Friday is here, and the weekend is near! 👌

Check out our top picks for retail and e-commerce news this week before you head out to enjoy your well-deserved weekend break.

• Pinduoduo is looking to break into the American market by launching a cross-border e-commerce platform.
• More and more young brands are getting ready for lean times ahead.
• New York Fashion Week is getting a boost from Afterpay, who will release exclusive designer NFTs for the event.
• Amazon not only keeps growing, but it's also gathering more and more data on you.

Top Retail and E-commerce Stories

The New Amazon You've Never Heard Of?: Pinduoduo Expands to the US Market

Underdog? Not anymore. Pinduoduo, the e-commerce platform that offers heavy discounts on bulk purchases, has announced its expansion into the United States.

Despite coming to the e-commerce game much later than adversaries like Alibaba and JD.com, Pinduoduo has managed to become one of China's most successful tech companies. Pinduoduo is planning to introduce a cross-border e-commerce platform in the United States next month, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. Chinese media outlets reported last week that Pinduoduo plans to follow the model set by Chinese fast-fashion firm Shein to attract American consumers.

Prepare for a Recession: Young Brands Edition

Are you ready for the recession? Inflated prices along with unstable market conditions have led many new businesses to create alternate strategies in case the U.S. enters a recession soon. Although it isn't definite, an economic decline is something that more and more brands are preparing for in the next few months.

For some consumer brands, this entails strengthening their financials to ensure they have enough cash flow to survive a dry fundraising climate. For other startups preparing for a recession, this means accelerating their retail distribution as they wean off the increasingly-expensive DTC-only model. Some manufacturers are also locking in existing and new production contracts to guarantee affordable manufacturing in the near future, as raw material costs continue to rise.

Hottest Ticket in Town: Afterpay Releases Exclusive Designer NFTs for New York Fashion Week

Get a piece of the action with Afterpay's designer NFTs. Afterpay, a buy now, pay later business, has collaborated with New York Fashion Week to distribute unique non-fungible tokens that come with special goods and in-person experiences, according to a press release supplied by Retail Dive. Afterpay launched another free NFT that includes a six-month free Tidal music subscription, access to an Instagram close-friends group and more.

The NFTs were created in collaboration with five fashion designers — Altuzarra by Joseph Altuzarra, AnOnlyChild, Jonathan Simkhai, Kim Shui, and The Blonds - inspired by each of their Spring/Summer ’23 collections. Each NFT comes with a real-life product such as a unique edition leather handbag, invites to after parties, original runway designs, and more. Customers can purchase the design NFTs for $100 using a special webpage, with all proceeds going to Free Arts NYC. Four interest-free payments are available.

The Amazon Corner

Creepy or Convenient?: Amazon's Ever-Growing Data Cache

Amazon is getting a lot more personal! 🤔 In recent weeks, Amazon has announced that it will invest billions of dollars in two huge purchases that would extend its already vast presence in customers' lives. Now, Amazon is focusing on two markets: health care, with its $3.9 billion takeover of primary care business One Medical, and the "smart home," where it plans to expand its already strong presence through a $1.7 billion tie-up with iRobot, the creator of the successful robotic Roomba vacuum cleaner.

Amazon's well-known reputation for collecting consumer information has followed it into its recent mergers, causing privacy concerns to heighten. For example, the latest line of Roombas uses sensors to map and remember a home's floor plan. 

A LITTLE MORE

• LianLian Global and Uncapped have partnered to provide more flexible e-commerce financing.
• Is inflation lower online than offline?
• The online marketing drones market is expanding at a fast pace, with increased demand from the e-commerce industry

FUN FACT

1 in 5 consumers using a smart speaker make purchases via voice commerce.

QUICK TIP

Try this. 44% of customers return after receiving a tailored internet shopping experience. Sending post-purchase ‘thank you' emails, offering wishlists, and suggesting products based on their purchase history can all make a huge impact.