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With Amazon going down, it takes all other e-commerce biz (eBay, Etsy, WayFair) with it to drown

With the dip in the performance of Amazon, other e-commerce company stock also noticed a  drop in their stock. All this comes down to the reason that the largest U.S. e-retailer gave a weaker and disappointing outlook for the third quarter. Wayfair and Etsy dropped almost 8%, while eBay fell 7%. Amazon had its worst day on the market in more than a year, falling 7.6% and wiping out about $75 billion in market value.

Amazon asserted that it observed its slow growth in the second quarter, coming down to 27% from 41% earlier, even though the company got a hike from stay-at-home orders during the pandemic. Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s finance chief hoped that more vacations and social gatherings were on the way and there will be more good things to shield people from last year’s losses.

While Facebook and Apple gave similar warnings in their outlooks this week, Amazon was alone among the five most valuable U.S. tech companies in missing analysts’ revenue estimates for the past quarter. Earnings beat expectations, but investors are typically more focused on Amazon’s growth trajectory than its profitability.

Etsy, an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies is scheduled to hand in its earnings the following week. Revenue has shown 100% growth in the past 4 quarters with consumers turning to the platform for face masks as well as other items for their homes. However, growth is anticipated to slow down by 23% in the quarter that ended in June.

eBay is expected to show its results on August 11. Its business, unfortunately, didn’t do any good over the past few quarters, losing most of its game to rivalries. eBay has been shedding assets of late, selling StubHub for over $4 billion in 2019. In addition to its selling list, the company waves goodbye to classifieds business the previous year in a deal bringing $2.5 billion in cash. Last month, eBay said it was selling the majority of its South Korean operations for about $3 billion.

The furniture company, Wayfair is scheduled to report its quarterly results next week. Following four quarters of growth above 40%, revenue is expected to drop 8.4% for the second period. Despite its surging demand, due to return to in-store shopping, higher online advertising costs, and supply chain constraints the company is expected to get hit.

Amazon witnesses downfall; not how Andy Jassy wanted his first earnings to look like

As the normal lives of people have started to come back to normal, Amazon reports that its first-quarter earnings are not doing as good as they were predicted to do. Amid rising fierce e-commerce competition, and consumers’ return to in-person shopping, Amazon reported a rare quarterly sales miss and falling third-quarter projection, despite the fact that it had already held an early Prime Day in the month of June with consumers spending a record of $11billion.

The American e-commerce giant reported $113 billion in net sales over the three months ending June 30, up 27 percent versus the same period last year, however below analysts’ anticipations of $115 billion. Net product sales accounted for $58 billion, while net service stood at $55 billion.

This was not how Andy Jassy wanted his first earnings to go. Therefore, he neither spoke on the subject nor discussed the quarterly earnings conference call with analysts and investors. Nevertheless, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said moderated spending from Prime members and consumers’ increased mobility as vaccination rates rise were key contributors to the deceleration. He also noted that over the past 18 months, Amazon has struggled to properly estimate the impact of COVID-19, typically overperforming projections. “I think the impact of people getting vaccinated and getting out in the world — not only shopping offline but also living life and getting out — it takes away from shopping time,” Olsavsky said on the conference call.

However,  did not have anything to announce when questioned about the possibility of having a second Prime Day considering the fact that it helped early this year in June.“Our trend has been once a year,” he said.

Bringing some happy news to the table, Olsavky mentioned that Amazon is making a considerate amount of investment in its fulfillment network with demand for Fulfillment by Amazon from third-party sellers continues to boom. He even mentioned that over the period of one and a half years,  Amazon’s entire fulfillment network has nearly doubled in size. The number of products being fulfilled by Amazon has doubled in the past two years, and the delivery arm of the fulfillment business has more than 2 times in that same time duration.

Related: Amazon ties up with BigCommerce as a third-party delivery platform, increasing threat to FedEx and UPS

While most companies struggle keep afloat, Shopify enjoys rewarding Q2 earnings

Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce hotshot reported its second-quarter financial performance which is nothing but happy news for them. Like Microsoft and Apple, its shares are experiencing a muted reaction to the better-than-expected results.

In the second quarter of the present year,2021, the platform reported revenues of $1.12 billion, up 57% on a year-over-year basis. The company’s subscription products grew 70% to $334.2 million, while its volume-driven merchant services drove their own top line up 52% to $785.2 million. Hence, Shopify has seemed to done better even when investors had anticipated reporting revenue of $1.05 billion.

Moreover, the company also announced a huge second-quarter profit. Indeed, from its $1.12 billion in total revenues, Shopify managed to generate $879.1 million in GAAP net income. This enormous profit is owed to $778 million in unrealized gains related to equity investments. But even with those gains filtered out, Shopify’s adjusted net income of $284.6 million more than doubled its year-ago Q2 result of $129.4 million. Shopify’s earnings per share sans unrealized gains came to $2.24, far ahead of an expected 97 cents. After reporting those results, Shopify shares are up less than a point.

The following Shopify quarter is a series of big numbers. They reported gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $42.2 billion, up 40% compared to the year-ago period. That was more than a billion dollars ahead of expectations. And the company’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) grew 67% to $95.1 million in the quarter. Surprisingly all this has happened in the second three-month of 2021 and hence, this progress is really quick.

