Automattic buys Prospress in digital subscription push

The company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, Automattic has acquired the startup Prospress as it looks to expand its digital subscription offerings.

The small startup made a name for itself by developing a recurring payment solution specifically designed for WooCommerce called WooCommerce subscriptions.

By acquiring Prospress, Automattic will be able to charge its customers regularly through digital subscriptions to WooCommerce while controlling a larger part of the ecommerce stack.

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In addition to WooCommerce subscriptions, Prospress has also developed several other online tools including a marketing automation tool to remind customers when they have abandoned their carts while shopping online and a tool to test an online store's checkout functionality before it goes live.

Prospress acquisition

Once the acquisition is complete, the Prospress team will continue work on its own products while joining the rest of the WooCommerce team.

Currently the company has 20 employees which gives you an idea of its size compared to Automattic which has 900 employees.

Shopify, which directly competes with WooCommerce, doesn't provide subscriptions on its own and customers have to rely on third-party products like Bold or ReCharge.

WooCommerce's head of payments Paul Maiorana explained in a press release how Prospress will help the company build out its subscription model, saying:

"The eCommerce subscription market has grown by more than 100 percent a year over the past five years. Subscriptions are an important part of the WooCommerce experience, so we're excited to work even more closely with Prospress CEO Brent Shepherd and his team to create a unified, flexible solution."