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Category: Retail & eCommerce

eCommerce, Online Retail & Retail News

  • FTC and 17 States Sue Amazon For Alleged Antitrust Violations

    FTC and 17 States Sue Amazon For Alleged Antitrust Violations

    The Federal Trade Commission has launched a widely expected lawsuit against Amazon over alleged antitrust violations.

    The FTC has been investigating Amazon’s business practices and preparing a case against the tech giant for months. The FTC makes clear that it is not suing Amazon become of its size, but because of alleged “exclusionary conduct” aimed at stifling competition from existing or potential rivals.

    “Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them. Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”

    The FTC took special note of Amazon’s practice of punishing sellers who try to offer lower prices through other outlets, as well as the company’s efforts to force sellers into gaining “Prime” status, ensuring Amazon is able to charge them significant fees for fulfillment services. The agency also took issue with Amazon’s practice of pushing its own products, preferring advertised products over genuine results, and adding more fees to sellers, with many of them paying Amazon as much as 50% of what they earn.

    “We’re bringing this case because Amazon’s illegal conduct has stifled competition across a huge swath of the online economy. Amazon is a monopolist that uses its power to hike prices on American shoppers and charge sky-high fees on hundreds of thousands of online sellers,” said John Newman, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Seldom in the history of U.S. antitrust law has one case had the potential to do so much good for so many people.”

    The FTC was joined in its lawsuit by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

  • Amazon Faces NYC Lawsuit for Not Disclosing Facial Rec Use

    Amazon Faces NYC Lawsuit for Not Disclosing Facial Rec Use

    Amazon is facing a class-action lawsuit in New York City over not disclosing its use of facial recognition in its Go stores.

    NYC is the only major city in the US that requires businesses to disclose when they are using facial recognition, according to CNBC. Amazon’s Go stores achieve their cashier-less by using a plethora of cameras to link a person’s purchases with their Amazon account.

    The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Alfredo Perez, says Amazon violated NYC’s law by not clearly disclosing the use of facial recognition until just recently, when the company finally put up cameras.

    “To make this ‘Just Walk Out’ technology possible, the Amazon Go stores constantly collect and use customers’ biometric identifier information, including by scanning the palms of some customers to identify them and by applying computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and sensor fusion that measure the shape and size of each customer’s body to identify customers, track where they move in the stores, and determine what they have purchased,” the lawsuit says.

    The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is representing Perez.

    “It means that even a global tech giant can’t ignore local privacy laws,” Albert Cahn, project director, told CNBC in a text message. “As we wait for long overdue federal privacy laws, it shows there is so much local governments can do to protect their residents.”

  • The Travel Industry’s Growing Relationship With Social Commerce

    The Travel Industry’s Growing Relationship With Social Commerce

    The concept of social commerce is nothing new. Retailers, brands, and influencers have for some time been taking advantage of digital native tools to boost consumer engagement online and through social media. Now, the time has come for the travel and leisure industry to foster a newfound relationship with the creator economy. 

    Social commerce in the United States has steadily grown, seeing more than $36.6 billion in sales in 2021. As the trend expands, some suggest that the social commerce market could reach more than $79.6 billion in sales by 2025. 

    While the U.S. consumer market has seen steady market performance over the last few years, in other parts of the world, such as China, social commerce has evolved into a new way of shopping and bringing consumers closer to their favorite brands and creators. Back in 2021, social commerce platform purchases skyrocketed to more than $363 billion in China, far surpassing the U.S. market. 

    It’s no secret, social commerce is popular. 

    Yet, despite the upside, social commerce provides consumers, social media behemoth Meta, announced in the last few weeks that it will be killing off its Instagram live shopping feature by mid-March 2023. Meta said it’s looking to focus more on ads and providing a more interactive experience for both users and brands on the app. 

    Although Instagram may soon be dropping its social commerce and online shopping features, industry experts suggest that brands and retailers, including businesses in the travel industry should be using social shopping as part of their marketing goals and strategies.

    Social media is business

    From a conversational point of view, companies across different industries have taken social media and transformed it into an online digital platform through which they can engage with their customers. It’s helped bring brands closer to consumers, and provides them with a more personalized experience, from the first interaction to check-out. 

    And for the travel industry? This means business. 

    According to a Deloitte report, U.S. social media users spent more than 1.2 trillion minutes online across 100 different internet properties in November 2014. While the figures give us a glimpse of how important various internet properties were almost a decade ago, new advances in tech and software mean that some industries are now able to get even closer than before. 

    In the travel industry, where most travel agents and booking sites still heavily rely on a web-based presence, email marketing tools, and some brick-and-mortar locations, among others – the content economy is yet another foot in the door for them. 

    After a tumultuous few years of seeing the travel industry come to a near standstill due to pandemic-related restrictions, more recent pent-up traveler demand has helped catapult the industry toward a new era of digital experiences. 

    Now with the travel industry seeing a steady recovery, social commerce will need to function as an aggregator for travel agents and booking platforms. 

    Social travel commerce platforms will enable companies to leverage integrated tech and software applications. Social media analytics, customer research marketing (CRM), and content retrieval will become a new form of finding and booking holidays. 

    Some businesses may take a different route, using social commerce platforms as an e-commerce engine to drive travelers specifically towards new products, services, and attractions. 

