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Category: Retail & eCommerce

eCommerce, Online Retail & Retail News

  • Walmart is the Roman Empire of Retail

    Walmart is the Roman Empire of Retail

    Walmart is the Roman Empire of retail, says Burt Flickinger, Managing Director of SRG. Walmart announced an impressive earnings and revenue beat that told the story investors want to hear. Walmart is winning the retail wars, especially against arch-rival Amazon. “Like Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Amazon is starting to go the wrong way.” says Flickinger. “Big win for Walmart today and they will accelerate that in the next two to seven years.”

    Burt Flickinger, Managing Director of SRG, a consumer industry business consulting firm, discussed how Walmart is winning the retail wars in an interview on Fox Business:

    Walmart is the Roman Empire of Retail

    This earnings report just reinforces its winning. Amazon is going sideways. This is a reenactment of the Punic Wars, Rome versus Carthage. Walmart is the Roman empire of retail. Like Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Amazon is starting to go the wrong way. Big win for Walmart today and they will accelerate that in the next two to seven years.

    What’s doubly impressive, we talk to a lot of vendors and shoppers around the world, what the vendors are saying is Walmart is reinvesting all the PPA (price and promotional allowances) in lower prices. Lower prices normally mean lower margins and lower revenue. But in this case, the shopper is shifting to Walmart.

    Walmart strategically saw all the land-based businesses like Payless and all the retailers from toys to sporting goods going out of business. They had great sales on land and not so good online. Walmart is winning both ways. Amazon, with all the trouble they’re having with Whole Foods, can’t capitalize. Walmart is running the table.

    This Says it All for US Retail

    This says it all for US retail. The well capitalized highly capable retailers are winning and if it’s a one man show, like Bezos running the show, you could be Alexander the Great, you could be Hannibal out of Carthage, but one general isn’t going to win a war. Recent (lower) retail sales numbers were a combination of a couple things. One is Jerome Powell scared the market, especially high to mid-end, didn’t spend as much. Also, consumers were a little bit scared toward the end of the year. Walmart, off price, low price, did very well, but full price full service struggled and that’s why the numbers were bad.

    Walmart comp sales increased 4.2 percent, just like Steve Jobs and Apple with their great campaign Think Different with Muhammad Ali, Walmart is thinking different with Doug McMillon. It’s evolved from a company of family management to professional management. Walmart had 40 percent growth online.

    Walmart Ads Are Really Connecting

    Before, Walmart looked at advertising as an expense. But as Jerry Della Femina said, most of the Super Bowl ads were pretty pathetic. Walmart was one that stood out because it advertised Walmart online and Walmart in-store. The Walmart ads are really connecting with consumers, a United Nations of consumers.

    They’re reaching everybody around the world with better prices and better service. Doug McMillon has invested in inventory and has invested in store staffing, first to raise wages with some push from the UFCW. They are hitting on all cylinders. The biggest problem now is they can’t handle all of the volume they are seeing on the weekends.


  • Challenges PayPal Will Be Facing in the Future

    Challenges PayPal Will Be Facing in the Future

    Traditional payment methods are increasingly evolving into digital payment methods. PayPal is one of the leading names today in the world of digital payments and arguably, the most popular one due to its competitive PayPal fees and numerous other benefits.

    Paypal earned its prominence by partnering with eBay and is widely recognized by most, if not all, online vendors today. It offers several features to help companies efficiently process and manage their finances and transactions. With digitalization increasing and e-commerce booming, the demand for platforms like PayPal has also been skyrocketing. Consequently, more competitors of PayPal are entering the market. This growing market saturation will likely make PayPal face challenges in the future:

    1. High Competition

    PayPal shared its plan to grow their average revenue per user (ARPU) by integrating new features and having the user hooked to platforms like Venmo, which provided peer-to-peer payment services to over 83 million users in the U.S. in 2021. However, Venmo faces intense competition in the market and threats from platforms like Zelle and Block’s Cash App.

    Zelle alone grew its transaction volume by 59% in 2021, which amounted to $490 billion. Compared to this, Venmo only increased by 44%, which amounted to $230 billion. The competition is rising, and PayPal may be knocked out of its leading position at this growth rate. 

    2. Frequent Layoffs 

    PayPal is reportedly laying off its employees and closing certain operative departments, especially within the research and development team. This team was in-charge of PayPal’s cryptography, quantum computing, and distributed ledger technologies that enabled PayPal to be ahead of its competitors. The reason behind the layoffs was to boost PayPal’s ARPU and reduce the inefficiencies within the company. However, these layoffs can potentially drain the company of its talent. Innovation can be hindered, and the company may face problems if it continues to let go of its existing employees.

