Latest Ecommerce News: Monthly Digests [March 2022 Update]

Breaking news: Amazon referred to DOJ for potential criminal obstruction of Congress

The most significant negative development for Amazon came during the US Congressional hearings as part of a 16-month antitrust investigation into Amazon and other major technology companies such as Google and Apple. Third-party investigations, CNBC says, have proven that Amazon is using proprietary data from third-party sellers to develop and market its own competing private label products. This unscrupulous competitive strategy has been suspected by merchants for years and has finally been exposed.

But when faced with these allegations, Amazon denied them, saying they were misunderstandings and inaccurate. As a result, the committee turned Amazon over to the Department of Justice for investigation and prosecution in a letter that read, in part: “Amazon lied through a senior executive’s sworn testimony that Amazon did not use any of the data sets it had collected on its website. third party vendors to compete with them.”

Research: Amazon’s new program helps Euro startups build green products

Amazon has announced a 12-week Amazon Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator program to help emerging entrepreneurs create more sustainable products and grow quickly. In partnership with Europe’s leading climate innovation center EIT Climate-KIC 5, the program offers financial incentives, expert mentoring, free account management, and products featured on the Amazon Storefront.

For now, the program is only available to sellers in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the UK. The financial incentives are quite generous, including “a £10,000 non-equity grant, $25,000 AWS Activate credits, and £5,000 sponsored Amazon Advertising credits.” This is a unique opportunity for startups interested in building “green” products to sell on Amazon to get a significant boost right away.

Report: Shopify gives Ukrainian businesses free access to the platform, suspends ops in Russia and Belarus

Shopify will not charge Ukrainian merchants and partners. As millions of Ukrainian refugees are in desperate need of support, they are providing funds for humanitarian assistance through partner Flexport. Shopify will also match employee donations supporting this assistance.

They also temporarily suspend work in Russia and Belarus. Shopify stands by everyone directly affected by this crisis.

Longread: Amazon becomes top clothing retailer, beating Walmart

CNBC reported that Amazon overtook Walmart to become the № 1 clothing retailer in the US in 2020. Thanks to the pandemic-driven e-commerce explosion, Amazon’s U.S. apparel and footwear sales soared to more than $41 billion, topping an all-time high. rival Walmart by almost 25%.

Amazon’s fashion reach has grown from a diverse line of staples to a growing number of well-known brands as well as luxury fashion stores. Its growth this year has been helped by home orders linked to the global pandemic, which has decimated brick-and-mortar retailers and pushed much more online retailing.

Breaking news: Walmart Fulfillment Services Offers Incentives for New Sellers

According to Forbes, new WFS sellers who sign up and receive at least one item between February 21 and April 30 will receive free storage and a 10% discount on fulfillment within the first 90 days. Goods are delivered to customers in Walmart boxes marked “made by Walmart”. This helps build customer confidence and promotes trust and openness, the firm says.

If you’re a merchant interested in trying Walmart and you’re interested in Walmart Fulfillment, the new WFS rewards program might be useful.

Report: Amazon Sues two Companies

According to CNBC, Amazon has announced that it is suing Rebatest and AppSally, two major fake review brokers. These companies allegedly arranged for their members to post fake or misleading testimonials in exchange for payment in cash or goods.

Marketplaces compromised by fake reviews included Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart. The announcement notes that “Amazon’s legal action comes after a thorough investigation of these review brokers, who collectively claim to have over 900,000 members willing to write fake reviews.”

Longread: Shopify Announced Full-Year 2021 Financial Results

According to the last news, Shopify has released its 2021 financial results and overall revenue is up 57% compared to 2020. This growth can be attributed to strong investment in e-commerce technology and a presence in social commerce.

They also strive to make commerce easier for entrepreneurs by continuing to build high-performance infrastructure and innovative features that combine to deliver a powerful and reliable commerce solution. This decision will protect merchants in the future and benefit Shopify.

Guide: Amazon and Visa Reach Worldwide Fee Agreement

Amazon and Visa came into conflict in 2021 when Amazon announced that it would no longer accept Visa payments in its UK instance due to rising payment fees.

According to the report, they settled a dispute that threatened to cripple the financial giant’s business and disrupt e-commerce payments. The retailer said it would no longer charge additional fees to customers who use Visa cards on its site in Singapore and Australia and will not disable Visa credit cards from amazon.co.uk.

Breaking news: Apple’s updated Personal Safety User Guide

Apple has shared its updated Personal Safety User Guide, a resource for anyone concerned about or experiencing technology-based abuse or harassment.