    We might see several companies looking to leverage the opportunities presented by the rise of business travel, which have also taken a toll since the onset of the pandemic and have since steadily been recovering. 

    As companies again introduce new and more effective travel incentive programs, social media could become a virtual portal for travel agents and aggregators. 

    Content can help promote community 

    Online content is more diverse than ever, with influencers collaborating with brands and retailers to promote products and services to an ever-growing audience. 

    Yet, in the past, users were simply categorized as followers, nowadays they’re more seen as a community among one another. 

    Influencers and brands spent years, if not decades building and fostering a specific relationship with consumers, reshaping the way they think, speak, and feel about certain products or services. 

    As a broad and basic example, we see this with Apple, which leverages marketing tactics, consumer experience, and design to build a community of loyal supporters and followers. 

    We can almost say the same about influencers, who have culminated millions of followers, providing a sense of authority with the brands they represent and market. 

    In the travel industry, this is possible, however, several obstacles can cause turbulence for businesses that aren’t able to properly invest in brand and tone of voice with their customers. 

    Social commerce will become a tool that will help democratize the industry, and provide a more unified experience for travelers. Content creators will be able to provide insight for their followers. In a similar vein, this puts the industry in front of consumers, opening new channels for them through which they can access services and products that were once unattainable or seemed somewhat foreign. 

    It’s a shifting mindset, but more so, it’s a change in marketing goals and strategy for some businesses in the industry. Leveraging travel social commerce will become an ecosystem of partnership between different brands and businesses. 

    For companies, it means a new business model, while for travelers it’s the foundation of high-value interactions and a more streamlined experience. 

    Travel social commerce will see its time in the sun, as the industry continues to expand on the back of ever growing digital marketing tools native to social media. A new way of bringing services and products to consumers requires the industry to adopt social commerce as a goal, rather than a system on its own. 

  • Digital Shopping Is Shaping Up To Become The New In-Store Retail Experience

    Digital Shopping Is Shaping Up To Become The New In-Store Retail Experience

    Despite stubbornly high inflation and aggressive interest rates biting into consumers’ disposable income, as prices remain elevated, new data suggests that shoppers are continuously looking for more seamless digital experiences in retail and department stores. 

    At the end of January, online grocery sales declined by 1.2% finishing off at $8.4 billion in the U.S. market. Demand for ship-to-home was also down, which includes the likes of FedEx, UPS, and USPS. 

    Experts suggest that the decline in these services was largely driven by the uptick in big-box retailers now offering direct-to-home delivery for shoppers, taking on logistical responsibilities themselves, instead of using third-party carriers. 

    Mass demand for online shopping during the height of the pandemic helped solidify the future of the online retail industry, and today shoppers can find nearly anything and everything they need online. 

    While this has created a massive opportunity for retailers, from all industries to transition their operations online, and present consumers with a more accessible channel – grocery retailers were slow to adapt, despite seeing steady growth during the pandemic era. 

    With many pandemic-related concerns now in the rearview, grocery chains and mass stores are creating a more digital in-store experience, as it hopes to draw in walking customers to their brick-and-mortar locations. 

    The drive to digital 

    Consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of online shopping, whether it’s for home goods, clothing, or even groceries. Everything they want and need can be found online, price-matched, and shipped straight to their door. 

    On top of this, shoppers can shop from any device they see fit. From computers to tablets, smartphones, and even mobile apps – it’s all accessible through a few clicks and swipes. 

    The rise of smartphone adoption among consumers in recent years has meant that retailers can create a multifaceted shopping experience. Research shows that around 82% of shoppers will consult their phone before making an in-store purchase. 

    With the internet so readily available, shoppers can now quickly compare prices from different retailers and stores, read reviews, or in this case, follow up on nutritional and dietary information relating to their grocery purchases. 

    What’s more, is that nearly every popular and big-box retailer now offers an online option. In the past, a few niche brands and businesses had a website, with a small online store – today, the picture is completely different. 

    A February report showed that around 7.8% of U.S. consumers purchase groceries online. That’s because big names such as Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Krogers, among others, all now offer online shopping and delivery services. 

    Even more, these stores are making use of their delivery teams to get items from stores and warehouses to consumers, in record time. 

    The competition for same-day delivery means that retailers are constantly looking at how they can deliver online purchases to shoppers quicker than their nearest contender. 

    That’s because consumers want convenience. They also want to see which retailer has the best deals or online benefits. The same February report showed that 62% of shoppers cite convenience as the reason for shopping online rather than in-store. A further 52% cited that online benefits and app-only deals led them to use online platforms for their grocery shopping. 

    In a similar vein, some have found that buying groceries online is often more affordable than having to go to a store. 

    A Travel Daily News article found that buying groceries online in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can cost consumers less. The reason why consumers can save more money on their grocery bills is that they have more access to digital channels that allows them to compare prices, look for coupons, bundle deals, and even free at-home delivery. 

    There’s plenty to get excited about when a mass store or a household brand offers online deals – and now grocery chains are noticing that they need to step up their digital game if they want to continue playing with corporate contenders such as Walmart and Amazon. 

    The digital experience coming to a store near you 

    Digital needs are creeping into every known industry, and as the Internet of Things (IoT), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) become more mainstream, we could soon see technological innovations reach our favorite local grocery store.

