Adidas sees slump in net profits by 97% as e-commerce fails to plug the gap

April 28, 2020

If you have been following the news lately, it is known that the world is fighting a global pandemic meaning that every sector of the industry is struggling to do any business right now. Therefore, it is understood that companies will have a slump in their forecasts of profit. As far as the companies and their profits are concerned, we now have a new report from Adidas and the things are not looking great for the footwear brand. It is known that the things being sold are only being done via e-commerce meaning that only deliveries are possible.

It is seen that stores are not open meaning that sale of things that need a physical touch is shut down. This also includes shoes which need to be tried on in order to decide before buying. Now, Adidas has said that they are seeing a 97% slump in their net profits. They have said that “Our focus on accelerating our own-retail and digital business”

Adidas CEO also said that “Our results for the first quarter speak to the serious challenges that the global outbreak of the coronavirus poses even for healthy companies,” It is also dramatic to see the numbers released by Adidas in its earnings call. The company revealed that their net income from continuing operations was €20 million (£17.3 million) down dramatically from €631 million in the same period last year

This means that not only is the net profit from Adidas down dramatically, but it is also possible that the company is making huge losses. However, it is worth noting that the company said that it has seen a growth of 35 per cent in the e-commerce department of the country which is currently the only thing open right now. Adidas also says that it is “making use of the flexibility in its operating cost base but largely refraining from measures that would jeopardize future prospects.”

To boost economy impacted by virus outbreak, China will host an online shopping festival

April 27, 2020

You must have heard of the biggest online shopping festival in China that happens on the 11th day of November every year which is also called as the 11.11 festival. Now, this event is also known as Singles’ day and it is the biggest online shopping festival in a single day not only in China but the whole world. It is also a fact that the majority of the Chinese people wait for this day to buy products since there are huge discounts and offers on their favourite products.

However, the Coronavirus which has emerged out of China and has become a pandemic affecting the whole world has made a huge impact on the Chinese economy as well. This is because everything was locked down during the outbreak and people were not allowed to even go out. Now that everything is going back to normal at least in China, we see that the government is making efforts to give a boost to their economy.

As a part of this effort, the Chinese government is looking to hold an online shopping event once again which will be much earlier than its November 11 sale as per tradition. This sale will basically be an economy booster as the government hopes that more sales will bring the cashflow back in the economy.

It is also announced that this shopping festival will be for a long duration between April 28 and May 10 and it will go on for 13 days. During this sale period, we expect to see a lot of offers as well as discounts offered by almost everyone since they would want to sell the impending stock as well as manufacture new one for which funds are needed. It is known that China is the biggest manufacturer in the world so we will see a lot of discounts on electronics.

Unilever boss predicts a change in shopping trends after Coronavirus

April 27, 2020

While the world is fighting the Coronavirus pandemic and the best way to do is by staying inside homes, it is also known that trends are emerging and will continue to emerge during this pandemic and even after the crisis ends.

It is said that this pandemic is here to stay for the next 18 to 24 months which means we will have to stay careful for the next 2 years or until a vaccine is not found. Talking about the pandemic, it is seen that online shopping has been the biggest plus point and many companies have emerged due to this surge in online shopping.

Now, we are seeing statements from experts in the e-commerce field as to what will happen after the Coronavirus. According to Unilever boss, we are going to see a change in the way people shop even after the Coronavirus.

He says that the pandemic will have a lasting change on the lives of people. He predicts that the surge in online shopping is here to stay and we will see online shopping go mainstream very soon. Apart from that, he says that cleaning products will see demand continue for as long as the virus stays.

He also predicts that the pandemic will make people buy grocery online. According to him, “I think we will be able to look back and see this as a point of inflexion for online grocery shopping,”.

He also addresses the issue of getting delivery slots for various grocery apps by adding that “Good luck getting an appointment for grocery delivery. I think that will persist and we will adjust our approach to reflect that.”

