International Strategy

How to Make Free Shipping Profitable, Part 6
March 18, 2020 at 3:35 pm

The global e-commerce market is booming, and it’s growing faster than the more-saturated U.S. market. Global e-commerce sales increased 20.7 percent last year, surpassing the 14.9 percent growth in the U.S. With such incredible growth numbers, perhaps it’s time to assess how domestic merchants can expand further and tap into international customers. In the past,…

Cashing in on E-Commerce: What We Learned From the Holiday Shopping Season
February 11, 2020 at 12:33 pm

Globally, e-commerce is on the rise as consumers can purchase goods from anywhere in the world with the click of a button. The days of waiting in long lines on Black Friday are over. And consumers can still receive many of the same, and sometimes better, deals as those who venture to brick-and-mortar store locations.…

How to Overcome Cross-Border Challenges for International E-Commerce
January 7, 2020 at 11:45 am

There’s that trope about how online shopping means you can get everything from groceries to furniture without ever having to leave your house. Whether you’re shopping on your smartphone or from your computer, the internet really has had a dramatic impact on the way consumers think about what and how they buy. Online businesses are…

The Future of Cross-Border E-Commerce
December 13, 2019 at 10:30 am

Despite events happening around the world, from trade disputes to looming legislation with global impacts, we're entering an era of unparalleled growth. According to PPRO research, worldwide cross-border e-commerce grew by 4 percent last year to a current value of $412 billion. To take advantage of this global opportunity, U.S. merchants need to accommodate the very…

Walmart Plans to Open 500 New Stores in China
November 21, 2019 at 11:13 am

Despite an economic downshift, Walmart plans to expand in China, CNN reported. The retailer announced it will be opening 500 new stores in China over the next five years to seven years, which would be more than double Walmart's current footprint in the country. Earlier this year, Walmart announced plans to invest more than a…

Alibaba Breaks Singles Day Record With Sales Topping $38.4B
November 11, 2019 at 1:07 pm

Alibaba's 2019 Singles Day generated $38.4 billion in sales, a 26 percent increase over last year's total of $30.8 billion and and a record for the day. The day got off to a strong start for Alibaba, according to the company. Sales hit $12.01 billion in the first hour. Within an hour and a half, Alibaba’s…

How U.S. Retailers Can Cash in on Singles Day, Cross-Border E-Commerce
November 8, 2019 at 12:25 pm

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss next week's Singles Day, the online shopping holiday created by Chinese e-commerce retail giant Alibaba, which will takes place every year on Nov. 11. This massive global shopping event — it's twice as large as the five-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday…

The Global Rise of Digital Goods and Services
November 8, 2019 at 9:25 am

There's an evolution occurring in a crucial segment of e-commerce: digital goods and services. Companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and FanDuel have built digital empires that have reshaped the media, travel and gaming industries. In doing so, these businesses (and their peers) are not only driving digital commerce forward, they're reshaping the purchasing expectations of a…

What 25 Leading Retailers Know About the Biggest, Most Challenging Growth Opportunity
October 15, 2019 at 9:16 am

For retailers and brands, global commerce is their most significant growth opportunity, but it’s also one of their biggest challenges. The nearly 2 billion online shoppers around the world now expect a seamless, localized shopping journey no matter where they live. Providing that experience is so challenging that many companies are simply resorting to distributors…