Currently, this Ottawa-Ontario-based firm is valued at around 43x its present top line. That’s aggressive for a company that generates the minority of its revenues from recurring software fees, an investor favorite.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this platform’s revenue spiked, the reason being that small businesses ramped up digital commerce operations. Furthermore, Shopify has also expanded its platform which has paid off by creating such a fruitful quarter of 2021.

Walmart to host a beauty live stream in collaboration with a wow-worthy beauty brand, UOMA

There has been a time when women of color have found it difficult and even sometimes even embarrassing to find beauty products suited for their complexions. However, this issue has been taken care of and today, in 2021, there exist various brands that cater to the diverse customer base. Fenty Beauty has one of the key developments, and the following brands are emerging, creating options for consumers. One more major beauty brand serving in this line is UOMA- by Sharon Chuter with the vision of taking beautiful rebellion to the next level with their line of inclusive, easy-to-use, science-forward products that won’t break the bank. It offers beauty ranges that are rebellious, innovative, and created for all.

Another piece of happy news is that Walmart, one of the multinational retail corporations is celebrating the expansion of its relationship with UOMA by hosting a live online fashion show that displays some of the collection’s makeup and skincare options. Moreover, the platform will also feature UOMA’s products in its stores and on its website. Walmart described UOMA as “ forward-thinking, radical and uncompromising when announcing the brand. The range is inclusive of all skin tones.  The collection will be available at more than 3,000 Walmart stores.

UOMA founder Sharon C., and global makeup artist and influencer Sir John will host a live stream on Facebook and Walmart Shop Live on Friday (July 30) at 5 p.m. ET, followed by a live fashion show featuring looks from the full UOMA by Sharon C. collection, including four new products, namely Primed to Glow Skin Perfecting Illuminating Primer ($9.48), Lips Don’t Lie Matte Lipsticks ($7.48), Floss Gloss Hi-Shine Lip Gloss ($7.48), One and Done 2-in-1 Brow Styler ($8.48).

All credits to the pandemic, shoppable streaming has received a boost in the first half of the year itself and brands rush to find new methods of reaching their home-based customers and selling to them. Walmart started collaborating with TikTok to host live-streamed shopping events.

“Walmart is sharply focused on offering products that excite our customers, so we’re thrilled to be adding UOMA exclusively to our line-up”, asserted Musab Balbale, merchandising vice president for Walmart U.S. Beauty. He even mentioned that they are continuing to grow Walmart as a beauty destination by expanding their assortment to make wow-worthy brands, like UOMA by Sharon C. Her new line aligns with the objective of inclusivity and quality and Walmart is proud to provide it to its customers.

 

YouTube acquires Simsim, an Indian startup to boost the video e-commerce aspect of businesses

Youtube asserted that it will acquire India’s video e-commerce platform, Simsim. Although neither of the companies hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of the deal, two people with information revealed that the Indian startup was valued at more than $70 million. There will be no immediate changes to Simsim and the app will continue operating independently. Youtube is intending to work on ways to display Simsim offers to YouTube viewers.

Prior to this announcement, Two-year-old Simsim had raised about $17 million and was valued at $50.1 million in its 2020 Series B financing round.
Through this merger, both the companies will benefit. With people using YouTube every day to compare products, watch reviews and find recommendations from their favorite creators, Simsim is helping small businesses in India transforming to e-commerce via the power of video and creators. This Gurgaon-based start-up app acts as a platform to connect local businesses, influencers, and customers. Creators post video reviews about products from local businesses, and viewers can buy those products directly through the app. Videos are available in three local languages including Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali.

In a joint statement, Simsim co-founders Amit Bagaria, Kunal Suri, and Saurabh Vashishtha said the platform was started to help users across India shop online with ease, enabled through small sellers and brands showcasing and selling their products using the power of content by trusted influencers.
For over 15 years, small businesses have used YouTube to expand their presence online — and many of them use YouTube to reach customers outside of their local community… By bringing Simsim and YouTube together, our goal is to help small businesses and retailers in India reach new customers in an even more powerful way, it added.

“Being a part of the YouTube and Google ecosystem furthers Simsim in its mission. We cannot think of a better ecosystem in which to build Simsim, in terms of technology, reach, creator networks, and culture,” they added.

Electic car start-up Rivian acquires funding of $2.5 billion led by Amazon, Ford

Electric car start-up Rivian asserted on Friday that it has closed a $2.5 billion fundraising round led by investors Amazon.com Inc, Ford Motor Co, and  T. Rowe Price.

The company mentioned that it has raised around $10.5 billion to date. It had closed a $2.65 billion investment round in January and another $2.5 billion round last July. It raised $1.3 billion in December 2019 and at least $1.5 billion prior to that.  The extra cash comes just after the Irvine, California-based automaker revealed a delay in the launch of its new models and as it looks to establish a second factory to boost production. Rivian is slated to announce the plant in the coming months and breaks ground early next year, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

“As we near the start of vehicle production, it’s vital that we keep looking forward and pushing through to Rivian’s next phase of growth,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement, adding that the fresh funding will go toward expanding new vehicle programs, the company’s domestic facility footprint, and international product rollout.

Rivian asserted that financing was led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Ford, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price. It also included participation by Third Point, Fidelity, Dragoneer Investment Group, and Coatue.