Talking about the use of hand sanitizers and face masks, he says that “The whole hygiene thing will carry on.” and he believes it is for the good of everyone in the society.

Target shares take a hit due to lower first-quarter profits

April 24, 2020

Target is one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the US along with the likes of Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. Now, we know that e-commerce companies are the only ones that are currently operational in these times of the Coronavirus pandemic and we have seen that they are doing a great job at that. It is also a time when customers don’t really have a preference as to where they will shop. It is usually the case of whichever store online has the item in stock, they will buy it from there.

Due to this, we know that stores having lesser online presence such as Target, for example, are doing quite well too. However, the company says that they are still expecting lower first-quarter results even though their sales have increased. The simple reason behind this is that people are buying low-ticket items and it is obvious that they will do so. However, the costs for delivering such products at Target are adding up and that’s a problem.

Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer has benefited from investments in online shopping options, but it will have lower profits this quarter. He also said that they are currently spending more on labour in order to deliver as much items as possible. This also means an overhead cost while the profit margin on deliveries are not great. On the news that Target expects lower first-quarter revenue, the stocks for the company went tumbling down by 7% which is what the market tends to do.

The CEO mentions that they are committed to investing in Target’s online presence and he mentions that these “market share gains that I think will benefit the brand for years to come.” It is known that brands such as Walmart, Best Buy and Target had been investing in online space to compete with Amazon and this might be the right time to do so.

Amazon employees reportedly used third-party sellers’ data to make competing products

April 24, 2020

Amazon is without a doubt the biggest company when it comes to selling products online and it is also doing great when it comes to delivering products at a time of pandemic meaning that the company’s profits are off-the-charts and everything is going well. However, a new report related to Amazon might concern the company and its employees because this is a big revelation and one that could damage the relationship between Amazon, third-party sellers and its customers. This report is from Wall Street Journal who have reported a shoddy practice that is allegedly being carried out by Amazon employees.

Now, it is not clear if the upper management at Amazon knew about this but it is quite clear that Amazon’s employees have been involved in this act. Coming to the report, WSJ says that Amazon which is a platform selling its own products, as well as third-party products, has vowed not to track third-party product sales and make competing products. However, it has been found out that Amazon employees have been tracking sales of third-party sellers on the platform and if the products do well, they have been found to make competing products under the Amazon brand as well.

WSJ says that this is after conducting interviews with “more than 20 former employees of Amazon’s private-label business and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal”. Amazon has said many times, “including to Congress, that when it makes and sells its own products, it doesn’t use the information it collects from the site’s individual third-party sellers”. However, this new report shows that they clearly did the same meaning it lied to Congress under oath.

Amazon’s response is that “Like other retailers, we look at sales and store data to provide our customers with the best possible experience,”. “However, we strictly prohibit our employees from using nonpublic, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch.”

Ad veterans Bryan Wiener and Sarah Hofstetter join Profitero Inc.

April 23, 2020

While we are hearing a lot about how e-commerce firms are doing their work even during a pandemic situation, it is also a fact that a lot of announcements are being made with regarding to people joining the companies as well as startups or companies acquiring other startups or companies. Now, a new report has emerged out of nowhere regarding an e-commerce firm which says that ad veterans named Bryan Wiener and Sarah Hofstetter have joined Profitero Inc. It is also known that Bryan and Sarah have been named as Chief Executive and President of the company respectively.

Both of these personalities are said to be pioneers and veterans of the advertising industry and it is no secret that e-commerce and advertising go hand in hand with each other because even if you have the greatest of products, you need to advertise to show people what you have got. On the other hand, advertising only doesn’t mean that the platform will do well if the quality of products and your core is not strong.

Along with the announcements of Mr. Bryan and Sarah, it is also revealed that Profitero has raised $20 million in Series B funding, which will be used in part to expand its businesses through acquisitions and developing new products and services.

