Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, has acquired startup Prospress to develop its digital subscription offerings. The small company rose to prominence by developing a recurring payment solution designed specifically for WooCommerce, called WooCommerce Subscriptions. By acquiring Prospress, Automattic will be able to bill its customers regularly through WooCommerce digital subscriptions while controlling a large part of the eCommerce stack. In addition to WooCommerce Subscriptions, Prospress has also developed several other online tools, including a marketing automation tool to remind customers to drop their baskets when shopping online, and a tool to test checkout functionality. an online store before it goes online.
Acquisition of Prospress
Once the acquisition is complete, the Prospress team will continue to work on their own products while joining the rest of the WooCommerce team. The company currently has 20 employees, which gives you an idea of its size compared to Automattic, which has 900 employees. Shopify, which competes directly with WooCommerce, does not provide subscriptions itself, and customers must rely on third-party products like Bold or ReCharge. Paul Maiorana, WooCommerce Payments Manager, said in a press release that Prospress would help the company develop its subscription model, stating, "The eCommerce subscriber market has grown over 100% per year over the past five years, and subscriptions are an important part of the WooCommerce experience, so we're excited to work more closely with Brent Shepherd, CEO of Prospress, and his team to create a unified and flexible solution." via TechCrunch