Waging war ‘Amazon vs Walmart’ continues; where one targets in-stores, the other prefers digital

April 2, 2021

When you talk about e-commerce retail superpowers, both Amazon and Walmart are said to have a tight market share battle. The world’s largest online retailer and the world’s multi-national, giant chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States have been waging a war against each other since the beginning of times. This war continues as the two titans wrapped up the fourth quarter and full year, the race has never been closer by at least one major metric: share of total U.S. retail spending.

As per the latest calculations, it is observed that Amazon is ahead in four categories, whereas Walmart leading in three. In each instance where Amazon is ahead, it typically got thereby slowly and steadily chipping away at Walmart’s lead with its ever-growing digital business.

However, if the fight was only about the digital share of each entity, then there would not much discussion since Amazon’s total share of online sales is north of 50 percent and its share in several categories ranges from 30 to 40 percent.

However, owing to the favorable digital shift triggered by the pandemic, it also underscores the fact that 80 percent of retail sales are still being done in traditional stores. Factor in fast-growing hybrid transactions such as BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store), and Walmart’s physical footprint of 6,500 domestic storefronts becomes quite formidable.

So with Amazon dominating the digital side, and Walmart controlling a bigger slice of in-store sales via its 5,500 US locations, the blended “share of total retail sales” metric becomes a more telling barometer as to who is winning the war.

Speaking of spending,online shopping and e-commerce spending rose almost 40 percent last year, to 18 percent of total retail spending, up from 13 percent in 2019. By most expectations, that digital shift is only going to deepen and accelerate this year, a trend that will continue to give Amazon a strong growth tailwind given that its 50+ percent share of online retail is 10x its rival’s share of e-commerce, a fact that will make it incredibly difficult for Walmart to keep up going forward. That e-commerce advantage is hardly new information and has propelled shares of the Seattle-based retailer more than 65 percent last year and more than 450 percent over the past five years, leaving it with a $1.5 trillion market value that is roughly four times as large as its box store rival from Bentonville. For the record, Walmart shares are up about 100 percent since 2015 as its sales grew about 20 percent, while Amazon’s gross sales almost quadrupled.

Whether selling goods online, safely and swiftly delivering them to people’s doorsteps or trying to keep brick and mortar stores open, stocked, and staffed, it was an unprecedented year of challenges that triggered an unimaginably huge digital shift in consumer buying habits

Stockly shares out-of-stock inventory with other websites to ease availability of products online

March 30, 2021

Stockly is a French start-up that keeps the inventory of various e-commerce websites in co-ordination and sync. Whenever a situation occurs like when a customer sees an out-of-stock item on an e-commerce website, chances are that the shopper will leave that website and try to find the same item on another site. E-retailers that form a part of the Stockly network have solved this issue. They share their inventories with each other, so if anybody is searching on a Stockly partnered e-retailer, they are sure to find what they are looking for. And if not, they will know for certain that their desired product is not available online.

Hence, if you operate an e-commerce website, Stockly lets you sell items even when they’re currently out of stock. As a retailer, you can sell your inventory through Stockly, use the power of the network to fill your own out-of-stocks, or do both! This startup automatically finds a third-party Stockly supplier with that specific item.

However, the order must be sent by that supplier directly. Consequently, Stockly tells its partners to make use of neutral packaging so that the end consumer isn’t confused.

This provision could be particularly useful for small-scale e-commerce companies that don’t have a healthy marketplace of third-party retailers. For instance, Amazon can already sell you an out-of-stock item if a supplier has listed that specific item on Amazon’s own marketplace. But that’s not the case for most e-commerce websites.

The most prominent hurdle for Stockly is that it has to sort through various catalog formats and match the different inventories of different retailers. Initially, it is focusing on clothing items. When an order is routed through Stockly, it selects a specific supplier based on different criteria, such as logistics, delivery time, and historical data.

The company has been currently working with Galeries Lafayette, Go Sport, Foot Shop, and others. The startup has recently raised a $6 million (€5.1 million) funding round from Idinvest Partners, Daphni, Techstars, Checkout.com CEO Guillaume Pousaz, and various business angels.

It has managed to raise funds and to allocate them in hiring and expanding its team to a count of 20 people, add new clients and also iterate on its products.

Mastercard and AEVI form a strategic partnership to uplift digital experience

March 29, 2021

German-based fintech company, AEVI joins hands with Master Payment Gateway Services to integrate their technologies and accomplish the aim of not only elevating omnichannel digital shopping but also improving the end-to-end user experience.

AEVI collects payments and data across various customer channels by offering them an open, device-independent platform. When a platform like AEVI itself combines with MPGS’s digital solutions services, it provides merchants and other business operators an additional choice that brings payments across multiple touchpoints in-store and online.

Keith Douglas, EVP of MPGS believes this convergence of digital and physical payment channels is a key driver in enhancing customer experience. They will look to lean into this collaboration and expanded relationship to support their shared merchant customers and partners in their efforts to grow and strengthen consumer relationships.

The extended partnership will initially target Europe, which is intended to help advance and streamline payment services for banks, acquirers, PSPs, ISOs, and ISVs and also drive digital efficiency and innovation across their payment experiences.