    In this instance, the case may be true for a small handful of well-known grocery chains that have already started mapping the customer journey through digital and technological innovation. 

    Kroger has more than 2,800 stores nationwide across 35 states and operates other grocery retail stores including Ralphs, Dillion, Smith’s City Market, Jay C, Pay Less, and Bakers, among a list of others. 

    In the last couple of years, Kroger’s introduced digital product displays on shelves in some of its stores. Powered by Microsoft Azure, the digital sensors, or EDGE – Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment – can help process data generated by customer behavior, buying trends, and demand for certain products. 

    EDGE is connected to IoT sensors, which can deliver real-time data to stores, allowing them to monitor which products have low inventory levels, require restocking, and for customers display discounted prices. 

    Idaho-based grocery store, Albertsons, which has more than 2,500 stores, has steadily been experimenting with digital “smart” shopping carts in some of its stores. 

    Albertson’s “smart” shopping carts allow customers to ring up items as they place them in the cart, eliminating the need for them to go use checkout points. 

    This is similar to what we’ve seen Amazon has been trialing the last couple of years with its self-checkout stores, which the company heroically named Amazon Just Walk Out. 

    Research by McKinsey found that if a grocery store can properly implement tech-enabled self-checkout, it can help improve in-store productivity by 6% to 12%. This means that grocery stores will require less in-person labor at checkout counters during operational hours. 

    While it shows how technology can benefit grocery stores, not only in terms of physical in-store sales, customer experiences, and productivity, it’s still not able to compete on the same levels that eCommerce can offer consumers. 

    Final thoughts 

    While it’s hopeful that grocery stores will in the coming years adapt for the more digitally native consumer, it’s perhaps a race against time for some to ensure their longevity and ensure their long-term growth. 

    While eCommerce and online retail remain the triumphant winner, the introduction of digital can only further enhance an already well-known practice that has helped shaped the virtual shopping reality. Yet this time round, it’s up to grocery chains and big-box names to bring digital back to where it was once considered irrelevant. 

  • Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP

    “It’s really about customer experience,” says Nirosha Methananda, VP of Marketing at Bombora. “I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.”

    Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

    Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

    As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

    Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

    It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

    As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

    There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

    Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying, Says Bombora VP Nirosha Methananda
  • Walmart Teams Up With Salesforce to Sell Its Retail Software

    Walmart Teams Up With Salesforce to Sell Its Retail Software

    Walmart is making a major move into retail software and services, teaming up with Salesforce to sell its solutions to other retailers.

    Walmart revolutionized the retail market thanks to its focus on logistics, fulfillment, and delivery. The retail giant is looking to make money off of its innovative solutions by selling fulfillment and delivery solutions to other retailers and teaming up with Salesforce to make it happen.

    “Through this partnership, retailers can leverage the same innovative and scalable technologies that power Walmart’s pickup and delivery experiences,” said Anshu Bhardwaj, senior vice president, technology strategy and commercialization, Walmart Global Technology. “The same technology that powers Store Assist has enabled Walmart to fulfill over 830 million orders across over 4,700 Walmart stores. Together with Salesforce, retailers can scale their business and deliver the personalized, convenient experiences shoppers expect.”

    “Salesforce is thrilled to partner with Walmart as it transforms its business and further expands into the digital technology market,” said Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President, Alliances & Channels, Salesforce. “Through this partnership with Salesforce, Walmart can grow its business in new ways by productizing its proven retail processes – empowering other retailers to create new and personalized experiences for their customers.” 

    Walmart says retailers will be able to take advantage of three major features, including Buy Online and Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS), use Walmart GoLocal to manage local deliveries, and take advantage of Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Order Management to manage the entire omnichannel shopping experience.

    “Shoppers continue to expect brands to deliver highly connected and frictionless experiences across physical and digital touchpoints. In fact, 1 in 5 online orders placed the weekend before Christmas were picked up in store,” said Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail, Salesforce. “With the combined power of Walmart and Salesforce, retailers can drive success with best-in-class technology to advance their omnichannel capabilities, drive efficiency and ensure that every purchase quickly gets into the hands of the shopper – no matter where they are.”

  • Google Brings ‘Retail Search’ to Cloud Customers

    Google Brings ‘Retail Search’ to Cloud Customers

    Google is expanding its cloud services, bringing Retail Search to its clients in an effort to help them provide the best experience to their own customers.

    One of the biggest issues online shoppers face is finding the products they’re interested in. This can especially be apparent when comparing retail platform search capabilities with the Google Search features customers have become accustomed to.

    Google Cloud is now bringing the power of its search to retail clients, with Retail Search, which the company unveiled in a blog.

    This fully managed service is easily customizable, enabling organizations to craft shopper-focused search experiences. Our site search solution builds upon decades of Google’s experience and innovation in search indexing, retrieval, and ranking. Retailers can make product discovery even easier for shoppers, while optimizing for their business goals with advanced capabilities

    Retail Search gives clients the ability to offer advanced query understanding, meaning customers will have better success finding what they’re looking for even with the broadest of search terms. The service also includes semantic search, which matches product attributes with relevant products.

    Customers are already seeing the benefit of Retail Search.