Apple updates the guide regularly, and it has checklists for:

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• What to do if you think someone might be accessing your device or accounts;
• How to stop sharing your location with people and apps you previously shared with;
• How to stop sharing with someone you previously shared with.

Also, the guide lists the personal safety features that Apple is building into its products, including a new section on AirTag that was reported in the news after a tracking device was found to be used to track people without their permission.

Research: Famous Launches Free eCommerce Design Platform for Shopify Brands

Famous is a code-free mobile e-commerce design platform that allows merchants, creatives, and business owners to reach customers.

Famous launched Amaze Free. The first code-free e-commerce design platform. Available for free on the Shopify app store, the app helps anyone start their online business quickly and easily. Famous says it will streamline and speed up marketing efforts and increase customer engagement through a personalized shopping experience. It also offers immersive designs, animations, and transitions, allowing merchants to create customized landing pages with just a few clicks

Longread: Tottenham Hotspur Partners with BigCommerce to Modernize the Online Store

Tottenham Hotspurchose the BigCommerce platform to optimize its online store and expand into international markets. The launch of BigCommerce will allow Tottenham Hotspur to enhance further e-commerce functionality, including hassle-free checkout and personalized shopping.

Tottenham Hotspur will use the BigCommerce platform to expand further its popular online store and fan experience beyond the UK. The company also focuses on the Asia-Pacific region and North America, with a significant and growing fan base.

Report: Prytek invests over $100M in ThriveDx to Accelerate Expansion

Prytek completed an investment in ThriveDx (formerly HackerU), a leader in digital skills education. The acquisition signals the close of a significant funding round. Prytek, a technology and investment corporation, has doubled its strategic investment in ThriveDX. Thus, Prytek’s total investment in the company exceeded $100 million.

ThriveDX partners with academia and corporations worldwide to offer cutting-edge digital professional development programs.

Partners include over 20 of the world’s leading university institutions, including the University of Michigan, New York University, University of Miami, San Diego State University, and American University.

Guide: Big Changes are coming to Digital Ads in 2022

According to Practical E-commerce, on January 18, 2022, representatives from California, Illinois, and a New Jersey state senator introduced the Tracking Ads Ban Act.

This law prevents advertising platforms, including Facebook Ads and Google Ads, from targeting people based on some form of personal information and behavioral data. This act focuses on privacy as it may affect digital advertising.

​​Learn more about a few ways ads might change.

Report: Amazon Collected Over 30 Percent of Their Sellers’ Earnings in 2021

Amazon currently charges professional sellers $39.99 per month, plus an additional 8–15% referral fee per item sold, with the percentage variable depending on the product category.

According to the report published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), the multinational technology company managed to bring in more than $120 bln from their merchants by offering add-ons, such as better rankings and advertising.

ILSR also compared revenue from their cash cow AWS and seller fees:

Breaking news: eBay Accidentally Suspended Seller Accounts

EcommerceBytes recently posted that some unlucky eBay sellers experienced breakdown when eBay suspended their accounts. Well, no one knows why.

Moreover, some merchants mention that they still didn’t receive any response from customer support.

All this is coming against the background of the fact that the overall number of buyers on the marketplace is gradually decreasing. The fiscal results of Q3 in 2021 revealed an unpromising 5% decline in the number of active purchasers.

Research: 2021 Holiday Sales Skyrocketed with an 8.5% Revenue Increase in the US

Mastercard SpendingPulse summed up sales for the holiday season from early November to late December 2021. According to their research, total US retail sales during the holidays increased by almost 9 percent, and online sales were up 11 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Additionally, the report contains the following key insights:

• Since 2020, the trend for early purchases before the holidays continues, even 75 days before the holidays, and more and more merchants make special offers long before the high season.
• Thanksgiving and thus Black Friday are still the most profitable and promising events for retailers throughout the holiday season.

Longread: Nike Shared Incredible Financial Results Despite Regular Supply Challenges

Nike summed up the second quarter and reported a 12% increase in sales in North America, the brand’s largest market, as it said in CNBC.

The result is overwhelming since 2021 featured the closure of factories due to the pandemic and a slowdown in supplies. All this posed a significant threat to the subsequent holiday shopping season.

Guide: TikTok Launched an App for Indonesian Sellers For Now

TikTok released a new app for both iOS and Android devices for their merchant community in Indonesia.

The application allows managing the whole range of operational activities in the TikTok shop from mobile devices — from shop creation, orders and inventory management to marketing promotions launch and customer service.