    3. Inability To Meet Investor Targets

    PayPal claimed in an investor presentation that the growth in active users will double by 2025 as compared to 2020. The number was supposed to increase from 377 million users in 2020 to 750 million active users in 2025, enabling PayPal to increase its revenue from $21.5 billion to $50 billion and gain massive growth.

    However, PayPal’s active users only grew by 13% in 2021, with revenue growth of  $25.4 billion. It dropped its goal of increasing users in the last quarter, leaving investors confused and disappointed.  The under-delivery of results and inability to meet investor targets can lead to withdrawal of support from investors if frequent results are not delivered. This can also result in a large loss of goodwill for the company. Such decisions will likely have challenging consequences for PayPal. 

    Endnote

    PayPal is still one of the leading names in the world of digital payments and FinTech. However, it must evolve with time to keep up with the rising competition and meet the goals it has set to sustain its shareholders’ interests. If PayPal fails to do so, it may find itself falling behind in the market’s race. 

    PayPal’s stock is depleting each day as the company keeps on over-promising and under-delivering. However, PayPal can still maintain its position by focusing on innovation and partnering up with competitive supporting businesses. This can help PayPal give their business a much-needed boost and assist in gaining back investors’ confidence. 

  • Want to Use Your BMW’s Heated Seats? That Will Cost $18 Per Month.

    Want to Use Your BMW’s Heated Seats? That Will Cost $18 Per Month.

    If you thought software subscriptions were a bad thing, wait until you buy your next BMW and have to pay $18 per month to use your heated seats.

    The software development industry helped popularize the subscription model. In theory, users are far more willing to pay a few dollars a month than a single large purchase. Evidently, not content with charging users tens of thousands of dollars for buying a car, many auto manufacturers are adopting the subscription approach, with BWM already proving to be the worst offender.

    According to The Verge, the automaker is charging a subscription for heated seats in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa, although it remains to be seen when the change will make its way to the US and other countries. This isn’t the first such subscription feature, with the company transitioning several high-end features to a subscription model since 2020.

    As The Verge points out, the company is not exactly touting the change, given how much its customers have been condemning the practice. It’s one thing to charge a subscription for a feature that legitimately does require ongoing upkeep, such as navigation system updates, but it’s an entirely different thing to charge an ongoing fee to unlock hardware that is already built into the vehicle.

    With the cheapest BMW starting at nearly $40,000, and the most expensive model topping $135,000, it’s hard to see BMW’s plans as anything other than unmitigated greed and a desire to nickel and dime its customers for everything it can.

  • National Retail Federation CEO: This Is A Great Time For Innovation

    National Retail Federation CEO: This Is A Great Time For Innovation

    This is a great time for innovation,” says National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay. “There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.”

    Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, says that the pandemic has made this a great time for innovation by retailers:

    This Is A Great Time For Innovation.

    Just look back a decade ago and the companies that were created in the midst of the great recession in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We saw a lot of new IPOs. This is a great time for innovation. Some of the predictions this year, for example, about the number of stores that would close or bankruptcies that we would see just haven’t materialized. Part of that is because consumers have been relatively healthy and part of that is because on a net basis we’ve seen new businesses opening to offset the closing. There’s an enormous amount of innovation taking place.

    On the issue of returns, there’s a big company located right here in Washington, D.C., Optoro, a big partner for many retailers helping them process returns efficiently. I’ve talked to senior executives at UPS today about shipping issues and there is a lot of innovation taking place. They are working very diligently and have a great delivery record so far. We are looking forward to getting all those gifts to American families. The biggest gift of all, of course, will be some additional pandemic relief.

    A Lot Of This Is Going To Be A Permanent Change

    The issue is how much of this consumer behavior has changed permanently and fundamentally? How much of us as Americans go back to our old behaviors? That’s going to play itself out. Certainly, a lot of this is going to be a permanent change. People will do more as we saw across all demographic groups, regardless of age, this entire year doing much more online. Some of that will remain sticky.

    There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.

    With those kinds of innovations and that kind of resilience in the system against the backdrop of a year next year that could be extremely bullish if we get the vaccine rolled out, as we all believe it will be. I talked to a senior executive of one of the major pharmaceutical companies last week and they said early April or the end of May everyone that wants it will get it. We could be set up for a really big comeback for consumers next year.

    National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay: This Is A Great Time For Innovation
  • Replacement Lenses: a New eCommerce Option

    Replacement Lenses: a New eCommerce Option

    It’s an inevitability that any pair of prescription lenses will have to be replaced with time. Regardless of if this comes due to scratches, a break or shatter, general wear out of the frame, or simply losing their use as a proper vision adjustment, they simply don’t last forever.

