• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, October 21, 2021

Microsoft and Amazon announced support for businesses on Thursday, each detailing very different strategies.

Microsoft extended its partnership with Shopify to give a little extra support to retailers and ecommerce businesses in time for the holiday season.

Shopify merchants now have quick access to connect with shoppers on the Microsoft Search Network and Microsoft Audience Network with a few clicks.

The feature, available in the U.S. and Canada, enables businesses to serve up product listings automatically, for free, in the Microsoft Bing Shopping tab and the Microsoft Start Shopping tab.

There is also a new quick checkout option coming, a Buy Now button on products ads and listings.

The quick, checkout Buy Now button sends consumers directly to the shopping cart page and lets the shopper purchase the products with fewer steps, similar to Amazon’s buy now button on its commerce pages.

Merchants can connect through the Microsoft Channel using their Microsoft Advertising account or sign-up for a new one in few simple steps. Businesses also gain access to real-time reports in their Shopify store.

Amazon also launched tools today for small businesses in the U.S., but its strategy focused on providing tools that let merchants sell across borders.

The features allow third-party sellers to grow their export sales through Amazon’s 21 stores worldwide. 

Amazon estimates that more than 6 million products offered by U.S. sellers have a high potential for success in its international stores.

The Amazon tools range from ways to manage customer service, inquires and refunds, to determining which of the products merchant should sell internationally online.

There’s also a way now for sellers to monitor inventory supply and demand across all stores. Global Inventory Viewer integrates with Send to Amazon, making it simple and easy for sellers to send more inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers before running out of stock. It is available now and open to all U.S. sellers.

And Global Listings lets businesses replicate their product listings in multiple international stores with just a few clicks. Sellers will be able to view their listing from a set of globalized pages and views. Amazon is testing this feature in beta and will open it to all U.S. sellers in early 2022.