Breaking news: Amazon Push for Lower Prices Could be Bad for Shoppers Everywhere

The new pricing policy seems to go hand in hand with Amazon Standards for Brands (ASB) in January this year.

Until recently, according to The Seattle Times, the market offered companies more control over how their products are sold, especially concerning pricing. But the trend of brands shifting from vendors to third-party sellers seems to upset Amazon.

Now it turns out that if the brand has ever offered products through the Vendor program, Amazon now wants to keep pricing in check. But that’s not the only group that Amazon is targeting. It also applies to extensive third-party resellers who do not have their trademarks and have never been sellers.

Research: New eBay Stores Features Go Live

New features for eBay store owners announced in eBay Seller’s Fall Update are now available on the site. It includes:

• A dedicated Store tab in the Seller Center to help merchants set up and manage their Stores
• “About the store” tab, where sellers can tell buyers about themselves.
• Shop’s Shipping and Returns Policy.
• Mini-galleries of Inventory Strip products dedicated to different topics.
• Categories with custom images for the visual section “Store by Category.”
• Marketing banners to highlight products, sales, or promotions.

The store search feature has been aligned with the standard eBay search, featuring the same filters and other search tools.

eBay has also updated how it displays seller information on mobile devices, showing the seller’s name, logo, and feedback rating under the ad title and providing a link to the seller’s eBay store in the About Seller section.

Breaking news: Klarna offers ‘Pay Now’ Option in the US, Klarna Card Coming Soon

Klarna will also introduce the Klarna Card to the US market very soon, which will allow users to pay in installments in-store and online. The Klarna card is integrated into the app and linked to its Vibe loyalty program.

Pay Now, and the Klarna card is already available in most of the company’s European market: 50% of Klarna’s sales in Europe come from PayNow, according to TechCrunch. Klarna brought Pay Now to the UK as part of an operational change aimed at easing BNPL controls in October.

The addition of Pay Now expands the checkout functionality so that US consumers can use Klarna for all purchases, whether they want to use the BNPL or not.

Longread: Facebook Marketplace to Start Charging some UK Sellers

According to MirrorUK, from January 2022, Facebook will begin charging a 2% commission on UK sellers who wish to ship their items. The fees will be based on the total selling price, including shipping, and Facebook says this will help cover customer support and purchase protection costs.

Will Facebook’s new willingness to charge fees spread outside the UK? Will the low commission of 2% be increased to 10% –15%, which is typical for other marketplaces?

Guide: Retailers Fend off Slowing E-Commerce Growth and Inventory Challenges during Third-Quarter Earnings

Two years after the pandemic, according to ModernRetail, some of the largest retailers such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kohl’s, and Macy’s are getting used to operating in uncharted territory.

Retailer executives are trying to present their financial results in a better light than they are. Since the problems with inventory are of concern to almost everyone in the industry, these concerns range from ensuring that stores have enough inventory for the holidays, when it’s time to hike prices, or when inflation looms.

However, as some of the largest retailers find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the e-commerce growth they’ve seen in the past year, these companies are increasingly trying to offset any increase they can by investing in new categories and services.

Research: Doba Partners with BigCommerce to Expand Marketplace Integrations

Based on Prweb, Doba Inc., an industry leader in dropshipping announces a partnership with BigCommerce. It is the leading Open SaaS e-commerce platform for fast-growing and established brands that integrate its new Doba Marketplace app into the BigCommerce merchant platform.

Mandy Gee, CEO of Doba In, said: “This is just the beginning of what Doba plans to bring to the dropshipping market. Our new app offers seamless one-click integration with the Doba platform. By promoting multiple marketplaces on the platform, Doba is committed to providing our users the best in the market.”

Longread: Four Retail Brands using Live Streaming to Drive Omnichannel Strategy

According to Klarna’s Owning Omnichannel report, 89% of shoppers say they use multiple channels to search and shop.

The trend that is currently the most developed is the so-called live broadcasting or live commerce. It allows retailers to interact directly with shoppers in the store. It was developed in China, where real-time sales are expected to reach $423 billion by 2022.

Several brands, such as Clarins, Clarks Shoes, Aldo, and Nordstrom have already managed to win the attention of millions.

Guide: The Top 5 Local Payment Methods for Global Ecommerce

With e-commerce records skyrocketing, the big question is: How can merchants maximize their share of consumer spending? It’s easier than you think. Sellers can increase sales by serving consumers’ preferred payment methods.