    “With limited customer signals and no historical data, descriptive long-tail searches are some of the most challenging queries to understand,” said Neelima Sharma, senior vice president, technology, e-commerce, marketing and merchandising at Lowe’s. “We have been partnering with Google Cloud to give our customers relevant results for long-tail searches and have seen an increase in click-through and search conversion and a drop in our ‘No Results Found’ rate since we launched.”

    Google Cloud customers interested in learning more can visit Discovery Solutions for Retail or contact their Google Cloud field sales representative.

  • Walmart Is Permanently Closing Its Last Portland Stores

    Walmart Is Permanently Closing Its Last Portland Stores

    Walmart is permanently closing its last Portland, OR stores, citing a failure to meet financial expectations.

    According to KPTV, Walmart plans to close its remaining two Portland locations in late March.

    “The decision to close these stores was made after a careful review of their overall performance. We consider many factors, including current and projected financial performance, location, population, customer needs, and the proximity of other nearby stores when making these difficult decisions. After we decide to move forward, our focus is on our associates and their transition, which is the case here,” a Walmart spokesperson said.

    While the company officially blamed “financial performance,” Walmart has been struggling with record-breaking theft. Walmart CEO Doug McMillion warned months ago that the company’s financial performance was being negatively impacted as a result.

    It’s unclear if crime was a factor in the company’s decision.

  • Ring Is Locking Core Features Behind a Subscription

    Ring Is Locking Core Features Behind a Subscription

    Just days after getting a new CEO, Ring is angering customers by locking core features behind a subscription service.

    Ring is one of the most popular home camera systems and is owned by Amazon. The company’s founder stepped aside as CEO last week, paving the way for former Microsoft and Meta exec Elizabeth (Liz) Hamren to take over.

    Less than a week later, Ring has made one of its more controversial decisions, according to Android Central:

    Starting March 29, 2023, all Ring customers will have to have a subscription in order to use the Home and Away modes in the Ring app. Additionally, new Ring Alarm customers will have to have a subscription in order to set or disable the alarm remotely, see more than 24 hours of event history, or even receive notifications from their Ring Alarm base station.

    As Android Central points out, these types of changes paint a dim picture of the future of the smart home. Rather than consumers being able to purchase, own, and truly use their smart home devices, it seems companies are hell-bent on locking them into a quagmire of perpetual subscriptions for even the most basic features.

  • Amazon Is Shuttering Multiple Amazon Go Stores

    Amazon Is Shuttering Multiple Amazon Go Stores

    Amazon is closing a number of its Amazon Go stores permanently, although it says it remains committed to the format.

    Amazon Go is the company’s cashier-less grocery stores, using cameras and sensors to determine what items shoppers have chosen and charge them when they leave. The idea is to allow shoppers to “Just Walk Out,” saving the time and headache of waiting in line.

    According to GeekWire, Amazon is closing eight of its Go locations permanently, including two in Seattle, right in the company’s backyard. The other six include two in New York City and six in San Francisco.

    “Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet.

    “We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores,” the spokesperson added.

    It’s hard to imagine markets more perfectly suited to a Go store than San Francisco, Seattle, or New York City. Nonetheless, at least in the case of the Seattle stores, GeekWire indicated crime and open-air drug use near the store were likely major factors in the decision.

    In the meantime, Amazon continues to move ahead in the grocery store market, not only with its Go stores, but with plans to “go big” with its over-arching ambitions.

  • Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    “Shopify is evolving into the world’s first retail operating system,” says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein. “We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify.”

    Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, discusses how COVID has dramatically sped up the timeline for commerce moving online and has also moved Shopify closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first retail operating system:

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Most people assume that Shopify is an ecommerce provider. We have more than a million stores on Shopify. If you were to aggregate our stores in the US we’d be the second-largest online retailer in America. Of course, we’re not a retailer but we’re a platform. But we now have these great economies of scale that we’re using to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That being said, what really Shopify is evolving into is the world’s first retail operating system. 

    What we’re trying to figure out is what do brands and entrepreneurs and retailers need, not just now but in the future? We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. This idea of enabling Shopify merchants to very easily push their products to the Amazon Marketplace or the eBay marketplace or now the Walmart marketplace, that gives them access to a new set of consumers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify. 

    Then we’ve gone ahead and asked what else can we do for these merchants? Can we do capital? We’ve now given out about a billion dollars worth of cash advances and loans to small businesses. We’re doing fulfillment and we’re doing shipping. We’re increasing the scope and the relationship that we have with the million stores on Shopify. This is allowing them to become category leaders.

    COVID Speeds Up The Ecommerce Revolution

    From our view, it seems like the commerce world that would have existed in the year 2030 has really been pulled into the year 2020 (as a result of the COVID crisis). We’ve seen ecommerce as a percent of total retail go from 15 percent to 25 percent in the last three months. That’s the same growth rate that we’ve seen over the last 10 years. What really has emerged here is sort of this tale of two retail worlds. On one side you have these resilient retailers that are doing great, they’re pivoting, and they’re expanding their businesses. On the other side, you have these resistant retailers who have not made it. In many ways, it’s probably the most exciting time for retail in a very long time. 