There is a plant of the company in Normal, Illinois already where it is planning on starting the manufacturing on an all electric-pickup and an SUV. Apart from Rivian, Jaguar has also gained much fame in cities like Normal and Baton Rouge. So, if you are willing to buy one, you can get Baton Rouge Jaguar from any reliable dealer in the city.

Nevertheless, last week, the company, Rivian, notified buyers…. it is delaying deliveries of the R1T pickup until September and the R1S SUV until later in the fall. However, the delays for retail customers have not affected Rivian’s intentions to provide electric delivery vehicles to its partner and investor Amazon.

Amazon had agreed in September 2019 to purchase 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious goal to make Amazon’s fleet run entirely on renewable energy. The company is anticipating that it gets to test electric delivery vans in 16 cities by the end of 2021.

Social media commerce has now become a race with platforms like Snapchat and Twitter on the roll

Despite every other industry observing a slump due to the ongoing global pandemic, social media platforms like Snapchat and Twitter are reporting the strongest growth in years, narrowing losses, major advances in terms of active user counts and goals. This is motivating them to do more with their social media platforms in the world of commerce.

Highlighting the milestones of Snapchat, the platform has a family of 293 million strong users and it also continues to set its eye on social commerce while evolving from a mere social media site into a super-app that can offer multiple features of purpose to its users. Before the pandemic happened, Snap had introduced e-commerce developer tools and AR products to open a broader range of digital commerce options for its customers. Following this, it merged with Screenshop, enabling Snapchat users to upload screenshots of outfits that they like and get in-app recommendations for similar kinds of purchases. Furthermore, it has recently joined hands with Verishop to launch a social commerce experience within the app. Through this collaboration, consumers will be able to shop a rotating selection of fashion and beauty brands including Bebe, Fifth & Nine, Kosas, and Blume, while also utilizing Snapchat’s augmented reality (AR) feature to virtually sample products and accessories prior to purchase. Verishop Mini will integrate directly with Snapchat’s chat feature, making it easy for users to share their finds with friends and family.

On the other hand, throwing some light on Twitter, the platforms have witnessed massive growth in terms of audience from last year. Advertisers, in many ways, paused and had to decide how they wanted to show up. They have products that they want to introduce and intend on connecting with their customers, and Twitter is becoming a better place to do it. In addition, Twitter recently had also announced the launch of Super Follows that is designed to “enable people to directly support creators through tipping and allow people to pay for access to exclusive live audio experiences with Ticketed Spaces and other exclusive content available via monthly subscription through Super Follows.”

Hence, an unspoken new race has begun in social media and it seems that sites like Snapchat and Twitter are continuously pushing themselves to do and offer more to their consumers than just hang out!

Related: Snapchat and Verishop join hands, producing VerishopMini to enhance social e-commerce sales

Amazon ties up with BigCommerce as third-party delivery platform, increasing threat to FedEx and UPS

Amazon is now providing fulfilment to merchants selling on the BigCommerce platform via a third party delivery business which signals an increased threat to already existing delivery platforms like UPS and FedEx.

BigCommerce which is known to be the competitor of Shopify is uniting with Amazon’s Multi-channel fulfilment service (MCF) and is bringing that service to its platform for its US clients. Through this, the platform will be able to provide service options as users of the Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) service.

Sharon Gee, general manager of omnichannel at BigCommerce believes that Amazon MCF will enable its merchants to plan better and even purchase and fulfil in a much more efficient way. the platform is going to send the goods to Amazon fulfilment centres for further delivery on one- to five-day services.

By using the MCF services, vendors will be able to see the check-out when delivery will be made and track the shipments.  In addition, they benefit from Amazon strategically placing goods close to customers for faster delivery, according to the online retailer. Moreover, vendors will have control over the cost of shipping for consumers and will be able to replace the Amazon rate with a flat fee or free shipping along with paying for storage fulfilment – including pick, pack and ship – with no peak surcharges.

However, until now, MCF has not been able to make a significant splash in the market, commented Rick Watson, founder and CEO of e-commerce consulting firm RMW Commerce.“We don’t have many customers that are using it,” agreed John Haber, CEO of parcel logistics consulting firm Spend Management Experts.

But still, in a market where capacity is strained and FedEx and UPS are capping enterprise customers unless they pay premiums, the new option should be attractive to merchants selling on BigCommerce, he added.

BigCommerce says that it is being used by tens of thousands of B2B and B2C customers across 150 countries and Mr Watson estimates that it is about one-sixth to one-seventh of the size of Shopify, which has been growing faster.

Mr Haber considers the integration of MCF with BigCommerce as a strong move, but it is not a piece of good news for FedEx and UPS.

Target offers premium beauty products through a deal with Ulta Beauty’s mini shops from August

Starting from the month of August, Ulta Beauty is said to be opening its first beauty shops in Target which means that customers will now be able to walk into big-box stores and purchase premium brands of mascara, lipstick, and hairspray that they typically only find at specialty stores or at the mall. These beauty platform’s mini-shops will display an assortment of merchandise from more than 50 prestige brands for makeup, skincare, and hair, including Clinique, Urban Decay, Tarte, MAC Cosmetics, Drybar, Jack Black, and Ariana Grande.

Besides this, Target will also sell a curated mix of products on its website. The retailers asserted that they will open over 100 shops by the end of the year, with plans to expand and grow to a total of 800 shops over the next few years. That means more than a third of Target stores across the country could eventually include a mini Ulta shop. Each shop will be about 1,000 square feet — roughly one-tenth the size of a typical Ulta store.