According to Retail Dive, here are five of the best local payment methods: Alipay, GrabPay, PayPal, PIX, and SEPA Direct Debit that merchants cannot ignore if they want to go global. While they get to the unique preferences of local consumers, the payment methods on this list are shaping the future of borderless e-commerce.

Last news: Amazon Faces Unprecedented Perils Even As its Profits Hit New Heights

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the growth of online shopping, according to Amazon’s recently released 2021 report. The biggest winner of this shift was Amazon.

In 2021, Amazon will be the # 1 online retailer in North America in the Top 1000 Digital Commerce Companies of 2021 list, posting 34.8% revenue growth and reaching $ 221.60 billion.

Breaking news: E-Commerce Brands Look To Reputation Management To Boost Sales

The Birdeye Experience Marketing survey of more than 800 marketers focused on connecting with new and existing customers to increase their revenue.

The report found that 57% of those surveyed now believe that managing a business online reputation through proactively managing reviews, referrals, and other online reputation metrics is more important than paying for ads.

Last news: Shopmatic Shifts to E-Commerce and Excludes Hosting Fees for SMEs

According to The Economic Times, the e-commerce tool Shopmatic has decided to tweak its transaction model to remove the monthly hosting fee for subscribers.

The platform will now only charge 3% transaction fees from online merchants, making it easier for businesses to transition to e-commerce.

Guide: 5 Ways Reddit Helps an Ecommerce Brand

Based on Practical Ecommerce, Reddit is one of the most visited sites globally with a self-promotion policy. It is a kind of platform for brand and qualification promotion.

Redditors are well versed in veiled attempts at selling on the platform. A salesperson who sells skincare products can join potential customers and connect with them. Reddit prohibits pasting links to your site, but you can copy, say, the blog text into a post or comment and link to the source. It is a great way to repurpose your content.

Learn more about Reddit’s five ways to help ecommerce.

Research: Apple’s Privacy Changes Drive-up ad Prices for E-commerce Marketers

According to startup Moloco, the rising cost of mobile advertising will push online retailers to look for ways to improve the company’s performance.

Apple made it challenging to track iPhone users and target them with specific relevant marketing with the privacy update. Due to this, e-commerce companies are paying higher prices for digital ads.

Finding ways to improve their company’s performance will be driven by the rising cost of mobile advertising, according to a study by Moloco.

If you want to know more, check it out in the Retail Dive.

Breaking news: TikTok Shopping Expands with more Partnerships, Live Shopping, New ads, and more

According to TechCrunch, TikTok is expanding its e-commerce investment. The video platform launched a pilot testing of TikTok Shopping in the US, UK, and Canada in partnership with Shopify.

This Deal allowed Shopify merchants with a TikTok For Business account to add the Purchases tab to their TikTok profiles and sync their product catalogs with the mini-storefront app.

TikTok is announcing several new trading partners for TikTok Shopping, including Square, Ecwid, and PrestaShop, with Wix, SHOPLINE, OpenCart, and BASE coming soon. Later this year, it provided a more comprehensive list of TikTok commerce solutions, including advertising products and the TikTok Shopping API.

Be the first to know about it.

Longread: How Brands can Drive Growth through Social Commerce

According to the World Economic Forum, China’s social commerce sales will surpass $363 billion in 2021. However, Western markets did not have such a speed of implementation and usage of social commerce functions.

It does not mean that consumers lack the desire to engage in social commerce. New research shows consumers’ willingness to shop on social platforms is growing. A survey of UK shoppers found that nearly two out of three people were more likely to buy from a brand if they could view and shop entirely within the social media platform.

Learn more about how home goods brands successfully leverage social commerce and digital success.

Breaking News: Amazon has overtaken Walmart in total retail sales

According to the FactSet research firm consumers spent $610 billion on Amazon between June 2020 and June 2021, overtaking Walmart’s showings in sales.

Analysts have long predicted tremendous growth for the corporation, so it was not difficult to guess that the moment would come when Amazon will step on Walmart’s heels, the New York Times notes.

We will keep an eye on how the events of this race, but in the meantime, you can find more details in Insider.

Research: eBay Launches New Trading Cards Tools

According to eBay Inc, it is having massive success in the fast-growing market for merchant cards and is launching two new tools, Price Guide and Collection. They will enable users to create personal trading card portfolios for viewing, managing, tracking value, and listing.

