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Google continues attempting to regain the top spot as a product search platform, which has been overtaken by Amazon in recent years. This week Google, the world's overall largest search engine, has released its latest Shopping update to make the browsing experience more visual for users.
This past year, Shopify made a big change to its terms for app developers. The e-commerce platform previously took a 20% cut on revenue generated annually by apps. Starting in August, it allowed developers to pocket 100% of the first $1 million they make on its platform. This change, according to insiders, is giving app developers a much-needed boost.
Amazon recently admitted that it banned 3,000 seller accounts, though one trade group in China puts the number closer to 50,000. The mutually beneficial relationship between Amazon and its biggest China-based sellers -- which has proven instrumental to the growth of the third-party marketplace -- seems to be on shaky ground.
Ebay says refurbished and recycled products have been big pandemic winners. Together, refurbished and recycled products helped drive a 400% increase in used consumer product sales on eBay since 2018, eBay U.K. chief Murray Lambell said in a keynote at an industry event.
Companies like Pharmapacks and Anker are the first third-party sellers to go public. But more and more, Amazon sellers are achieving enough scale that they can stand as public-facing brands in their own right.
Niche, category-specific marketplaces like health foods purveyor Bubble are offering an increasingly appealing alternative to Amazon for both brands and customers looking for a more curated marketplace experience, explained Bubble CEO and Founder Jessica Young at Digiday and Modern Retail's Marketplace Strategies Forum.
At Digiday Media's Marketplace Strategies Forum in New York City, industry leaders came together to discuss all things marketplaces, from selling to advertising. Navigating selling on a multitude of new marketplaces, maintaining brand equity amongst third party resellers, and loss of control were top concerns as marketplace retailers and experts shared their experiences.
As food delivery companies race to acquire enough customers to finally turn a profit, they are actively building up their presence in new markets -- and many seem to have decided that pharmacies are the most logical evolution of their business.
Ahead of its anticipated IPO, Instacart has been hiring talent from Facebook and luring brands with the promise of granular sales data. But, with competition increasing as new delivery startups emerge, its growth now rests on its ability to monetize more inventory and to deliver incremental sales revenue for advertisers, according to e-commerce ad automation platforms.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that NCAA athletes could profit off of their name and image for the first time. Ever since, brands and platforms like GoPuff, Shopify and more have rushed to court college athletes to engage in endorsement deals and to launch their own products.
In less than two years, Whatnot has become the most valuable independent livestream shopping company in the U.S. The platform for collectible trading cards, comic books and toys just raised $150M in a Series C round from venture capital firms, valuing it at $1.5 billion. Whatnot co-founder Grant Lafontaine spoke with Modern Retail about the future of livestream e-commerce, what draws investors to the space, and how his company plans to preserve its identity even as it plots its live video takeover.
In 2020, Amazon Logistics delivered 4.2 billion parcel shipments, up from 1.9 billion in 2019. It now makes up, by volume, 21% of the parcel shipments in the U.S., behind the USPS (38%) and UPS (24%) but ahead of FedEx for the first time (16%).
The new customer service offering comes at a moment when Amazon’s own fulfillment infrastructure appears to be under heavy strain -- and as some sellers opt to take their chances on self-fulfillment, Amazon can still maintain an extra slice of their business through Customer Service by Amazon.
Southeast Asia’s biggest e-commerce company Shopee is reportedly headed to Poland, India and Argentina — three markets that fit squarely into its focus on rapidly digitizing economies. But the Singapore-based company may have difficulty scaling.
On Thursday, Facebook rolled out its first smart glasses model, Ray-Ban Stories, in partnership with glasses design house, EssilorLuxottica, for $299. While Facebook’s partnership may fix one issue formerly plaguing the wearable tech industry – clunky, ugly styles – analysts are still skeptical that iteration will drive widespread consumer adoption.
The Nation Retail Federation predicts record Halloween sales of $10.14 billion this year with candy and costumes, in particular, growing 20% and 28%. Still, while in person shopping opens up alongside an in-person holiday, Halloween e-commerce continues to thrive in 2021. And retailers are preparing accordingly.
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Summit, retail marketers will discuss everything from the Amazon effect to new infrastructure to the shift in the direct-to-consumer world.
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