly
