LONG BEACH, N.Y. and DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec 19, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Planet Payment, Inc.UK:PPT -2.94% UK:PPTR +11.81% (otcqx:PLPM), a leading provider of international and multi-currency payment processing services, and VendorShop, a leading provider of shopping cart applications for Facebook merchants, today announced the integration of VendorShop's Facebook shopping cart application with Planet Payment's iPAY multi-currency eCommerce gateway. This innovative Social Commerce solution ( www.facebook.com/PlanetPayment ) empowers merchants to sell to a global market of over 800 million Facebook subscribers, enabling retailers to convert their "static" Facebook presence into a new sales channel for their business. With this solution, Facebook merchants can now accept credit cards through any participating acquirer integrated into Planet Payment's international transaction platform.
VendorShop provides a solution for businesses to drive direct revenue from their Facebook presence -- enabling anyone with a Facebook page to add a free shop and to sell their products and services without customers having to leave the Facebook environment. "Most companies already have Facebook pages, but if a customer wants to buy an item they get referred back to the company website," stated Chris Small, CEO and Founder of VendorShop. "Facebook users already spend a huge amount of time on Facebook with more than 50% 'liking' a business page to find out about sales and promotions. So if I'm going to tell you about a product on my Facebook page, it makes sense to make it easy to buy right there. Redirecting customers off Facebook adds additional steps to the process and potentially increases the likelihood a merchant will lose the sale - so keeping the shopping experience contained solely within Facebook is very important."
For the merchant, VendorShop is simple to set-up and configure products and pricing and there are a number of tools to integrate with existing systems. There are also a number of social features such as 'fan pricing' and 'incentivized sharing' to enable businesses to enhance the Facebook experience, grow fans and drive sales. "Creating a unique shopping experience and rewarding your fans for being fans gives a real reason to buy, but also turns them into even more powerful advocates for your business. As a result you not only create a new Facebook sales channel, but you can enhance sales via a new viral consumer channel too," stated Small.
As a result of the partnership and integration with Planet Payment's iPAY Gateway, VendorShop customers now have access to Planet Payment's PCI compliant, end-to-end processing solutions for eCommerce, call center, mail-order and telephone order merchants. The VendorShop solution has also been enhanced to include support for Planet Payment's Multi-Currency Pricing functionality, providing Facebook merchants with the ability to more effectively target international markets by allowing their customers to ship, view pricing and pay in the in their home currencies, while continuing to receive payments and reporting in their own native currency.
Aviesta.com, an online private sale community serving members in the US and Latin America recently launched their social commerce site ( http://www.facebook.com/VivaAviesta ) on Facebook utilizing Planet Payment's solution. "We wanted tap into the Facebook phenomenon to help grow sales," said Brett Posten, Chief Creative Officer of Aviesta.com. "With more than 800 million users and over 50 percent of who log-on at least once per day, Facebook social commerce was a top priority for us. In addition, we needed a solution that would provide us with multi-currency options and one that would be easy to setup and maintain -- Planet Payment's solution fit the bill."
"Planet Payment provides value-added products/services to help merchants sell more and expand their business globally," stated Scott Goldthwaite, senior vice president of product management and marketing. "Social media enables businesses to make a deeper connection with their customers and Facebook has the potential to become the biggest marketplace in the world, representing a significant opportunity for businesses to create a new revenue stream by enabling their fans to buy products directly from their Facebook page. VendorShop's expertise in Social Commerce and shared commitment to helping businesses sell on Facebook has made this an ideal partnership."
About VendorShop
VendorShop enables businesses to launch virtual stores on Facebook simply and cost effectively. Customers can easily purchase products from their favorite stores without leaving Facebook. VendorShop already powers thousands of stores across Facebook covering a variety of sectors including fashion, food, ticketing, charity and arts and crafts.
VendorShop's development team also provide custom development services and have been responsible for developing one of the first mobile top-up stores on Facebook along with other customized solutions in the retail sector. VendorShop is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Visit www.vendorshopsocial.com or www.Facebook.com/vendorshop for more information.
About Planet Payment
Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services. We provide our services in 16 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through our more than 45 acquiring bank and processor customers. Our point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and are integrated within the payment card transaction flow enabling our acquiring customers to process and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.
Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information on the Company and its services. For up-to-date information follow Planet Payment on Twitter at @PlanetPayment or join Planet Payment's page on Facebook.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Planet Payment
No comments:
Post a Comment