    We talk a lot about these direct to consumer brands that are becoming category leaders. The Allbirds and the Gymsharks who started on Shopify when they were very small and have grown to become the incumbents in their industry. Every 25 seconds a brand new entrepreneur makes his or her (products) for sale on Shopify. We talk a lot about those new startups, those new DTC brands. But actually, what we’re also seeing on Shopify are companies like Lindt Chocolate or Heinz ketchup or Chipotle. They are signing up for Shopify and basically from like five days from contract to launch they are completely changing their businesses. 

    This resiliency isn’t simply in the hands of just the smallest of brands. Big companies are also beginning to think a lot more about how to stay resilient in this time. They’re moving well beyond ecommerce or thinking about offline commerce now. They’re thinking about how do they sell across social media? How do they sell across different marketplaces? So no, I don’t think it’s too late (to enter ecommerce) but I do think they have to rethink their strategies.

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System Says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein
  • Twitter Blue Is Now Available in More Than 20 Countries

    Twitter Blue Is Now Available in More Than 20 Countries

    Twitter Blue has undergone a major expansion, with the service now available in more than 20 European countries.

    Twitter Blue is the social media platform’s service that provides a number of major features not available to free users. Those features include the ability to edit tweets, post 60-minute videos, and post up to 4,000 character tweets.

    According to TechCrunch, the company has expanded the service to 20+ countries, including “Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Romania, Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, and Cyprus.”

    The expansion is a clear effort to help the platform convert users to paid accounts. Since Twitter started charging $8/mo for the service, it hasn’t exactly been a hit, with reports indicating it has less than 300,000 subscribers.

  • Florida Could Require Registration for Bloggers Writing About Elected Officials

    Florida Could Require Registration for Bloggers Writing About Elected Officials

    Florida is raising eyebrows with a bill that would require anyone blogging about the state’s elected officials to register or face fines.

    According to NBC affiliate WFLA, Florida Senator Jason Brodeur has proposed a new bill that would force bloggers writing about the “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature” to register with the state and file monthly reports if they receive compensation for what they write.

    The bill goes on to say that the bill “does not include the website of a newspaper or other similar publication,” but reading the bill’s text leaves tremendous room for interpretation and does not definitively rule out any type of news coverage.

    What’s more, the bill doesn’t even limit its scope to bloggers within the state of Florida:

    “Blogger” means any person as defined in s. 1.01(3) that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently published.

    “Blog post” is an individual webpage on a blog which contains an article, a story, or a series of stories.

    The bill then outlines a schedule of monthly reports bloggers would be subject to:

    If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register with the appropriate office, as identified in paragraph (1)(f), within 5 days after the first post by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer.

    Upon registering with the appropriate office, a blogger must file monthly reports on the 10th day following the end of each calendar month from the time a blog post is added to the blog, except that, if the 10th day following the end of a calendar month occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the report must be filed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

    Failure to comply would lead to some hefty fines:

    A fine of $25 per day per report for each day late, not to exceed $2,500 per report.

    It seems that Senator Brodeur may need a primer on the First Amendment and how it applies to bloggers, as well as all news coverage in general. In the meantime, it’s highly unlikely such a law — if the bill even passes — would ever survive a legal challenge.

  • Amazon Is Taking Half of Sellers’ Revenue

    Amazon Is Taking Half of Sellers’ Revenue

    Many e-commerce companies rely on Amazon for the bulk of their business, but it is a costly proposition with Amazon taking half of their revenue.

    According to research by Marketplace Pulse, Amazon has increased its fulfillment fees and mandatory advertising, increasing the percentage it takes from sellers. This has resulted in an increase in Amazon’s cut from 40% five years ago to 50% today.

    Interestingly, the base transaction fee has remained a steady 15%. Fulfillment fees, however, have grown to 20-35% and advertising can rack up another 15%. What’s more, the advertising is not optional, meaning sellers are going to pay for it whether they want it or not.

    Credit: Marketplace Pulse

    As the research firm highlights, this is leaving many companies making far less than they planned:

    Sellers are combating fee increases by either raising prices, diversifying from FBA, or diversifying from Amazon altogether. However, sometimes it’s only at the end of the tax year that they realize how little net profit they have left. A few sellers showed paying 60% and even 70% of their revenue to Amazon in fees. They still had to pay for inventory, freight, employees, and other expenses.

    To make matters worse, there are not many good options for companies that want to avoid Amazon’s fees. Walmart is cheaper for new sellers, but doesn’t have nearly the reach that Amazon does. Shopify and eBay, while significantly cheaper, also require the seller to handle more of their own logistics.

    With an economic downturn, only time will tell if Amazon is squeezing its sellers too much.

  • Move Over Subscription Economy, Usage-Based Billing Is Here

    Move Over Subscription Economy, Usage-Based Billing Is Here

    Subscription pricing models may be an unforeseen casualty of the economic downturn, paving the way for usage-based billing.

    Subscription pricing models have permeated everything from cloud services to mobile apps and are a far cry from the early days of computing and the internet. For those old enough to remember, software was sold — often in a box — for a one-time fee for that major version of the software. When a major new version was released, users could usually pay a cheaper upgrade fee to move to the latest and greatest.

    With the rise of the internet, however, subscription models quickly dominated the market and all but supplanted the one-time fee model. Thanks to the economic downturn, however, Business Insider makes the case that subscription pricing may be on the verge of going the way of its predecessor.

