“Wish’s S-1 (which is filed under its corporate name ContextLogic) is of particular interest given that COVID-19 and the global pandemic have changed consumer behavior around the world in 2020. As going to stores became more risky over time, many shoppers turned to buying more goods from the internet, bolstering e-commerce players like Shopify and BigCommerce, as well as companies that facilitate online payments, like Square and PayPal .”

“Discover cardmembers and merchants can now experience a more seamless and consistent checkout experience when shopping online or through a mobile app with the launch of Click to Pay. The digital payment solution, based on the EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) industry standard, replaces the need for cardmembers to manually enter personal and account information at checkout with participating merchants. An easier and frictionless checkout process enhances the customer experience and also helps merchants reduce cart abandonment.”

“Stripe, a global technology company building economic infrastructure for the internet, today announced an expanded partnership with Mindbody to power advanced online and in-studio customer experiences for wellness customers in North America and across Europe. With more than 1.3 million monthly active users, 3.7 million classes booked monthly, and more than 145,000 new users monthly, Mindbody connects the world to wellness and is now teaming up with Stripe to help the wellness industry adapt across the globe.”

“2020 has been the year of live shopping for US tech companies. Amazon launched Amazon Live for influencers in July, and Instagram and Facebook launched live shopping features in August. Google’s R&D division, Area 21, also launched Shoploop , which isn’t live but offers shoppable stories, and smaller startups continued their efforts to make live shopping not just a thing, but the future of retail. On every platform, it ends up looking like a modern twist on QVC — but with influencers instead of celebrities, and those influencers getting a cut of the sales.”

“Gaming is set to emerge as the next dominant technology platform much the way search engines, mobile phones and social networks redefined industries in previous decades, says Michael Wolf, co-founder and chief executive of consulting firm Activate Inc. Some games are transforming into digital hubs that offer people an array of services once only possible in real life, according to Mr. Wolf.”

“Snaps, the leading conversational automation platform for eCommerce brands, today announced it has integrated Messenger API support for Instagram.  Messenger API support for Instagram enables brands to forge deeper relationships with customers through 1:1 conversations and deliver more seamless online shopping experiences.”

“The pandemic has accelerated ecommerce growth in the US this year, with online sales reaching a level not previously expected until 2022. In our Q3 US retail forecast, the top 10 retailers by ecommerce sales will tighten their grip on the retail market. US ecommerce sales will reach $794.50 billion this year, up 32.4% year-over-year.”

“2Checkout (now Verifone), the leading all-in-one monetization platform for global businesses, today released their H1 2020 Benchmark Report on Digital Commerce Trends in global online sales of software, SaaS, digital goods, and online services. The Digital Commerce Benchmark is based on millions of worldwide transactions moving through 2Checkout’s platform between January 2020 and June 2020. 2Checkout continuously tracks trends and statistics, empowering merchants to make better business decisions.”

“Easyship , a logistics startup that allows e-commerce sellers to add multiple carriers to their stores, announced it has joined the Shopify Plus Technology Partner Program. Easyship is headquartered in Hong Kong and New York. Co-founder Tommaso Tamburnotti told TechCrunch it is the only shipping app in Asia for Shopify Plus, the e-commerce platform’s solution for large companies and high-volume shippers.”

“Primer, the UK-founded fintech company that helps merchants consolidate their payments stack and support future payment methods, has launched with its unified payments API and checkout. Providing an open payment infrastructure to merchants through a single integration, Primer manages the front-end checkout process and backend consolidation of payments services — supercharging payments with data-driven insights and a clean, flexible experience for consumers.”

“Retailers are trying to appeal to consumers who long turned up their noses at QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Levi Strauss hope shoppers who are still reluctant to visit stores can be persuaded to tune in to the live-streamed online sales events and spend on ruffled blouses, handbags and other nonessential items ahead of the holiday shopping season.”

“Every toy, gadget and good you see on YouTube could soon be for sale online — not on Amazon, but right on YouTube itself. The world’s largest video site recently started asking creators to use YouTube software to tag and track products featured in their clips. The data will then be linked to analytics and shopping tools from parent Google.”

“The Covid-19 outbreak has turbocharged several trends in global payments that had already been gathering pace, with more transactions than ever taking place online and a higher proportion of the remaining face-to-face purchases relying on card or contactless payments.”

“Instagram this morning announced the global expansion of its Instagram Shopping service across IGTV. The product, which lets you watch a video then check out with a few taps, offers creators and influencers a way to more directly monetize their user base on Instagram, while also giving brands a way to sell merchandise to their followers.”