This brightly colored beauty shop inside of Target hopes to attract new shoppers, deepen customer loyalty and encourage store trips.

However, even after gaining billions of dollars of market share during the pandemic, Target must prove it can keep growing as it goes up against cut-throat competition and challenges. On the contrary, Ulta Beauty intends to introduce itself to a new customer base and seize upon the return of socializing, traveling, and working at the office as more people trade face masks for lip gloss.

Target chief growth officer Christina Hennington mentioned in an interview that she’s confident both companies will benefit and gain market share in beauty by opening the shops. She said the big-box retailer has a track record with other “shop in shops” inside of its stores, including one for Levi’s and Disney. “We fully believe this will be incremental and in fact will drive traffic to both Target as well as drive traffic to Ulta as they introduce more guests to their brands and their experience,” she adds.

Target had announced the deal with Ulta in November, nevertheless has declined to disclose the terms of the deal. The retailers shared the list of featured brands, initial locations, and fresh renderings, which show backlit makeup displays and prominent orange and pink signs.

At each shop, Target employees will be specially trained by Ulta to recommend beauty products where Customers will also be able to try on makeup products with testers — a feature that may be temporarily shelved, depending on the condition of the pandemic.

The Benefits of Using Python and Django for Web Development

There’s no running away from the fact, Python has emerged as one of the most popular programming languages across the globe. For many experts, Python is the number one coding language because of its mind-boggling benefits. The reason why Python has become a norm for web developers is that it is easily readable and efficient as well. Just like the other languages such as PHP, C++, and Java, Python has become a regular affair for the conventional web developers out there. So whether you’re already running a company and willing to shift it to the digital platform, we recommend you to use Python as the ultimate language. Secondly, when you decide to complement it with Django, the experience of developing a top-notch website will easily be taken to the next level. Here, we will walk you through a few incredible benefits of developing a website in Python and Django:

It is Easy

The first and most important reason to use Python is that it is easy. It is the easiest language for developers to learn. If you check this language for the first time, you will find it as if it was only developed for the newbies in the industry. It is simple maths and will help you understand the basic concepts in one go. With the use of Python, you can easily get rid of the programming fat that is not even relevant to your work. Secondly, if you’ve already developed a stronghold over Python, it is best for you to dig deeper and see sift through the different libraries.

Python allows you to Learn More Codes

For new developers, they can easily learn more stuff in the world of programming.  For your information, the object-oriented principles of this language are compatible with other languages like Javascript, Ruby, Perl, and C++. Therefore, once you understand this language easily, it wouldn’t be hard for you to gravitate towards other languages on similar principles.  This will eventually allow you to focus on other principles that really matter.

It Lets you Build Several Functions

This language is a quick study for everyone out there. With this language, you could easily be building up a single game within two days. Another important factor that makes it a compelling language for everyone is the feature of efficiency and readability. Because this language is simple, you can quickly develop a website within a couple of days without any hesitation. Check out python Django development company if you want to consider top-notch services for your business website.

This Language is Flexible

With Python, there are several implementations that can be integrated with other languages.  For example, CPython is a version of C. On the other hand, the IronPython has been designed in a way that it can easily integrate with.net and C++. Therefore, this is how you can run Python in different situations and can rest assured about having a website developed quickly.

Django is Amazing

The ability to make the most out of Django is one of the key benefits of learning the Python language. With the Django framework, you can model your domain and also code the classes. Next, you can easily focus on the user interface. Furthermore, Django has an easy template that makes it easy to build applications. For your information, Django is actively supported by a group of people who contribute to this resource all the time. Therefore, if you have decided to put faith in Python, we recommend you to give it a go as it is one of the best development languages in the world. 

 

Why healthcare app development services important for hospitals

The demand for medical services has always been high, and health has become a real trend today, leading to fierce competition in the medical field. Therefore, any clinic that wants to succeed must keep up with the trend and fully meet the expectations of previous clients. This especially means the dominance of innovative mobile technology. Yes, all modern hospitals and healthcare companies need their medical applications. Moreover, if you are not one of the pioneers, you should apply for Healthcare App Development Services. We will try our best to prove this more firmly. You will learn the key details of the problem, including the latest trends in healthcare mobility and the main advantages of healthcare applications.

Why do you need healthcare app development services?

Reduce diagnostic errors

A major redesign of the diagnosis process is required to improve diagnosis in healthcare and find the root cause of health problems. Diagnosis errors are complex and diverse issues. Medical diagnostic applications can greatly reduce diagnostic errors. Medical diagnostic applications related to the types of medical applications can help understand the patient’s disease, provide treatment, and prescribe appropriate treatment methods.

Convenient payment system

Another argument for investing in the development of mobile applications for the medical industry is to optimize the payment system. With the help of a secure payment service, users can make payments quickly through the app. Therefore, it can be said that avoiding cash is the new norm of healthcare.

Most loyal customers

The Healthcare app development services reduce customer loyalty and have a positive impact on customer loyalty. There are no doubt that people will choose these clinics to get all the information they need, schedule appointments with doctors, or view test results anytime, anywhere.

