Winnipeg-based checkout software company Bold Commerce has unveiled a new product that enables sellers to insert checkouts into marketing videos and emails.
Coalition Technologies, Bold’s agency partner, built Checkout Unleashed using Bold’s ‘headless’ checkout offering. Launched on BigCommerce, Bold says the product will be available to retailers using any legacy or custom platform.
“Shoppers no longer must leave what they’re doing to visit brands’ e-commerce sites.”
Bold CEO Peter Karpas told BetaKit that Checkout Unleashed permits omnichannel retailers and direct-to-consumer brands to introduce Bold’s checkout tech directly into video and email marketing channels, eliminating “one of the biggest problems brands and shoppers face”—the product page.
For years, companies have explored making video shoppable, from emerging players like Toronto-based ShopThing to dedicated firms like Firework and tech giants including Facebook and TikTok. Live shopping has exploded in popularity in Asia, and a variety of firms are trying to make it a reality in North America, betting that consumers will catch on. However, so far, the concept has struggled to take off in the United States.
For its part, with Checkout Unleashed, Bold hopes to help retailers offer a faster, more seamless buying experience, converting more customers “at their highest point of intent.” While online shoppers are often ready to make purchases using video and other marketing channels, they are typically required to visit a separate product page in order to do so.
“This new offering solves for this by eliminating product pages’ role as the middleman, so shoppers no longer must leave what they’re doing to visit brands’ e-commerce sites,” said Karpas. “They can just checkout.”
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Founded in 2012 and once known only as Shopify’s largest app developer, Bold has since expanded beyond just building for Shopify and into headless or ‘composable’ commerce. To fuel this expansion, in early 2021, the startup secured $35 million CAD in Series B funding from OMERS Ventures, Whitecap Venture Partners, and Round13 Capital. This transition entailed some changes to Bold’s organizational structure in 2022, including layoffs and a new CEO, as Karpas replaced Bold co-founder Yvan Boisjoli last fall.
In contrast to traditional e-commerce, which is monolithic, composable commerce takes a more modular, customizable approach to selling that allows brands to mix, match, and combine whatever tools meet their specific needs.
Today, Bold sells a composable checkout offering that enables retailers to convert customers in a variety of different places. Clients using Bold’s customizable headless checkout include omnichannel sellers like Vera Bradley, Harry Rosen, and Staples.
Shopify has also moved into composable commerce recently as part of its push to woo larger brands, making its checkout solution Shop Pay available to non-Shopify merchants as a standalone offering. Through a recent partnership with streaming platform Roku, Shopify has also begun exploring making video shoppable.
Feature image courtesy Bold Commerce.