Lightspeed has launched a newly updated e-commerce product built on the integration of its acquisition of Ecwid.
Founded in 2005 by Dax Dasilva, Lightspeed offers a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) and commerce software, and has focused on creating an omnichannel experience to combine in-store and online for small businesses.
“True modern commerce is meeting your buyers where they are, whether that’s on TikTok or Main Street.”
The startup developed Lightspeed eCommerce to offer merchants tools like advanced data, simple product ordering functionality, and streamlined access to suppliers. The suite of tools also has customer management features that Lightspeed claims can boost sales, such as abandoned cart recovery and customer communication tools.
Lightspeed eCommerce also includes a direct partnership with TikTok, allowing Lightspeed merchants to manage marketing through TikTok For Business Ads Manager. The TikTok integration came through Lightspeed’s purchase of Ecwid, which closed October 1. Ecwid had partnered with the social media platform before its acquisition to allow its clients to advertise their products on the app.
“Commerce has evolved beyond a basic online store or a single-function POS,” said Dasilva. “True modern commerce is meeting your buyers where they are, whether that’s on TikTok or Main Street.”
Over the last few years, Lightspeed has branched out beyond POS solutions into a number of verticals within the commerce space. To highlight the shift, Lightspeed even changed its official name from Lightspeed POS to Lightspeed Commerce.
Dasilva has been open about his intention to expand Lightspeed beyond its POS roots and make the most of the industry shift to omnichannel commerce. This, and Lightspeed’s acquisition strategy to support it, has been “front and centre” since the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September.
RELATED: A culmination of its acquisitions, Lightspeed brings revamped restaurant platform to North America
The Montréal TSX-listed Lightspeed also recently launched its restaurant product in North America. Like its updated e-commerce offering, that platform was the result of years of strategic acquisitions: ShopKeep, Upserve, and Vend.
Lightspeed Restaurant is a unified hospitality commerce and POS platform that offers analytics, contactless payments, online ordering, inventory management capabilities, and more, which aim to give restaurateurs the ability to run smarter, more efficient restaurants amid pressures caused by COVID-19 and beyond.
In fiscal Q4, Lightspeed generated revenue of $82.4 million, more than double its revenue during the same period last year. This increase came alongside a net loss that was double the company’s loss in Q4 2020.
Image courtesy from Lightspeed