Along with the commercial relationship between the two, Mastercard will also become a minor investor in AEVI, along with existing shareholders Diebold Nixdorf, HPE Growth Capital, and Schroder Adveq, with Diebold Nixdorf remaining as the majority shareholder.

“The commercial relationship and equity investment between Mastercard and AEVI will help accelerate AEVI’s goal to become an industry-standard platform for face-to-face payment integration. AEVI will be better positioned to support all of its customers, and pursue more market opportunities, and do so more rapidly,” claimed Mike Camerling, CEO of AEVI”.

David Caldwell, Diebold Nixdorf SVP Strategy & Corporate Development, said, “We are pleased to welcome Mastercard as a co-investor into AEVI, and for their interest in working jointly on this rapidly developing area. Mastercard’s global perspective will be an important contributor to AEVI’s growing capabilities in meeting the needs of a wide range of its customers’ rapidly growing and evolving needs.”

Bed Bath & Beyond takes Jill Pavlovich and Jake Griffith into family to boost its e-commerce business

March 29, 2021

Bed Bath & Beyond which is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores just recently made an announcement of recruiting the two most crucial hires to support and enhance its $3 billion e-commerce business.

First of all, is Jill Pavlovich who was previously head of exclusive brands and merchandising for the online furniture retailer Wayfair, but now has been named as Senior Vice President, Digital Commerce of Bed Bath’s. Ms. Pavlovich will not only be responsible for delivering ongoing improvements to the digital shopping experience, a key feature of the Company’s Omni-always growth strategy but also put her contribution to lead digital merchandising and operations.

Secondly, is Jake Griffith, previously a general manager for sports and fitness at the big-box retailer Walmart has been named vice president of product management. Mr. Griffith will be given the responsibility of developing new digital capabilities for the Company, supervising the stages of the product lifecycle to create a seamless experience across the customer’s digital journey from discovery to post-purchase. In addition, he will help improve the speed and execution of key growth initiatives to create innovative and highly engaging end-to-end digital experiences.

Both the human resource assets are expected to begin their journey at Bed Bath next week, and both shall report to Rafeh Masood, Bed Bath’s chief digital officer, strengthening the company’s digital leadership team as it continues to drive rapid growth in its $3 billion digital business.

Rafeh Masood believes that their Omni-always strategy is delivering rapid growth in their $3 billion digital business, so they’re delighted to strengthen their team with the appointment of Jill and Jake who will bring industry-leading omnichannel retail expertise.

Both Pavlovich as well as Griffith bring 15+ years of experience in launching exclusive brands including Dana-co, Natori, Warnaco, Calvin Klein, and strategic retail experience in brands like Walmart and Amazon respectively. Moreover, both of them are really excited to serve their time in Bed Bath & Beyond.

Mr. Griffith said, “Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the true icons in the retail sector, and I’m excited to support the digital innovation that has shaped its transformational Omni-always growth. I look forward to helping Bed Bath & Beyond’s customers unlock the potential in every room”.

Jill Pavlovich added, “I am delighted to join Bed Bath & Beyond at such a pivotal time in its transformation. I look forward to helping develop the digital merchandising experience for the Company’s exciting array of Owned Brands while enhancing the Omni-always experience to better serve customers and create a more meaningful experience when they shop with the brand.”

Linktree raises $45 Million in Series B funding for its “link in bio” services

March 26, 2021

“Link in bio” is a phrase that is quite common these days on posts like on Instagram. Links are neither allowed in post captions nor the users are allowed to post more than one URL in their bios, hence many create a simple website with multiple links for their followers. Linktree, one of the trending “link in bio” services with over 12 million users, recently announced that it has raised more than $45 million in Series B funding. The round was co-led by Index Ventures and Coatue, along with participation from returning investors AirTree Ventures and Insight Partners.

The board of directors of the company is to be joined by Coatue chairman Dan Rose. This Sydney-based (Australia) startup’s last round was a $10.7 million Series A as per the announcement in October 2020. The linktree’s latest funding will be utilized on tools to make social commerce easier.

The company got lucky in just a matter of months since third, or 4 million, of its users, signed up within the last three months. The reason being people have been spending more time on social media and e-commerce shopping during the pandemic. Today, its main competitors are Shorby, Linkin. bio and the recently launched Beacons.

“When we launched Linktree, we created an entirely new category. We were first to market and, with over 12 million users globally, still hold 88% of market share,” founder and chief executive officer Alex Zaccaria told TechCrunch. “Inevitably we’ve seen plenty of competitors pop up as a result, but part of the uniqueness of Linktree is its deceptively simple design.”

One distinct feature about Linktree is its adoption by users in a wide range of categories, including health and wellness, real estate, sports, music, politics, publishing, and food. It’s used for bio links by Shopify, Facebook, TikTok, YSL, HBO, and Major League Baseball, and celebrities like Jonathan Van Ness, Jamie Oliver, and Pharrell.

This company may just have begun its journey as a simple link-in-bio tool, however, it has evolved and now the platform has transformed into a social identity layer of the internet. Their vision as to how the platform will be placed at the intersection of digital self-expression and action means they are thinking boldly when it comes to their roadmap.

