May eCommerce Updates from Trellis Partners

Welcome to our comprehensive roundup of the latest updates and innovations in the eCommerce industry for May 2024. This month, we delve into significant advancements from major platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, and more. From new features and integrations to leadership changes and strategic acquisitions, these updates are set to enhance functionality, streamline operations, and drive growth for online merchants.

Let’s dive into the main news from last month and all the major updates from our partners:

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Adobe Commerce
• Bloomreach
• Klaviyo
• Loop
• Avalara
• Fast Simon
• Yotpo
• Vercel
• Wonderment
• Smartrr
• Cin7
• Gorgias

Industry News

Gen Z Shoppers Prefer Debit Cards For Online Shopping

A recent report highlights that 58% of Gen Z shoppers prefer using debit cards for online shopping. This preference contrasts with older generations, where around 50% of baby boomers, seniors, and Generation X shoppers favor credit cards. The study by PYMNTS also reveals that younger shoppers are more inclined towards “buy now, pay later” options. This shift in payment preferences underscores the need for online retailers to offer diverse payment methods to cater to different demographics.

Moreover, cart abandonment remains a significant issue in eCommerce. On average, millennials abandon five shopping carts monthly, while Gen Z shoppers leave behind four. Interestingly, browsers on brand sites exhibit higher abandonment rates compared to those on marketplace platforms. Additionally, the availability of preferred payment methods influences 70% of consumers’ choice of online stores. These insights emphasize the importance of understanding and adapting to the payment preferences and behaviors of different shopper groups to reduce cart abandonment and boost conversions.

May eCommerce Updates from Shopify

B2B Import/Export Metafields with Matrixify

Matrixify has introduced a significant update for B2B companies, which enables the import and export of metafields for companies and their locations. Consequently, this new feature allows merchants to bulk import and export customer-specific data stored on company profiles and locations, thus making it easier to manage large datasets.

Furthermore, this update offers several benefits for merchants. By filtering specific meta fields and searching within exports, merchants can streamline the process of managing and updating their data. As a result, this efficiency reduces the time and effort required to handle customer-specific information, thereby allowing businesses to focus on more strategic tasks.

Flagship Theme for B2B – Trade

Shopify has launched a new flagship theme called “Trade,” designed specifically for B2B businesses. Available for Plus merchants through the Shopify Theme Store, Trade offers a professional and clean design optimized for stores selling wholesale. This free Online Store 2.0 theme requires minimal customization, making it easy for merchants to set up and use.

The Trade theme comes with several benefits for your online store. It features efficient layouts and bulk purchasing functionalities tailored for wholesale customers. The timeless design is easy to customize to match your brand without needing to use code. Plus merchants can display quantity rules and volume pricing on their products, enhancing the shopping experience. Additionally, Trade gives access to the latest features, helping you stay updated. For more information, visit the Shopify Theme Store and explore how Trade can elevate your B2B operations.

Access to Plus Wholesale Channel Restricted

As of April 30th, 2024, at 11:59 pm ET, access to the Plus Wholesale Channel has become restricted. Merchants will no longer be able to access the app or its storefront starting June 28th, 2024. This change affects all users of the Plus Wholesale Channel, so it’s crucial to prepare for this transition and explore alternative solutions for managing wholesale operations.

May eCommerce Updates from BigCommerce

New Leadership Appointment

BigCommerce has announced that Travis Hess will be joining the company as its new president. Hess brings over 15 years of experience in senior leadership roles within the eCommerce industry, most recently serving as managing director at Accenture. He has also been a key player on partner advisory boards for prominent companies like Shopify, Klaviyo, SAP/Hybris, and Rackspace. In his new role, Hess will lead BigCommerce’s global strategic and operational expansion, driving top-line growth and profitability.

Hess’s expertise spans solution selling, services, implementation, and ecosystem partnerships, thereby making him a valuable addition to the BigCommerce team. Moreover, his deep knowledge of the eCommerce landscape and proven leadership will help BigCommerce enhance its go-to-market strategy and operations. “Having spent nearly two decades in the enterprise eCommerce ecosystem, I’ve long admired BigCommerce’s open platform and product strategy,” said Hess. “I’m genuinely thrilled to contribute to our differentiation, capture market share, and establish ourselves as the frontrunner in the upcoming era of enterprise eCommerce.” For more details, read the full announcement here.

BigCommerce Recognized as a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™

BigCommerce has been named a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Solutions For B2C, Q2 2024. The platform received the highest possible scores in several key areas, including:

• Vision
• Multiple Storefronts
• Practitioner UX
• Security and Privacy
• Payment Options
• Pricing Flexibility & Transparency

This recognition highlights BigCommerce’s commitment to providing robust and flexible solutions for B2C eCommerce businesses.