    In place of subscriptions, usage-based billing is the new hot thing in the software market. Rather than a flat monthly rate, usage-based billing only charges customers for what they actually use. As Insider points out, this is not uncommon among cloud providers but is poised to spread out to other areas of the industry.

    The model could be a viable and appealing option for much wider use, especially as businesses are looking to rein in expenses wherever possible.

    “If you think about the evolution of business models, it’s always trended more and more towards being more friendly to the customer,” Rishi Jaluria, an RBC software analyst, told Insider. “It is very likely, in my opinion, that there will be more companies that are either on a consumption model or offer a consumption element to the model.”

    Jaluria’s views are shared even by those entrenched in the subscription model approach.

    “The best companies are saying, ‘We want to have a mix of models that really accommodates all our different customers,’” said Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora, a subscription-billing-management company. “Different customers might want different things as well.”

  • Amazon Reports First Unprofitable Year in Almost a Decade

    Amazon Reports First Unprofitable Year in Almost a Decade

    Amazon delivered its quarterly report and it was bad news as the company turned in its first unprofitable year in almost a decade.

    Amazon reported net sales for 2022 of $514.0 billion, an increase of 9% year-over-year. The company’s AWS cloud business came in at $80.1 billion for the year, an increase of 29%.

    Despite the increased sales, the company posted a net loss of $2.7 billion for the year, or $0.27 per share, its first since 2014. While a $2.7 billion loss is bad enough on its own, it’s even worse when compared to the $33.4 billion net income the company posted in 2021.

    Much of the company’s loss can be attributed to its investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian.

    2022 net loss includes a pre-tax valuation loss of $12.7 billion included in non-operating income (expense) from the common stock investment in Rivian Automotive, Inc., compared to a pre-tax valuation gain of $11.8 billion from the investment in 2021.

    “Our relentless focus on providing the broadest selection, exceptional value, and fast delivery drove customer demand in our Stores business during the fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations—and we’re appreciative of all our customers who turned to Amazon this past holiday season,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO.

    Jassy also was optimistic about the future, especially given the cost-cutting measures the company has already taken.

    “We’re also encouraged by the continued progress we’re making in reducing our cost to serve in the operations part of our Stores business,” Jassy continued. “In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon. The vast majority of total market segment share in both Global Retail and IT still reside in physical stores and on-premises datacenters; and as this equation steadily flips, we believe our leading customer experiences in these areas along with the results of our continued hard work and invention to improve every day, will lead to significant growth in the coming years. When you also factor in our investments and innovation in several other broad customer experiences (e.g. streaming entertainment, customer-first healthcare, broadband satellite connectivity for more communities globally), there’s additional reason to feel optimistic about what the future holds.”

  • B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Ultimately Conversion

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Ultimately Conversion

    “We co-create content with (B2B Influencers) in concert with brand messaging,” says TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden. “So now instead of people just ignoring the press release we actually have storytelling happening with these different voices. You have this intersection of one or two or three or four influencers talking about this topic and those audiences intersect and cross. Your customer is hearing this credible message not only from the brand but also from people that they trust in different channels. That all adds up to yes. That all adds up to nurture and ultimately conversion.”

    Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing, discusses how B2B influencer marketing can be a highly effective force in driving leads and conversions for companies. Lee was interviewed by Tim Washer at the 2019 Content Marketing World Conference & Expo:

    Influencer Marketing Is Powerful Because Of Influence Itself

    Influencer marketing is powerful because of influence itself, not about the people. Influence has always been a factor in being persuasive and being effective as a communicator, as a marketer, and really being able to tap into the dynamics of that. The psychology and sociology of that is something that is everlasting, it’s evergreen. While there are trends in terms of tactics that come and go, there’s this consumerization of B2B. B2C influencers are misbehaving and have fake followers, etc. and some of that’s leaking over into B2B. But I think that’ll reconcile a little bit and kind of clean itself out. In the future brands are going to be looking at influence as a really key component of their holistic marketing strategy internally and externally.

    A lot of people when they think of influencer marketing they think of a Kardashian or some people think of something like Baddiewinkle, a 90-year-old woman who wears hip-hop clothes and now has her own makeup line on Sephora versus someone like Tamara McCleary interviewing an executive at Dell about the right IT infrastructure for doing edge computing. That’s really what it’s about in B2B.

    B2B Influencers Actually Have To Have The Main Expertise

    One of the big differences between B2B and B2C influencers is that in B2B you actually have to have the main expertise. You actually have to be knowledgeable and have a depth of that expertise in what it is that you’re influential about. It’s also important to have a network for distribution and a place to publish your content. It’s great to have a personality and that’s less common in B2B, where you have charisma. Well, lack of personality is a form of personality I suppose. 

    The good thing is that we’ve figured out ways to coach folks that have that domain expertise and an active following but they’re not necessarily used to being social. We are coaching them in how to activate themselves and to pull out the best of what they have to share in a way that’s very promotable. Many of them start to open up a little bit after we show them how to do it.

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Conversion

    In the planning stages (with a client looking to promote something) we’ll look at the topics that are important around the announcement and how it affects customers and how customers will think of that news and how it’ll affect or change their lives. Those topics are then what we want to be influential about. We’ll use those keywords or topics to search our network using influencer marketing software to find who is influential around those topics, who’s publishing content, who self-identifies around that topic, and whose audience is actually activated around that topic. We find those people who have trusted voices with an active community and we invite them to collaborate on content and give their opinion about the announcement. 

