Jan 16, 2025

New Ecommerce Tools: January 16, 2025 Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com. New Tools for Merchants Passport acquires Brand Access for localized cross-border selling . Passport , an international ecommerce solutions provider, has acquired Brand Access , a market leader in localized cross-border selling for direct-to-consumer brands. The acquisition will help merchants unlock their global potential by integrating locally managed services such as in-country logistics and marketplace management in key regions, including Canada, the U.K., and the E.U. Passport Amazon launches Retail Ad Service. Amazon Ads is introducing Retail Ad Service, enabling online retailers to show product ads on their search, browse, and product pages. The ads incorporate availability, price, and contextual information such as shoppers’ search queries and views across categories or products. Retailers determine ad formats, where ads appear, and how many ads are shown. Retailers can also choose what visitors see after clicking on an ad. Microsoft Advertising launches tools for retailers. Microsoft Advertising has released two tools for retailers: “Curate for Commerce” and “Sponsored Promotions by Brands.” Curate for Commerce enables retailers to monetize first-party data to increase revenue for their commerce media program and provide shoppers with targeted ads from partners. Sponsored Promotions by Brands helps companies engage shoppers across Microsoft Edge, Bing , and retail partners’ websites, creating personalized, data-driven experiences. BigCommerce updates Catalyst for one-click storefront. BigCommerce has announced updates to Catalyst, its storefront technology. With one click from the control panel, marketers can now launch and design a store that comes optimized out of the box. Catalyst is integrated with core BigCommerce functionality, including customizable checkouts , APIs, core catalog and inventory management, multi-storefront capabilities, and B2B functionality. BigCommerce Catalyst Salesforce unveils AI solutions for retail. Salesforce has launched two AI-powered services for retailers: “ Agentforce for Retail ” and “ Retail Cloud with Modern POS .” Agentforce for Retail includes a library of pre-built skills to create AI agents that automate time-consuming tasks, such as order management and appointment scheduling, and to deploy rapid shopper personalization at scale. Retail Cloud with Modern POS combines online and offline shopping data together onto a single platform. Algolia introduces Shopping Guides, a generative AI tool. Algolia , an AI search and discovery platform, has launched Shopping Guides, a content generation tool to assist shoppers on B2C and B2B ecommerce websites. Shopping Guides uses generative AI to create informative and comparison-based articles, providing shoppers with insights throughout their shopping journey. Commercetools introduces InStore for unified omnichannel commerce. Commercetools , a developer of composable commerce applications, has launched Commercetools InStore, an application that brings its capabilities into physical stores. With this addition, Commercetools lets enterprise retailers deliver seamless, consistent shopping experiences across online and offline channels, managing pricing, promotions, products, carts, and orders in one place. For existing Commercetools customers, InStore removes the need for redundant integrations, enabling real-time inventory updates, cross-channel workflows, and personalized in-store experiences. Commercetools ParcelLab launches post-purchase Copilot and AI Email Editor. ParcelLab , a post-purchase experience platform, has launched Copilot and AI Email Editor to manage and personalize post-purchase journeys . Copilot is an AI assistant that helps teams optimize customer communications and touchpoints and identify and improve operations, providing real-time insights. ParcelLab’s AI Email Editor automates and personalizes email communications in over 160 languages. eBay to acquire Caramel for online automotive transactions. eBay has agreed to acquire Caramel, an online automotive transaction provider. According to eBay, Caramel’s platform provides a secure digital transaction experience to handle vehicle sales (including paperwork, ownership transfer, financing, and transportation) on Caramel’s site or app, through an independent dealer, or via marketplace and auction partners. Genesy AI raises €5 million to build AI agents for B2B sales. Genesy , a platform of AI-powered sales agents that autonomously identify and engage potential B2B customers, has closed a €5 million ($5.2 million) seed round led by Samaipata, a pan-European venture capital firm focused on early-stage digital businesses. Genesy’s mission is to transform B2B sales processes using AI sales agents. Genesy will use the proceeds to expand its team and enter markets such as the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, and The Netherlands. Amazon Ads brings generative AI to Marketing Cloud. Amazon Ads has announced a structured-query-language (SQL) generator for Marketing Cloud, a generative AI that helps advertisers develop insights from Marketing Cloud signals. According to Amazon, the new capability provides a natural language interface through which advertisers can generate SQL queries for their desired audience use case and then build custom audiences for Amazon Ads campaigns across the entire marketing funnel, including streaming TV, audio, and digital channels. Amazon Ads