    Most people opt to go to their local retailer and find a new pair of frames, update their prescription, and wait a few weeks to get their new glasses. These new glasses cost an average of $173, without even mentioning the prescription update. This is a purchase made, on average, every 1-3 years. 

    The Alternative to New Glasses

    There is an alternative path to this process though, one that can be cheaper, easier, and faster. Most glasses frames are going to outlive the lenses inside of them, for these cases it may be important to consider replacement lenses. Replacement lenses take any pair of frames and put a brand new set of lenses within them.

    This is especially useful for those who have a more unique pair of frames, those that like antique and vintage frames but need new lenses, those that want a slightly more affordable alternative to completely new glasses, and those that want multiple pairs or styles to choose from. 

    When looking at the market for lenses, and specifically replacement lenses, there are lots of options that didn’t exist in the past. On top of the average single vision lenses, there’s the bifocals and trifocals that those with particularly poor eyesight may use. A more modern alternative is also progressive lenses, lenses that have multiple prescriptions but with less harsh cutoffs as bi or trifocals. 

    You Have Lenses Options

    While most lenses today are plastic, it’s important to know that it’s not the only option. Glass lenses are much less likely to scratch and are the clearest vision offered but tend to completely shatter and are heavy. Polycarbonate lenses are 100% UV blocking, effectively shatterproof, and are lightweight but tend to scratch easily and are a bit more expensive.

    Finally, there’s a lot of tinted lenses that have become more commonplace today. Pink lenses help with depth perception and reduce migraines, brown reduce eyestrain in bright light, yellow and orange help with contrast in low-light contexts, and gray reduce fatigue and can act partially as sunglasses.

    These are just some of the different lens adjustments one can consider adding when ordering a new pair of lenses, replacement or not. And even beyond these there’s also lens coatings. Some lens coatings, things like scratch resistance and UV protection can be seen on most lenses today. Although others like fog resistance, reflection resistance, and blue-light resistance are newer options that can be very helpful at a minor price increase.

    In Conclusion

    This is all to say that there’s a lot of options for anyone considering getting a new pair of glasses in the near future. Regardless of if that means a new pair of frames as well as lenses, replacing an old pair of frames, adding a bunch of new features to the lenses, or just keeping it as basic as possible. There is more freedom now than ever in the eyeglass market.

    The World of Replacement Lenses
    Source: LensFactory
  • One Is Good, Two Is Better: Amazon May Debut Second Prime Day

    One Is Good, Two Is Better: Amazon May Debut Second Prime Day

    Amazon is reportedly planning for a second Prime Day, potentially slated for the fourth quarter of 2022.

    Prime Day is Amazon’s shopping event exclusively for its Prime members. Normally held once a year, the event includes steep discounts on popular items across the e-commerce platform. According to Business Insider, the company has sent out notices to retailers inviting them to submit promotional deals for a Prime Fall Deal Event.

    “Prime Fall Deal Event is a shopping event,” one of the messages said. “Submit recommended Lightning Deals for Prime Fall Deal Event Week for a chance to have your deal selected for Prime Fall Deal Event!” read another one.

    The standard Prime Day event is scheduled for July 12 and 13. Given that some sellers were asked to deliver their promotions, called Lightning Deal, for the new event by July 22, or September 2 in some cases, it’s clear Amazon is preparing for a second event after the normal Prime Day.

    It’s believed the company may be pushing for a second Prime Day event to help rejuvenate sales after posting its first quarterly loss since 2015. While the company was on top of the world during the height of the pandemic, e-commerce spending has slowed as things have slowly returned to normal.

    The move also comes at a time when Amazon is facing increased competition from Walmart, with the latter unveiling its own Walmart+ Weekend, a direct counter to Amazon’s Prime Day.

  • How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    “There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas,” says Scott Tousley of HubSpot. “He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website.”

    Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

    Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

    There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

    For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

    We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

    What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

    But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

    Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

  • How To Ensure You’ve Found the Right eCommerce Website for You

    How To Ensure You’ve Found the Right eCommerce Website for You

    In this day and age, shopping online is easier than ever. No matter what you may be after, you can nowadays simply launch your web browser, enter some keywords and you’ll be presented with numerous results almost instantly. This is true no matter if you’re looking to buy a new pair of shoes, in search of the best place to get live silver spot price charts, or if you’re looking to hire some type of service.

    And while there is a plethora of eCommerce websites out there, it’s important to keep in mind that not all of them are created equal. What this means is that while all of them may be offering the same or similar products, the prices may significantly vary from one website to the other. On top of that, one may accept your preferred payment methods, while the other may not; one can have stellar customer support, while the other may not have it at all, and so on.