Improve efficiency

The integrated medical application and a centralized database enable clinicians to view patients’ electronic medical records, view test results, and create new records in a very efficient, simple, and convenient way. With all this information, doctors can see more patients at the same time and pay more attention to each patient, thereby improving the quality of service.

Excellent advertising tool

Mobile apps can be effective marketing tools. Use the push notification system to notify users of news, promotions, and special offers. This is the best way to turn unique customers into loyal customers.

Profitable financial investment

Of course, the healthcare app development services cannot be considered a cheap service, but if the game is worth it, it can. This financial investment will increase a hundredfold and bring additional benefits. A large number of grateful customers are satisfied with advanced medical services.

Convenient payment system

Another important reason for creating an application for the hospital is to optimize the payment system, which is beneficial to all participants. You (as the owner of the medical organization), doctors, patients

Main features to consider healthcare app development services

When deciding and preparing to continue developing health apps, you should consider some of the features to implement. Depending on the purpose of your application, some points may be listed below:

Find, select and consult a doctor

If you want to create any of the above medical applications, most of them need to have the following functions. Patients can call a doctor through video to search And to consult. For example, the doctor-on-demand app can provide the video consultations and clinical services that patients expect in the current situation.

Internal Navigation System

With the basic functions of the hospital app, you can display the route and have an internal navigation system. This allows patients to find the address of each department in the hospital quickly. In addition, by sending location-based notifications, users in nearby pharmacies and laboratories can be notified.

Multilingual and cloud storage

It is important for healthcare app development services to use their native language or their chosen language. These features can help you have a basic understanding of the services in the application. In addition, all data such as invoices, medical records, medical records, appointments, and analyses can be stored online on the device. With proper authorization, users can easily access it anytime, anywhere.

Automatic notification

It is a good idea to remind your users or patients of scheduled appointments. When it comes to online video requests, the push notification feature is very useful. The notification can be sent to the user 5 to 10 minutes before the contact.

Integration of Payment Gateway

To benefit from your health application, you need to understand the importance of a reliable payment system. Some of the most versatile and secure payment systems available today are Braintree, Dwolla, PayPal, and Stripe. You can also integrate payment aggregators like Apple Pay or Google Pay into your mobile healthcare apps.

Reminder

This function is used to notify patients of their scheduled or canceled appointments. This feature is especially useful for the elderly. If needed, it can also be changed and used as a pill reminder.

 

Snapchat and Verishop join hands, producing VerishopMini to enhance social e-commerce sales

Verishop is joining hands with Snapchat, introducing social commerce experience within the popular image-sharing app. This move highlights an escalation of an already intense arms race to grow e-commerce capabilities on social media.

With this partnership, there will be a new feature, Verishop Mini which will live exclusively within Snapchat. This will enable consumers to shop a rotating selection of fashion and beauty brands, for example- Bebe, Fifth & Nine, Kosas, and Blume, while also utilizing Snapchat’s augmented reality (AR) feature to virtually sample products and accessories prior to purchase. Moreover, to provide a quality social commerce experience, Verishop Mini will integrate directly with Snapchat’s chat feature so that users can share their finds with friends and family.

“The Verishop Mini makes it easy and fun for our community to shop fashion and beauty favorites expertly curated just for them, right alongside their friends on Snapchat,” said Alston Cheek, director of platform partnerships at Snap. In addition to this statement, Verishop Co-founder and CEO Imran Khan also said, “We’re passionate about helping independent brands be successful and building features to help these brands connect with the consumer. We’re excited to introduce Verishop to the Snap community, and will continue to extend our platform, as we have with this partnership.”

This announcement came into light just weeks after Verishop introduced Livestream shopping to its own iOS app, adding more than 125 Livestream shopping programs to provide users with 12 hours of live shopping per day. In late 2020, the e-commerce platform had also added new social features, such as Shop Party, to its app, enabling consumers to share content and interact with other shoppers and brands.

Not only that but Snap has also set high goals for itself in the context of social commerce with its evolution being observed from being a simple social media network to a  super app that serves a multitude of purposes for consumers. Before the pandemic, Snap launched eCommerce developer tools and AR products to open a wider range of digital commerce for consumers. And in April, Snap acquired Screenshop, allowing Snapchat users to upload screenshots of outfits they like and get in-app recommendations for similar purchases.

Columbian-based delivery start-up, Rappi raises $500 million in Series F at valuation of $5.25 billion

A Columbian-based delivery start-up, Rappi has acquired funds amounting to over $500 million which has been valued at $5.25 billion in a Series F. The round was led by T. Rowe Price, the company announced late Friday. Moreover, other participations in the new funding event involved Baillie Gifford, Third Point, Octahedron, GIC, and SoftBank. The previous investments include DST Global, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia Capital.

As per Crunchbase, this new funding brings the start-up total raised since its 2015 inception to over $2 billion. In the present scenario, the country has operations in nine countries and more than 250 cities across Latin America. Its last raise was a $300 million funding round in September of 2020.

Rappi when it first started focused on delivering beverages, as asserted by According to the Latin American Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (LAVCA) but since then it has expanded into meals, groceries, tech goods, and medicine. The company also has a provision of cash withdrawal feature, enabling users to pay with credit cards and then receive cash from one of Rappi’s delivery agents. Today, the company says its app allows consumers to “order nearly any good or service.”