Looking at what this company is about, reports say that “Profitero provides a range of digital commerce software and services for brands including tracking and managing the placement, presentation and pricing of products across 8,000 online retailers. It also offers a competitive analysis of sales and market share on Amazon”. Along with that, Profitero claims to have clients such as Adidas, Loreal, General Mills as well as retailer sites in 50 countries around the world. Profitero’s Chief Executive also says that “COVID doesn’t change anything about the e-commerce thesis—it just accelerates [adoption] by years,”

Google Shopping becomes free due to COVID-19 pandemic

April 23, 2020

We have always said that when there is a negative thing that happens, there are always many positive things that happen following that one negative thing. Now, if you consider the COVID-19 outbreak as a negative thing for the e-commerce industry and the industry in general which it definitely is then there are positives out of the pandemic as well. For example, we have seen that the e-commerce industry is seeing trends that were not heard of before this crisis emerged at the end of last year. Everyone was shopping for the holiday season sales while this virus was spreading in China.

Due to the Coronavirus, we have also seen that Amazon has reduced its commissions handed out to the affiliates and while it seems to be a permanent move, it is likely because of lower revenues while still having higher orders due to delivery costs and additional measures. This will definitely be considered as a negative move for Amazon Affiliates who have been driving traffic to the website. But there is one positive news after this move from Amazon which is that Google has made its shopping platform almost free.

Google says that changes to its shopping algorithm will mean that unpaid listings picked by the algorithm will dominate results displayed on the Google Shopping tab instead of mostly paid product listings. In the announcement, Google says that coronavirus pandemic is a catalyst for Google to speed up a pre-existing plan to switch from Shopping results being determined by paid ad auction to mostly free listings.

The company wrote that “search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free product listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google,” meaning that even if you don’t pay for the listings, your listings will be highlighted meaning that it will sell more and more.

Spending in e-commerce believed to see an increase as ad prices drop

April 21, 2020

There are trends emerging out of the industry as we have seen the worst pandemic of our times, the Coronavirus outbreak taking place right now. This means that the world will not be the same again and things we have gotten used to will have to go through a change.

For example, the COVID-19 outbreak has meant that two of the worst-hit industries are tourism as well as aviation. Therefore, the connected industries such as hotel management and restaurants will also be affected.

Now, it is also seen that travel and aviation are some of the biggest spenders when it comes to online ads and they want to promote themselves as much as possible since their margins are the highest per conversion.

Since they are the industries biggest hit by this pandemic, it is obvious that their spending will be stopped because no wants to travel right now or fly on aeroplanes. This is quite simple and a very logical move at that. But that also means advertising companies are seeing a drop in their ad prices and it affects publishers making revenue out of those ads.

However, we also know that travel and aviation are not the only industries that are spending dollars on advertisement because there are many other sectors that need promotions. A report now mentions that this is the best time for start-ups to promote their products in the e-commerce space since people are buying everything mostly online.

The report says that Facebook, Google and Twitter are seeing ad prices dropping due to decrease in advertisers and Expedia, a travel company, has also said they will drop their ad spending by 80%. All this is ideal for companies in internet gaming, e-commerce and online learning which are seeing their usage increase and are able to buy up ads at a discount

Demand for Luxury items during the Coronavirus pandemic is increasing

April 21, 2020

In a bizarre new report regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, we have come to know that a trend has emerged out of nowhere when it comes to online shopping and the e-commerce industry. While it was said earlier that the pandemic is causing people to shop online as much as possible and pile up on stocks so that they don’t have to go out, this new report suggests something else. While it is true and a fact that online shopping has increased, there are people who are also taking advantage of this pandemic.

According to this new report, the Coronavirus pandemic is becoming a way for people who have enough cash to buy luxury items and have a stock of that as much as possible. Now, this is possible because we have seen that stores are giving massive discounts right now to empty the stocks and keep their stores running and pay salaries to their employees. Some people are taking advantage of this price cuts and getting things at half the prices of what they are originally sold for.

