February – the month of love, hugs, kisses and the following not-to-be-missed eCommerce news.
eBay Spring Seller Update
It’s that time of year already. The eBay Spring Seller Update was released towards the end of February, with plenty of announcements for the season ahead.
Highlights include updates to how you list, ship, promote, service and manage your financials. Essential reading for all eBay sellers.
BigCommerce multi-currency
BigCommerce released a multi-currency feature that allows shoppers to see and buy products in their local currency.
Merchants using the feature can choose the payment gateway they are familiar with, to process over 100 international currencies. Benefits for customers and sellers include no extra fees, accurate checkout rates, freedom of choice and complete control.
Computer vision
eBay sellers can quickly and easily improve their product photography, thanks to the new eBay computer vision tool. Using the app, users can quickly add a white background to product photographs, optimizing the image for Google Shopping and customer experience.
Etsy advertising
Last year, Etsy introduced Etsy Ads – an advertising tool that combines on-site Promoted Listings and Google Shopping ads into the Etsy dashboard.
This year, Etsy is introducing Etsy Offsite Ads. Etsy will automatically advertise products on high-volume sites such as Google, Facebook and Pinterest. If a sale is made, Etsy will deduct an advertising fee from the full order total.
All sellers will be opted into the programme next month. However, those making less than £10,000 per year can opt back out.
Price increases
Royal Mail announced price increases for 1st and 2nd class post, effective from 23 March 2020. However, it wasn’t all bad news from the postage giant.
In a bid to service the retail revolution, Royal Mail is investing £1.8 billion over the next five years into becoming a parcel-led service for the eCommerce industry. Watch this space.
eBay managed payments
Following the success in Germany and the US, eBay’s new managed payments experience is coming to the UK.
Under the programme, UK buyers will be offered a variety of payment options at the eBay checkout, including Google Pay, PayPal and Apple Pay. It’s hoped that this aid smoother transactions while providing more payment options (and removing the hassle of the eCheque!)
In other payment news, Shopify has joined the Libra Association. Together, they will work to build a payment network that makes accessing money easier for both merchants and consumers.
Amazon seller tools
Amazon revealed just how much it’s investing in third-party sellers across the globe, and the figures are pretty eye-watering.
Last year, $15 billion was invested, and 225 new tools and services were released for the benefit of small and medium-sized sellers. The result of this investment was nearly 225,000 SMBs exceeding $100,000 in sales in 2019.
New tools included brand analytics, the product optimizer and the growth navigator.
Hermes Play
Hermes senders can now send a pre-recorded “opening” message to customers via the Hermes Send App.
The buyer scans the 2D barcode upon receipt to receive an AR video on top of the parcel itself. If you’re cutting down on branded packaging to save costs, this is a great way of maintaing the unboxing experience.
In other news
eBay’s Retail Revival programme launched in Texas, Greece and Bulgaria, Parcelforce Worldwide won the Best Customer Experience Award for Tracking & Reporting, and Amazon unveiled the future of grocery shopping.
Over at Expandly, we’ve been shortlisted for the MK Business Achievement Awards, South East Tech 50 and internal foosball challenge.
Here’s to a mighty March!