Our handpicked list this week of new products and services for ecommerce merchants includes updates on sustainable packaging, website builders, agent-based commerce, social commerce, pay-later purchases, B2B marketplaces, B2C CRMs, and more.
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New Tools for Merchants
ChatGPT launches Instant Checkout. OpenAI announced that ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers in chat, with Shopify integration coming soon. Instant Checkout supports single-item purchases, with multi-item carts to follow. OpenAI is also exposing the tech that powers Instant Checkout (i.e., the Agentic Commerce Protocol), so that more merchants and developers can build integrations. Co-developed with Stripe, the Agentic Commerce Protocol enables AI agents, people, and businesses to collaborate on purchases.
ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout
Klaviyo launches B2C CRM with AI agents for marketing and customer services. Klaviyo has unveiled Marketing Agent and Customer Agent for its B2C customer relationship management tool, built on its data platform and unifying data, marketing, service, and analytics. Marketing Agent autonomously plans and launches campaigns, creates on-brand content, personalizes each send, and learns without prompting. Customer Agent delivers personalized assistance to consumers by resolving common questions, recommending products, and escalating when necessary to a human agent with full context.
Ordoro and Cartology partner to empower ecommerce merchants on Amazon. Ordoro, an ecommerce logistics and multichannel fulfillment platform, has collaborated with Cartology, an Amazon agency specializing in brand strategy and account growth. Together, the companies aim to provide Amazon sellers with a streamlined path to scale, combining front-end optimization with backend fulfillment. The partnership combines Cartology’s expertise in marketplace strategy with Ordoro’s capabilities in inventory management and shipping automation, enabling sellers to grow smarter and more sustainably.
PayPal Honey turns queries into shopping. PayPal Honey is turning AI-centric shopping queries into buying experiences, transforming its coupon finder into a value-focused commerce intelligence platform. Honey’s extension will display products that its chatbot recommends, with real-time pricing, merchant options, and exclusive offers. Honey draws from the company’s SKU-level product catalog, spanning hundreds of millions of items, to match AI-recommended products. These features will be available by Black Friday at no cost to Honey users, per PayPal.
Mercado Libre expands into B2B with launch of Libre Negocios. Mercado Libre, the leading ecommerce platform in Latin America, is entering the B2B market with the launch of Mercado Libre Negocios (loosely, “Mercado Business Freedom”). Negocios aims to streamline wholesale buying and selling across the region. Businesses can create accounts linked to a tax ID number to unlock purchasing options and exclusive benefits. Buyers gain access to competitive pricing, volume discounts, fast deliveries, approved invoices, and flexible financing through Mercado Pago, the payment platform.
Mercado Libre Negocios
Pinterest introduces Top of Search ads. Pinterest is previewing in beta Top of Search ads, which appear in the top 10 slots of search results and Related Pins. Per Pinterest, Top of Search ads ensure products show where shopping journeys typically begin. Also, a brand-exclusive ad unit will highlight advertiser catalogs.
Zoovu launches enhanced AI shopping assistant. Zoovu, an AI search and product discovery platform, has announced enhanced capabilities and increased availability of Zoe, its generative-AI shopping assistant. According to Zoovu, Zoe is composable, modular, and natively integrated into an entire shopping journey, providing a conversational AI expert on product detail pages, search results, category pages, and self-service portals. Zoe syndicates the same AI expert to retail partner sites and in-store kiosks.
PayPal to sell BNPL loans to Blue Owl Capital. PayPal and Blue Owl Capital, a lender and investor, have announced a two-year agreement wherein Blue Owl will purchase approximately $7 billion of PayPal’s buy-now, pay-later receivables. PayPal will remain responsible for all customer-facing activities, including underwriting and servicing, associated with its U.S. “Pay in 4” product.
Recommendation engine Novi launches Shopping Optimizer. Novi, an AI-powered recommendation engine, has unveiled Shopping Optimizer, designed to increase sales by helping merchants surface products backed by verified info from AI shopping assistants. Novi says its proprietary optimization models leverage trust signals, such as badges, labels, certifications, and endorsements, as proof points of credibility.
Novi
NameSilo acquires CommerceHQ, a drag-and-drop website builder. NameSilo, a domain registrar, has announced the acquisition and integration of CommerceHQ, a website builder with ecommerce capabilities. The acquisition brings a drag-and-drop builder into NameSilo’s ecosystem, enabling customers to build and launch ecommerce-enabled websites alongside their domain registrations. As part of the integration, NameSilo introduced bundled offerings that combine domain, website, and email. Customers can choose self-serve or concierge-style services.
PAC Worldwide releases sustainable packaging innovations. PAC Worldwide, a provider of protective packaging and part of ProAmpac, has introduced (i) Post Consumer Recycled Bubble Roll and (ii) fixed release liner for its wicketed paper mailer, helping packers streamline workflows, reduce ergonomic strain, and maintain safer packing areas. According to PAC Worldwide, the new offerings underscore its commitment to delivering more sustainable, high-performance solutions for today’s ecommerce and retail markets.
Acadia, a product data app, integrates with BigCommerce. Distributor Data Solutions has integrated its “Acadia by DDS” app with BigCommerce. The app expedites product data management for B2B distributors and manufacturers by enabling real-time synchronization of product content from DDS Acadia accounts directly to BigCommerce stores. According to DDS, Acadia instantly updates product details, leverages advanced AI to categorize new products, enhances searchability, and supports multi-storefronts.
AI-native ecommerce platform Genstore secures $10 million in seed funding. Genstore, an AI-native store builder, has completed a $10 million seed funding round, led by Weimob with participation from Lighthouse Founders’ Fund. Genstore provides online merchants with a suite of intelligent assistant agents, automating operations such as product listing, copy, customer service, and marketing. Merchants can launch a store through AI conversation, requiring no coding or design skills, per Genstore, which states the funding will accelerate product development and market expansion.
Genstore