Shopify bag logo feature

Shopify Touts Expanded Suite of Tools for Merchants

| Mike O'Brien

Shopify is expanding its fulfillment services as part of a package of 100 new items in its toolset for merchants, including app connections to Flexport for supply chain tracking and visibility, to acquired unit Deliverr for inventory positioning and to Loop Returns to improve that experience for shoppers.

Amazon Inspire

Amazon Inspire Treads in TikTok Territory

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon is launching a TikTok-like feature called Inspire that lets users scroll through short-form videos and hopefully buy stuff from brands, but industry observers don’t seem too inspired by the company’s latest venture into social commerce, an area that hasn’t really exploded. It’s the latest in a decade of social commerce experiments.

TikTok phone feature

TikTok Reportedly Tests In-App Shopping in U.S.

| Mike O'Brien

As Amazon stumbles, planning to lay off ten thousand workers, drastically scaling back its facilities plans and missing earnings forecasts, ascending rival TikTok is becoming more of a globally dominant behemoth, day by day. The latter reportedly began testing an in-app shopping feature with select U.S. retailers last week.

alt-commerce livestream shopping feature

Livestream Commerce Needs a CX Upgrade

| David Fletcher

Livestream commerce became more popular during the pandemic lockdowns, and there are new reasons why it’s seeing some pickup. Some high-profile shakiness in the U.S. (see Facebook, TikTok) means brands need to understand what their audiences want and need, instead of trying to apply here what worked in other markets.

social commerce phone app desktop feature

Growing Social Commerce Starts With Customer Trust

| Rafael Lourenco

Retailers should consider the impact their social strategy elements have on customer trust. This includes your choice of social platforms, the payment methods you accept, how you screen orders for fraud and how you safeguard your brand presence on social media. Identify the platforms your customers trust the most.

tiktok logo feature

TikTok Creating Fulfillment Network in U.S., Globally

| Mike O'Brien

TikTok is looking to create a global logistics infrastructure, including in the U.S., to fulfill merchant orders on its TikTok Shops ecommerce platform, creating a good deal of industry buzz based on its rapid growth as a dominant social media and advertising platform, as first reported by Axios.

alt-commerce livestream shopping feature

Facebook Shutting Down Livestream Shopping Oct. 1

| Mike O'Brien

Facebook is shutting down its livestream shopping venture two years in, putting its efforts behind the popular Reels short-form video platform as livestream shopping has yet to catch on here in a big way as in China, and retailers, brands and platforms need to rethink their approach. Experts weigh in on what they need to do.

Shopify editions feature

Shopify Launches Boatload of Apps, Pushes into B2B

| Mike O'Brien

Shopify is pursuing a new avenue of attack against Amazon, launching 100 new/updated apps including tools for merchants to drive B2B sales while also turning on social commerce via Twitter, in an effort to boost slowing DTC ecommerce revenue growth. The company said Shopify Editions represents a “connect-to-consumer” focus.

Social Commerce a Nearly Universal Experience In 2022

| Mike O'Brien

Social commerce is not slowing down, based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from Sprout Social, with over two-thirds of respondents saying they make a purchase through a social channel in 2021, and a whopping 98% saying they planned to do so this year.

brands and influencers likes image

Carro Drives Cross-Selling, Connects Influencers and Brands

| Mike O'Brien

Carro has created a spin on the traditional dropship model, allowing brands to easily network and cross-sell on other brands sites, while allowing social influencers to create their own marketplaces to further monetize large followings by offering recommended products on their own sites.