    That’s why it’s crucial that you find the right eCommerce website when looking to purchase products online. Here are some pointers on how to do that.

    Do some research

    First and foremost, you should do some research when looking for a good eCommerce site. Here, make sure you check reviews and ratings of websites you’re considering, as you can rally learn a lot about them from these. Gaining insight into other people’s experiences will provide you with a lot of value and even help you avoid making the same mistake or having a negative experience with an eCommerce site.

    Feel free to shop around

    Additionally, feel free to shop around when looking for products or services online. Just because you came across a website that initially seemed good, that doesn’t mean you won’t find one that’s even better – provided that you go looking for it, of course. So, never settle for the first option you come across, as chances are that the next one will be better than the previous one.

    Make sure all of your needs are met

    A good eCommerce store will ensure that all of their customers’ needs are met – at least the ones that are realistic. So, don’t feel guilty abandoning a store at the very end of the purchasing process if you feel like your needs are not being met. If the eCommerce store doesn’t offer your preferred payment method, doesn’t have customer support that is available 24/7, has more than questionable security and tries to impose some hidden costs, simply abandon ship. Remember, eCommerce stores need customers more than customers need a particular store, so there really is no reason to settle for anything less than stellar service.

  • Amazon’s Global Corporate Affairs Group Prepares to Flatten Hiring

    Amazon’s Global Corporate Affairs Group Prepares to Flatten Hiring

    In yet another indication of an economic downturn, Amazon is reportedly preparing to flatten hiring and budget growth for its Global Corporate Affairs (GCA) group in 2023.

    The GCA group is responsible for Amazon’s corporate communications, lobbying, and public policy. In an internal memo seen by Business Insider, the group is preparing to flatten both its hiring and its budget for 2023, as a result of pullback the company is experiencing as the pandemic winds down.

    Amazon experienced explosive growth through most of the pandemic, with the company serving as a lifeline for people quarantining and isolating at home. As things have begun to return to normal, however, the company has suddenly found itself with a glut of warehouse space and even missed expectations for its first quarter financial results.

    Interestingly, Amazon took issue with Insider’s reporting, saying “most” of their reporting on the story was “incorrect,” but failed to give any specific details. Amazon did provide Insider with the following statement:

    “We continue to hire this year and plan to continue investing as the business grows into next year, albeit at different levels based on the individual teams and the stage of the businesses and topics they support. Of course, as we do every year when we plan, we will be looking to find efficiencies in our operations,” the spokesperson said.

  • Adobe CEO: E-Commerce Price Drops Should Fuel Strong Shopping

    Adobe CEO: E-Commerce Price Drops Should Fuel Strong Shopping

    Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen had some good news for the e-commerce sector, saying that dropping prices in some categories should help fuel strong shopping.

    Government and business leaders the world over are worried about the state of the economy. Rising inflation, supply chain issues, unfilled jobs, the war in Ukraine, and other factors threaten an economic downturn. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon likened it to a hurricane, although it’s still unclear how bad a hurricane it will be. Despite the cause for trepidation, Narayen believes the e-commerce sector has some reason to be optimistic.

    “When you look at the total expense, in addition to the macroeconomic, where there may be a little bit more concern, what’s happening is actually you’re seeing some price decreases in elements like electronics or things that are happening with games,” Narayen said in an interview on Mad Money.

    As a result of the decreased prices, especially in categories that have previously been hit hard by supply chain issues, Narayen believes digital shopping will continue at a healthy pace.

    “Nothing’s going to change as it relates to people saying, ‘I want to do digital engagement, I want to perhaps buy digitally, pick up physically and you know, the multi-channel thing,” he added.

    Narayen’s comments are some of the few elements of good news amid the economic uncertainty.

  • Amazon Working On Its Largest-Ever Warehouse in California

    Amazon Working On Its Largest-Ever Warehouse in California

    California is about to be home to Amazon’s largest warehouse yet, one coming in at nearly 4.1 million square feet.

    Amazon experienced major growth during the pandemic as individuals turned to online shopping in record numbers. The company went on a massive hiring spree, and had been expanding its warehouse footprint as well. According to The Seattle Times, Amazon leased a property in the summer of 2021 and has been working to transform it into a five-story, 97-foot-tall building with 4,055,890 square feet of space.

    The expansion comes at an odd time for Amazon. Despite the record growth of the past couple of years, a return to normal has taken a toll on the e-commerce giant. The company recently reported its first quarterly loss in seven years, prompting it to reign in some of its expansion efforts, including the expansion of its warehouse footprint.

