In 2015, Cyber Monday generated more than $3bn in online purchases, making it the largest e-commerce sales day in U.S. history. The massive deals and discounts offered during the annual post-Thanksgiving event were largely responsible for the day's extraordinary sales.
American consumers prioritize risk-taking, adventure and living an exciting life when it comes to making purchases, according to global research by HSBC. This structural shift among U.S. consumers' purchasing habits is prompting companies to rethink existing marketing and business strategies.
When it comes to sharing personal information, millennials are reluctant. There is a gap between millennials wanting to secure access on all connected devices and their willingness to sharing data, according to a study by Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions. This could be a wake-up call for businesses to find solutions that minimize the amount of data they have to collect.
Serendipitously, Christmas and Chanukah fall at the same time this year, which may mean less pain for retail logisticians aiming to get all those packages to customers on time - and to recognize 2016 revenue. And this promises to be a pretty good year for retailers: According to the NRF, retail sales should grow 3.4 percent this year.
Cross-border e-commerce is growing in popularity - particularly in China, according to a new report from market research company eMarketer. By 2020, a quarter of the Chinese population, amounting to more than half of all the nation's digital buyers, will be shopping either directly on foreign-based sites or through third parties such as Alibaba's Tmall Global and JD.com's JD Worldwide, the report says.
Three months after entering into a partnership to expand online shopping options for Chinese consumers, Walmart and JD.com have announced three new ways for customers to access Walmart products from around the world. The efforts, which are part of the original strategy announced in June, are officially launching during the run up to Singles Day on November 11. They aim to improve logistics and supply chain functions, cross-border e-commerce and online-to-offline e-commerce services for consumers across the country, the companies say.
E-commerce software provider Two Tap has launched Two Tap Crossborder, a fully automated service that allows consumers outside of the U.S. to order products from American retailers just as easy as buying locally in their own country, the company announced. U.S. retailers can use the service to expand global sales to shoppers anywhere in the world without making changes to their existing infrastructure, Two Tap says.
In an attempt to deal with potential network capacity issues this holiday season, Amazon is limiting the use of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) warehouses and services to existing sellers between now and Dec. 19, the company confirmed. This means new sellers would have difficulty using FBA to fulfill last-minute Christmas orders.