As per a customer known to have bought luxury items during these times, they say that “I’ve bought an area rug, a coffee table, prints for the walls, a mirror and plants,”. The person adds that “I could’ve gone for a cheap coffee table but I went for a chic, nice one from West Elm. It’s mid-century looking and walnut,”. They add that “I love it.” but don’t mention why they went for the “chic, nice one” and one possible reason is that the prices were much lower than they generally are.

Another person says that shopping is a way for them to fight the Coronavirus. They add that “Shopping takes your mind away from the harshness of everyday life”. “We wake up and we have no idea what the rules of the world are going to be today, so [shopping] is self-soothing.”

Online sales of wine shops have increased due to Coronavirus lockdown

April 20, 2020

While you know that everyone is shifting to the online model of selling items such as essential as well as non-essential commodities, there is also one category which we don’t know if it should be categorized in the essential or non-essential commodity. We are talking about retail wine and liquor shops who are also hit hard by the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 all over the world.

It is also known that people want their alcohol supplies at any cost even if it is dangerous for their health. Even in this lockdown situation, we have seen reports where people have either stocked up on liquor or are demanding to open shops for selling them as there is demand.

Now, this is something which we did not predict to be happening due to online e-commerce growth but it has happened because now alcohol is also being sold online. Like everyone else, retail wine shop owners are also coming online to sell their stocks which people are ready to buy at any cost as well.

Having said that, “Small wineries dependent on tasting room sales are reeling as their customers are ordered to stay home” as per Forbes’ report. A major wine shop owner says that “The wine retail market has been surprisingly resilient,”

Interestingly, one of the US’ biggest wine shop owners says that he has gone through both the 9/11 as well as the great recession and on both occasions, the sales of wine dropped but for a temporary period. However, he is seeing that sales of wine during COVID-19 are actually compared to a normal period.

Now, this also has to do with the fact that there are many reports saying alcohol is helping reduce the effect of COVID-19 and people are blindly believing those unconfirmed reports to start drinking alcohol even if they were not doing so previously.

Tesla opens its online store in China’s Alibaba to extend its presence there

April 20, 2020

You must have seen that for a long time, Tesla was the electric car manufacturer that would be talked about a lot when it came to cars and electric cars in particular. However, it was also a fact that people said Tesla could only do this in the US because there is a market for electric cars in the country and that their manufacturing and production costs get reduced there. However, Tesla proved everyone wrong last year as it announced the presence in China.

This was also not just a presence where Tesla would sell imported cars because it already did so prior to last year. But Tesla set up a manufacturing plant in China since it would mean that the production costs would be greatly reduced.

This also meant that the Chinese Tesla fans could get their hands on the China-made Tesla cars. However, we all know that Coronavirus has happened at a very wrong time for a lot of companies and that includes Tesla in China as well.

Just when Tesla had started production at mass for its cars in China and it was ready to sell them to the customers, the virus outbreak took place meaning it had to stop production as well as it could not start sales.

For that reason, Tesla’s shares were going down and the company was worried about the situation. But there is good news because Tesla has opened up its first online store in China on the Alibaba platform. This means that the electric car manufacturer that has added plenty of technology to its cars is now wanting to sell cars online as well.

If we talk about online car sales, we are definitely going to see this become a trend this year and going forward because it is likely that automakers are going to see huge growth in the industry because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An e-commerce company has opened direct pipeline from China to Huntsville

April 17, 2020

We know that there are things that are obvious and we know that they are but we don’t know how to do those obvious things or they are just not possible. Well, there is one thing in the e-commerce or courier services as well which is that if you are using same route for delivering products day-in and day-out then you should create a direct pipeline to that place so the process becomes much easier. For example, if we talk about Apple then they should create a direct pipeline between their Foxconn factory in China and their headquarters in Apple to get the products supplied directly.

However, it does not work like that as it would create a lot of tax issues as well it is not ideal for smuggling concerns. But as we say, someone out there is doing things that are most obvious. This report is regarding one such e-commerce company in the US that has done the unthinkable and opened a direct pipeline between China and Huntsville. While it is known that the direct pipeline between them is for protective gears such as gloves, masks, face shields, etc, it is a great idea to do the same for other products as well.