Indian Authorities considering changing foreign investment rules to which Amazon asks not to

March 25, 2021

The giant e-commerce retailer, Amazon pleaded with the Indian government authorities not to change e-commerce foreign investment rules until investigations into its business practices had been concluded.

The commerce ministry had a meeting with e-commerce players after allegations by retailers, as being a crucial part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support base, that Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart create complex structures to bypass federal foreign investment rules and damage small traders.

Not surprisingly, both the companies deny any wrongdoing and say they are helping small businesses in India.

New Delhi has been considering revising e-commerce foreign investment rules for weeks. The last time they were changed, in 2018, it forced Amazon and Flipkart to rework their business structures and soured trade relations between India and the United States.

On the basis of internal Amazon documents, it was revealed that the U.S. firm had for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its platform, giving them discounted fees and helping one cut special deals with big tech manufacturers. On the contrary, Amazon has said it “does not give preferential treatment to any seller on its marketplace,” and that it “treats all sellers in a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner”.

During Thursday’s meeting, an Amazon executive told commerce ministry officials that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Enforcement Directorate were probing the allegations and “it would be premature to make any policy change” until those proceedings have concluded, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said. It also said with affirmation that the company Amazon complies with all laws, said any policy change which impacts current investments would have a detrimental impact on global investor confidence and sentiment, and any disruption caused has a “devastating consequence” on suppliers and small businesses, the sources added.

Furthermore, Flipkart also called for policy stability during the meeting, one of the two sources said.

Amazon confirmed in a statement that it welcomed the government consultation process and the foreign investment policy “needs to be stable and predictable for investor confidence”. However, Flipkart declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, led by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, urged the government to clarify the policy, saying complex legal structures had been used by some firms to bypass rules, a third source said. Reliance declined to comment.

Since Reliance is a domestic player, it is not constrained by rules that prohibit companies like Amazon and Flipkart from owning inventory sold via their local websites.

The rules also place other restrictions on the foreign players, which are locked in a battle with Reliance as it expands its e-commerce operations.

The so-called unicorn company “Gorillas” raises $29 Million in series B funding

March 25, 2021

This Berlin-based start-up Gorillas is an on-demand grocery delivery service that brings all your grocery needs from fresh fruits to home care products to your door in only 10 minutes all at retail prices. This company has recently raised $290 million in Series B funding, at a valuation that surpasses $1 billion.

The funding round was led by Coatue Management, DST Global, and Tencent, along with participation from Green Oaks, Fifth Wall, and Dragoneer. The previous backer Atlantic Food Labs also followed on.

As reported by the company and its CEO, Kagan Sumer, the round is “100% equity” which it will not include any debt component). Upon being asked about any secondary funding seeing existing shareholders liquidate a portion of their shares Gorillas declined to comment.

This so-called “unicorn” company with a valuation of $1 billion or more is on the ride of becoming one of the largest European start-ups. It says that it will reward its rider crew and warehouse staff with $1 million in bonuses. Nevertheless, the company isn’t disclosing how this one-off bonus breaks down per worker, and it isn’t clear if the bonus is cash or stock or a mixture of both.

“In contrast to established gig economy models, we employ more than a thousand riders directly,” says Sümer. “Therefore, we invest in a strong career development program, rider security, and a healthy working environment. Beyond that, all riders will receive a once-off payment”.

Throwing some light on the milestone achievements of this company, we could mention the fact that Gorillas has already expanded to more than 12 cities, including Amsterdam, London, and Munich. The company lets you order groceries and other household items on-demand with an average delivery time of ten minutes. To enable its operations, it makes use of a vertical or “dark store” model, seeing it set up its own micro fulfillment centers, which currently total 40, spread across Germany, U.K., and the Netherlands. Customers are charged just over $2 per delivery and can order from “more than 2,000 essential items at retail prices.

“We believe that the weekly grocery run is outdated because people’s lives are increasingly spontaneous and shopping habits change accordingly. “Additionally, this pandemic has accelerated the need for grocery deliveries. If we can order clothes and trinkets and have them delivered to our door, the same should be said for our essential needs. Gorillas help customers get what they need when they need it, whether this is their weekly grocery list or the tomatoes they forgot for tonight’s pasta recipe”., says Sümer.

Amazon on the roll of continuous rise by adding new sellers everyday in 2021

March 24, 2021

Amazon’s online marketplace is in a phase of significant continuous growth 3, 00,000 new sellers being added to its e-commerce family outlets just in the first few months of 2021. Moreover, the platform is enjoying this growth level.

As per the data collected and interpreted by Marketplace Pulse up to March 21, is equivalent to 3,734 new third-party sellers becoming a part of Amazon Marketplace every day, or 155 per hour. It is projected from the data that by the end of this year (2021), the marketplace has the potential to have added around 1.4 million more online businesses to the figures.

The US e-commerce market has the power over the vendor registration list at 76,769, accounting for 26% of the total market share. However, the Indian version of Amazon’s Marketplace has added 29,798 new stores, or 10.1%, so far this year. The Amazon Marketplace in Canada is also growing rapidly, with 22,088 new sellers added to the ranks. The UK is also increasing the number of headlines, with 19,944 e-commerce outlets participating, accounting for 6.8% of the total.

