Tag: online

21
July
0

Amazon Prime Day Leads Biggest Online Shopping Days Ever, Up 6%

By avi maxwel / in , , , , , , , /

Amazons
AMZN
 announced the company had its biggest Prime Day event ever, driving consumers to spend online. Prime members purchased more than 375 million items worldwide and saved more than $2.5 billion on millions of deals across Amazon’s extensive product line. “The first day of Prime Day was the largest sales day in Amazon’s history, and Prime members saved more this year than any other Prime Day event,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Stores.

On the first day of Prime Day 2023, more deals were offered than on any other Prime Day, with home, fashion, and beauty among the top-selling deal categories. Top selling individual products including Fire TV Stick, LANEIGE
IGE
 Lip Glowy Balm, Apple AirPods, and Bissell Little Green Portable Deep Cleaner.

Invitations only deals worked well

Amazon used its invite only days ahead of Prime Day to entice its Prime Members to shop early. “It is not as much of a surprise as history repeating itself. Just like we went from Black Friday sales to those sales starting on or before Thanksgiving and going for more than a week through Green Monday, we saw Prime Day become a multi-day affair this year,” said Sarah Engel, President of January Digital. She compared how the invite only deals offered prior to the start of the sale were much like the door-busters of retail’s past. Meanwhile, hundreds of promotions have continued beyond Prime Day so the event, while breaking many records, started early and is ending later.

Online purchasing across US driven by Prime Day promotion

Although Amazon did not disclose the specific revenue generated for its Prime Day event, the highly promoted event drove purchasing online throughout the US market across many retailers. Consumers spent $12.7 billion online in the US over the two day Amazon Prime Day event, setting a new record for online shopping and representing a 6.1% growth year-over-year, according to Adobe Analytics.

“You also saw larger retailers take advantage of the Prime Day halo effect to launch mid-summer savings events, many of which last longer than the official 2 days of Prime Day,” said Engel. Some examples include the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale which started its Early Access sale to coincide with Prime Day, Target Circle Week, Best Buy’s Black Friday in July and Walmart Plus Week.

The ecosystem expanded

Amazon included third party sellers on its marketplace to participate in the promotional activities in connection with Prime Day to further the spend in its own ecosystem. “Retailers have realized that the closed ecosystem nature of Amazon shopping does not open up as many opportunities for them as once

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Photo: Collected

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Strategies and trends for online retail success

Photo: Collected

In this fast-paced digital world, with everything moving to online platforms, it only makes sense that shopping does too. After all, why spend the whole day going out when you can just shop from the comfort of your home? Today, e-commerce has become an integral part of the global retail landscape, with billions of dollars in transactions occurring online each year. To survive in this landscape, retailers must understand the evolving trends and form effective strategies to capitalize on the ever-changing market. In this article, we will explore some strategies that are crucial to having a successful online retail business.

Mobile commerce

One of the more popular trends as of late in e-commerce is the introduction of mobile commerce or m-commerce. With the increasing rate of smartphone usage, more and more people prefer to shop on the go. Therefore, to capture this market, an e-commerce platform must have mobile friendly websites and optimize their platforms for smooth and seamless mobile transactions.

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Personalized customer experience

In today’s competitive online retail landscape, it is crucial to stay ahead and stand out from the competition. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, the world’s biggest e-commerce platform, once said “If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering .” What this means is that retail owners must take customer feedback to provide them with a tailor-made experience while shopping on their platform. You can learn more from one customer feedback than tens of competitor innovations.

Social Commerce

Social media plays an important role in any e-commerce business’s success. Having an online presence allows you to directly sell your products to customers as they are browsing on social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram, without giving it much thought or effort. This method is ingenious and a viable strategy that many companies are adopting. Alternatively, sponsorships and collaborations with online celebrities and/or influencers provide a much-needed boost in sales provided the product being sold is targeted to that specific demographic

Omnichannel retailing

Omnichannel retailing primarily refers to the diversification of the shopping experience across multiple platforms such as online stores, physical stores and mobile applications. Once an e-commerce store has been taken off and is consistent with its profits, it’s a wise idea to expand into multiple channels to give consumers flexibility to choose how they want to shop, providing a seamless shopping experience. Retailers can also invest in technology that synchronizes all of these channels for smooth transitions between them ultimately boosting sales and customer satisfaction.