While this direct pipeline is not literally that, it is a cargo plane that brought the first direct shipment of personal protective equipment. Fulfyld CEO says that “Most of the world’s products come out of China, and having that infrastructure, and a direct line into China is actually a game-changer,” as he adds that this step is done to “Make sure our community, our first responders, our county, city, local officials, employees and the general citizen population of Madison County and statewide is taken care of”. The company also expects this connection to save Alabama time in shipping and will prevent potential skimming of the product in other ports.

Payment platform Stripe raises $600 million at a valuation of $36 billion: Report

April 17, 2020

If you are aware of e-commerce platforms other than the likes of Amazon, Walmart and such major platforms, you would not know that payments are handled differently on those platforms. While we have a unified payment system on major e-commerce portals, the other e-commerce portals use payment providers who handle the payment process on their behalf. One of those platforms that handle payments for other platforms is called Stripe and it is one of the most used ones as well. Now, it is known that Stripe has just raised a lot of money and it is surprising because of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Anyways, we are here to tell you that Stripe has raised a $600 million round of funding and this funding was raised at a valuation of $36 billion which has been informed by their co-founder and president John Collison to Axios. It is also known that Stripe’s funding is an extension of the Series G round they did earlier and not a new round of funding. Now, it makes perfect sense for investors who want to invest their money put them in a payments portal because it will be needed even during times of a pandemic when people pay online.

It is also said that Stripe, which was already the most valuable start-up in Silicon Valley, becomes even more valuable with this new funding. Stripe’s president also reveals that a big change has been seen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reveals that “Businesses that deferred moving online or had no reason to operate online have made the leap practically overnight,”. Now, this goes in line with the report from yesterday where 7 Eleven Australia said they are now taking orders online and also claimed to have made the portal ready in just a fortnight due to the surge in demand.

Around 51,000 employees from Best Buy to be furloughed as demand dies down

April 16, 2020

Best Buy has dropped a huge bombshell for many of its employees amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which is already killing a lot of businesses as well as the economy is also in a dire situation. Because the company has said that they will be furloughing around 51,000 of their employees starting April 19 because of the huge decrease in demand. It was seen that the COVID-19 situation forced everyone to do panic buying which meant that demand was huge for a time being. However, it is now seen that there is almost no demand and people are being let go by their employers.

Also, the unemployment rate in the US has gone at an all-time high right now meaning that more people are being laid off then you think. Since the demand increased in March for Best Buy, they hired a lot of people. But they are now furloughed since the demand is even lower than in regular months. As per Best Buy, people bought freezers, computer monitors and other items to use for their stays at home during the pandemic. Now that the pandemic situation and lockdown is here to stay, people are avoiding to go out of their homes. Therefore, Best Buy is taking the same decision as others to furlough their employees and adopt other cost-cutting measures.

They added that their “decision will impact nearly all of its part-time store employees and some of its full-time store employees in the U.S.” The company added that about 82% of its full-time employees who work in stores or in the field, such as the Geek Squad employees, will continue to be paid. Also, those employees who are being furloughed will also be able to take benefits of health care being offered to their full-time employees. This decision from Best Buy is definitely a sign of things to come for sure.

7-Eleven Australia launches online delivery service due to COVID-19

April 16, 2020

It is time for everyone to go online right now because of the Coronavirus outbreak as we know that people are ordering things at their doorsteps. We also know that non-essential items are not being delivered right now because of the situation is such that essential items’ orders are too much for the companies to cope up with them. It is seen that US companies are doing decent when it comes to online orders and their deliveries. However, it is time to concentrate on other countries as well.

And we have a report from Australia where it is seen that the country’s 7-eleven departmental stores have also gone online. The famous departmental store chains is seeing a huge demand but they can’t et people into their stores so the best option for them is home delivery.