    Multiple outlets have reported that the company wants to get rid of 10 to 30 million square feet of warehouse real estate, although that doesn’t necessarily mean the Ontario location is one of those at risk. Having a single 4.1 million square foot warehouse could have significant advantages over several separate locations that cumulatively come in at a comparable size. It’s also likely that Amazon could have trouble offloading the location, as there are few companies that could make use of such a massive property.

    “I’m not sure they’d be able to find another single user for space of that size,” Joshua Ohl, senior market analyst for real estate data firm CoStar Group, told The Seattle Times. “From what I’ve heard, Amazon has been placing more of its older facilities on the sublease market that have less automation, fewer (high-level loading docks) and lower clear heights.”

    The coming months should be interesting for Amazon, as well as the retail and e-commerce markets in general. Some business leaders, such as JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and Tesla’s Elon Musk, are warning of major economic headwinds in the near future. If those predictions are true, it could spell trouble for Amazon, as well as its rivals.

  • Amazon Cries Foul Over US Antitrust Bill

    Amazon Cries Foul Over US Antitrust Bill

    Amazon is fighting back against a bill making its way through Congress, one that would prevent tech companies from favoring their own products and services.

    The American Innovation and Choice Online Act was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, Chuck Grassley, and John Kennedy, and has a companion bill making its way through the House, sponsored by Representative David Cicilline. A key element of the bill is a prohibition against companies favoring their own services. In a blog post, however, Amazon says the bill unfairly targets it.

    In particular, Amazon says its Amazon Prime service would be one of the biggest casualties. Despite investing some $100 billion in building out its infrastructure to support Prime’s one to two-day delivery, the new bill would force Amazon to open up Prime to third-party logistic providers, allowing them to fulfill orders.

    Read more: Amazon Warning Sellers About Congress’ Antitrust Efforts

    Amazon outlines the issues in its blog post:

    Such a mandate would make it difficult, and potentially impossible in practice, for Amazon and our selling partners to offer products with Prime’s free two-day shipping (let alone one-day). We’ve tried allowing our selling partners to use other logistics providers to get Prime-eligible products to customers; unfortunately, these providers were not able to consistently deliver in the timeframes Prime customers have come to expect (meeting our “delivery promise” is something we measure and monitor extremely closely). Were this legislation to become law, it would substantially degrade the value and quality of Prime, as many of the products sold in our store today with Prime’s one- to two-day delivery promise would be undeliverable in that time frame.

    Amazon makes the case that degrading its marketplace, including its Prime service, would hurt countless small businesses that have built their livelihood around selling on Amazon.

    Amazon also believes the bill is specifically target it, while excluding its rivals:

    Oddly, and inappropriately, this legislation is targeted at only one U.S. retailer—Amazon. This has been accomplished by requiring a market value of at least $550 billion to qualify for regulation. We don’t believe this threshold to be unintentional; but rather, targeted and intentional. In 2021, Walmart had annual revenues of $559 billion, nearly $90 billion more than Amazon. CVS had annual revenues of $292 billion; Costco, $196 billion; and Target, $106 billion. But Walmart is excluded despite also being a large retailer that allows small businesses to sell in its online marketplace. Similarly, Target, which is headquartered in Sen. Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota, is excluded even though it too operates an online marketplace for sellers. And CVS, which is headquartered in Rep. Cicilline’s home state of Rhode Island, is excluded despite being one of the U.S.’s largest retailers, largest health insurance companies, and largest pharmacy benefit managers, all at the same time.

    Amazon’s argument regarding Walmart is further boosted by the fact that the latter company has unveiled its Walmart+ Weekend, it’s own take on Amazon’s Prime Day, further blurring the line between brick-and-mortar retailer and e-commerce giant.

    Interestingly, Amazon isn’t the only entity to come out against the bill. In fact, the Independent Women’s Voice group expressed concern over the bill, echoing some of Amazon’s own arguments:

    “The days of innovative services making it easier to live, work, and do business, especially during a pandemic, could be numbered if the American Innovation and Choice Online Act passes the full Senate,” said Patrice Onwuka, a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Voice, in a statement to WPN. “Today’s affirmative committee vote is very troubling because this bill is not about protecting competition in America, but expanding regulatory control over a handful of large tech corporations, even if to the detriment of consumers.”

    Lawmakers have been turning an increasingly critical eye toward Big Tech, making bills like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act an unsurprising development. As Amazon points out, however, if the bill is to succeed, it will need to apply to companies fairly and equitably. If the bill does unfairly target a single company, it could face substantial legal challenges.

