As previously announced, Verizon sold its media assets Yahoo! and AOL to private equity. The SMB division, which includes Yahoo! Store, was not part of the sale.
Over the next several months, Verizon will be introducing new branding and some small changes to the Yahoo! Store platform. The changes are necessary in order to facilitate the move away from using Yahoo!-owned domains.
While the timing of these changes hasn’t been solidified yet, we anticipate them to happen either in Q4 of 2021 or early Q1 of 2022. Most stores will have to have some slight modifications made, especially those using custom RTML, to update URL calls.
In the near future, Verizon will notify all store owners of the upcoming changes, what action needs to be taken, as well as providing a timeline.
We realize you may have questions and concerns about the timing, which is understandable. Your Store Wizards remains committed to assisting all Yahoo! Store merchants with any necessary updates, especially if there are any that need to be made around the busy holiday season (which has yet to be determined).
As more information is communicated, we will update you further. In the meantime, we have provided some answers to frequently asked questions below and will update this page when more information becomes available.
YAHOO! STORE UPDATE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: When will I have to update my store?
A: At this time, we do not have any further information regarding timelines, etc. When more information is made public, we will share.
Q: What does the update entail?
A: From the information we have preliminarily received from Yahoo!, the update will involve changing any hard-coded URLs that may be used to call scripts, images, files, etc from soon-to-be-retired Yahoo! domains to a new Verizon domain name. However, the exact details have not been finalized.
Q: How will I know if my store is impacted?
A: When more details about the update are released, we will know more about what stores will be impacted and what changes will need to be made.
Q: When is this update happening?
A: Preliminary indications show that this update can occur anytime between September 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. When exact dates and deadlines are announced we will communicate further.
Q: Will this impact my store during the holiday season?
A: Until exact dates are announced from Yahoo!, that is yet to be determined. But we believe any impact will be minimal regardless of the timing of the update.
Q: Does Your Store Wizards have plans to help store owners when it’s time to update?
A: Yes. Once we receive details on what the update will entail, we will create a service to assist store owners with updating their store.
Q: Who can I contact for more information about this update?
A: Yahoo! will be communicating directly with merchants regarding the details and plans for the update. Please contact your Yahoo! account manager, or Yahoo! Small Business support, for questions. Your Store Wizards cannot provide any additional information other than what is included on this page.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.