Shopify has unveiled a host of new finance, retail, and shipping updates for its e-commerce platform at a virtual event dubbed Shopify Reunite. The headline product is Shopify Balance, a business account, debit card and rewards combination that will include a new area found within the Shopify merchant admin workspace. It will allow merchants to get a clear overview of their cash flow as well as let them pay bills, track expenses, and make changes to the direction of their business.
The company has also added Rewards to its portfolio of products, which will allow it to offer merchants cashback and discounts for business spending, such as shipping and marketing. Other products include Shop Pay Installments, a ‘buy now, pay later’ product aimed at giving merchants more choice and payment flexibility by allowing consumers the option to split purchases into four equal payments over time. It will be interest-free, have no additional fees and be available to US merchants eligible for Shopify Payments.
Another new product comes in the shape of Local Delivery, which is aimed at merchants globally. It will let them define a local area for order fulfillment with business owners being able to make use of its Shopify, Shopify POS, and Shopify Mobile products to make close-to-home deliveries. For an overview of recent Shopify updates, click here.
In other e-commerce news, Amazon’s biggest sale of the year has reportedly been postponed from July to September. The Amazon Prime Day sale, which is held over two days each year, was given a new launch date as the e-commerce giant contends with increased customer demand during the coronavirus pandemic. The company said the new dates for Prime Day would allow it to ramp up production to pre-pandemic levels to handle what is anticipated to be a jump in orders. Previous reports indicated that Prime Day would be postponed until at least August, but now the pushed off September date is expected to give ample time for Amazon to handle the added demand that Prime Day brings, especially as consumers shift towards online purchases.
Microsoft is letting software developers build third-party Teams apps in its Visual Studio development environment as they look for ways to compete with Slack, Google, and Zoom. This move should open up the usability of their product, particularly for larger businesses, and will allow these apps to be sold on Microsoft’s AppSource Marketplace. Being able to publish apps directly from the Visual Studio to AppSource is an attractive new feature. Visual Studio is already ranked by Stack Overflow’s online forum as one of the two most popular development environments.
Facebook has announced the launch of a new product, Facebook Shops, which gives small businesses tools to create online stores on Facebook and Instagram. The new service, which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rolled out in a Facebook Live appearance Tuesday, is designed to improve the online shopping experience and help businesses that have suffered amid the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses will be able to open storefronts on Facebook and Instagram, powered by services like BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce. By making use of Facebook’s robust ads network and using Facebook as a customer communication and messaging service, this opportunity could be a game-changer for many small businesses that are struggling due to national lockdown. Instagram aims to have a dedicated shopping tab later in the summer; however, the platform already highlights items available for purchase.
Walmart plans to shut down Jet.com, the commerce site acquired for $3.3 billion in 2016. In a recent earnings release, the company said, “Due to continued strength of the Walmart brand, the company will discontinue Jet.com. The acquisition of [the site] nearly four years ago was critical to accelerating our omni strategy.” This development follows a process of integration between Walmart and Jet, and the company has stated that no jobs will be cut during this transition. Jet will continue to operate as a stand-alone site.
New this week, FE International is pleased to announce the listing of a new SaaS/Recurring Subscriptions listing in the B2B Digital Marketing & SEO Software Niche:
Launched in 2014, this is an automated link indexing tool that helps affiliate websites, SEO agencies, and freelancers achieve higher ranking and visibility on Google searches. The software’s functionality includes public reporting, scheduled campaigns, multi-level link processing, and API & RCP integration. With a clear value proposition and a large addressable market, revenues reached a CAGR of c.7.9% over 2016 to 2019, with the business generating c.$4K MRR in Mar-20. The business also has a strong track record of success with over half a decade of operational history in the SEO niche, wide-market acceptance with over 2,000 lifetime customers and multiple five-star reviews. To request a prospectus, please click the link here.
In virtual events news, FE founder Thomas Smale, will be speaking along with other leaders from Softbank, Drift, and Shopify at SaaStock Remote June 10-11, 2020. Join the global community of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) founders, executives, and investors for this entirely virtual event. Click here to register.
Our new service offerings have continued to grow in popularity including our 409A Valuation service for collateralizations, SBA loans, and other business needs.
For more updates throughout the week on the financial world of online business M&A, follow our team on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
OTHER NEW LISTINGS
B2B SaaS – Amazon Research & CRO Software – $3.6K MRR
- Firm foothold in the Amazon Research & Conversion Rate Optimization Software niche
- Highly attractive SaaS metrics with a strong MRR c.$3,600 and LTV of c.$290
- Lean and scalable cost structure driving high net margins of c.89%
- Clear value proposition with simple operations and extensive functionality
Yearly net profit: $34,000
Asking price: $126,000
SOLD BUSINESSES
SaaS – B2B Social Media Marketing Automation Platform – $12k gross/mo