As per the report from ITNews, “7-Eleven Australia has launched an online delivery service for snacks and other household items, initially in Melbourne, using the platform of on-demand alcohol delivery start-up Tipple which it bought a majority stake in back in 2018”.

In a statement, 7-eleven Australia also revealed that customers can “log on to www.7ElevenDelivery.com.au, enter their address and place their order.” It is also revealed that in partnership with Tipple, the 7-Eleven online service was made in a fortnight. “The 7-Eleven Group acquired a majority stake in Tipple in 2018, as part of our investment in on-demand ‘last-mile’ delivery and technological capability,”

CEO Angus McKay said that “By working with their network of delivery drivers, we’re able to provide consumers with more options to get the things they need while minimising how often they need to leave their house. “We are rolling this out in Melbourne for most suburbs and will look at other states in the coming months”. He says that they are currently offering “within the hour” delivery for some suburbs.

Amazon has made drastic rate cuts to their affiliate program

April 15, 2020

If you are aware of the Amazon e-commerce platform, you must also be aware that Amazon lets people sell their products online and make money. However, Amazon also runs an affiliate program which is a way to make people buy from Amazon and in return, Amazon pays them commission as a reward for directing traffic to their site. But Amazon has made a big announcement this morning where they have cut the affiliate rates which is the percentage of commission given to advertisers by more than half.

According to a report, the affiliate rates were anywhere between 0 to 10% earlier but they have now been reduced to 3% for most categories. Now, we don’t know the reason why Amazon has done this and it could be due to COVID-19 situation but it could also be a permanent cut meaning that the new rates are here to stay. It is also said that this feels like a total monopolistic move from the company where they have just slashed income of people earning from affiliate links to less than half.

As for the new rates to come into effect, Amazon says that it will happen from April 21, 2020. While we know that other e-commerce platforms also have their own affiliate programs, most of the people in the US buy from Amazon and it made sense to focus on a single program rather than adding many programs into one. However, this rate cut will force many if not majority to move away from Amazon because the new rates are just not worth the time and effort that gets into building assets. Not only will websites and influencers be affected by this change but platforms such as Rakuten and Honey will also be hurt by this change as their revenues will also decrease to half. We do hope that these rate cuts are temporary and things will get back to normal once the pandemic situation gets better though.

Rakuten Takeout launched to help restaurants take online orders during COVID-19

April 15, 2020

Rakuten is one of the emerging e-commerce platforms in the world which also operates in America and it is one of the steadiest growing platforms around the world. However, it has not been able to get into the big leagues with the likes of Amazon and others.

That might be about to change because the company is planning to do something big in order to help restaurant owners that are suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is revealed that Rakuten is launching a new platform called Rakuten Takeout.

The most interesting part about this announcement is the fact that Rakuten’s Takeout platform will be free for the restaurants. This platform will help in supporting local restaurants that are struggling to maintain their business and reach diners.

Adding to this, we also believe that people will hesitate in taking food from outside because of the hygiene issues. Therefore, we believe that this will continue to trouble the industry until a vaccine for this virus is found. Until then, some of the worst-hit will be food business as well as the travel business.

So in order to help restaurants, Rakuten’s platform can go a long way. The company also says that members who use Rakuten Takeout to place takeout orders from their favourite local restaurants will also get a 20% cashback and we believe that Rakuten will be giving this cashback from their side. As per the announcement, Rakuten Takeout is for those restaurants that need a quick, simple way to streamline takeout order processing and increased demand.

The platform enables restaurants to easily build a custom website where Rakuten members can place orders and pay online. It is also said that restaurant partners will benefit from access to Rakuten’s 13-million-member base for increasing organic awareness and expanding customer reach as per Rakuten Americas’ statement.

Lazard bankers hired by Macy’s to find ways to recapitalize finance struggle due to COVID-19

April 14, 2020

While it is a fact that the best way to fight the COVID-19 pandemic is to stay at home which means that the burden on the healthcare system for every country around the world is minimized, it was also known that this would have a major economic impact.