The Forrester Wave™ report evaluates the most significant B2C commerce solutions based on three main criteria: current offering, strategy, and market presence. Additionally, BigCommerce’s vendor profile in the report notes that the platform is ideal for businesses that value usability and pre-integrated partner solutions. Consequently, this makes BigCommerce a top choice for companies looking to streamline operations and drive success. To understand why BigCommerce is the optimal choice for your business, download the full report.

May eCommerce Updates from Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape Reports

Adobe Commerce (Magento) has been recognized as a leader in the latest IDC MarketScape reports. The platform earned top honors in both the IDC MarketScape:

• Worldwide Enterprise B2C Digital Commerce Applications Vendor Assessment for 2024
• Worldwide Enterprise B2B Commerce Applications Vendor Assessment for 2023-2024

This dual recognition underscores Adobe Commerce’s robust capabilities and excellence in serving both B2C and B2B markets.

The IDC MarketScape reports evaluate the most prominent digital commerce applications based on comprehensive criteria, including current capabilities and future strategies. Moreover, Adobe Commerce’s leadership position highlights its commitment to innovation, user experience, and comprehensive functionality. Consequently, this makes it a premier choice for enterprises looking to excel in the digital commerce landscape.

May eCommerce Updates from Bloomreach

Bloomreach Named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™

Bloomreach was named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Search and Product Discovery. This prestigious recognition highlights Bloomreach’s excellence in providing applications that enhance digital commerce solutions by facilitating navigation, filtering, comparison, and ultimately, product selection.

The Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ report report defines Search and Product Discovery as crucial components that augment digital commerce solutions, helping consumers find the right products efficiently. Consequently, this leadership position underscores Bloomreach’s commitment to innovation and superior performance in the digital commerce landscape. For more details, download the full report here:

May eCommerce Updates from Klaviyo

Migrate to Klaviyo’s New APIs

Klaviyo announced the launch of new APIs, featuring improved functionality, new endpoints, and enhanced features for existing endpoints. To fully support and continue enhancing these APIs, they will be retiring v1/v2 endpoints. Users of Klaviyo’s v1/v2 APIs have until June 30, 2024, to migrate to the new APIs. After this date, the v1/v2 APIs will be officially retired, and any integration or code using these endpoints will be at risk of breaking.

To ensure a smooth transition, we encourage all users to plan their migration strategy by referring to the detailed guide on migrating from v1/v2 to the new Klaviyo APIs. Additionally, this guide provides comprehensive instructions and best practices to help you seamlessly switch to the new APIs and take full advantage of the latest improvements. If you need help with a smooth migration, contact our Trellis team for a free consultation.

Centralized Ad Experience and TikTok Integration

Klaviyo has made it easier than ever to deliver personalized TikTok ads and drive more revenue with smarter targeting. With the new integration, you can connect Klaviyo lists or segments directly to TikTok Audiences, ensuring that your ads reach the right people. This integration allows you to sync profiles from Klaviyo to TikTok, enhancing your ability to retarget existing customers, create lookalike audiences, and manage your ad campaigns efficiently.

To get started, log in to your Klaviyo account and follow a few simple steps to connect with TikTok Audiences. Once integrated, you can manage your ad integrations from the Lists & Segments tab in Klaviyo, where you can set up connections, activate or deactivate syncs, and monitor the performance of your audiences.

This streamlined process helps you leverage the same segmentation used for targeted emails and texts for your TikTok ads, ensuring a cohesive and effective marketing strategy. For more detailed instructions, check out Klaviyo’s guide.

Smart Opt-In to Grow Your SMS List Faster

Klaviyo has introduced a new feature called Smart Opt-In, designed to simplify the sign-up process and grow your SMS list more quickly. With Smart Opt-In, when a shopper inputs their phone number into a sign-up form, they receive a one-time code via SMS. This code can be autofilled on iOS and Android browsers, making it easier for shoppers to confirm their consent for SMS marketing without leaving your site. This streamlined process reduces friction and minimizes distractions, helping to avoid list bombing when using a branded sender ID.

To get started with Smart Opt-In, navigate to the Sign-Up Forms section in Klaviyo. You can either customize a pre-built template with Smart Opt-In already configured or add the Smart Opt-In step to an existing form. This feature requires a paid SMS plan, and it’s essential to configure your Klaviyo account and integrate it with your eCommerce platform beforehand. For detailed instructions and to ensure a smooth setup, check out Klaviyo’s guide on using Smart Opt-In to collect SMS consent. This guide provides step-by-step instructions and best practices to help you maximize the benefits of Smart Opt-In.