    We co-create content with them in concert with brand messaging. So now instead of people just ignoring the press release we actually have storytelling happening with these different voices. You have this intersection of one or two or three or four influencers talking about this topic and those audiences intersect and cross. They intersect across channels too. Your customer is hearing this credible message not only from the brand but also from people that they trust in different channels. That all adds up to yes. That all adds up to nurture and ultimately conversion.

    B2B Influencer Marketing Adds Up To Nurture and Conversion – TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden
  • Walmart Selling Moosejaw to Dick’s Sporting Goods

    Walmart Selling Moosejaw to Dick’s Sporting Goods

    Walmart is selling outdoor retailer Moosejaw, with DIck’s Sporting Goods buying it for an undisclosed amount.

    Walmart purchased Moosejaw in 2017 for $51 million as it was ramping up its online offerings. The purchase seemed like a good fit, given Moosejaw’s successful e-commerce presence.

    Just a few years later, Walmart is now offloading the company, selling it to Dick’s — which is arguably an even better fit, given both companies’ focus on outdoor apparel and gear.

    “We admire what Moosejaw has accomplished over the past 30 years as leaders in the outdoor industry and look forward to the opportunity to share insights and learn from one another,” said Todd Spaletto, President, Public Lands and Senior Vice President, DICK’S Sporting Goods. “We believe there’s potential to grow the Moosejaw business and provide compelling experiences and an expanded product assortment to its millions of loyal customers.”

    The deal is expected to close March 2023. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  • Developer Opens eBay Account, Gets Suspended Indefinitely

    Developer Opens eBay Account, Gets Suspended Indefinitely

    Rafael Conde, a developer for Sketch and Hand Mirror, created an eBay account, made his first purchase, and promptly got suspended indefinitely.

    eBay was once THE online destination for used, unique, and vintage items on the internet. In recent years, however, it has been eclipsed by a variety of other platforms. A recent Twitter thread by Conde illustrates an issue that could be a major factor in eBay’s decline.

    According to Conde, he set up an eBay account to look for and buy vintage items that aren’t easily found elsewhere. After his first purchase, however, he was notified that his account had been suspended. Talking with an online customer support representative didn’t yield any resolution, with the customer service rep saying the decision was final and nothing could be done.

    To matters even worse, the transaction for the item Conde bid on had already gone through. eBay’s solution was to tell him to contact his payment provider and dispute the charges.

    What’s more, in an unfathomable admission, the eBay rep seemed to indicate that this was a common and normal way of verifying new users.

    The Ask eBay Twitter account responded to Conde’s thread, reiterating that nothing could be done.

    The entire exchange is displayed below and is definitely not a good look for a company that needs to attract users…not alienate them.

  • eCommerce Email Marketing: Why Do You Need It?

    eCommerce Email Marketing: Why Do You Need It?

    eCommerce email marketing is one of the earliest forms of internet advertising, and studies show that it’s still just as effective today. Social media advertising may be new, flashy, and appealing to younger audiences, but when choosing between an eCommerce email marketing agency and a social media marketing agency, there are a few other factors to consider. Emails have been a tried and true method of marketing for a long time and are trusted by many generations of consumers. While social media allows for more creative expression in terms of graphics, gifs, and video—as well as the interactive nature of comments—social platforms like Instagram are quickly becoming oversaturated with ads. Not all of these ads are trustworthy or legitimate, and it’s not infrequent for scam ads to appear on social feeds.

    Partially due to the increasing scams and oversaturation of ads on social media, eCommerce email marketing is many consumers’ preferred form of advertising. While you do want to use marketing mediums that fit your team members’ expertise, your consumers are the ones who are ultimately exposed to the finished product. Moreover, if you or your team members are struggling considerably with writing creative email copy, it may be worthwhile to invest in an eCommerce email marketing agency. But why is email marketing such a preferred advertising method by employees and consumers alike? What makes it superior?

    What is the Difference Between eCommerce Email Marketing and E-Marketing?

    Before exploring the ways in which eCommerce email marketing can improve your business, it’s essential to understand what eCommerce email marketing does. Any company can use email marketing—that is, sending product information or ads for new products via email. It’s becoming increasingly rarer for a store to have a physical shop without an online shop, but those stores that do can still make sure of email marketing. If you have a business, you can send out marketing emails. Similarly, if you have an online store, you can send out eCommerce marketing emails. This means that a non-profit can use email marketing but not eCommerce email marketing. E-Marketing, on the other hand, refers to any online marketing medium, including social media platforms and email. eCommerce email marketing can include general emails about upcoming sales in an online shop or emails that are tailored to a shopper and the items in their cart.

    Consumer Control

    Unlike social media marketing, email marketing allows consumers more control over the advertisements, coupons, and deals that they receive. Because consumers are required to subscribe to your company’s mailing list or newsletter in order to receive emails from you, consumers are less likely to receive emails from brands that they don’t know and trust. Any scam emails are directed to spam, and consumers have the freedom to unsubscribe from a mailing list in order to stop receiving product information.