  • Six States and 4 Million Households: Walmart’s Drone Services Undergoes Massive Expansion

    Six States and 4 Million Households: Walmart’s Drone Services Undergoes Massive Expansion

    Walmart has announced it is expanding its drone delivering program, reaching 4 million households in six states.

    Retailers have been looking for ways to improve deliveries, getting goods to customers faster and at lower costs. Numerous companies are turning to drones, including Walmart. The company partnered with DroneUp to implement a pilot program, one that is now expanding.

    Walmart says it will have drone deliveries from 34 sites by the end of the year, covering up to 4 million households in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The company expects to deliver more than 1 million packages in a year via drones.

    “We continue to expand our delivery operations to help customers get the items they need when they need them, and it’s been an exciting journey,” writes David Guggina, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation. “From Express delivery, where customers can have items delivered to their doorsteps in as little as two hours, to InHome, where they can get those orders placed right into their refrigerators, we’re proud to offer customers multiple options that help them save time and money.”

  • Toyota to Reduce Global Production in June by 100,000 Vehicles

    Toyota to Reduce Global Production in June by 100,000 Vehicles

    Toyota is planning on a massive cut to its production, reducing production in June by 100,000 vehicles as a result of the semiconductor shortage.

    The semiconductor shortage has impacted industries around the world since the early days of the pandemic. The auto industry has been particularly hard hit, with many automakers resorting to shipping vehicles without their full suite of electronics.

    See also: F-150 Plant Will Shut Down Due to Semiconductor Shortage

    According to Reuters, Toyota is now forced to reduce its June production by 100,000, bringing the total number of vehicles slated for June to 850,000. The recent COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai has also impacted the company, causing additional supply issues.

    This isn’t the first time Toyota has had to cut production as a result of supply chain issues. In September 2021, the company had to cut production by 40%.

    Interestingly, the company has not altered its plan to produce 9.7 million vehicles globally by March 2023.

  • How to Start Your Wedding Ecommerce Website

    How to Start Your Wedding Ecommerce Website

    Businesses have undergone immense transformation moving from the traditional mortar and brick forms to virtual establishments. The wedding and jewelry industry experiences the same too. This lucrative business is something worth your investment. There are many more people interested in buying jewelry for their wedding than ever before. However, you need a strategy to succeed – own a website.

    Modern businesses are now thriving online. Therefore, you will need a wedding e-commerce website to boost your jewelry business. Creating an online presence for your business is vital for growth and success in this present age of the internet and technology. In that case, you will need more than knowing what goes on in the industry.

    An e-commerce website for your Wedding business

    Establishing an online platform gives you organic reach to your target audience without geographical limitations. Therefore, you will gain a lot by establishing an online business for wedding accessories. Here is what you need to do to get started:

    1. Pick an eCommerce platform

    An e-commerce platform requires a website, which is the main tool of operations. The platform takes into account key features and hosting options. Therefore, it is vital to understand the main differences to pick what will work for the business.

    1. Understand the ownership costs

    With the choice of a platform, it means understanding the costs of owning it. You need a budget for that and the key features covered in the cost. These costs cover things like design fees, app development and such things as a monthly subscription.

    1. User-friendliness and Flexibility

    The essence of having a website is to sell your wedding products. Therefore, it is important to make the site a lot easier to use for everyone. Visitors should be able to navigate through the site with ease. Flexibility has to do with providing unrestrained bandwidth and capabilities during high traffic.

    1. Check on website scalability

    Everyone starts a business with the hope that it will grow. Therefore, you should not confine your site to certain lengths. Leave room for scaling up and accommodating more features and content going into the future.

    Make use of free website trials before making your final choice. Testing various trials will help you know what works for your business before making the final commitment.

    1. Include Omnichannel Capabilities

    Having a website is good but not enough. Therefore, you should make sure that there are possibilities to integrate it with social media accounts. Connecting your website to other channels helps enhance organic traffic to your site. Most importantly, the site should provide search engine optimization (SEO) tools.

    1.  Secure your website

    A safe work environment is vital for business growth and development. The same applies to online platforms. Ensure that there is enough protection for your site and your client’s information as well. Your customers should feel safe transacting through your platform.

    1. Specialize by picking a niche

    Wedding businesses are wide to cover everything. Instead of doing everything in the industry, you could choose a niche and run with it. It works well if customers realize you have specialization in a specific area.

    1. Add products to your site

    Once everything is set up, it is time to add wedding products to the site. Therefore, ensure that there is enough content for people to see before publishing your site. Focus on user-friendliness and be as creative as possible. It is all about impressing your audience.

