Retail and eCommerce highlights this week include: InfoTrax supported by a BigCommerce integration will give thousands of direct sales companies access to best-in-class commissions management system. Salesforce has announced new fields for gender identity and pronoun data in its products. International payment service provider and direct bank acquirer, ECOMMPAY, has launched its first Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution. Glovo, a multi-category delivery players, has shown that customer centricity will prove vital to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the 12 months ahead. Secret Sales excels as one of Europe’s fastest-growing fashion eCommerce platforms in 2022.
BigCommerce partners with InfoTrax Systems to deliver enterprise eCommerce
BigCommerce, an Open SaaS ecommerce platform for fast-growing and established B2C and B2B brands, announced a new global partnership with InfoTrax Systems. A leading provider of commission software and distributor tools for direct sales companies.
Direct sellers use tools such as InfoTrax FlexCloud to track orders and referrals for sales representatives and customers, known as genealogy tracking, to calculate commissions and distribute payments based on each client’s unique commission rules. Because of the high cost of commissions, sellers have traditionally sacrificed commerce functionality to avoid additional expenses.
Historically, InfoTrax provided its clients with shopping cart technology built in-house, but the new InfoTrax Powered by BigCommerce solution will give thousands of direct selling customers access to more innovative and sophisticated commerce capabilities, including the ability to launch omnichannel sales strategies using Feedonomics.
Salesforce products get more inclusive with new gender identity options
Salesforce has announced new fields for gender identity and pronoun data in its products. This opt-in enhancement will give organizations more inclusive ways to collect, manage, and utilise data. It will enable them to build trust and form deeper connections with their customers.
The enhancements will launch two new fields across standard objects representing people on Salesforce — the Lead, Contact, and Person Account objects. These enable customers and their users to select, identify, and capture pronouns and gender identity. By standardizing these fields, admins will no longer have to create custom fields for their organizations. It will help them to capture more accurate customer data and deliver quicker time to value.
The gender-inclusive features were designed in close partnership with Salesforce’s Inclusive Language Steering Committee. It includes members of Outforce, the company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and Out and Equal, an Oakland-based organization working on LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Today’s news builds on Salesforce’s efforts to advance ethical and inclusive tech, including updates made to Salesforce’s technical language in 2021 to address implicit bias and increase racial inclusivity.
Using the right identifiers is an important way to build trust and drive customer success. But too frequently, data systems and customer relationship tools’ standard options do not capture peoples’ full identity. The new fields will provide businesses with easy, built-in pronoun and gender identity options, while also empowering each customer to tailor fields to best fit their unique needs.
Salesforce’s new gender-inclusive features will also provide organizations with more choices about whether, when, and how to use this data. Not all businesses will need or want to collect broad gender-related data. Salesforce is committed to protecting people from discrimination, exclusion, and unintentional disclosures.
ECOMMPAY enters the BNPL market
International payment service provider and direct bank acquirer, ECOMMPAY, has launched its first Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution. Built with the company’s proprietary technology, the new payment solution promises 24/7 customer support with a robust risk-scoring system.
The solution is tailored to an individual’s travel circumstances. It offers higher credit limits for specific travel needs, and credit return limits to protect booking agencies and travel agents. With the unique requirements of the travel industry in mind, the new consumer finance offering joins a suite of payment products that enable companies to grow their business and protect travellers.
Leveraging its existing experience serving the travel sector, ECOMMPAY enters the BNPL market with a solution that has a range of features to help businesses navigate these economic challenges. Including increasing direct bookings, reducing shopping cart anxiety, mitigating fraud, and boosting checkout conversion by up to 35%.
Travel businesses who adopt ECOMMPAY’s offering can give their customers the options to Pay in Instalments, Pay in 30 days, or Pay over Time to introduce manageable financing for the largest purchases. These options offer travellers the ultimate affordability and flexibility.
ECOMMPAY takes financial credit very seriously. Through a rigorous procurement process, its carefully selected partners help ensure the highest standards are met across a range of features.
Travel brands can also enable their customers to pay for their bookings anytime, anywhere, using card details, smart devices, or even QR codes – no POS terminal required. ECOMMPAY specialises in creating bespoke in-house solutions for the travel and hospitality industries, meaning those businesses can choose to integrate a custom, fully-branded solution into their own booking pages or host everything under ECOMMPAY’s name on its highly trusted payment platform.
SMEs look to tap into the continuing evolution of customer behaviour
Glovo, a multi-category delivery players, has shown that customer centricity will prove vital to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the 12 months ahead. It surveyed 3,200 small and medium-sized enterprises across nine markets encompassing Europe, the UK and Africa. Almost half said they now listen to their customers more following the pandemic.
This period of greater customer centricity has continued to now—a period of equally challenging circumstances for many SMEs. Over half (58%) of businesses across all markets say that better customer outreach could help them prepare for the future. The need to listen more to customers and reach them in more innovative ways will therefore be central to SMEs navigating what is set to be a challenging year.
The answer for many will therefore be to keep a period of accelerated consumer learning forged during the pandemic going, as they look to become increasingly innovative and agile to meet a changing consumer demographic—over a third (34%) of businesses say reaching consumers is a major challenge, as is evident in just under half (45%) of SMEs saying consumer spending remains low.
Glovo’s research showed how customer behaviour has been on a constant evolution since the first lockdowns countries experienced. Firstly, with consumers becoming used to goods and services being immediately, and locally available, creating an “economy of now”.
Secondly, the digital experience also became more important for shoppers. 48% of businesses say it is now more important than the in-person one. Sustainability continues to be a priority for the consumer, and (according to 36% of businesses) a business opportunity for SMEs.
Secret Sales, one of Europe’s fastest-growing fashion eCommerce platforms in 2022
Secret Sales, a premium non-full-price marketplace for fashion, sportswear and beauty brands, has cemented itself as one the fastest growing fashion eCommerce platforms in Europe. The non-full-price marketplace’s total inventory has grown by 125% year-on-year. There are 25 million units now available at a total value of £3 billion. This was in part driven by the business’ international expansion into the Netherlands and Belgium in April last year, where the company has experienced 40% month-on-month compound sales growth.
Secret Sales provides a marketplace for brands to sustainably sell their non-full price inventory. The platform drives sales of surplus stock, while retailers retain control of brand equity, offering and pricing across territories.
Over the past year, Secret Sales has also bolstered its global alliances, with the marketplace seeing 104% year-on-year growth in partners, and a total of 2,469 brands now available on the platform. Significant partners include well-known premium brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, PUMA, Kurt Geiger, Ted Baker and G Star, and retailers such as The Hut Group, Monnier Paris and most recently ASOS.
Since launching in the Netherlands and Belgium less than a year ago, Secret Sales has more than doubled its international inventory in the two new territories to 1,129 brands. Of note is Secret Sales’ partnership with Wehkamp, the market leader in online fashion retailing in the Netherlands, which marks a first-of-its-kind partnership for the Leading Dutch online department store.
In response to the growth of the business, Secret Sales has appointed its first Dedicated Country Manager. Tom Kelly brings with him 30 years of industry experience from buying roles at De Bijenkorf (Selfridges Group) and Brown Thomas, as he oversees international trade.
