No-code website builder Wix has announced an alliance with Moneris to power online shops for Canadian SMBs. Moneris, for those unfamiliar, specializes in eCommerce functionality and payments. Together, they can offer SMBs a holistic set of services for setting up eCommerce with minimal friction.
This move also marks a bit of a streak for Wix, which recently announced elevated search marketing capabilities through “Google Ads with Wix.” Altogether, this aligns with a key trend in the website world where competitors continue to expand the bundle to boost retention and addressable market.
“Hyperlocal SMBs require an effective online presence and commerce strategy to compete against big box retailers and chains,” Wix VP of Global Strategic Bank & Acquirer Partnerships Sean Barkulis Told Localogy Insider. These SMBs are looking to their POS and payment processor to provide these essential omnichannel commerce solutions.”
Lifecycle Range
Going deeper on this partnership, Moneris will integrate a variety of Wix products including core website builder tools and adjacent features such as online bookings. Moneris will likewise bring deeper eCommerce functionality to the table including transaction processing, security, and support.
Synthesizing that a bit, Moneris will integrate Wix’s website builder in addition to the inverse. This broadens its bundle – otherwise consisting of eCommerce tools – with website creation. Put another way, it addresses an upstream need, thus reaching SMBs that sit in a wider lifecycle range.
Wix meanwhile gains downstream capabilities for more mature SMBs that are ready to graduate to eCommerce. Beyond functionality, it also gains an SMB channel, and does so in a geographically expansive way. It’s a foothold in the Canadian SMB market via a trusted and well-embedded channel.
When looking at it that way, the alliance seems quite synergistic in that Wix gains an SMB channel and Moneris widens the top of its funnel. With that omnidirectional value exchange, it becomes a philosophical question as to who’s the actual “channel.” The answer is likely both to varying degrees.
Several Dimensions
Stepping back further, this deal says a few things. First, as we examined last week in light of Web.com’s AI integrations, it’s important for website builders to offer SMBs a one-stop shop. Traction and value realization gain considerable likelihood when new integrations happen in their familiar workflows.
Second, as teased earlier, this deal is the latest live market evidence for the continued functional expansion of the website bundle. This is done for several reasons including retention/MRR. Serving SMBs on deeper levels can reinforce ROI and lower churn, as their reliance has several dimensions.
This is especially true with functions that are complementary to websites, such as social media, CRM, and search marketing (as Wix has demonstrated). In that way, websites are the tip of the spear for adjacent services that SMBs grow into. After they get online, they need to sell and promote.
“The Wix and Moneris partnership brings Wix’s best-in-class omnichannel commerce tools (bookings, online ordering, retail eCommerce and invoicing) with Moneris integrated payments and instore processing to all Canadian SMBs,” said Barkulis.