May eCommerce Updates from Loop

New Feature: Start Online, Drop Off In-Store

Loop now offers a convenient new return method: Start Online, Drop Off In-Store. Consequently, merchants can automatically provide this option to shoppers within a 20-mile radius of their stores. Furthermore, this feature integrates seamlessly with Loop’s POS system, allowing shoppers to start their return online and complete it by dropping off their item at a store.

Here’s how it works. The shopper begins the return process online, choosing either store credit or a refund. If they opt for “Bring to our store,” they receive a confirmation and a QR code via email. At the store, the associate scans the QR code using the Loop POS app to finalize the return. This new method simplifies the return process, making it easy and efficient for both shoppers and merchants. For detailed setup instructions, check out the full guide here.

May eCommerce Updates from Avalara

Avalara has expanded its partnership with Shopify by joining the Shopify Tax Platform. Consequently, this collaboration allows Shopify merchants of any size to easily manage and automate global tax compliance using Avalara’s robust solutions. Moreover, this integration simplifies the complex tax compliance process, thereby helping businesses stay compliant without hindering their growth.

Shopify’s Chief Revenue Officer, Bobby Morrison, highlighted that this partnership addresses the unique compliance needs of businesses globally. Avalara, a longtime partner of Shopify, has been providing tax calculation services for Shopify Plus customers since 2015. With this expansion, Avalara now serves all Shopify customers, offering comprehensive tax compliance solutions, including sales tax, value-added tax, exemption certificate management, and more.

May eCommerce Updates from FastSimon

Fast Simon’s new Smart Rendering technology combines several performance-enhancing capacities for collections and site search, including server-side rendering (SSR).Consequently, this feature boosts page loading times and SEO without the need for lengthy development and financial resources. Moreover, by improving loading speeds and search engine performance, Smart Rendering significantly enhances the overall user experience and site efficiency.

Benefits of Fast Simon’s Smart Rendering:

• Lightning speed storefront for reduced bounce rates and increased user satisfaction
• Faster site search and collections loading times on mobile and desktop
• Improved SEO performance through faster Core Vitals
• Enhanced shopper engagement with quick page switching
• Efficient crawling and indexing by search engines
• Quick deployment with no-code editors, reducing development time and costs
• Simplified rendering process, eliminating complications from JavaScript rendering

This new feature allows your store to stand out, providing a seamless and engaging shopping experience while ensuring your site is optimized for search engines. With Fast Simon’s Smart Rendering, you can achieve a faster time to market and reduce development costs, all while offering your customers an elevated user experience.

May eCommerce Updates from Yotpo

Customizing the Dunning Process with Yotpo

Dunning is the process of managing failed subscription payments by communicating with customers to resolve payment issues. In the context of Yotpo, when a subscription payment method fails, the system will attempt to process the payment up to 8 times by default, one attempt per day, before marking the subscription as failed. This helps in reducing passive churn and recovering failed subscriptions.

Yotpo now offers brands the ability to customize the number of billing attempts for failed payments. Consequently, brands can adjust the default setting from 8 attempts to anywhere between 1 and 15 attempts. This flexibility allows businesses to tailor the dunning process to their specific needs, thereby increasing the likelihood of recovering failed payments and reducing churn. Moreover, this customization enhances the overall efficiency of managing subscriptions and payment recovery.

Key Features of Yotpo’s Customizable Dunning:

• Adjustable Payment Attempts: Choose between 1 to 15 attempts to retry failed payments.
• Notifications: Customize dunning notifications to alert customers via email or SMS after the 3rd failed attempt.
• Seamless Management: Easily manage and monitor subscriptions in dunning through the Yotpo Subscriptions dashboard.

May eCommerce Updates from Vercel

Vercel Now Supports HIPAA Compliance

Vercel has announced that they now support compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for our enterprise customers. This significant update allows healthcare customers to leverage our Frontend Cloud while ensuring they remain compliant with these critical industry-specific regulations.

With HIPAA compliance, healthcare organizations can confidently use Vercel’s platform to build and deploy their frontend applications. Consequently, this support ensures that sensitive patient information is protected and that all operations align with the stringent requirements set forth by HIPAA. Moreover, this compliance provides peace of mind for healthcare providers, knowing that their applications meet industry-specific regulations.

Highlights from Vercel Ship Event

Vercel Ship 2024 unveiled several exciting updates aimed at enhancing developer experience and platform capabilities. Key highlights from the event include:

• Enhanced Developer Experience (DX) Platform: Deeper integrations with feature flags for more refined control and experimentation.
• Web Application Firewall: Improved protection against critical threats, ensuring greater security for your applications.
• Vercel Toolbar: New tools designed to boost iteration velocity, allowing for faster development cycles.
• v0 Updates: Increased speed, reliability, and accessibility with the latest updates to the v0 framework.

