In breaking news, Salesforce has announced they have signed an agreement to acquire Brazilian e-commerce technology company, Atonit.
Atonit is a Marketplace management solution, built on the Salesforce platform, offering critical functionality required to be a significant player in the e-commerce space.
About Atonit
Atonit is a “simple, fast and scalable solution for managing Marketplaces”. It’s fully integrated with Salesforce clouds and also compatible with the main e-commerce platforms, enabling businesses to hit the ground running.
You might be asking yourself “what is a Marketplace and why does it matter?”
An online Marketplace is an e-commerce site that connects buyers and sellers. Often, a Marketplace will support many vendors, for example, Amazon or Etsy. Marketplace functionality includes features such as price management, order management and shipping management. Online Marketplaces are great for consumers as they offer a greater level of transparency, such as availability, stock levels and the ability to compare prices or read reviews.
Lidiane Jones, Executive VP & GM for Digital Experiences at Salesforce, explained to Chain Store Age:
Commerce marketplace capabilities are imperative for customers across every industry looking to connect vendors with their shoppers and buyers, and to deliver consistent shopping experiences that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.
After acquiring Atonit, Salesforce customers will be empowered to grow revenue by garnering commissions and membership subscription revenue from vendors, growing shopping cart sizes, and expanding into new product categories with ease. Lidiane Jones, Executive VP & GM for Digital Experiences at Salesforce
The way that people shop has been changing for quite some time, with many people choosing to shop online instead of in-store. This trend was boosted further by the Covid-19 pandemic, and although online growth may slow slightly as we get used to the “new normal”, shoppers’ habits have most likely changed indefinitely, and our expectations as consumers have grown.
As the customer, we now expect to be able to purchase everything we want online, and these purchases must be seamless and quick. It’s easier than ever for brands to lose customer loyalty – online retail means customers have far more choice, so your online marketplace really matters.
Digital has redefined how consumers shop in both the physical and online worlds…
…while online growth will continue to normalize from the massive peaks of 2020 and early 2021, brands and retailers need to be ready to meet their shoppers whenever and wherever. They need to embrace a new retail model – one where the physical and digital realities coexist, stores never close, and shoppers are always on the hunt for the next big thing. Caila Schwartz, Senior Manager Consumer Strategy & Insights, Salesforce
Summary
This seems like a match made in heaven; Atonit is already built with Salesforce principles in mind, such as ease of set up and scalability.
Our mission has been to create a simple, fast and scalable Marketplace management solution, which is why we originally chose to build this solution on the Salesforce platform.
Salesforce has been a company that inspires us for many years, so it is very exciting for us to be the first company based in Brazil to be acquired by Salesforce. Atonit Corporate Blog Post
It is anticipated that the acquisition of Atonit will close in the first quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2023. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more information about the product roadmap once the deal is closed!