Square announces powerful new developer tools at Square Unboxed 2021 conference

At Square’s fifth annual partner and developer conference, Square Unboxed 2021, the company announced three new developer tools, including early access of the long-awaited Snippets API for Square Online. 

Snippets API, the first API built on top of Square Online, enables developers to create plugins that help sellers create engaging online experiences. The ability to build extensions for Square Online was one of the most requested developer features over the past year due to the rapid growth of online selling. By combining Snippets API with other Square APIs, developers can create new, interactive ways for sellers to engage their customers online – helping to secure initial sales, build long-term loyalty, and increase conversion rates.  

Fomo, a social proof marketing platform that displays unobtrusive customer interaction notifications on elements like purchases, reviews, and live traffic, used Snippets API to easily integrate with Square Online and reach more online sellers. 

“We help our users build trust and urgency with prospective shoppers by showing that other customers are engaging with the online store in real-time – just like the online equivalent to a busy store,” said Hideko Tachibana, Fomo’s CEO. “Square Online sellers can easily embed Fomo with just one click, without needing to touch any code. From a technical perspective, the Snippets API was straightforward and easy to use, and our devs were able to get a working solution in just a couple of hours.”

Omnichannel payments were a recurring theme at the conference, where Square’s head of eCommerce, David Rusenko revealed that Square Online growth has been especially strong in the past year, achieving more than 2x growth in active sellers each quarter since the beginning of 2020. 

Square also announced the general availability of Web Payments SDK and Loyalty API, two new tools that help to optimise and extend the benefits of online selling. Square Loyalty API enables developers to leverage Square Loyalty rewards programs, offering a seamless omnichannel loyalty experience for Square sellers. Meanwhile, Web Payments SDK provides a highly-responsive, customisable online payment experience that can be integrated into any eCommerce site. The SDK supports multiple payment methods including ACH bank payments, which will be critical as Square continues to move upmarket and serve larger sellers. 

During the opening remarks at the conference, Square’s head of partner management, Gabriella Hernandez, spoke to the rate at which Square’s partner initiatives have grown in recent years. She revealed that since 2018, the number of 90-day active developers building solutions for sellers on Square’s platform has grown more than 30% annually. Square also saw nearly 50% annual growth since 2018 in seller adoption of partner solutions. 

Snippets API and Web Payments SDK are available now globally, with ACH available in beta in the U.S. only. Loyalty API is available now in the US, with additional countries coming soon. 

To learn more about joining Square’s growing partner ecosystem, visit https://squareup.com/partnerships. 

To learn more about the many other commerce APIs and SDKs now available on Square’s Developer Platform, visit https://developer.squareup.com.