With the global pandemic situations which continued to roadblock traditional bricks and mortar stores, there existed numerous businesses which opted to become a part of e-commerce-only ventures appearing on Amazon’s vast outlet. Small businesses, in particular, are finding the potential behind the online shopping platform hugely beneficial, with many exploring the power of using an e-commerce package for the first time.

Another good feature of Amazon is that offers storage facilities, shipping needs are met and efficient customer service is provided by the e-commerce giant, however at a cost.

Amazon’s marketplace is also an outlet for the huge e-commerce company to sells its own wares, presenting a considerable level of competition. Many of the new businesses emerging on the platform face Amazon selling the same or similar products at low prices.

New sellers also have to buy into Amazon’s ad campaigns if they want to push their own ranking and enhance their storefront visibility. Even if they’re using this leg-up route businesses still aren’t guaranteed to boost their sales.

Verizon Media to offer a customized digital storefront experience by launching Yahoo shops

March 24, 2021

Verizon Media, a leader in innovation, content, and commerce, announced plans to launch Yahoo Shops, a new marketplace destination featuring a curated, native shopping experience tailored to the user including innovative tech, from shop-able video to 3D try-on, and more. This platform is preparing to launch a digital marketplace with original commerce capabilities and a curated customer experience.

Verizon Media’s accelerated commerce strategy puts the company in a unique position as the only digital media company to feature native commerce capabilities, at scale. For brand partners and advertisers, this means Yahoo Shops is one-stop commerce and advertising solution. Yahoo Shops merchants can meet shoppers anywhere along their journey, from awareness to transactions with Verizon Media’s advertising platforms. For consumers, Yahoo Shops is a new and seamless way to discover, engage and shop, all within a personalized digital storefront experience.

After the successful onboarding of the plans with the platform’s striking tastes and preferences, Yahoo shops will soon be available for the customers and they would be able to see their own digital mall, only featuring brands that fall into their specialization and interest. Moreover, Verizon Media is showcasing an expansion of its youth-oriented, cross-channel “In The Know” shopping network, with ITK Parenting and ITK Cooking. ITK Parenting and ITK Cooking will bring viewers short-form content from influencers like Hannah Bronfman and Rocky Barnes, celebrity chefs, and more.

Yahoo shops also intend to launch with at least 15% participation from Black-owned retail businesses, and also plans to take enhance the inclusion of other under-represented groups of the retail industry.

“Since the beginning of our commerce expansion we’ve focused on delivering a smart and personalized shopping experience for our users while shortening the path to purchase for our brand partners,” said Andrea Wasserman, head of global commerce, Verizon Media. “Yahoo Shops is that manifestation and it brings the best brick-and-mortar concepts online while helping shoppers connect with new brands and support diverse merchants.”

For brands, Yahoo Shops is a one-stop commerce and advertising solution. For users, Yahoo Shops is a digital marketplace built around each shopper’s personal passions. Building immersive shopping experiences based on user passions has been a key pillar of Verizon Media’s commerce expansion.

TryNow raises funds worth $12M to offer try-before- buy service to online retailers

March 22, 2021

Amazon Prime’s wardrobe has an essential element for the e-commerce giant to mushroom its reach selling clothing and other apparel: offering an easy way to the customers to try on several items before making the final purchase, return whatever they do not want, and pay for what they keep has helped it cross the virtual chasm by enhancing the online shopping experience in comparison to what it’s like to shop for fashion in brick-and-mortar stores.

TryNow-is a technology that enables its online retailers to use Shopify plus and letting customers receive and try out apparel, return what they don’t want, and pay only for what they keep — has raised $12 million, funding that it will be used to continue expanding its business.

Now, a startup that has built “Prime Wardrobe as a service” to help smaller competitors offer its shoppers the same experience is announcing some funding to expand its business. Based in San Francisco, it is already working with 50 up-and-coming online retailers doing with revenues ranging between $10 million and $100 million, with Universal Standard, Roolee, Western Rise, and Solid & Striped among its customers. Founder and CEO Benjamin Davis said in an interview that it has seen the business grow six-fold in the last year as more shopping has shifted online from brick-and-mortar due to the pandemic. TryNow claims that using its service can help brands grow average order value by 63%, conversion rates by 22%, and return on ad spend by 76%.

With this trend of fashion being the primary focus “try before you buy” services online, the company raises funds in Series A which comes from a very notable list of investors including Shine Capital, Craft Ventures, SciFi VC (the venture firm co-founded by Max Levchin, founder and CEO of buy-now-pay-later firm Affirm), Third Kind, and Plaid co-founders Zachary Perret and William Hockey.

TryNow sits as part of a bigger wave of commerce and finance services that have emerged over the years to provide technology to entrepreneurs where the commerce technology they are using is not the core of the business they are building. The CEO confirmed that the company solely works with Shopify and specifically Shopify Plus, the version of the service with more features, designed for retailers with more than $1 million in revenues) and its platform for letting retailers build and operate e-commerce storefronts, because of how it has become such an integral player in that ecosystem.

