As the days get warmer and brighter, it's a great time to look at what's hot in retail & e-commerce news. Here are some of the key developments this week:
Target is taking a major leap forward to take on titans such as Walmart and Amazon, in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition.
A recent survey has revealed that an overwhelming majority of consumers are looking to continue buying private label products even after the economy stabilizes.
Shopify is revolutionizing Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) for merchants through its groundbreaking blockchain partnerships, making the process easier than ever before.
Amazon is pursuing virtual influencers to captivate and connect with younger generations.
Top Retail and E-commerce Stories
Target: Taking the Fight to Walmart & Amazon
An epic battle for retail supremacy. To combat retail titans Walmart and Amazon,Target is ramping up its competition by developing Sortation centers in 2020. The pilot was conducted at the Minneapolis corporate location to measure how rapidly and effectively orders could be shipped to customers. With this new system of delivery capacity, Target remains steadfastly devoted to providing its consumers with the best services possible. Target is continuing to broaden the reach of its Sortation Centers, having already added locations in Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, and Pennsylvania with plans for further expansion.
Although Target has yet to launch its own AI shopper, it acquired the delivery service Shipt back in 2017. With this purchase, Target is able to provide customers with same-day deliveries and will soon be expanding its capabilities by utilizing a Sortation center for next-day deliveries.
Gretchen McCarthy, Target's Chief Global Supply Chain & Logistics Officer shares, "Through our sortation centers and Target Last Mile Delivery capabilities, we’re able to move faster and with more precision — while controlling costs and expanding our network capacity — for years to come.”
Private Labels are Here to Stay: How Consumers are Making the Switch
Photo Credit: Catherine Douglas Moran/Retail Dive
Buy or bye? The private label industry is booming. As prices continue to rise, 73% of people have found solace in private-label brands and will remain loyal customers as the economy starts to look better. Only 9% said they would not purchase them any longer. Data from Attest's exclusive study on Food Dive offers early insight into this phenomenon that is sweeping the nation.
A whopping 90% of shoppers report that they shop around for the best deals when purchasing groceries. To sweeten their deal, nearly half (41%) visit multiple stores to locate the most competitive prices. Interestingly enough, customers are four times more enticed by lower costs than bonus offers and discounts.
Recently, multiple retailers have made a conscious effort to increase the quality and selection of their private-label products in an attempt to substantiate store brands as top-notch value options.
Unlock the power of NFTs with Shopify magic. Shopify is bringing blockchain technology to merchants in an easy and secure way. Shopify offers thousands of customizable applications that enable store owners to incorporate chatbots, manage their Instagram accounts, and more. But the platform also provides a way for retailers to venture into blockchain-driven commerce including creating and selling NFTs. In January, Shopify announced an integration with Ava Labs, maker of Avalanche, from New York along with the Venly app which broadened the reach of its non-fungible token services even further!
The new partnership with Avalanche makes it simple for merchants to design, mint, and sell unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through the Shopify platform. All they need is an image file - that's it! Those are then uploaded as digital tokens which can be presented and sold in their online stores just like regular products. Payments are processed quickly without any hassle on the buyer side; customers will receive an email after purchase to access their newly acquired NFT - no crypto wallet needed!
Influencers, assemble! As Amazon strives to capture the attention of younger generations, it has taken a turn for the digital.It has recently launched its Superplastic program, which promotes virtual influencersin order to captivate and connect with Amazon’s audience. This initiative is part of an effort by the e-commerce giant to expand its reach into social media.
The Alexa Fund is proud to announce a new investment that will revolutionize the market with innovative approaches and strategies. In February, Amazon declared that it had launched a $20 million Series A investment in Superplastic, an animation studio dedicated to digital characters. Their virtual influencers possess social media accounts, devoted fanbases, and affiliations with renowned brands—just like their human counterparts. These cartoon figures are beyond what you would expect; they're nothing short of astonishing!
Paul Bernard, the Alexa Fund director, stated that Amazon has been observing the rapid ascendance of synthetic celebrities and believes it is a new type of intellectual property mainly aimed at younger generations.
Is the US e-commerce game ready for Temu's entrance? With its current offerings, will it cause disruption and leave competitors feeling uneasy? We are eager to post the results next week!
QUICK TIP
Try this.Make the most of reviews! Social proof is invaluable and reviews can be a powerful asset to augment sales. Leverage customer feedback, respond to their views expeditiously, and tackle any problems that emerge so as to create credibility with likely shoppers.
FUN FACT
Amongst the vast landscape of e-commerce websites, Walmart, eBay, and AliExpress remain at the forefront with an impressive number of visitors.
LISTEN UP
On this 74th episode of The E-Comm Show, our host, and BlueTuskr CEO Andrew Maff is with Chelsea Schulz of Ettitude, a fabric innovation company, and lifestyle brand selling sustainable bamboo-made products.
Coming from an analytical background, Chelsea is natural when it comes to data analytics. With experience in tech services, Chelsea now uses her profound experience and knowledge of data to do performance marketing for Ettitude. Listen to this episode of The E-Comm Show to learn about how to do traffic campaigns, A/B testing, and retargeting ads.
And it's another clean sweep for this week! Looks like everybody is riding the Amazon ads boat. Have you already added Amazon ads too in your ad strategy?
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