FedEx and Microsoft are expanding their partnership to offer “logistics as a service” to retailers and brands, including using the latter’s Dynamics 365 order management system to glean data insights from the 17 million packages passing through the FedEx network each day.
Nimble Robotics, a maker of order picking and packing robots for ecommerce, is the latest fulfillment automation maker to join the massive VC gravy train of late in ecommerce technology, raising $50 million in Series A financing in a round led by DNS Capital and GSR Ventures.
Live chat is one way to directly connect with your customers during the shopping journey. However, the experience can vary dramatically from a wow to frustration, and everything in between. Here are some tips for creating best-of-breed live chat experiences to maximize conversions, average order value and CSAT.
Issues with sizing and color conventions have probably been an issue since the invention of clothes. And with so much shopping now driven online by the pandemic, combined with generally liberal return policies, apparel returns have exploded. New technology solutions and industry standards are both working to solve the problem.
Google has been busy on the ecommerce front lately, announcing a plan to drop commission fees for sellers who use its Buy on Google checkout service, while making its pilot-tested product recommendation engine publicly available to let sellers display more personalized offers.
One key reason friendly fraud is such a problem is that merchants and banks lack the capacity to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate dispute claims. AI-based tools sending transaction data would allow for more accurate analysis of industry trends and consumer preferences, freeing up resources and reducing overhead.
Kustomer, an up-and-coming cloud-based CRM platform for hot DTC brands like UNTUCKit, ThirdLove and The Farmer’s Dog, has acquired Reply.ai, which uses AI and machine learning to improve agent efficiency by deflecting customer queries through chatbots and widgets. The two have worked together on CRM integration projects.
Advances in AI-based personalization technology let retailers tap into vast amounts of customer data. Analyzing it allows you to create personalized experiences that help secure customer loyalty. However, this exercise requires a clear strategy that should be based on a robust technology platform.
Accel Robotics, a startup using AI and computer vision to enable checkout-free stores, has raised $30 million in a Series A round led by SoftBank. The system lets shoppers in grocery and convenience stores, quick service restaurants and drugstore chains grab items and go, getting a receipt sent via text or app to their phone.
Cloud-based CRM platform startup Kustomer has raised $60 million in a round led by Coatue with participation from current investors Tiger Global Management and Battery Ventures, bringing its total haul to $173.5 million as it pursues titans Zendesk and Salesforce. The company plans to build out R&D and open its first European office.