Shopify announced it has partnered with Chinese digital wallet platform Alipay to expand payment options for U.S merchants.  Shopify merchants will now be able to accept payments directly from Alipay. Previously, it could only process Alipay payments via third-party providers.

More:

• Alipay has more than one billion active users in China and the partnership will give U.S. merchants greater access to the Chinese market.
• Alibaba earned $74B on Singles Day and U.S. merchants earned $5.4B from Chinese consumers.
• Shopify is hoping to expand this partnership into other Asian markets such as India, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
• Shopify's agreement with Alipay is the latest in a series of partnerships it has made with massive technology companies. In October, it partnered with TikTok to make it easier for merchants to market and sell their products on the popular app. 
• In May, Shopify partnered with Facebook to launch Facebook Shops, a tool that enables merchants to create "customized online storefronts" for Facebook and Instagram.
• It was reported in October that Shopify was working with Youtube to allow consumers to make purchases directly from the video-sharing platform.
• Shopify has benefited greatly from the surge in e-commerce sales due to the pandemic. Its revenue grew by 96% YoY in Q3 and its stock price is up 145.4% year-to-date.

Fintech company Affirm has filed to go public. The company was founded by Max Levchin, a co-founder of PayPal, and it provides shoppers the opportunity to "Buy Now Pay Later" (BNPL) from merchants.

Affirm's valuation over the years:

• 2015 - $530M
• 2016 - $840M
• 2018- $1.85B
• 2019 - $2.9B

More:

• Companies including Affirm, Klarna, PayPal, and AfterPay offer BNPL options that allow customers to repay their shopping expenses in four installments without any interest fees. Big retailers, including H&M and Macy's, have recently announced collaborations with fintech companies offering BNPL options.
• Affirm has around 6,500 partners, including Peloton, Walmart, Shopify, and Expedia. Peloton contributed to about 30% of Affirm's revenue for the FY ended June and the quarter ended September. 
• The company reported a $509M revenue for its FY ended June, up 93% YoY. It reported a loss of $112M, down 6% YoY. For the three months ended September, the company's revenue increased by 98% YoY to $174M, and its loss decreased by 50% to $15.3M.
• Klarna, a similar fintech, was valued at $10B in September. The company reported a revenue of $466M for the first half of 2020.
• PayPal introduced its BNPL feature in August.
• Affirm has raised $1.5B in funding from investors, including Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Best Buy announced it has partnered with Instacart to offer same-day delivery across the U.S. Delivery for online orders made from Best Buy are currently fulfilled by FedEx, UPS, and USPS, which can be slow unless the retailer or consumer pays an extra fee.

More:

• The option will be available for hundreds of products, but consumers will have to pay a $3.99 delivery fee per order. There is a $500 limit and consumers can select a delivery time up to five days out.
• Along with the partnership, Instarcart announced it will launch a new certified delivery feature enabling consumers to use their smartphone to accept and sign an order. Instacart drivers will be required to verify ID, and the company is planning to offer this feature with other retailers in the future.
• Demand for same-day delivery has surged during the pandemic, leading to food and grocery delivery services expanding their offerings. For example, DoorDash has partnered with Macy's to offer same-day delivery during the holiday season.
• Instacart has partnered with Target, Sephora, and Bed Bath & Beyond ahead of a $30B IPO in 2021.

E-com funding tracker: This week at least 14 companies operating in the e-commerce space received a total funding of $727M.

VC funding above $50m:

• Marketing automation platform Klaviyo raised $200M at a valuation of $4.15B. It raised $158M before this funding round, including a $150M round in 2019.
• HeyDay provides e-commerce solutions and it raised $175M. 
• Forter provides a decision-as-a-service solution for e-commerce companies to detect frauds. It raised $125M from investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, at a $1.75B valuation.
• Paack provides a delivery solution for e-commerce companies to enable sustainable vehicle distribution and customer-controlled time slots.

Macy's Q3 2020 earnings report:

• Macy’s reported revenue of $4B for Q3 2020, down 20% YoY and up 14% QoQ. The company’s loss for the last quarter stood at $60M, compared to a $430M loss in the previous quarter and a $2M profit last year.
• Digital sales contributed to 38% of total sales, with a 27% YoY increase. For the last quarter, the company’s online sales grew by 53% YoY and contributed to 54% sales.
• The company’s shares fell 5% on the earnings announcement. Since the beginning of this year, the company’s share prices have decreased by 48%.

A version of this story first appeared in Inside Business. You can read the full issue here.

QUICK HITS:

• Walgreens announced that its customers could pick up online orders in 30 minutes.
• See how brands like Discovery, Manscaped, Microsoft, and Gymshark use Attest to understand how their audience feels about their industry, how they shop, and what their pain points are.*
• Wish has filed to go public.
• Amazon’s smart glasses "Echo Frames" will be released for the public next month.
• Industry-leading SEO strategies have helped companies double their users in under 90 days. Click here to get your free consultation and see how you can grow your business.*

* This is a sponsored post.