    Optimize your site for mobile use so that customers can access it from their mobile gadgets. That way, they can reach you from anywhere and every part of the globe. This means working on page load speeds. That way, you will have good conversion rates within the first few seconds as is in a company like MoissaniteCo jewelry. In addition, use good quality images so that they do not slow down your site. Keep updating your content to maintain relevance.

    Final Thoughts

    You can make your wedding business what you like. Therefore, use this guide to go beyond any limitations. Get the help of experts and consult widely for the best solutions in the market. Most importantly, the quality of your platform, its security and the ability to scale up will be vital for the growth of your wedding business.

  • Amazon Prime Day, Meet Walmart+ Weekend

    Amazon Prime Day, Meet Walmart+ Weekend

    Walmart is taking on one of Amazon’s biggest strengths with its own take on Prime Day: Walmart+ Weekend.

    Amazon’s Prime Day is an annual event where the company’s Prime subscribers can score significant savings on a wide range of products. Walmart and Amazon are competing with each other more and more, and Walmart is now taking on Prime Day with its own savings weekend.

    The new Walmart+ Weekend will be an exclusive online event, and will cover parts of four days, beginning Thursday, June 2 at 3PM ET and ending Sunday, June 5 at 7PM ET. Customers will be able to save on thousands of products, including household items, electronics, grills, toys, apparel, and more.

    “Our Walmart+ members loved early access to our Black Friday events, so we were inspired to create an entire weekend dedicated to the best deals,” said Chris Cracchiolo, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart. “Giving members more of what they want with exclusive, unprecedented Black Friday-like savings allows us to celebrate our members in a fun, new way.”

  • Volkswagen May Have Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew in Race With Tesla

    Volkswagen May Have Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew in Race With Tesla

    Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is now admitting his goal of toppling Tesla as the world’s number one electric vehicle (EV) automaker by 2025 may be a bit ambitious.

    Diess had previously committed Volkswagen to becoming the world’s number one EV automaker by 2025, counting on the depth of Volkswagen’s lineup to help it achieve that goal. According to Reuters, Dies now admits that it’s going to be a tougher task than he originally anticipated, given the lead Tesla has.

    “It will be a tight race but we won’t give up on it,” Diess said at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference. “I have to say we didn’t expect our main U.S. competitor to be so fast and well-prepared.”

    Volkswagen’s challenges are not likely to improve anytime soon, with Tesla opening its first Gigafactory in Germany in early 2022.

  • How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

    How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

    Credit cards have become highly integrated in the lifestyles of many consumers. But there can be some nasty consequences for getting too comfortable with credit card debt. Here are a few ideas for how to pay off credit card debt, and why it should be a priority.

    Why Is Credit Card Debt So Dangerous?

    Outside of payday loans, credit card debt is just about the most dangerous form. There are several reasons why carrying a credit card balance can be so disastrous for your financial health. These reasons are so intense, that recent studies have shown that people with persistent credit card debt suffer from physical ailments later in life. According to an article from the New York Times:

    “The new research tapped Department of Labor data to analyze the financial health of almost 7,900 baby boomers over more than a decade, from age 28 to 40, as well as their physical health at age 50. It found that people who carried consistently high levels of unsecured debt were 76 percent more likely to have pain that interfered with their daily life than people with no unsecured debt.”

    So what about credit card debt specifically makes it so bad for you? There are two elements to credit cards that work in tandem, which, when left uncheck, can absolutely ruin your life.

    The first issue with credit cards is that they’re extremely easy to use and don’t force you to stop spending at a healthy limit—as is the case with debit cards or cash. When you pay with credit, you’re able to buy significantly more than what’s actually affordable for your budget. It only takes doing this one time to find yourself in a perpetual cycle of debt.

    And what keeps you in that cycle of debt? High interest rates. Credit card balances come with notoriously high interest rates, oftentimes over 20 percent. If you’re not paying off your balance in full each month, it can just keep growing and growing. It makes sense that credit card companies would want to charge a higher interest rate, since they’re offering unsecured debt with few requirements. But many consumers—whether out of want or need—are unable to keep themselves from overspending on their credit cards. Doing this can put you in a cycle so pernicious, it will affect your physical wellbeing.

    How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

    If you’re looking for credit card debt help, you want to make a plan to pay it down as soon as possible. The longer you wait to take on your credit card debt, the more damage it will cause to your life.

    Utilizing debt repayment strategies such as the snowball or avalanche methods can be helpful in getting yourself on-track to freedom from credit card debt. With the snowball method, you pay off your smallest bills in whole first, and work your way up from there. The idea is that by gaining momentum, you’re more likely to follow through with your debt repayment. By using the avalanche approach, you’ll save the most money. This is because you pay off your debts in order of highest interest rates.