Facebook exceeds 1 million sellers mark and 250 million active shoppers

March 20, 2021

Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg with joy mentioned that stores on its e-commerce portal Shops have exceeded 1 million sellers and more than 250 users interacting with the merchandise. Furthermore, he realizes the fact that it is still too early, but they have over 1 million active Shops, and more than 250 million people actively interacting with Shops every month. So, he believes this progress to be really amazing in terms of being able to ramp up some of this stuff and all of the different tools that now exist.

“I think that the next five years are going to be really explosive in terms of the potential across a lot of these verticals,” he stated in a discussion on the audio-based invitation-only social app Clubhouse.

Facebook had introduced Shops in May 2020 for e-commerce and social selling. Small businesses can set up one store for both Facebook and Instagram and let shoppers checkout and pay either on the business website or right on Facebook as long as the store enabled checkout.

The main purpose of these Facebook shops was to help small businesses struggling to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the focus is small businesses, the selling portal is open to businesses of all sizes. The shops provide a platform, giving power to sellers over items they wish to feature, create product collections and also tell the story of their brand. Sellers can chat with shoppers through WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram Direct to answer questions, offer support, and more.

The social media giant also teamed with companies that could provide tools and solutions to streamline the digital setup, including, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Channel Advisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube, and Feedonomics.

From the time it has been launched, numerous new features have been put into force across all of Facebook’s apps, for example- live shopping, loyalty programs, and more.

In its mission to help small businesses during the pandemic, Facebook launched a hub last year that offered general business information, virtual training, and more. It also enhanced Shops in August to offer an in-app shopping experience.

One of the grandest retail event, Amazon Prime Day is here !

March 20, 2021

qUFktCSjugPkryv5kxEbyC — An epic day and a half of deals, Amazon Prime Day kicks off at midday on Monday 16th July and runs until midnight on Tuesday 17th July. Pictured at the Hemel Hempstead fulfillment centre, an Amazon associate preparing for Prime Day - Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition now £40 off.

Amazon Prime Day 2021 will be the biggest sales event of the year for the online retail giant. That’s if previous Prime Days are anything to go by. The annual two-day deals bonanza sees Amazon deliver its largest price cuts on everything from Amazon devices and electronics to home items, toys, and more.

The platform started informing sellers regarding the same last week, including a post on the Amazon UK Seller Central board. They mentioned the fact that this Prime Day (PD) is Amazon’s largest global shopping event exclusively for Prime members offering great deals and exclusive content.

Although Amazon has not yet disclosed the exact date and time of the event, they don’t have plans to reveal it much closer to the event either. However, it must inform sellers of deadlines for submitting deals. In the UK, the deadline for submitting Prime Day Lighting Deals is April 23rd, and May 28, 2021, for Prime Member Voucher. “Submit your promotions now for a chance to have your deal considered for this event,” Amazon advised UK sellers.

Every year the event becomes bigger, the most recent Prime Day saw a 45.2% increase in global sales compared to 2019 when it was held in the month of October because of the pandemic. A record-setting $10.4 billion worth of goods was bought at Amazon during the two-day sale. However, the platform usually holds Prime Day in July. Doing so evens out demand and is somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the company’s operations team prior to the fall holiday-shopping season.

In order to participate in the event, one either needs to have an Amazon Prime membership or to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Prime. But they don’t need to wait for a Prime Day deal to save money at Amazon: there are hundreds of discounts every day on everything from laptops and TVs to cordless vacuums, clothing, and kitchen appliances.

Nevertheless, there can be a mad scramble to get inventory into Fulfillment Center warehouses as Prime Day approaches, so inventory planning is crucial for FBA sellers in the spring, whether or not you’re participating in Prime Day deals.

One of the largest retailers, Walmart opens doors for international merchants

March 19, 2021

Walmart lets its e-commerce marketplace be used by third-party merchants outside of the United States in March. The platform relaxed the pre-requisites needed that made it compulsory for the merchants to be registered domestically. However, they do not exist anymore. As per a report by Bloomberg, just after weeks after the world’s biggest retailer announced that it would invest $350 billion on products manufactured, grown, or assembled in the United States.

The merchants (outside U.S.) for whom this marketplace is opening its doors to don’t need to have a domestic address or business tax identification anymore. However, the merchants will continue to be vetted by the retailer’s global trust and safety workforce and locally, according to the report.

“We have strong relationships with many reputable companies around the world and we have some of the most rigorous seller requirements in the industry,” Walmart said in a statement, as per the report. “As a result, we are opening our U.S. marketplace to a limited number of international companies who share our commitment to customer trust and safety.”

While Walmart doesn’t make the number of its marketplace merchants public, Marketplace Pulse estimates the number of Walmart marketplace merchants at approximately 80,000.

“We are excited to announce ‘New-Seller Savings,’” a press release from the retailer stated in February, showcasing its promotion of providing “30 days of commission-free sales” to any merchant who joins its marketplace by the end of March and goes live by the start of May.

