3, 2, 1...Happy New E-comm Year! 🥳 

New year, new trends! It's a new era for ecommerce, with the latest technology making it easier than ever to reach and engage customers. Let's look at what’s going on this week in retail and e-commerce news:

• This holiday season, Americans unabashedly splurged due to the alarming rate of inflation.
• Alibaba's E-Commerce Platform is making its grand entrance into the world of Metaverse!
• By 2023, e-commerce will be omnipresent on social media platforms.
• After honing in on its mince pie recipe, Amazon has infiltrated the holiday season. Unfortunately though, sales of its private-label products have been so underwhelming that it had to cut back production.

Top Retail and E-commerce Stories

Shop 'Til the Inflation Drops: Americans Splurge in the Face of Alarming Inflation

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping! Despite a year of economic hardship and a looming recession, Americans splurged this holiday season. While many were cutting back on spending during other parts of the year, they made up for it with some serious consumption come December. But why? It all boils down to inflation.

On Monday, Mastercard Spending Pulse revealed that US retail sales surged 7.6% from November 1 to December 24 compared to the same time frame last year. This index tracks all forms of payment involving both online and physical stores but doesn't consider auto sales or inflation rates. The report is a welcome sign after a pullback in consumer spending led to a dip in US retail sales in November, despite a strong turnout for Black Friday. Still, inflation likely accounts for much of the year-over-year increase in holiday spending.

Side Note: Don't miss out on conversions: How to Prevent Digital Shopping Cart Abandonment

Michelle Meyer, the North America Chief Economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, said, "Consumers and retailers navigated the season well, displaying resilience amid increasing economic pressures.” In addition to increased shopping habits, consumers have also prioritized eating out and experienced-based spending. 

Read more about the increased holiday spending habits!

A Grand Entrance: Alibaba's E-Commerce Platform Enters Metaverse

Alibaba is diving into the world of metaverse. Prior to the launch of its inaugural metaverse live-streaming product, Alibaba Group Holding Limited's e-commerce platform Taobao performed rigorous testing and evaluations.

As Coingape reports, Alibaba's ambitious metaverse project is likely to go live around the approaching New Year shopping spree. Since the beginning of this year, Taobao has been launching items related to the metaverse on a regular basis.

TaoLive City is an innovative virtual world from Alibaba. With a customized avatar, you can instantly explore this captivating environment and take part in exciting activities like shopping, competitions, and meeting other users in real-time. 

Side Note: Expand Your E-Commerce Business to Facebook Marketplace

So far, Taobao live streamers and brands like Tissot have joined the platform and started taking advantage of this virtual reality. Alibaba has also incorporated some of its current platforms into this metaverse as additional ways to network including Alifish which is an online platform for copyright trading services. 

Step into this virtual reality and read more details about this metaverse!

Enter 2023: The Year of E-commerce on Social Media

Shopping on social media is going mainstream! With early signs indicating success, selling goods through live social networking is proving to be a powerful tool not only in China but across the world. Audiences relish connecting with their favorite celebrities and influencers, however ultimately, it's about making purchases.

ByteDance's TikTok brought the trend of selling goods to the United States and Britain after its Chinese app Douyin sold an astounding $119 billion worth of products in 2021. Following suit, retail giant Amazon created its own version called Inspire, while video platform OnlyFans has allowed its content creators to market customized items directly to subscribers.

As marketing budgets are reduced, live online shopping revenue can help to fill the gap. Statista data predicts that U.S. social media advertising spending, which had been expanding by an average of 30% annually, will slow to 12%, resulting in a total spend of $114 billion by 2025. On the other hand, McKinsey anticipates that U.S. Social Media e-commerce sales will keep growing at a rate of 20% each year until they reach a whopping $80 billion.

Side Note: TikTok vs. Instagram Reels: Which is Better for E-Commerce Business?

The overall interest makes perfect sense since many retailers are looking to keep and gain online shoppers. Utilizing live streams as a way for customers to ask questions and interact with the products will help to eliminate the number of returns, which has a costly impact on e-commerce trade. 

Read more about how live streaming is the new window shopping!

The Amazon Corner

Not as Sweet as Its Mince Pie: Amazon Cuts Back on Its Private-Label Products Due to Poor Demand

Photo Credit: MAREN CARUSO/GETTY IMAGES

Not as sweet as pie! Amazon's foray into the world of private-label products didn't quite pan out for the retail giant this holiday season. After honing in on its mince pie recipe and infiltrating the holiday season, poor sales of its own-brand products have forced them to cut back production.

Amidst worries that Amazon was utilizing its search engine to give preference to their private labels over competitors', which the company itself refuted, they seemingly decreased in promotion for their internal brands.

In 2019, research conducted by Marketplace Pulse revealed that third-party sellers were in a good spot since Amazon's private label brands weren't as successful as many people believed them to be. The report uncovered the fact that only 1.7 percent of the top 500,000 search terms on Amazon caused customers to select an AmazonBasics product.

Side Note: 5 Ways to Increase Your Amazon Profits

The decline was noticed all the way back in August of this year when Amazon made the decision to pause the rollout of their brick-and-mortar Amazon Fresh stores across the U.K. due to poor sales. This is most likely due to a lack of checkouts. Their whole system runs on sensors, so if your card declines the purchase and you are not notified until hours later, the product will already be in your possession. 

Not your mom's mince pie, read more about Amazon's cutback on production!

A Little More

• For the first time since 2020, digital ad expenditures decreased in November, signaling a possible shift in consumer behavior.
• During the holiday season, returns surged by a whopping 57%, according to a recent report.
• Adults are reaching for toys of their own, and this trend is the most significant contributor to the toy industry.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

New year, new opportunity to make sales! As we head on to 2023, let's get a recap of 2022's Q4. Which of these "ber" months have given you the best sales record?

QUICK TIP

Try this. Create more video content and use it to promote your products and services. Video content can be used in multiple ways, such as product demonstrations, Q&A sessions with customers, and sneak peeks at upcoming releases.

FUN FACT

Nearly half (54%) of all consumers demand more video content from the businesses they follow.

LISTEN UP

On this 65th episode of The E-Comm Show, our host and BlueTuskr CEO Andrew Maff talks about how to drive traffic to your Amazon listings. From the tools to help you in your product and keyword research to how to effectively use Amazon Live. Jump into this episode of The E-Comm Show for Andrew’s best tech stack tools for Amazon selling!