Good Day, Fridaaaaay! ✨

As we hop into another weekend of fun and freedom, here are the top stories making waves in retail and e-commerce this week:

• For e-commerce companies, a new cross-border payment service has been launched by a global payments firm.
• Shop Circle wants to prevent Shopify merchants from wasting time and money on applications they don't need.
• 3 trends should you keep an eye on during the back-to-school and holiday seasons.
• Amazon is holding two Prime shopping events this year, the second of which will take place in Q4.

Top Retail and E-commerce Stories

Say Goodbye to Cross-Border Payment Woes: Global payments firm launches new cross-border payment service

Make your global e-commerce dreams a reality!✨ After obtaining licenses to operate in all 50 states, LianLian Global, a leading global cross-border payment service provider, introduced the Cross-Border Wallet, a multi-currency cross-border payment solution. The cross-border digital wallet is intended to make transactions quicker, more convenient and less expensive than traditional cash and bank transfers for U.S.-based businesses selling their goods on marketplaces such as Allegro, Amazon, Cdiscount, Fruugo and Kaufland.de.

LianLian Global's Cross-Border Wallet practically eliminates the administrative hassles of facilitating payments across Western businesses, consumers, and suppliers in China and other emerging markets worldwide. LianLian Global enables online shoppers from all over the world to make lump sums of up to $1.5 million at a time. The wallet may also store numerous currencies, including US Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Euro currency (€), Chinese Yuan and Polish Zloty coins.

Apps You Need Without the Fluff: The Best-of-the-Best Apps in One Place

Get the apps you need, and nothing else. Shop Circle, a technology firm based in London that acquires and expands e-commerce software, is behind the tech infrastructure for several Shopify merchants. By combining the leading apps into a single platform, merchants can more quickly reach new customers and grow their businesses. The best-of-the-best apps, according to the company, are intended to help entrepreneurs cut down on all that hunting and speed up the process of getting their stores up and running.

Shop Circle has about 15 different software. It has acquired six apps so far and is in the process of adding another 20. Shop Circle began with Shopify and has expanded to approximately 50,000 businesses in the past year. The firm closed on a third round of funding earlier this month to help it pursue its long-term objective of expanding beyond Shopify and introducing its technologies to all e-commerce marketplaces.

Watch Out!: 3 Trends to Watch as Retailers Prep for Back-to-School, Holiday Shopping

The 3 trends that will dominate this year's holiday retail season. Back-to-school and holiday shopping will look different this year, as the pandemic has changed consumer behavior in a number of ways. Retailers need to be aware of these changes in order to adapt their strategies accordingly.

Here are three trends that you should keep an eye on:

1. Christmas in July

Expect the under-the-bed holiday presents to begin earlier this year. Because of concerns about shipping delays and empty shelves, people began buying ahead of Black Friday in recent years. According to Salesforce, people will be looking to stock up on discounts and avoid price hikes this season. According to Salesforce's research, over 43% more consumers worldwide and 37% more in the United States said they intended to start buying presents sooner in order to obtain better prices.

For others, it might mean that Christmas shopping will begin in July, as Amazon Prime Day and competing sales draw consumers to start buying early. Others may try to stock up on gifts while stores like Target and Gap offer reduced goods to sell off the unwanted inventory they accumulated during the epidemic.

2. Price Wars

Shoppers who were cooped up on their sofas during the last two holiday seasons have now gotten out of bed and gone shopping. They'll be examining prices more closely this year, and if they don't like what they find, they will go elsewhere. This holiday season, value is expected to surpass loyalty and convenience. According to Salesforce, half of the online customers plan on changing brands in order to save money. This means 2.5 billion consumers across the world may choose not to buy a product because it does not fit their budget.

3. NFTs as Christmas Gifts

Non-fungible tokens, or unique digital assets stored on a blockchain that are popular with consumers, will be more prevalent this year, according to Salesforce, with 46% of customers said they would consider giving a virtual replica of a physical item or a digital collectible as a present. In addition, Salesforce estimated that half a million NFTs are expected to be bought by merchants between November and December, for an estimated market value of $54 million.

The Amazon Corner

Amazon Announces Another Shopping Holiday: Q4 Prime Day is Coming!

Mark your calendars for the second annual Amazon Prime day! The e-commerce giant announced that its highly anticipated event will take place on October 13-14. This is good news for retailers who are looking to get a jump on the holiday shopping season.

According to a notice seen by CNBC, Amazon plans to hold a second shopping event for Prime members in the fourth quarter, becoming the first company to do so. It comes amid reports that Amazon is readying its big annual sale on July 12 and 13, which will aim to attract new customers.

The e-commerce giant began notifying select third-party merchants of a "Prime Fall" deal event via its internal seller portal, Seller Central, in recent days. No dates are listed in the notification, but sellers are told to submit limited-time "lightning deals" by July 22, several weeks before the fourth-quarter event.

A LITTLE MORE

• Fastest growing e-commerce sectors for 2025
• From the metaverse to rental - a dynamic apparel retail sector
• The home goods market begins to cool down.

FUN FACT

Consumers want more product reviews and information from online retailers, according to over half of the customers surveyed.

QUICK TIP

Try this. Make your company more environmentally friendly. Customers are more aware than ever before of the environmental impact of their spending. According to a study published in 2021, 50% of customers around the world consider sustainability to be a top 5 value driver. Furthermore, 39% of Generation Z's and 42% of millennials are prepared to pay extra for environmentally friendly products or services.

TWEET TWEET

“Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.” – William George Jordan