Also, the firm said merchants who join will be able to access its “suite of services designed to help them stay competitive,” such as Walmart Fulfillment Services and access to lines of credit through Goldman Sachs.

However, Walmart is not the only platform that has offered such provisions. Amazon as well has made its marketplace is available to almost anyone who participates in a digital registration process. For their part, American marketplaces have turned into a popular method for Chinese manufacturers to reach U.S. shoppers. Marketplace Pulse says that almost 40 percent of Amazon marketplace sales to American shoppers originate from Chinese sellers.

Amazon commences its road trials for Electric delivery vans by Rivian in California

March 18, 2021

Amazon is expanding its customer deliveries via electric cargo vehicle to San Francisco, making the Bay Area the second of 16 total cities the company expects to bring its Rivian-sourced EVs to in 2021.

This event marks the latest expansion in California of Amazon’s custom electric vehicles developed in partnership with start-up Rivian Automotive, which has raised about $8 billion since 2019 from investors.

Amazon commenced the testing of the electric delivery vans in Los Angeles in early February as part of its Climate Pledge worth $2 billion. It involves the purchase of 100,000 custom electric delivery vehicles. The company first unveiled the vans last October and has said it not only has the vision to have 10,000 of the vehicles operational by next year but also expand the program to 14 more cities.

Since then, Amazon said, it has been operating thousands of electric vehicles worldwide. In 2020, it said it delivered more than 20 million packages using electric delivery vehicles across North America and Europe.

The reason for Amazon selecting California as one of its base locations for trials of electric vans from Rivian was because of its “great customers, unique terrain and climate.” Deliveries will initially be conducted out of Amazon’s delivery station in the San Francisco suburb of Richmond, but Amazon expects to start deliveries from other Bay Area sites soon.

“From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we’re incredibly proud of that,” said Ross Rachey, director of Amazon’s global fleet and products in a statement. “As we continue to grow and invest in California, we want to do so responsibly, so we’re excited for customers in the Bay Area to see these vehicles cruising through their neighborhood.”, he added.

To make the shift to electric vehicles, Amazon has redesigned its delivery stations, adding thousands of electric vehicle chargers. For now, Amazon said, the vehicles are being driven by Amazon employees who are specially trained to operate them. Moreover, Amazon is still refining the design of its electric delivery vans before the start of production, which Rivian plans for the fourth quarter of this year. Battery intelligence plays a key role in optimizing the performance and efficiency of these electric vehicles, ensuring they meet the demands of Amazon’s delivery operations.

Shake Shack joins hands with Uber-Eats; also develops in-app delivering value to its customers

March 18, 2021

Shake Shack, an American fast-casual restaurant chain is continuing to make investments in its digital business even after a significant shift during the Covid pandemic, as a result of which it will launch its own nation-level in-app delivery service. This service starts as a part of an exclusive partnership with Uber Eats.

This service will enable the guests to pre-order food for pickup at its walk-up windows, by the curbside, or on in-store shelves. The nationwide launch follows tests performed not only in Miami but also in New York. Customers ordering from the Shake Shack app will be able to track their order in real-time as well as will pay either a 99 cent flat delivery fee or receive free delivery for orders exceeding $35. They have kept a competitive pricing strategy is a part of the industry known for high fees.

CEO Randy Garutti on his decision to partner with Uber Eats declared that he and his team found great potential to do incredibly well through this year, especially in the places where they are the strongest.

Shake Shack is testing a 5% upcharge on third-party delivery, which will make in-app ordering the best value for customers. Through the end of this month, it is offering free fries with orders of more than $15 placed on the Shack App.

Shake Shack’s digital sales have surged over the past year and made up nearly 60% of its total sales in the fourth quarter. Hence, the company has increased investments in digital strategies as mentioned by Garutti. He hopes that the in-app delivery he is venturing for will enable customers into Shake Shack infrastructure, helping the company better understand their needs and preferences. As part of its investment, Shake Shack is building out its technology development team in collaboration with Uber Eats’ fulfillment.

Even though this company is getting itself prepared for more in-person business as vaccines rollout, yet it wants to deliver value to its customer in a plethora of ways, including digital as well.

“A year ago, we were a were a 20% digital company, and 80% in person, and overnight we switched to 80% digital, 20% in person,” Garutti said. “What we then built back to was really trying to ramp up and accelerate the digital toolbox. … We want to bring people into our ecosystem.”

In 2021, this New York-based company plans to open 35 to 40 company-operated Shake Shacks and 15 to 20 licensed restaurants.

As the lasting impact of the pandemic, U.S. online shopping experience a significant hike

March 16, 2021

Contacless delivery service during quarantine. Man delivers food and shopping bags during isolation. Knocking at door and leaves goods until client picks it up. Safety, receiving, keeping distance.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping experienced a boost of $183 billion. This figure demonstrates a surge in online shopping during the months of March 2020, when the pandemic had just started in the U.S., through February 2021. As per the reports, during this time period, U.S. consumers spent a total of $844 billion online. Meanwhile, $813 billion was spent during the calendar year 2020 alone, up 42% over 2019.

The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for many industries, not only speeding up their growth but also pushing them years ahead of where their natural growth would have otherwise taken them.