Ethical consumerism

As the world is becoming more conscious about environmental and ethical issues, sustainability has emerged as an important trend in e-commerce. Companies are

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03
July
0

Klarna CEO on how AI will make online shopping more ’emotional’

By avi maxwel / in , , , , /

The Scenes

Swedish fintech firm Klarna has evolved from a buy now, pay later venture to an AI-powered payments and e-commerce company. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO, is leading the transformation, including talks on partnering with Perplexity, an online search engine enhanced by artificial intelligence. We talked to him about how the hot technology will shake up shopping in an edited conversation below.

The View From Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Q: Klarna has taken the AI ​​revolution seriously with a revamp to TikTok-style content that’s hyper-targeted based on user interests. But another vision of the AI-enabled future is almost the opposite, where people seem to ask large language models what they should buy. Instead of getting an influencer trying to sell them products, the AI ​​lays out the pros and cons of each option and just does the research. How to say Klarna fits in?

A: Both versions you describe are complementary to each other. Our recent Future of Retail report found that 26% of US Gen Zers and Millennials expect the shopping experience to be so customized that AI will eventually do the shopping for them. On the other hand, 85% of consumers still like it speaking with product experts when shopping online.

The future of shopping will include a combination of hyper-personalization based on users’ unique preferences, AI-shopping assistants, and content creators that connect people and products through entertaining experiences.

E-commerce has historically been very transactional and static, and the reality is that people miss the emotional element of shopping at the mall with their friends. Enhancing both the online shopping journey through curated, AI-driven content, while maintaining a meaningful, human touch will be very important. Perplexity is a fantastic company and we’re excited to collaborate with them and others on how we can make these experiences come to life.

Q: How do you see advertising and marketing changing in an AI-driven world? What happens if we’re just chatting with AI bots instead of browsing websites and TikTok?

A: Today in the Western world, 80% of e-commerce is search-driven, whereas in China we are seeing the opposite — 80% of e-commerce is driven by AI-powered recommendation engines, while 20% is through search. Marketers and advertisers benefit immensely when they can more accurately reach their target audience and tailor their content to meet consumer expectations.

One of Klarna’s biggest differentiators is our SKU-level data, which enables us to provide consumers with highly personalized shopping experiences with unmatched depth and detail, and better match them with new brands and offers that are relevant to them. With over 300 billion data points, we see the consumer’s product purchases, images, sizes and colors.

Q: Klarna is diversifying beyond payments and moving into advertising/marketing. But do you see any possibility that AI enables a commerce landscape that actually revolves around fees and commissions, rather than marketing and ads?

A: The creator economy is thriving and I don’t believe the model of affiliate marketing will go away any time soon; if anything it will

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27
June
0

TikTok prepares ‘Project S’ plan to break into online shopping

By avi maxwel / in , , , , , , /

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TikTok is expanding its online retail offerings, with its Chinese parent company selling products through the viral video app as the group seeks to challenge rivals such as Shein and Amazon.

In recent weeks, UK users have begun to see a new shopping feature within the TikTok app called “Trendy Beat”, a section offering items that have proven popular on videos, such as tools to extract ear wax or brush off pet hair from clothing.

All the items advertised are shipped from China, sold by a company registered in Singapore that is owned by TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, according to filings and people familiar with the operations.

The model, similar to how Amazon makes and promotes its own range of best selling items, represents a vast shift from TikTok’s existing shopping marketplace. It currently allows other vendors to sell items through the TikTok Shop, which then takes a small commission.

By contrast, ByteDance would take all the proceeds from sales made through the Trendy Beat feature on TikTok, four people familiar with its operation said.

TikTok said it was currently testing the feature. “We are always exploring new ways to enhance our community’s experience, and we are in the early stages of experimenting with new shopping features,” the company said.

ByteDance is seeking new revenues that can justify its $300bn valuation, which makes it the world’s most highly valued private start-up, ahead of an expected initial public offering in the next two years.