In addition to its previous ways, it mentions that users can get products delivered in less than 10 minutes, can access financial services, as well as ‘whims,’ and ‘favors.’ ” Whims enable users to order anything available in their coverage area. Favors offer an array of custom services, such as running an errand, going to the hardware store, or picking out and delivering a gift. The two products allow users to connect directly with a courier.

This company was launched in 2015 by Simón Borrero, Sebastian Mejia, and Felipe Villamarin who graduated from Y Combinator the following year. A16z’s initial investment in July 2016 was the Silicon Valley firm’s first investment in Latin America, according to LAVCA.

In January 2020, Rappi was reported to have laid off around 6% of its staff, or roughly 300 employees.

Toyota, Amazon,Uber in hopes to get big with boom in the trend of connected cars

There has been a sudden increase in the trend of connected cars where repair notices, service call scheduling, and digital payments are just three ways cars can be more autonomous and connected to commerce. This all has been made possible when the concept of connected cars got a big boost in just 2 days by two of the world’s biggest companies. Firstly is Toyota which added mobility services to its self-driving fleet Wednesday (July 14), then Aurora, the driverless vehicle startup backed by Amazon and Uber, announced plans to go public Thursday (July 15) at an $11 billion value through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger.

Known by the name, Woven Plant, Toyota’s self-driving vehicle unit, will include software mapping into its cars through this week’s acquisition of U.S. mapping startup Carmera, a deal that follows Woven Planet’s acquisition of Lyft’s autonomous driving group in April for $550 million. Moreover, Toyota’s deal for Carmera is about integrating machine learning and geospatial technologies to its satellite and aerial imagery capabilities in a move that enablesWoven Planet to offer mobility services.

Second in the line is Aurora which through  $2 billion in fresh funding and SPAC merger with Reinvent Technology Partners Y, it is looking forward to 2023 for its release as the first self-driving vehicle. Aurora also has partnerships with truck manufacturer PACCAR, Volvo Group, and Toyota, in addition to its backing by Amazon and Uber.

As far as the future of connected cars is concerned, By 2030, about 95 percent of new vehicles sold globally will be connected to the internet, up from around 50 percent today. Around 45 percent of these vehicles will have intermediate and advanced connectivity.

According to a survey conducted, the majority of commuters who would use mobile phones for commerce preferred if their cars had in-vehicle commerce capabilities. If there’s one thing that’s clear from all this research and data, it’s that cars aren’t just for driving anymore. In many ways, it’s similar to how most people shudder at the thought of making an actual phone call on their smartphones. Cars are now a major domain of commerce — and it’s only going to get bigger as technology gets better and drivers can connect to more merchants on their road trips. Hence, this has become very clear from all research that cars are not for just driving anymore.

CPSC(US) files a lawsuit in public-interest against Amazon for selling hazardous products

The U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Wednesday that it has sued Amazon.com Inc to persuade the retailer to recall hundreds of thousands of hazardous products that it distributed on its platform.

The list of those products included 24,000 carbon monoxide detectors that failed to go off, nearly 400,000 hair dryers that lacked required protection against shock and electrocution, and “several” children’s sleepwear garments that could catch fire, as per CPSC.

The products cited are however not sold directly by Amazon (AMZN) but by third parties which used Amazon’s platform. Many of those companies that sold the dangerous products cited by CPSC are foreign, and the CPSC has limited ability to force a recall of their products if they are found to be hazardous.

“We must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them,” CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Adler said. The federal party also added that the only way to keep consumers safe from these products is to crack down on Amazon.

The CPSC wants to force Amazon to stop selling the products in question, to work with CPSC staff on a recall of the products, and to directly notify consumers who purchased them about the recall and offer them a full refund.

By a 3-1 vote, the CPSC agreed to file an administrative complaint stating that the Seattle-based e-commerce giant which was legally held responsible to call back the hazardous products since they posed a serious risk of injury or death to consumers. The complaint against the platform affirmed that Amazon did not stop selling the products even though on being notified by CPSC staff. On the contrary,  it notified buyers of the products of the hazard and offered them cash refunds. But the complaint says “Amazon’s unilateral actions are insufficient to remediate the hazards posed by the … products.”

Influenced by TikTok stars, buying patterns of Gen Z’s are affected and retailers seize opportunity

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 05: In this photo illustration, the social media application logo, Tik Tok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone on March 05, 2019 in Paris, France. The social network broke the rules for the protection of children's online privacy (COPPA) and was fined $ 5.7 million. The fact TikTok criticized is quite serious in the United States, the platform, which currently has more than 500 million users worldwide, collected data that should not have asked minors. TikTok, also known as Douyin in China, is a media app for creating and sharing short videos. Owned by ByteDance, Tik Tok is a leading video platform in Asia, United States, and other parts of the world. In 2018, the application gained popularity and became the most downloaded app in the U.S. in October 2018. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

In the world of social media and their easily searchable hashtags, not to forget the power of the influencers- retailers are gaining from this and are also seeing their products becoming viral sensations. Many teens today are scouring TikTok for inspiration. Stuck to their phones, this generation spends an average of 12 hours on social media apps per week. They desire authenticity and individualism, with clothing serving as a key form of self-expression, but Gen Z’s social habits reveal they are seeking guidance from others they trust before committing to a dress or a pair of sneakers. These inspirations can vary from a Lulimelon’s skirt to a Gap hoodie or a pair of Aerie leggings. Hence, seeing it as an opportunity to boom and win sales, retailers such as Aeropostale and Abercrombie & Fitch are looking for ways to capitalize on these viral moments.