One of the sectors which were benefitted the most from this trend is the e-commerce sector since customers were obligated to stay home and non-essential retailers closed their doors, and in-person shopping was replaced with online commerce for many consumers. Adobe says the pandemic itself produced a “rare step change in online spending, equivalent to a 20% boost,” and noted the impacts will continue even as the pandemic comes to an end in the months to come.

Hence, various companies witnessed consumer spending of $121 billion in the U.S or a 34% year-over-year increase in just a span of 2 months (Jan-Feb 2021).Also during this time, the buy-now-pay-later method for online shopping has jumped up by 215% year over year, with orders that are 18% larger — another factor in the growing sales driven by these changes. Moreover, it is anticipated that current growth rates will continue, leading to the 2021 calendar year sales of somewhere between $850 billion and $930 billion. It then expects 2022 to deliver the first trillion-dollar year for U.S. e-commerce. Besides the e-commerce sales increases, the pandemic may have also led to other long-lasting changes in terms of how people shop and what they’re buying. Online grocery has taken advantage of change in consumer behavior and doesn’t show any signs of slowing. In Feb. 2021, the category was up by 230% compared with Jan. 2020, pre-pandemic.

Nevertheless, There were some indications that retailers haven’t quite adapted to the surge of new online shoppers. “Out of stock” messages were common, peaking in July 2020, which saw 3x the number of stock-outs compared with a pre-pandemic period. And in Jan. 2021, out-of-stock messages were elevated at 4x pre-pandemic levels. This was common particularly among groceries, pet products, and medical supplies.

Supported by Amazon, Deliveroo plans to raise funds by IPO

March 16, 2021

Food delivery service, Deliveroo is planning to raise funds worth £1 billion ($1.4 billion) by selling new shares in its upcoming initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. It is also planning to offer £50 million of stock to its customers. Moreover, some of the companies’ existing shareholders will also sell some of their shares.

Besides Amazon, this food delivery platform, Deliveroo is also backed by investors including Durable Capital Partners, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, and Accel. Some early Deliveroo backers stand to make a 60,000% return on their investment.

The platform had a total valuation at $7 billion in the month in July when it raised an additional $180 million from investors. Subsequently this IPO, the platform could be valued at around $10 billion.

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Cazenove have been appointed as the joint global coordinators for the IPO. A date the initial public offering has not been officially announced but is likely to be in the next few weeks.

Last week, the company also disclosed that it incurred a loss of £223.7 million in 2020. The losses are substantially less in 2020 than they were in 2019, however, when the London-headquartered firm recorded a loss of £317 million.

While the eight-year-old company is still in the red, its revenues climbed to £4.1 billion in 2020, up from £2.5 billion in 2019.

Deliveroo has faced some major hardships when it nearly failed in 2020 amid a competition review into Amazon’s minority investment, to turn an operating profit toward the end of the year thanks to the coronavirus lockdown-driven surge in demand for online takeout services. However, today, the platform claims to have over 115,000 food merchants, 100,000 restaurants, and millions of consumers across 12 countries. The filing shows that six million orders are made on Deliveroo every month. Amazon backed Deliveroo in May 2019, leading a $575 million funding round in exchange for a 16% stake in the business.

With people ordering takeout more frequently — and spending more when they do — means the sector is anticipated to reach a value of almost $400 billion by 2024. A Euromonitor estimate, meanwhile, said it could be worth $1 trillion in the next decade.

Japan based, Rakuten to raise funds by issuing shares big players like Walmart, Tencent

March 14, 2021

Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company, Rakuten based in Tokyo is in plans to raise funds worth 2.2 billion to enable itself to compete with its U.S. rivals. The company made an announcement last Friday that it will issue 211,656,500 shares at 1,145 Japanese yen ($10.5) per share as a way of raisings money.

There are a few entities like National post service Japan Post which is anticipated to buy 131,004,000 shares for an 8.3% stake, Chinese internet firm Tencent is expected to take 57,382,900 for a 3.6% stake, and U.S. retailer Walmart is expected to take 14,536,000 shares for a 0.9% stake. The payment date will be between Mar. 29 and Apr. 30.

Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten’s founder, chairman, and CEO believes that these new investments in Rakuten indicate both high expectations for the growth and impact of the Rakuten ecosystem with the mobile service at its core, as well as great potential for further collaboration with leading companies from the world’s three leading economies.

The company which was founded in 1997, today has more than 70 businesses and a count of 1.4 billion members all over the world. It is one of the largest e-commerce sites in Japan with its marker value at just $16.5 billion which is significantly less than Amazon’s ($1.5 trillion).

Rakuten is also well known for its video streaming service Rakuten TV. Over the last few years, Rakuten has acquired a number of companies including messaging app Viber and e-book platform Kobo. Moreover, this company along with Japan Post are planning to partner and thrive in logistics, mobile, and payments businesses, while there is also the possibility of partnerships with Tencent.

“The new potential for partnering with Tencent opens up a broad portfolio of opportunities, from digital entertainment, including online games, to e-commerce,” said Mikitani in a statement. “We’re also excited to have Walmart’s financial commitment as they continue to invest in the future of retail.”

