Those Friday Feelz 😎

The weekend is in sight, and we've got some great reads to help you power through the rest of your day. Here are the top retail and e-commerce stories making news this week.

• Walmart announces the beta launch of their new content creator platform.
• Shein unveiled a resale platform and expressed intentions to expedite U.S. delivery times.
• Elevar becomes the preferred Shopify checkout extensibility partner, providing merchants with a seamless way to customize their shopping experience.
• Shopify stocks take a dive.  

Top Retail and E-commerce Stories

Testing: Walmart's Content Creator Platform is Now in Beta

Beta Launch For Content Creators, by Walmart.Walmart has announced the beta launch of its new content creator platform. The program, which is invite-only for now, will allow select content creators to produce videos and blogs about products available on Walmart.com.

In return, they'll receive a commission on any sales generated from their content. According to the release, Walmart Creator provides users with performance data and product recommendations based on their interests.

Shein Selling Out: New Resale Marketplace Allows Customers To Sell Their Clothes Back For Cash

Shein's new resale platform: faster, easier, and just as chic! Shein, a major player in the fast-fashion industry, has just introduced a new online resale platform called Shein Exchange. This user-friendly service intends to make it easy for individuals to buy and sell secondhand Shein apparel items.

Shein has partnered with Trees to create the Shein Exchange and it is available for all customers located in the U.S. The company plans on expanding next year to cater to other global markets as well.

Check This Out: Elevar Helps You Boost Your Shopify Checkout

New Shopify partner on the move. With the new APIs Shopify launched this month, today's announcement of Elevar becoming a certified and preferred partner app authority with Shopify offers all customers of Elevar more accurate marketing channel conversion tracking along with enhanced checkout security and privacy features which will help Shopify merchants increase average order value, decrease cart abandonment, and improve customer loyalty.

The Amazon Corner

#Meh: Amazon's Shopify Killer Appears to be a Dud

Is Amazon about to muscle Shopify out of business? Amazon is now offering free two-day shipping on orders from third-party merchants, a move that appears to be primarily in response to Shopify's success. This undercuts one of Shopify's most valuable revenue streams - payments - and may prove difficult for the company to recover from.

The news sent Shopify's stock plunging, but it has since recovered. And for good reason - the move does not appear to be having the intended effect.

A LITTLE MORE

• Why do consumers abandon their carts, and how can you reclaim those sales?
• Instacart has announced an improved Ads Manager as well as shoppable video ads, now available to all CPG brand partners
• Survey: The sustainability efforts consumers want from online brands

QUICK TIP

Try this. Consider user experience when designing your website. Poorly designed websites are the number one reason people abandon their carts.

FUN FACT

Close to half (45%) of the world's eCommerce sales occurred through digital and mobile wallets.