Retail Asia 2018 JunJuly2018 | Page 34

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY Shopify unveils largest-ever collection of new technologies to advance commerce CANADIAN e-commerce company Shopify has unveiled the latest in commerce technology at Unite, the company’s annual conference that brings together its international developer community. “We want to give a voice to all kinds of entrepreneurs around the world,” said Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke. “And that means making it easier for them to run a business and become successful.” Product announcements focused on helping entrepreneurs in three key areas — selling more, working more efficiently, and making the most of the Shopify partner ecosystem. Catering to changing retail The company aims to make retail accessible to every merchant to support a thriving economy. For example, Shopify point-of-sale (POS) is receiving significant upgrades for retail stores, including multi-channel returns and exchanges, in-store pickup, tipping options, a companion app for a customer-facing checkout experience, and a developer software development kit (SDK). A new premium Tap & Chip Reader has been introduced to transform the in- store shopping experience by accepting all major contactless payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Retail- specific features will be bundled with the standard Shopify Plan and above at no extra cost. Additionally, the first-ever Shopify space is opening this year, a place retailers can visit to help grow their business. This space will be a permanent hub for the best of Shopify’s products, services and new technology, and a source of support, inspiration and education for retailers. Streamlining marketing There will also be marketing simplification to reduce the complexity of marketing to help business owners sell more. The new marketing section in the Shopify dashboard enables merchants to create, run and measure all marketing campaigns using their favourite Shopify apps. Merchants will also receive detailed and actionable marketing recommendations, personalised for their products and store. New promotional tools include Buy One Get One (BOGO) & Quantity discounts that allow retailers to apply discounts and incentives based on number of items purchased. With Dynamic Checkout buttons, the consumer’s preferred payment method is surfaced directly on the product page and allows transactions to happen with a single tap using Shopify Pay, Apple Pay, and many more wallets. Extended ecosystem Tap & Chip Reader is introduced to transform the in-store shopping experience by accepting all major contactless payments. 32 Retail Asia June/July 2018 The back-office workflows on Shopify will also be automated and simplified. A new feature, Locations, allows retailers to manage inventory across multiple locations, creating a more streamlined fulfilment experience. Fraud Protect for Shopify Payments provides opt-in protection for orders processed via Shopify Payments against fraudulent chargebacks, allowing retailers to fulfil more orders with fewer delays. Starting this summer, all Shopify partners and developers will be able Fraud Protect for Shopify Payments provides opt-in protection for orders processed via Shopify Payments against fraudulent chargebacks. to teach Kit (a virtual employee for merchants) new skills, giving merchants access to support beyond marketing via Kit Skills. A brand-new app, Shopify Ping, is designed to streamline and centralise business conversations and marketing activities. Shopify Ping will come with Kit to help grow retailers’ businesses by planning, creating and managing their marketing. Shopify will launch a beta programme that offers native language capabilities for merchants in Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Italian. Locally relevant payment methods will also be launched which allows customers to pay using country-specific cashless payment methods alongside to popular credit card and mobile payment options. Additionally, Shopify Services Marketplace will bring partners and merchants closer together in a one-stop shop that allows merchants to access partner expertise such as website design, marketing, photography and more. The new Shopify App Store prioritises discovery and generates personalised recommendations, enabling entrepreneurs to make better and faster decisions for their businesses. ra