This week big name retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Meta have been making moves to keep up with the times. Here’s a look at the top e-commerce stories of the week:
Walmart unveils a new and improved aesthetic for its website and app, ushering in an era of modern convenience.
By 2026, Walmart plans to have 65% of its stores serviced by automation.
Meta advances the world of artificial intelligence by unveiling an innovative model that can identify objects in pictures with remarkable accuracy.
In a strategic reorganization, FedEx has set its sights on Amazon in an attempt to become the preferred choice for e-commerce deliveries.
Top Retail and E-commerce Stories
Face Update: Walmart Unveils a New Look
Photo Credit: Walmart | CNBC
A whole new look! Walmart recently unveiled a new look for its website and app.The redesign gives the platform an updated feel that emphasizes convenience, with more streamlined navigation and easier access to deals. This is a great example of how Walmart is continuing to modernize its retail operations in order to compete with Amazon.
Beginning this week, all customers who enter the company's website and app will be exposed to larger, more vibrant photographs, videos, and content inspired by social media. Walmart hopes these changes will urge shoppers to purchase more items from their stores.
As customers become increasingly hesitant to purchase non-essentials such as apparel and electronics, yet pay higher prices for goods like groceries and housing, the big-box retailer has refreshed its online presence. According to Circana (previously known as The NPD Group & IRI), sales in U.S.-based discretionary general merchandise have dropped 4% year over year in terms of money spent, with unit sales dipping 5%.
Walmart 2.0: Walmart Plans to Automate 65% of its Stores
Staying ahead of the curve? The retailer announced that it plans to automate 65% of its stores by 2026in order to boost efficiency and reduce labor costs. During the U.S. retail giant's investor meeting in Tampa, Florida, Walmart unveiled a new initiative that has been bolstered by their efforts to utilize large stores for online-order deliveries and automation investments which expedite order processing within e-commerce fulfillment centers.
By January 2026, Walmart projects that 55% of the packages it processes through its fulfillment centers will be transported by automated facilities, thereby proving an average cost savings of approximately 20%. As Stephens Inc analyst Ben Bienvenu stated in a note: "This heightened efficiency not only assists with better inventory management but also bolsters Walmart's swiftly rising e-commerce sector."
With 5,000 U.S. stores under its belt, Walmart was silent when asked whether this switch will lead to any anticipated job losses in the near future.
SAM stands for Segment Anything Model and is designed to help automate certain processes within e-commerce stores by identifying and segmenting products from a variety of images. Meta asserted that SAM has the capacity to recognize objects in pictures and videos, even when they have not previously been seen during its training.
Through utilizing SAM, objects can be simply selected by either clicking on them or even just writing down their name. For example, merely stating "cat" was enough for SAM to indicate each of the cats in a picture with an automated box drawing around it!
With Meta's existing usage of technology similar to SAM, it has been able to tag photos, moderate prohibited content and select which posts get recommended on Facebook and Instagram. Now with the release of SAM, this type of tech will be more accessible to everyone.
FedEx vs. Amazon: Who Will Win this Epic Delivery Showdown?
Photo Credit: PYMNTS
The ultimate delivery showdown is here! The stakes are high as FedEx and Amazon battle it out to become the leading name in online shipping. FedEx has recently announced its intention to launch a new subscription service, allowing customers access to free two-day shipping on all purchases over $100. This is seen as a direct challenge to Amazon Prime's same-day delivery service.
In 2019, FedEx put an end to its ground delivery contract with Amazon. Seeing the opportunity for growth and expansion in this matter, Amazon took it upon itself to launch Prime Delivery - taking shipments from third-party merchants directly to customers' doorsteps. To even further their success in this sector of business, they implemented Buy With Prime which enabled payments at checkout for all eligible U.S. merchants. Last fall, Amazon unveiled invaluable services for its Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) and introduced Amazon Warehousing & Distribution. Through this new venture, sellers have access to specialized facilities designed to store bulk inventory as well as automated distribution options.
On Wednesday, FedEx unveiled a strategic corporate plan that could give them an edge in the tight competition with Amazon. While eCommerce trends have dropped off for both of these giants and PYMNTS reports that Amazon holds around 50% of the market share, implementing a more streamlined organization is one approach to counteracting this. With their new strategy in place, FedEx might just be able to tap into those areas where they can succeed against Amazon's dominance.
As Amazon being the e-commerce giant to beat, a lot of other e-commerce companies are coming after Amazon. So, we'd love to know, which e-comm giant will you be rooting for? We'll be posting the results next week!
QUICK TIP
Try this.Prominent social media links on a website distract buyers from buying, so keep them in the footer and discreet. To help convert potential customers, focus on making sure your website is easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing.
FUN FACT
The online shopping cart abandonment rate is drastically higher on mobile devices than desktops, with 84% of purchases not being completed via smartphones and tablets compared to 72% when using PCs.
LISTEN UP
On this 79th episode of The E-Comm Show, our host, and BlueTuskr CEO Andrew Maff speaks on gated content marketing and how it can be leveraged in a new way to propel lead generation, maximize conversions, and build on client retention. Find out how the “old” ways of doing gated content are being transformed to convert in today’s market using traditional principles.
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