There have been several occasions when a Lulumelon skirt had gone viral on TikTok and numerous teenagers want to get a hand at it. It has happened that the moment they visit the site to purchase it, they are already sold out. So often they purchase it in different sizes and get the skirts altered or they would keep an eye on favorite TikTok influencers who often post #fashionhauls and #OOTD (outfit of the day), to alert them when the skirt would be back on sale.

Similarly, for Zara, it was a pair of wide-leg denim pants, while Aerie sold out of a pair of leggings with a unique crossover waist.

“TikTok has the ability to make something go viral much quicker than anything we see on Instagram,” said Jessica Ramirez, retail research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates. “For retailers, that is a huge advantage.”

In the month of January, TikTok star Barbara Kristoffersen posted a video of herself wearing Gap’s iconic logo hoodie in dark brown. It was a vintage find. Gap hadn’t manufactured that style in more than a decade. Strongly influenced by the TikTok star and their loyal followers, brown hoodies started appearing on resale sites for as much as $300. People who had the hoodie stowed away in the back of their closets were sharing videos pairing it with Louis Vuitton bags and other luxury brands in neutral hues. Kristoffersen’s post has since racked up nearly 2 million views. And the hashtag ”#gaphoodie” has more than 6.6 million views — and growing — on TikTok. Gap noticed this hype and to seize this opportunity, it began sending her more logo hoodies in various colors.

The teen retailer Aeropostale is leaning into a similar viral experience it had with its crop top. It was the hashtag “#tinytops” which started blowing up on the platform. After some TikTok posts started going viral, including one by Lexi Hidalgo, who has more than 1.6 million followers, people were not only visiting Aeropostale’s website in search of the crop tops, but they also came into stores asking employees specifically for “TikTok items,” Levy said.

One of India’s e-commerce giant, Flipkart raises $3.6 billion fresh funds from global investors

India’s giant e-commerce platform, Flipkart announced that it is acquiring $3.6 billion fresh funds from global investors, including sovereign funds, private equity, and from its parent company which is Walmart.

This new round of funding was led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart. There were additional investments from sovereign funds like Qatar Investment Authority, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and DisruptAD, the venture arm of the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, ADQ. Other investors include  China’s Tencent, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global. Additionally, Japan-based SoftBank which had said goodbye to the startup when the Bangalore-based firm sold majority stakes to Walmart in 2018 at a valuation of $22 billion, has come back and reinvested about $500 million in the new round. Hence, this Monday’s investment marks the return of SoftBank. Flipkart said it now has a valuation of $37.6 billion.

While commenting on recent investment, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement that the funds acquired by leading global investors reflect the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximize this potential for all stakeholders. He affirms that the company will give more priority to helping millions of small and medium-sized Indian businesses to thrive, including small family-owned grocery shops known as kiranas, and plans to continue investing in new categories and home-grown technologies. He adds that they will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made-in-India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain.

With the fundraising, Flipkart is offering its employees the option to sell their stock options worth $80.5 million.

Nevertheless, among Flipkart’s competition, the most persistent one is the U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon, which has invested billions of dollars in the Indian market, as well as domestic names such as JioMart, the online grocery delivery app from Reliance Industries.

For its part, the Indian government has reportedly proposed new e-commerce draft rules in June and it is expected that the new rules have the probability of impacting Flipkart and Amazon India.

Walmart still lagging behind Amazon, but hopes Walmart+ to bridge this gap

It is not unknown that there always has been a rift between the two retail giant of the U.S. although Walmart work on its own momentum, it still has a long way to go to catch up with Amazon. To bridge this gap all hopes lie on Walmart+, a subscription program, and also the fact that it has hired Chris Cracchiolo as the head of Walmart+.

There was a study on a national study conducted in the U.S among 2,297 consumers between June 24 and June 27 concluded that the number of Walmart+ subscribers has increased substantially from October 2020, a month after its launch, to May 2021, just eight months later. There were 44.4 million Walmart+ subscribers then and approximately 53.9 million subscribers in June 2021 — an jump in subscribers of over 21 percent. The vast majority of that spike in subscribers, about 91 percent, consists of subscribers who are also Amazon Prime members.

As of June 2021, Amazon has 171.4 million Prime members that accounts for three times more than Walmart+.

There was another study conducted after the end of dueling Amazon Prime Days/Walmart Deal Days events to understand who shopped those mega sales days, what they bought, and how much they spent. Using those data, it was discovered that the behaviors of users of Amazon Prime and Walmart+ Deal Days is a window into the larger issues facing America’s current reigning king of retail — one that, based on our current projections, is poised to lose that crown to Amazon a little more than a year from today.

It was found that Walmart is a retailer that relies on grocery sales to grow its top line and one that continues to lose ground in key non-grocery retail categories. But just focusing on groceries is not enough to beat the competition. Moreover, middle- and lower-income consumers who lived outside of urban centers who were once Walmart’s bread-and-butter customers are also Amazon Prime members buying groceries and retail products from them. Those consumers spent two times as much with Amazon during Prime Days (a $42 average transaction) as they did with Walmart on Deal Days (a $22 average transaction). Furthermore, one in five U.S. consumers has both an Amazon Prime and a Walmart+ account, with 43 percent and 38 percent of that crossover membership comprised of millennials and bridge millennials (33- to 43-year-old) consumers, respectively. Yet we also see that more of those demographic groups are shopping Amazon for non-grocery retail purchases online for delivery to their homes.