The market of collectible cards grew dramatically during the pandemic, and eBay was the platform that benefited the most from this surge. Four million more cards were sold on eBay in 2020 than in 2019. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, nearly 18 million cards were sold on eBay— an average of 139 cards per minute!

Longread: Breaking Down Google Ads New ‘Strikes’ Policy

Most recently, Google Ads announced a program to combat repeated policy violations.

Previously, Google had already canceled ads that violate its policies, but it didn’t have any consequences.

In its  July announcement, Google decided to step up the action and stated that they are committed to creating credible ads for users, advertisers, and publishers. The system will use “strikes” to impose penalties.

From September, advertisers who violate ad placement policies will suffer account suspension and indefinite suspension.

To learn more about strikes!

Guide: Headless E-Commerce System Puts Checkout Button Anyplace It’s Needed

In June, the shopping and checkout platform Fast released a survey that consumers want to improve their online shopping experience and abandon their shopping carts at record levels.

In a June survey, 86% of 1,000 shoppers said they added an item to an online shopping cart and then abandoned it before checking out.

The abandoned shopping carts effect may well have influenced e-commerce sites due to negative experiences for online shoppers.

E-commerce Times Analysts predict that e-commerce revenues will reach $930 billion in 2021, and 2022 will be the first year of online shopping with a trillion-dollar turnover.

Top News: TikTok associates with Shopify to pilot in-app shopping

TikTok and Shopify announced a partnership where they can shop in the video-sharing app using its precise algorithm.

A new brand called TikTok Shopping will allow Shopify sellers with TikTok For Business accounts to add a shopping tab to their profiles.

They can then create a mini-showcase with prices, photos, and an “add to favorites” button that takes users to their website at checkout, syncing product catalogs.

The pilot, TikTok Shopping project, is open to Shopify sellers in the US and UK, with sellers in Canada soon joining them, said Retail Dive.

Breaking News: Walmart Became a Partner of Adobe

In February 2021, Walmart acquired Thunder technology that features automation for digital ads launch and running, which is a huge step for their future online marketing opportunities.

In July this year, Walmart partnered with Adobe to give more freedom to small and medium-sized retailers around the world. What a twist!

We will keep abreast of further news on this acquisition, but for now, you can find out more in the CNBC article.

Research: Why Customer Service Can Make or Break Retailers

Companies are currently looking for new technologies to increase customer needs, and yes, the conditions are growing.

By the way, a chatbot is one of the effective add-ons for building relationships with customers and meeting their needs. According to Yahoo Finance, its global market is expected to grow by $1.73 bn during 2021-2025.

Customer is, in fact, one of those solutions that may be beneficial for your online business.

Subscribe to the Digital Commerce 360 newsletter and learn how much you can save with Kustomer chatbots or how to help your customers provide relevant services that will lead to long-term relationships.

Successful Tips: How Amazon Creates Products that Everyone Goes Crazy About

When you create a new product, never stop trying to satisfy your loyal unhappy customers because they will always be disappointed.

It’s one of the main principles of Jeff Bezos, whose main goal in Amazon is to fight the ever-dissatisfied customers by experimenting and doing something new, better for them.

The rest of the postulates of Bezos and his empire are available in the recent Inc. article. You won’t be disappointed!

Report: Nearly all the Top Ecommerce Companies Significantly Raised Revenue in 2020

According to a recent analysis by GlobalData, 9 out of 10 global e-commerce companies have doubled their revenues. The first on this list is, of course, Amazon followed by JD, Alibaba, and then Wayfair.

No doubt that these companies have achieved such great success in sales. To avoid crowding, online consultants have sought to attract consumers to shop online. As GlobalData tells us, “pandemic resilience” came about by increasing the number of active consumers who visited their online stores.

Longread: 10 Ways To Diversify Your Sales Strategy Online To Protect Your Business

If you are looking to create or grow your ecommerce business, then this event is definitely what you need.

Jared Mitchell, a founder of Beefysites and a Head of Ecommerce for Neil Patel, gave a webinar and explained why it’s so important to invest in your business and diversify your sales channels.

We highly recommend subscribing to Jared’s LinkedIn account, where he regularly shares valuable insights, videos, and articles on entrepreneurship and ecommerce.

Guide: Influencer Marketing, Choosing Social Networks

As stated in the Brafton report, social media posts influence 71 percent more purchases for ecommerce businesses.

If you also want to make the most of this sales channel for your business, first of all, you need to choose the right platform to easily reach your customers.

Actually, we’ve found a nice article on buyer personas and choosing an appropriate network on Practical Commerce. Check it out!