WooCommerce 4.0 Launched

Automattic has launched WooCommerce 4.0, the latest version of WooCommerce. Except for the new admin interface, which has been in testing for over a year, the development of this version began in January 2020. The update also includes an updated onboarding experience for new users.

WooCommerce 4.0 is the first major release of 2020. Users should create a database backup before upgrading. The WooCommerce team suggests testing on a staging site before upgrading on a live site to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Since it’s a major release, WooCommerce 4.0 is not completely backward compatible with previous versions of WooCommerce. It features a Java script-driven admin that enables seamless management of online stores.

WooCommerce Payments Launched

WooCommerce has rolled out its payment service – WooCommerce Payments. It comes with a host of features that make the payment part seamless for store owners.

WooCommerce Payments lets customers pay for their purchases without leaving your store. That is, you don’t have to redirect your customers to a third-party payment site to complete the transaction. I

It lets store owners handle all transactions from the store dashboard itself. That is, you can manage refunds, deposits, and disputes within the comfort of your own store.

On the dashboard, you can see details including the type of transaction (refund, dispute, charges, deposit), order number, net amount, source and customer name.

Fees

  • For credit and debit cards issued in the US : 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
  • For cards issued outside the US: 1% + 0.30 per transaction
  • Dispute fee: $15 per dispute – Dispute amount will be refunded if you win the dispute

Presently, WooCommerce Payments is only available through invitation. You can sign up here to try WooCommerce Payments.

Amazon Blocks New Listings of Face Masks, Hand Sanitizer

eCommerce giant Amazon is blocking new offers for face masks, hand sanitizer, and other coronavirus-related products on its site, marking its latest effort to stamp out price gouging.

According to a CNBC report, the company sent out a notice to sellers this week informing them that it’s not accepting applications to sell “disposable face masks, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes/sprays, isopropyl alcohol or related products.”

Presently, Amazon is blocking only new offers. It won’t remove existing listings in these categories unless they appear to be gouging shoppers in violation of the company’s fair pricing policy. For sellers whose listings are removed, Amazon said it will reimburse merchants for any fulfillment fees they incur after requesting Amazon to return their inventory or destroy it. Amazon charges a fee for each unit removed from its FBA warehouses.

Adidas CEO: Coronavirus outbreak is ‘a painful setback’

Kasper Rorsted, Adidas CEO, said the coronavirus outbreak has dealt “a painful setback” for the company’s business, as it expects to take a sales hit and is already seeing traffic declines at some of its shops. “In the sporting goods industry, you are really at the end of the food chain,” Rorsted in an interview CNBC’s Sara Eisen.

Before consumers get back to buying sporting goods, they will be stocking up on food and other daily necessities, to prepare for the virus, he said. “That is what we are seeing so far in the first quarter.”

According to Rorsted, 80%-90% of Adidas’s business in China “stopped overnight” when quarantine was issued followed by the coronavirus outbreak. But traffic has picked back up in China since, he said. And manufacturing facilities in Asia are coming back online.

But the outbreak, which began in China, is spreading to other parts of the world. Companies are having to figure out their plans in the U.S., as the virus becomes more widespread.

Now coronavirus has grown to be a pandemic, affecting the markets across the globe. The virus has so far spread 121 countries.

Source: CNBC, WooCommerce