E-Commerce

Facing an economic downturn and reduced spending, 2022 was arguably one of the toughest year’s retail has ever faced. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, thoughts are now turning to what 2023 will have in store and how e-commerce merchants will respond to the challenges ahead. We spoke to a range of industry experts to get…

"Buy with Prime," Amazon.com's direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) service that allows merchants to offer Prime benefits directly on their business's website, will be available to all U.S. merchants starting Jan. 31. Previously only offered by invitation only, the Buy with Prime service launched in April 2022 and has seen increased conversions by an average of 25 percent, according…

In this episode of Total Retail Tech Insights, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Diane Wang, founder, chairperson, and CEO of DHGATE Group, one of the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce platforms in China. Listen in as Wang discusses the DHGATE and MyyShop businesses, as well as her professional background and career (1:00), and her insights on trends in…

Merchants across the globe are navigating an uncertain economy as they find their way out of a pandemic. They must continuously adapt to various forces to meet shopper demands and drive conversions by applying new technologies and methods. But opportunity still exists for online merchants. Online shopping exploded into a more than $5 trillion market…

Americans spent more money over the 2022 holiday season than they did the year before despite higher rates of inflation, a new Mastercard SpendingPulse report shows. The report, published Dec. 26, measured U.S. retail sales — excluding automotive sales — between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, 2022. It found sales increased 7.6 percent over the same period…

Retailers have plenty of questions on their minds during the holiday shopping season. What will post-pandemic consumer spending look like? What effect will inventory levels and inflation have on profit margins? Will flagging consumer confidence impact brand loyalty? But there’s another crucial question you should be asking: What are the chances that “digital Grinches” will…

Over 189 million people, or over 73 percent of U.S. consumers, shopped this past Saturday (also known as Super Saturday), according to a survey conducted by ICSC. The data show 71 percent of shoppers spent money on holiday gifts, while 40 percent spent on dining and 22 percent spent on entertainment. The top reason consumers shopped on Super Saturday was…

Consumers pulled back on spending in November, failing to keep up with even a muted level of inflation for the month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Retail sales for the month declined 0.6 percent, even worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.3 percent drop. Measures that exclude autos and both autos and gas sales both…

Holiday preparations can be exhausting — from baking cookies to filling stockings, consumers are exceptionally busy this time of year. Shopping for holiday gifts only adds to the stress as consumers are scrambling to cross off the items on their list. Additionally, this season will likely look different as shoppers are currently facing the impacts…

Over the past few years, the holiday shopping season has crept up earlier and earlier as retailers look to generate additional revenue and target early shoppers. However, this year may prove to be a challenge for small businesses due to a plethora of factors including inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and changes in consumer buying behavior…