As far as the spending of consumers is concerned, only half the consumer population participated in Walmart Deal Days than it did in Amazon Prime Days (around 105 million). However, Walmart got a little preference, since it wasn’t compulsory for a consumer to be a member of Walmart+ to participate in those deals. The number of purchases was almost similar for both: approximately three per shopper. But the average spend per purchase was roughly 45 percent higher for Amazon Prime customers. The main reason for Walmart to get stuck behind can be owed to the lack of awareness by shoppers regarding Walmart’s Deal Days.

Argentina’s VU offering hassle free bio metric processing draws $12M series B in funding

Today, we live in a world where everything is locked with our identity be it fingerprints or a driver’s license. However, it will soon be possible to eliminate this hassle with the help of a company VU, which is a cybersecurity company specializing in fraud prevention and identity protection. Its mission is to offer secure digital experiences not only for citizens but also for businesses, during the digital transformation process.

This Argentina-based company announced that it is raising funds equal to the amount of $12 million in series B funding. The list of investors includes software developer Globant, as well as Agrega Partners, NXTP Ventures, Bridge One, the IDB Lab, and Telefónica. The new funding gives the company total venture-backed investments of $20 million, as mentioned by CEO Sebastián Stranieri.

The CEO’s inspiration for creating such a company comes from a personal experience when he was helping his grandmother verify her identity with the Argentinian government in what turned out to be a two-minute process.“It pushed me to create a company to help create digital experiences without the friction,” he told. He himself has worked in the cybersecurity industry for the past 20 years.

The company works as such, it takes a person’s “online persona” and uses his additional information like geolocation, biometrics, and user behavior analysis to provide identity verification for users. Subsequently, it enables a continuous authentication process that sees and connects the users’ online and offline personas. Simply put, it works mainly with government entities in countries like Argentina and Ecuador, providing them a way to confirm if people are who they say they are.

VU is one of several startups which is applying technology to fraud and identity within a global digital identity market expected to reach over $33 billion by 2025, as per  Adroit Market Research.

The company is averaging 85% year-over-year revenue growth, and the CEO expects that to continue in 2021 with 100% growth forecasted for 2022. As such, he plans to use the new funding to hire developers across Europe and in the U.S.In the span of 3 years, VU has grown to over 150 employees. It is operating in Latin America and Europe, along with catering to big customers like Santander and Prisma, and governments in Latin America. The company also opened its first office in New York, where Stranieri expects to more than quadruple headcount in the next year.

Globant investment into the company also acts as a partnership. Its offers software development to big fishes of the pond like Google, Disney, and Apple. Together, they will package VU’s digital experience so that companies can purchase the basic software and then also customize it. Currently, VU’s technology is suited for banks and to provide a one-click e-commerce checkout where a retailer’s system will recognize and confirm the buyer.””

In the world of going digital, Gorillas plan to bring e-grocery with fast eco-friendly delivery

With the world turning to digital platforms for shopping their everyday needs, online grocery is no different. In recent months, numerous changes are taking place in the industry on e-grocery. Instacart is making makes to prepare for its public listing, restaurant delivery services are taking interest in grocery, and venture capitalists (VCs) are raining millions of dollars into this business around the world. Observing a huge incline in the number of consumers adopting online grocery solutions, there are available a number of options, and e-grocers are challenged to find a way to stand out in the crowded space.

“In the years leading up to and during the pandemic, there was a ton of growth and investment in the space. Now, demand is greater than ever for giving customers access to their immediate needs,” Ashwin Wadekar, chief of staff at online grocery delivery eTailer Gorillas mentioned in an interview. “What began as an early adopter trend pre-pandemic and suddenly became a necessity as lockdowns hit has now turned into something that consumers see as customary when it comes to their grocery shopping experience.”

The grocery delivery service, which manages to deliver groceries within 10 minutes, launched in the United States in late spring in select neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York. This market joins the dozens of cities in which Gorillas operates across Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. The company uses “micro warehouses” in the neighborhoods it serves, and unlike many popular grocery delivery services that use self-employed gig workers, Gorillas employs full-time staff or part-time W2 workers paid hourly. VCs are taking an interest — as of May, the company was looking to raise about $500 million at a $6 billion valuation.

Gorillas’ riders transport orders via eBike. The main reason for opting for this kind of transportation system that the company’s CEO and co-founder, Kağan Sümer, was an “avid cyclist,” and Sümer attributes his “highly driven mentality” to this activity.

Gorillas take into account two main factors here: freshness and demand. For produce, Wadekar said, the company takes a “fresh, farm-to-table approach.” The company also “prioritizes partnerships with diverse, local businesses.” Furthermore, the company always tends to keep in mind what is in demand which they manage to do by keeping the customers in a constant loop of feedback and tracking their requirements.

“Consumers won’t want to relinquish the convenience and efficiency of online grocery delivery,” said Wadekar, “because the level of flexibility and empowerment opens a lot of doors for how they can more productively spend their time, which will lead to even more grocery-delivery demand.”