Now, to no one’s surprise, we are seeing what damages the Coronavirus pandemic has already done to the world economy and we are not even close to ending this virus outbreak as yet. It is seen that even e-commerce firms are struggling to stay afloat during these times. Now imagine the troubles that other outside the e-commerce sector would face since they are closed due to lockdown while e-commerce businesses are not.

A new report reveals the first incident of a major e-commerce company reacting to the financial troubles they are facing because of COVID-19. We are talking about Macy’s which has reportedly hired a few bankers from Lazard who are specializing in finding out ways through which the financially troubled companies’ debt situation can be reworked and the money could be brought back into the system.

Now, it is worth mentioning that Macy’s is the largest department store operator in the US meaning that if they can face such troubles, there is no place for hiding when it comes to smaller businesses even for a developed country like the US. According to sources, Macy’s is also planning to “help manage its liabilities and explore options that could include new financing”. It is also said that Macy’s lost most of its revenue as it shut down all its stores as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Because only essential items are getting delivered at this time and there is no way Macy’s could deliver products even if it wants to and customers are ordering.

Jamie Iannone, former Walmart executive, named as eBay CEO

April 14, 2020

You must have seen our report where we revealed that Walmart is looking to expand its online business as fast as possible in order to fight the likes of Amazon and others in the online e-commerce space. However, we also know that the coronavirus pandemic happened and the rest is history. Everyone around the world is now shopping online whether they like it or not. This is also the reason why Walmart, as well as its grocery app, are seeing a huge surge in downloads and users.

This means that the company has had to do very little in terms of strategy as people’s needs have brought them online without even spending a dime. But the fact that Jamie Iannone was hired as the Walmart executive to lead its e-commerce department cannot be discounted. Now, a new report has emerged which must be a surprise for most of the people related to Walmart and eBay. Because it is now revealed that Jamie Iannone who was just hired by Walmart a few months ago has now become the CEO at eBay.

Prior to Walmart, Jamie was the CEO at SamsClub.com where he saw great success and helped the platform grow much higher than what it was when he first joined. This also played a role in making his profile stronger and Walmart roping him in. Jamie, on his appointment, said that “In my previous experience with the company, I developed a deep appreciation for what makes eBay so special. eBay’s success has always been rooted in its robust C2C platform,”

He added that “I believe the company has tremendous opportunities to capitalize on this foundation, innovate for the future and grow its ecosystem. I look forward to working with our global teams to enhance buyer experiences and provide more capabilities that will help small businesses sustain and grow. I will focus on continuing to evolve the company’s strategy while delivering on eBay’s commitment to maximizing long-term shareholder value.”

Nashville’s Turnip Truck now offers online shopping and delivery

April 11, 2020

While we know that the world is going through a gloomy period and it is justified that there is a lot of negativity everywhere, we also knew that there is bound to be positive news at the end of the tunnel. Now, the best and the most positive news will be when we come to know that the world is free from the COVID-19 or Coronavirus pandemic but it still has a lot of years to take place. The next big thing would be a report that a vaccine for COVID-19 has been found.

However, we have another positive report where it is known that a lesser-known and local business has entered the e-commerce business due to this virus outbreak. This report is from Nashville where a local supermarket named Turnip Truck has started taking online orders as well as delivering orders right at people’s doorsteps. Turnip Truck’s owner named Dyke says that “Believe it or not, online orders actually outsold our smallest store,”. He added that “It’s had its challenges. I’m here cleaning out some of the bugs right now, but I feel confident about it. It’s very taxing on the store and the staff, but the staff has been awesome. They’ve stepped up and taken control of this.”

Dyke says he already has three physical stores but this online store is his fourth store and he reveals the average bucket price of his online orders is around $150. Also, they have fulfilled 80 orders Friday morning with 150 orders placed in the last 24 hours. Having said that, it is also worth remembering that the surge in online orders right now is due to the demand amidst the virus outbreak but it will be left to see how people react to the online sales at this store once the lockdown ends and everyone is able to visit the stores or order from other places.

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