New ecommerce tools boost sales and efficiency

Ecommerce tools are moving faster than ever, with new AI-driven platforms reshaping how merchants sell, market, and manage operations. This week’s releases span search personalization, cross-border payments, agentic automation, and creator-driven sales—each designed to cut costs, reduce friction, or unlock new revenue streams for businesses of all sizes.

When a buyer logs in, the system filters products by their company’s approved pricing, negotiated discounts, and order quantity rules. The update removes manual work for merchants while ensuring buyers see only what they’re authorized to purchase.

Meanwhile, Fiserv has launched Commerce Hub, a unified platform for cross-border commerce that bundles onboarding, APIs, reporting, and operational controls into a single dashboard. Merchants using Fiserv’s payment services can now access local payment methods, settlement options, and fraud protection without managing separate integrations for each market. The platform also supports emerging payment trends.

Google’s latest move targets shoppers rather than sellers. Its Universal Cart, rolling out in the U.S., syncs across Google Search and the Gemini app, pulling from the company’s Shopping Graph—a database of 60 billion product listings. The cart tracks price drops, availability, and even payment perks like cashback, then lets users check out via Google Pay or transfer items directly to a merchant’s site.

AI Automation Takes Hold

Agentic AI, systems that don’t just analyze data but take action, is becoming a standard feature. Lightspeed Commerce has expanded its AI to recommend next steps for retailers, such as adjusting inventory or launching promotions, and even drafts executable actions for approval. The tool pulls from sales, catalog, and purchasing data to suggest moves like bundling low-stock items or targeting high-intent shoppers. It’s entering beta with select customers.

For startups, Oracle NetSuite is offering a free AI-powered financial platform called QuickStart. The tool automates accounting, receivables, payables, and subscription management, aiming to eliminate the manual setup that often derails early-stage businesses. Founders can generate financial reports and manage cash flow without prior expertise.

On the marketing front, Nectar has launched Customer Atlas for Amazon Marketing Cloud, shifting ad targeting from keywords to shopper behavior. By cross-referencing a brand’s purchase history against Amazon’s 6,728 audience segments, the tool builds both inclusion and exclusion lists; then applies them where ad spend is heaviest.

The focus on returns and fraud is also accelerating. Appriss Retail’s Engage Insights consolidates return data across channels, products, and customers into a single dashboard. Merchants can spot patterns like repeat fraudsters or high-return product lines, then adjust policies or inventory accordingly. The tool’s strength lies in its ability to connect dots that previously required manual cross-referencing.

Simplifying Multichannel Sales

For suppliers expanding into multichannel sales, TopDawg has updated its distribution hub to let wholesalers manage catalogs, sync inventory, and process orders from one platform. The Supplier Portal is free to join, though participation in TopDawg’s retailer network carries no guarantee of immediate sales volume. The real value may be in reducing the administrative overhead of selling across multiple marketplaces.

Square’s latest addition, Kiosk, blends AI voice assistants with self-service hardware for restaurants. The system understands menus in real time, handles orders, and even manages franchise operations across locations. Square is also rolling out new capabilities that make it easier for fast-food franchises to manage operations across locations.

In Europe, EasyShop has launched as a multi-category marketplace spanning 21 countries. Unlike traditional platforms, it doesn’t stock inventory or sell private-label goods, every transaction is a direct sale from retailer to shopper. VAT is calculated automatically, and the platform is powered and operated by OnCommerce.

New Funding Fuels Growth

Miracly has raised $2.42 million in a pre-seed round to expand its AI-focused marketing platform. Miracly started with analytics and content generation to help businesses track and improve how AI tools describe their brands. It is expanding into a broader platform covering performance marketing, public relations, and analytics, powered by Mira, Miracly’s marketing agent. Beenext Ventures and Lotus led the round.

ShopBack has introduced SparkHub, a tool that enables brands to collaborate with creators and track sales generated from their content. SparkHub provides tools for creators to manage campaign work from brief to post. Brands on the platform can make their profiles discoverable, use AI-assisted discovery to find creators, send campaign briefs, approve content, and track purchases generated through ShopBack links.

Marklo has announced $5 million in seed funding led by Forerunner and opened its public beta. Marklo is an agentic marketing platform for Shopify brands that understands what is happening across the business, identifies revenue opportunities, and prepares actions for the retailer to review and approve.