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E-commerce has expanded at a fast clip in recent years, in part thanks to habits formed during the pandemic, and with that growth has come new techniques to simplify buying and selling for both experienced and new users. The latest development emerged Thursday with an announcement by Caseproof LLC that its Pretty Links technology has launched a function that lets sellers place links that automatically charge purchases to buyers’ Stripe accounts.
The feature, called PrettyPay, “turns the entire Internet into your personal storefront,” says Blair Williams, Caseproof’s chief executive, in a statement, adding the technology was in development for an extended time. “It’s been a long time coming,” he says.
As explained by the Cedar City, Utah-based company, the PrettyPay links work much like buy now buttons. A user who clicks on the link evokes a checkout page, which captures the user’s information. A completed transaction sends the funds “immediately’” into the seller’s Stripe account, the company says. The intention, Caseproof says, is to simplify online commerce for small sellers such as crafters and content creators. But “businesses of all sizes” could deploy the technology, it says.
Besides branding, speed, and single-click checkout, the technology’s features include click tracking and “real-time analytics,” Caseproof says.
Features like that could have strong appeal, observers say. “It appears to be a powerful way to quickly and easily integrate payments into any content on the Web, and that could be a game changer for merchants who want to sell online but choose not to join commerce platforms like Shopify,” notes Thad Peterson, a senior analyst in the payments practice at Datos Insights, a consultancy and research firm.
The appeal could be particularly strong for sellers on social media, he adds, because of the feature’s branded buy button. “So if I’m selling artwork on Instagram, I can drop a buy button directly into the product post, and when the customer clicks the button, they are sent to a payment site,” Peterson notes.
Other observers also applaud the idea but warn that users will have to be wary of fraud. PrettyPay “really eases acceptance for micro merchants, however, it will be interesting to see how resilient the business framework is to fraudsters attempting to take advantage of this type of service. If the framework presents underwriting gaps or challenges, fraudsters will find them quickly,” says Cliff Gray, a senior associate at the payments consultancy TSG.
For now, PrettyPay should help solve problems for merchants looking to sell online for the first time, Williams said in a statement. “We see so many talented people out there with amazing products and content, but they’re struggling with the nuts and bolts of selling online, especially ecommerce newbies,” he noted.
The technology comes as e-commerce continues to expand rapidly. The sector accounted for $284 billion in sales in the third quarter of last year, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. That was good for 15.6% of all U.S. commerce, up from a 14.8% share a year earlier.