    More Trustworthy

    While it may seem counterintuitive to allow consumers to stop receiving product information from your company, it is imperative to win their trust. In fact, 77% of consumers prefer to receive marketing information via email. It makes sense that emails are the most trustworthy. We’re already using our email addresses for work and networking so it feels professional whereas social media ads are fun, but a little too casual to be legitimate. Email marketing feels trustworthy and professional, but how can it work for your business? How do you ensure that your emails are being opened and your content consumed?

    High Open Rates and ROI

    It’s more likely than you think that consumers will open your marketing emails. According to Forbes, 65% of small businesses report that between 11 and 50% of their marketing emails are opened. It’s easy to track open rates using tools like Cirrus Insight. Even if a customer doesn’t open your email as soon as they receive it, there is a potential that they may do so later. Social media posts, on the other hand, disappear as soon as someone refreshes their feed—meaning they might never even see it. It’s also hard to beat the price and return on investment of marketing emails.

    Forbes tells us that you earn $42 for every dollar you spend, and most email marketing campaigns cost very little. You might find that your open and click-through rates become even higher when you put effort into the design and layout of your emails. As long as you don’t flood your consumers’ inboxes (40% of small businesses send marketing emails weekly while 30% send them at least once a month), your clients are sure to appreciate a thoughtfully made email with memorable colors and graphics. Cleverly worded subject lines that include slang and emojis are especially popular with more “hip” brands like skincare lines and fashion companies.

    Conclusion

    Even with the rise of social media, eCommerce email marketing is still a trustworthy form of marketing—and, in fact, one that is usually preferred by consumers. The return on investment and ease of content creation makes email marketing a no-brainer for your next campaign.

  • 3 Ways Online Courses are Changing eCommerce & Digital Product Sales

    3 Ways Online Courses are Changing eCommerce & Digital Product Sales

    According to a recent study, in 2020 alone, nearly 5.4 million students took at least one class on the Internet. The practice has gotten so popular that about 10% of all postsecondary institutions now offer online courses of some kind, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

    But the key thing to understand is that online courses aren’t solely changing the world of education, but are also having a major impact on business industries, like eCommerce and digital product sales. These Internet-driven educational opportunities are shaping the way digital products are sold thanks to the fact that they bring with them benefits to both businesses and consumers alike. This reigns true in a range of ways, all of which are worth a closer look.

    1.  Online Education is Making New Opportunities Accessible to All

    Thanks to online education, gone are the days when you had to attend one of a handful of specialized schools in order to pick up a particular or niche skill set. Now, it’s possible to get a robust education in practically anything if you know where to look, all from the comfort of your own home.

    Case in point: wholesale real estate investing. As individuals are now pursuing this real estate investing method at a higher rate, they need specialized knowledge and insight on top of their existing real estate education.

    Now, thanks to online courses including educational mentorship programs, leaders like Real Estate Skills are getting more people successfully into the wholesale mix. It has quickly ballooned into a popular investment strategy, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when record demand met low inventory and the types of low interest rates the market hadn’t seen in decades.

    2.  Preparing the Next Generation of Workers

    By far, one of the biggest ways that online courses are changing eCommerce and digital sales has to do with how they’re adequately preparing the next generation of workers for the shifts that are about to happen in these industries.

    The use of concepts like artificial intelligence and cloud computing were already present in eCommerce, but the COVID-19 pandemic acted as an accelerant that supercharged trends like these. They’re big, structural changes that are going to eliminate some jobs and create entirely new ones, the latter of which it has already started to do.

    This type of disruption always requires people to learn new skills, be it by way of up-skilling, re-skilling, or something else entirely. Online courses are already helping enormously to that end, teaching people how to coexist with things like automation and teaching them what they need to know to function in the more technical roles that have already started to appear.

    Another recent study indicated that in 2021 alone, more than 20 million new users registered for at least one online course from Coursera. That is equal to the growth in online education for the three full years prior to the pandemic. Reasons like this go a long way towards explaining “why”.

    3.  Online Courses are Leveling the Playing Field

    The rise of eCommerce giants left many smaller, often local businesses and suppliers at a disadvantage. Now, thanks to online courses and education, the pendulum is finally swinging back in the opposite direction. For a (relatively) low up-front cost, smaller businesses can pick up the skills they need to adequately compete with their larger counterparts. They don’t have to outspend them, but rather outthink them.

    With the right education it is possible for even individuals to generate 24/7/365 income, all without worrying about opening up a physical store in their area. Anyone can build a brand and sell to customers globally, while still pricing and shipping their products in a competitive way.

    But most importantly, online courses give people the opportunity to embrace one of the most important trends of the modern era: a truly personalized customer experience. No business is too small to offer the personalized level of care and attention-to-detail that the modern consumer demands. You just have to leverage the right technology and have the skills and education necessary to make it happen.

    That is perhaps the single biggest benefit that online courses provide to both consumers and entrepreneurs working in the world of eCommerce and digital product sales today.

    Online Courses are Changing the Way We Think About eCommerce

    In an overwhelming number of sectors and spaces, online courses are changing the way we think about eCommerce and digital product sales The education that you can pick up quickly and efficiently is invaluable, to the point where both businesses and individuals can leverage it to grow their sales and reach the largest possible audience at the exact same time.