    Some people might also be able to utilize credit card balance transfer to help supercharge their debt repayment. This is where you move your credit card balances to a new account that offers a low introductory interest rate. Doing this can help you get ahead on your debts, without accumulating interest for a period of time.

    What to Do if You Can’t Pay Off Your Credit Cards

    Some people will find that none of these strategies are enough to help get them out of credit card debt. For individuals in this boat, it might be time to start looking for more intensive options, such as debt relief. Working with Freedom Debt Relief is in some respects the ultimate credit card debt help for consumers.

    When you find the right debt relief partner, you have the chance to finally get out from under your oppressive debt—and in only a fraction of the time. This is possible because companies like Freedom Debt Relief can negotiate with your lenders in order to reach a settlement. While this won’t be the right path for everyone, those who have been unsuccessful in finding credit card debt help elsewhere might finally be able to reclaim their finances. If you’re too deep in debt, it might be time to finally seek out help for your credit card debt. This can be a difficult decision, but will be worth it if you can get your life back on track.

  • Samsung Preparing to Raise Chip Prices

    Samsung Preparing to Raise Chip Prices

    Samsung is reportedly preparing to raise chip prices, a move that could significantly impact the price of smartphones and other electronics.

    Samsung is one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers, with its chips widely used in the smartphone and electronics industry. In addition to its own line of Exynos chips, the company provides foundry services for customers throughout the industry. According to Bloomberg, Samsung is now talking with its foundry clients about the possibility of raising prices as much as 20%.

    The move follows a similar one by TSMC that was reported last year. TSMC implemented one of its biggest price hikes in a decade, in an effort to stave off rising costs and continue its investments in next-gen technology.

    Samsung following suit is no real surprise, as the semiconductor industry has been rocked by the pandemic, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine.

    “This is an inevitable move for Samsung,” said said Masahiro Wakasugi, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “Some customers may accept higher prices if they can get chips earlier than others,” he said.

  • Shopify Takes Aim at Walmart and Amazon With Deliverr Purchase

    Shopify Takes Aim at Walmart and Amazon With Deliverr Purchase

    Coming off of strong growth during the pandemic, Shopify has announced a deal to acquire Deliverr, a move that will help it combat Walmart and Amazon.

    Shopify is one of the leading online shopping platforms, but it has to compete with more traditional businesses as well. The company is obviously doing well, bringing in $1.2 billion in revenue in Q122, a 22% increase. Shopify is now building on that momentum with a deal to acquire Deliverr.

    “While we’ve experienced massive macro shifts since the start of the pandemic, the one mainstay has been that Shopify is the commerce platform of choice for merchants in any environment, with the ability to support commerce on any surface,” said Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s President. “This has earned Shopify significant merchant trust and the ability to help them with more parts of their business, which is why we are eager to bring Deliverr’s team and technology to our merchants.”

    The move will help Shopify provide the logistics supplier infrastructure its customers need.

    Deliverr’s asset-light infrastructure complements and extends the reach of Shopify’s network of large-capacity, self-operated hubs, and enhances affordable access to a two-day delivery promise in the U.S. across all channels. With Deliverr, Shopify strengthens its ability to offer merchants simplified inventory management, demand-driven inventory balancing, and fast delivery from coast to coast, with minimal inventory required. Deliverr, which ships over a million orders per month across the U.S., has already benefited thousands of merchants, many of whom use Shopify, as the hyper-fragmented market of freight forwarders, transportation providers, and 3rd-party logistics companies can be overwhelming for users.

  • Google Has Deals With 300 News Publishers in the EU

    Google Has Deals With 300 News Publishers in the EU

    Google currently has deals with some 300 news publishers in the EU, with the company working to make it easier for other publishers to sign up.

    Google was opposed to paying publishers for years for linking to and displaying their news. The company maintained publishers benefited more than it did, thanks to the traffic Google sent their way. Needless to say, news publishers disputed this claim, blaming Google and other search engines for ruining the news industry. The EU recently forced Google’s hand, passing legislation that requires search engines to pay for the news content they display.

    The legislation appears to be paying off, with Google now paying 300 publishers in half a dozen countries for the right to use their news. What’s more, the company is rolling out new tools that will make it easier for new publishers to sign up with its program.

    “So far, we have agreements that cover more than 300 national, local and specialist news publications in Germany, Hungary, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland, with many more discussions ongoing,” writes Sulina Connal, Director, News and Publishing Partnerships.

    The company’s new tool, the Extended News Previews program (ENP), will begin rolling out in Germany and Hungary, and then to additional EU countries in the coming months.