The effort to start selling its own product is known internally as “Project S”, according to six people familiar with internal deliberations. They added ByteDance was building an online retailing unit to challenge groups such as fast-fashion brand Shein and Pinduoduo’s sister app Temu, a site that sells cheap products and features heavily on social media.

Project S is led by Bob Kang, ByteDance’s ecommerce chief, who has recently traveled from Shanghai to co-ordinate the efforts at TikTok’s offices in London, according to two employees. TikTok said Kang was in the UK for a number of reasons and reports to the app’s chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

Project S utilizes TikTok’s knowledge of items that are going viral on the app, allowing ByteDance to acquire or make those items themselves, according to people with the knowledge of the plan. The company then heavily promoted Trendy Beat products over rival sellers on TikTok, the people said.

TikTok said the brand used a network of suppliers to produce items for its Trendy Beat offering.

In order to boost its e-commerce business, ByteDance had recruited employees from Shein, two employees said.

“Bob Kang is obsessed with Temu and replicating his success, and he thinks they can do this by inserting themselves into the supply and sale process,” said another person familiar with the strategy in the UK.

ByteDance has been pushing to expand TikTok’s ecommerce offerings to

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23
June
0

7 Best Kids’ Clothing Stores Online 2023 to Outfit All Your Little Ones

By avi maxwel / in , , , , /

With a three-year-old who just finished his first year of pre-school, I’m starting to learn the peaks and valleys of summertime with kids. Peaks? Sprinkler play in Central Park, picnics, and exploring outdoors. Valleys? Noschool! Bugs, constant sunscreen application, and the battle over hats. But it’s also, in my humble opinion, the most fun time of year to shop for your little ones at one of what are, in my book, the best kids’ clothing stores online. Whether it’s an adorable Minnow paisley print swimsuit with grosgrain ribbon tie or more practical camp essentials like Primary’s rainbow of rash guards. Just in time for this most important stock-up time of year, beloved kids’ online retail utopia Maisonette is launching Maisonette Outletfor a steal on all their favorite brands–think of it as the Outnet to their Net-a-Porter. I’ve been searching for summer sandals for my 14-month-old, who just started walking (and found some great daisy print jellies at gaps) and some cute but tumble-ready shorts for my three-year-old (the Bingo shorts from Oso & Me have become a must-have in every colorway!). Herewith, a list of some of my best kids’ clothing stores online for summer and beyond.

The Best Online Site For Childrenswear:

Everything you want from stroller to roller skates, not to mention the cutest clothing brands, and now the just-launched Outlets is like an end-of-season sale all year round! I love the fun prints and practical silhouettes from their house brand Maison Me, as well as their favorite Pink Chicken block print swimsuits or dresses and La Coqueta striped blouses for girls and boys with their crisp Nehru-collars that scream elegant European summer.

Pink Chicken girls Arden suit

Oso & Me Bingo Baby pocket shorts

Babiators Original Navigator in smoke lens

Minnow baby gingham drawstring briefs

La Coqueta Jazmin long-sleeve shirt

Maison Me Victorian rompers

Babiators Daisy sunglasses

I buy so many things on Etsy! It’s a great place to shop for used kids’ clothes and handmade kids’ clothes and accessories. I have gotten great smocked Liberty print dresses and vintage kids’ Levis and overalls. I favorite the shops I love as well as different items and then go directly to them when I’m looking for new items. It’s also my one-stop shop for kids’ gifts, from bath bombs with farm animal figurines inside to personalized straw baskets for a little lady on the go.

Cool Clever Gifts blue floral smocked dress

KFS Shop straw Moroccan basket

A Sundry Notion vintage denim shorts

Costme Party Shop reversible costume cape

Personalized Knits pullover sweaters

IDenimUp 5R kids vintage Levi’s jean

Some of my favorite sweaters, PJs, and shoes for toddlers—and there’s usually a discount brewing! I got these fisherman sandals for Alice and always go to them for socks and hats. They have prints that are charming without being hideous, which can happen quickly with kids’ clothes.

Gap baby linen-cotton outfit set

Gap toddler no-show socks

Gap toddler mix and match leggings

Gap toddler checkered poplin

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