Today in the Connected Economy: WooCommerce Teams With TikTok

Today in the connected economy, WooCommerce announces a partnership that lets its millions of merchants advertise to TikTok’s billion-plus users. Plus, Apple points to its App Store developer’s revenue to defend its track record with the store, and a new digital concession technology is set to go live at a series of MLB and NFL venues.

WooCommerce Offers Access to TikTok’s 1B Members

Open-source eCommerce platform WooCommerce is collaborating with TikTok on a program designed to connect Woo’s 3.7 million merchants to TikTok’s more than 1 billion users. The connection will happen through a new extension called TikTok for WooCommerce, which lets stores sync their catalog to TikTok and promote their products on ads featured on the video platform.

Apple Uses Developer Revenues to Defend App Store Practices

Apple is fighting rising criticism of its App Store policies by arguing that the store creates jobs and revenue for its developers. The iPhone maker cited a study by Analysis Group — a project commissioned by Apple — that showed that developers who earned under $1 million a year from the App Store saw their total revenue rise 113% over a two-year period beginning in 2019. The study also showed the App Store supports 2.2 million U.S. jobs and that more than of 90% of developers can be considered small businesses.

MLB, NFL Venues Digitize Concessions With Next-Gen Self-Service

Retail technology company Gallery Carts has joined forces with digital component manufacturer Falkbuilt to make it easier to build grab-and-go kiosks for live event venues. The technology is now up and running at Petco Park, home to the San Diego Padres, and is set to go live at NFL venues Nissan Stadium (where the Tennessee Titans play) and Allegiant Stadium (home of the Las Vegas Raiders).

BNPL Platform Scalapay Teams With FinTech Twig on Sustainable Shopping

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Scalapay and green payment FinTech Twig, both based in Europe, are working together to let customers resell products purchased using Scalapay and get paid instantly by Twig. As part of the partnership, Scalapay customers will be forwarded to Twig to receive instant valuations on their apparel and electronics before selling them to Twig and getting paid right away. Twig will then mail customers a prepaid parcel so they can ship the product to the buyer.

B2B FinTech FOO Expands Into Saudi Arabia

B2B FinTech provider FOO is expanding its operations into Saudi Arabia with the goal of improving digital transformation there. FOO works with banks and retailers in the Middle East to build digital products to improve business models and customer experience. Among these products are solutions for remittances, digital wallets, tokenized transactions and buy now, pay later (BNPL).