Weâre edging closer to the holidays, which means this weekâs stories are all about how sellers are navigating the season â and what experts expect to see once all is said and done. If youâre selling online this holiday, here are the stories you wonât want to miss...
Amazon highlights fast shipping and other convenient options to appeal to last-minute holiday shoppers.
Holiday sales are likely to meet or exceed expectations based on data from The National Retail Federation.
Adobe and Figma terminate $20 billion merger, citing issues with regulatory bodies in the UK and EU.
Link-building on Shopify â a helpful guide for beginners.
The Amazon Corner
Quick On The Draw: Amazon Plays Up Fast Shipping in Run-Up To Holidays
For last-minute shoppers, speed is everything: With the holidays approaching fast, Amazon and other major retailers are making a big push to remind shoppers of quick and convenient shipping options for a wide variety of popular products. Additionally, Amazon has added tags on search results and product pages to let customers know whether a given item will arrive by Christmas. These features join one of Amazonâs stalwart offerings â Same Day Shipping â which is available in more than 90 cities in the U.S. and gives shoppers yet another avenue to grab gifts before the big day.
Based on a panel of 100 online retailers, December 15th is the median cutoff date for shoppers hoping to receive gifts by December 25th with standard shipping. With other shipping options, that date shifts to December 18th. Interestingly, as we near the holidays, consumers are more willing to pay for shipping to receive their gifts on time, with $9 being the âsweet spot,â according to e-commerce shipping vendor Auctane.
Cause For Celebration: Holiday Sales Likely To Meet Or Exceed Expectations
A very happy holiday indeed: According to The National Retail Federation, November retail sales (excluding automobiles and gasoline) grew 4.24% year over year â a notable leap up from October and proof that inflation fears are not dissuading consumers from opening their wallets this holiday season. Much of this growth is being driven by value-driven shoppers embracing seasonal sales and promotions, with retailers like Amazon leading the charge.
At 26.27%, online sales grew the most year over year. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that nonstore sales grew 10.6% over 2022, compared with a more muted 4.1% for total retail sales. On Cyber Monday alone, U.S.-based shoppers spent $12.4 billion online, which is an increase of 9.6% since last year. The biggest categories driving growth include health and personal care products, while consumer electronics actually lagged behind with a mere 0.1% growth since 2022.
The Big Breakup: Adobe and Figma Cancel $20 Billion Merger Due to Regulatory Issues
Photo Credit: David Tran
Some things just arenât meant to be: On Monday, Adobe and Figma announced that they had mutually agreed to cancel their $20 billion merger due to regulatory obstacles. In a statement, the companies cited specific issues with the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority, claiming that âthere is no clear pathâ to resume the merger as planned. For its part, the UK Competition and Markets Authority argued that the merger would hamper competition in three categories: all-in-one product design software, vector editing software, and raster editing software.
Adobe will pay Figma a previously agreed upon $1 billion termination fee, but itâs not all bad news for the tech giant â the ADBE ticker rose 1.7% in early trading after the announcement went live.
Link-Building for Shopify: A Simple Guide for Beginners
Ready for increased visitors and more engaged traffic? If youâre a Shopify seller, link-building is a critical way to grow your audience and achieve better search rankings, but it can feel like an uphill battle when youâre first getting started. In this guide, weâll tell you what link-building is all about, why itâs important, and how you can take cues from some successful power sellers to develop your own strategy and grow your businessâŚ.
Try this. Regularly overhaul your mailing list to ensure that your emails reach people who will actually open them.
FUN FACT
More than one-third of small businesses based in the U.S. donât have a website.
LISTEN UP
Curious how a real-life e-commerce agency approaches the nuanced world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? On this 115th episode of The E-Comm Show, Andrew Maff breaks down the specific techniques that BlueTuskr employs when it needs to supercharge a clientâs SEO strategy.
In this episode, Andrew will dive straight into the nitty gritty: keyword research, word count, internal links, site structure⌠If youâre an e-commerce seller with only a tenuous grasp of SEO, this is the perfect primer to help you take actionable steps to improve traffic and search rankings â and ultimately get more eyes on your product.
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