May eCommerce Updates from Wonderment

Introducing Delivery Promise for Your Shopify Store

Wonderment has introduced a new feature – Delivery Promise, to boost customer trust and confidence by providing Amazon-like estimated delivery dates. Consequently, this AI-powered tool transforms your checkout experience, making it more like Apple’s seamless process and driving sales by setting clear expectations for your customers. Moreover, by offering precise delivery dates, Delivery Promise helps reduce uncertainty and enhances the overall shopping experience.

With Delivery Promise, you can replace vague shipping estimates like “2-4 business days” with precise delivery dates. This not only enhances the customer purchasing experience but also reduces confusion and increases satisfaction. Additionally, the feature includes tools and reporting to help you create exceptional customer experiences and track performance effectively.

May eCommerce Updates from Smartrr

Smartrr’s Loyalty Rewards & Referrals

Smartrr has launched its new Loyalty Rewards & Referrals solution, available to all shoppers, not just subscribers. Consequently, this feature aims to drive more repeat purchases by turning one-time buyers into repeat customers and converting repeat customers into long-term subscribers. Moreover, the loyalty program is easy to set up and maintain, offering intuitive, points-based rewards that customers will immediately understand. Furthermore, this simplicity ensures a seamless experience for both businesses and customers, promoting higher engagement and satisfaction.

Key Features of Smartrr’s Loyalty Rewards & Referrals:

• Easy Setup and Maintenance: Launch and manage your loyalty program effortlessly.
• Intuitive Points-Based Rewards: Simple and engaging points system.
• Flexible Points Adjustment: Adjust points value in real-time.
• Automated Emails & SMS Updates: Keep customers engaged with timely notifications.
• Motivating Rewards: Offer diverse rewards like dollar discounts, free products, and brand merchandise.
• One-Click Referrals: Seamlessly turn customers into brand advocates.
• Integrated Subscription & Loyalty Experience: Manage subscriptions and loyalty programs in a single portal.

By combining subscriptions with loyalty programs, Smartrr helps businesses achieve faster growth, simplify the customer experience, and reduce churn. Additionally, with features like points expiration, detailed analytics, and checkout extensions, Smartrr provides all the essential tools to build a successful loyalty program. For more information, take a quick two-minute tour and see how Smartrr can enhance your brand loyalty and increase repeat purchases. Moreover, this comprehensive approach ensures long-term customer engagement and satisfaction.

May eCommerce Updates from Cin7

Cin7 Acquires AI Forecasting Company Inventoro

Cin7, a leading inventory and order management software provider, has announced the acquisition of Inventoro, an AI-driven sales forecasting and replenishment optimization company. Consequently, this strategic move propels Cin7 to the forefront of intelligent commerce, integrating Inventoro’s cutting-edge forecasting capabilities into its Core and Omni products. Moreover, the addition of Inventoro allows Cin7 to offer advanced, on-demand forecasting, replenishment optimization, and detailed inventory insights, thereby providing customers with a significant competitive edge.

By leveraging Inventoro’s innovative AI-powered forecasting technology, Cin7 customers can accurately predict future product demand and maintain optimal stock levels. This integration enables both short and long-term forecasting, helping sellers avoid overstocking and understocking, which are estimated to cause $163 billion in annual losses globally. The combined platform enhances inventory visibility, frees up to 20% of inventory capital, and ensures over 99% product availability, streamlining operations and saving valuable time.

May eCommerce Updates from Gorgias

Gorgias has introduced several exciting updates aimed at enhancing customer support efficiency and automation. Consequently, these updates include new features that provide valuable insights and streamline operations for support teams

• Calculate Gorgias Automate Savings: Easily measure the time and cost savings achieved through automation.
• Ticket Handle Time and Online Time: Track and analyze the time spent handling tickets and online presence to optimize support workflows.
• Access Shopify Order Metafields: Gain detailed insights by accessing Shopify order metafields directly within Gorgias.
• Automatically Generate Help Center Content: Simplify the creation of Help Center content with automated generation tools.

Conclusion

As the eCommerce landscape continues to evolve, staying informed about the latest tools and updates is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This month’s innovations, ranging from AI-driven inventory forecasting and enhanced customer support tools to new payment integrations and loyalty programs, offer invaluable opportunities for businesses to optimize their operations and improve customer experiences. We hope these insights help you leverage the latest developments to drive your eCommerce success. Stay tuned for more updates and strategic insights in the coming months!

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