Tencent shares Rakuten’s aspiration of creating value through innovation and empowerment for users and partners. Tencent platform is not only optimistic to invest in Rakuten, supporting its evolution into a global innovation leader but is also looking forward to pursuing strategic cooperation across activities including digital entertainment and e-commerce, creating value for users and building the Internet ecosystem together.

Amazon tries its hands on t-commerce, integrating both Prime Video and commerce ecosystems

March 12, 2021

With the era of t-commerce on the verge, as Amazon names it, the platform is planning to provide provisions of buying goods directly from their TV screens while watching programs. Studios Chief Operating Officer Albert Cheng said that after a long period of development, it seems consumers are ready to try out t-Commerce. Speaking on a panel, Cheng noted that Amazon has long sought to “uplift the reach of Prime Video and integrate that with commerce.” Their objective is to connect the Amazon Video system to the Amazon commerce ecosystem, being made possible by its thriving line of devices and delivered by its expanding voice ecosystem.

T–Commerce is a term describing trade via a (smart) digital TV-set which – besides its main functionality – acts as a marketing channel enabling two-directional communication, interactive advertising, and addressable advertising. The promise of T-commerce is to enhance shopping channels as well as regular TV ads by offering consumers a “One-Click” “Buy It” possibility.

A full-fledged collaboration between viewing and purchasing items on-screen is still in its very initial days, however, the early testings have proved to be successful. Those experiments have included programming like the live shoppable stream of Rihanna’s fashion brand Savage X Fenty, as well as Making the Cut, the reality series co-hosted by Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, which allowed viewers to buy designs by the winning contestants. Although the platform did not give any further details on the subject, just that the effort was an outstanding success.

Amazon has the vision to build off its present success to capture the t-commerce opportunity from end-to-end. The potential for the channel has long been known, but actually fulfilling the orders has presented a staggering logistical complication.

“Like, okay, you can create these apps and figure out how to tie the content with the opportunity to purchase, but then you had to figure out how to deliver it,” said Cheng. “In order to scale that across the industry, it’s extraordinarily difficult.” “We have this massive, global infrastructure and delivery system, and the ability to tie television and buying all on the same platform,” he further added.

The platform is still experimenting to see what specific shows and content formats are best suited to t-commerce. Thus far, the developments are U.S.-focused, as foreign markets present a host of additional regulatory issues.

Although t-commerce is different than other types of event-based marketing pushes, it’s also similar in that it creates an experience and then ties the commerce opportunity around it like a helpful little bow. A bow, Cheng noted in his public remarks, that could put Amazon in a competitive category of its own.

“When it comes to competitiveness, it’s hard to put us in any specific category,” Cheng said. “We play in so many different fields and products and services that at the end of the day, we’re very much in a relationship business with our customers. We can be an SVOD product, we can be a delivery service, we can be music.”

Facebook launches Instagram Lite across 170 nations ;a less data intensive Android-only version

March 11, 2021

Major social media platforms, Facebook keeps growing by catering better to consumers in several countries. After employing three years of planning, the platform finally is taking the opportunity into its hands and officially launching Instagram Lite, a less data- and storage-intensive Android-only version of its popular photo and video app. It will take up just 2MB on a phone, and it is going live in 170 countries, with a focus on emerging markets.

Instagram Lite revolves around editing, sharing, and viewing photos and videos, as well as the ability to add stickers, create and view Stories, IGTV, and the Explore discovery and recommendation algorithms. And given the launch across 170 countries, it’s coming with specific language support to be usable in those markets.

However, to whittle down the experience from the 30MB, the new feature comes without some things too. For instance, developers have to leave out many graphics, advertising, and some key features like the ability to make TikTok like reels, dark mode, shopping, and end-to-end encryption. Facebook mentioned that some of that list — such as dark mode and (of course) adverts — will be added in future updates.

Instagram Lite has been teased out in different forms by Facebook since 2018, and it’s hitting what has proven to be a receptive market for the social media giant. Tzach Hadar, Tel Aviv-based director of product management for all of Facebook’s Lite apps — which also include versions of Facebook and Messenger, also built in Tel Aviv — said this week that Facebook Lite now has more than 200 million monthly active users.

But although Instagram is wildly popular and would have been an obvious candidate for the Lite treatment years ago, and Instagram Lite was one of the most requested items from users in developing markets, it has proven to be a trickier beast.

The Instagram Lite app had a bumpy start over the years, with the first version, built on the Instagram web stack as a Progressive Web App, launching in a limited release back in 2018, taking up a mere 573KB of space on a device. It also came without a lot of features, but Instagram itself had fewer features, too. Without much noise, that version was quietly pulled last year, and then shortly after a newer version was launched again in December in a limited test. Debuted first in India, a key market for the company, Instagram Lite launched there with support for Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. And it’s that last test that has turned into the official Instagram Lite app. Interestingly, it turns out that in the process, the whole app was rebuilt, moving it away from being a Progressive Web App and building it instead on another internal framework called Bloks ( which is a framework that is much performant and has more features and capabilities), heavy lifting a lot of the basic workings from Messenger and Facebook’s Lite versions.

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