Forever 21’s Lightning Speed Checkout, Walmart’s Strengthening Ecommerce Sales, and More News.

News Digests

Last updated March 7, 2024

ByDominika Kaminska

Reading time 5 mins

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The weekend is almost upon us, and with Jake out on an adventure, our editor assigned me — Dominika — to cover Friday’s news. We have some exciting topics to go through, so let’s jump right in! Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter, and never miss out on any important information.

Today’s news is 1,176 words and takes 4 ½ minutes to read.

Forever 21’s lightning speed checkout

Popular fashion retailer, Forever 21, has made significant efforts to cater to the needs of Gen Z shoppers by introducing a fast checkout system in its stores. 

With the rise of online shopping and the rising need for instant gratification, the competition for a fast checkout system is higher than ever. And thanks to the collaboration with Bolt Financial Inc, Forever 21 has lowered its cart abandonment rate to 37% — and it’s all due to a streamlined checkout button!

By using Bolt, the average shopper can complete their checkout faster by 43 seconds (compared to the checkout on forever21.com). And it turns out that these 43 seconds are essential for the company not to lose shoppers right at the finish line. 

So what does Bolt do?

Bolt streamlines the checkout process, making it quick and effective. 

When a shopper checks out items on Forever21.com, they input their mail and phone number. If they used the Bolt software previously, the site sends them a pass code via SMS. After entering the code on the site, the billing and shipping information auto-fills and they can purchase their items. The process takes much less time compared to entering details one by one on the Forever21 site. 

With the right automation software and tools, Forever21 raised its cart completion rate from 40% to 63%, which is a whooping success!

Don’t let them abandon your cart either!

Online sellers looking to prevent GenZ and other generations from abandoning their cart should look to multichannel management software solutions that can help control, automate and simplify their business model. 

Don’t know where to focus? Here’s a chart that lays out the main reasons consumers abandoned their orders during the checkout process in the US in 2022.

Find the most popular US retail shop!

Get now!

Big Retailer News

Walmart eCommerce sales grow 17%

Despite having to navigate through inflationary pressures, Walmart has excitedly announced that their eCommerce sales have grown 17% in Q4. 

Walmart has been investing heavily in its ecommerce operations, including expanding its online grocery business and offering more convenient options such as curbside pickup and home delivery. These efforts seem to be paying off, as more and more customers are choosing to shop with Walmart online.

Where does eCommerce stand in Walmart’s global revenue?

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced that eCommerce now represents 13% of Walmart’s global revenue. 

“The team delivered a strong quarter to finish the year, and as our results in the last two quarters show, they acted quickly and aggressively to address the inventory and cost challenges we faced last year.” McMillon said.

The pandemic accelerated the shift to ecommerce, and it’s likely that this trend will continue in the upcoming years. 

Home Depot’s modest sales

The Home Depot Inc., a home improvement retailer, is anticipating a decrease in demand this year due to inflation and a sluggish housing market that has affected consumer spending habits. 

During the company’s fiscal fourth quarter 2022 earnings call, Jeff Kinnaird, the executive vice president of merchandising, stated that the company assumes there will be no real economic growth and consumer spending will remain stagnant in 2023.

For the fiscal three months that ended on January 29, 2023, the retailer reported revenue of $35.83 billion, a modest 0.3% increase from $35.71 billion the previous year. 

Additionally, revenue for the fiscal year that ended on January 29, 2023, was $157.40 billion, a 4.1% increase from $151.15 billion in the previous year.

Going forward

By improving the customer experience through bettering the company’s delivery times, there is hope for higher revenue numbers in the future. 

Although he expects a decrease in sales this year as the demand for home improvement lessens, Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO, believes that in the long term Home Depot’s place on the market will remain strong.

For sellers

Delivery times can be tricky without the right tools to get your packages from point A to point B. We laid out top tips on how you can improve your shipping processes last month. But top sellers know that premiere shipping software is the key to success. Review our list of the best Shipping & Fulfillment Tools & Services to ensure your packages get delivered on time.

More Interesting News

• Etsy’s 4% decrease in sales in 4th quarter 2022. Ecommerce bytes.
• Poshmark’s shipping fees rising. Ecommerce bytes.

International Retailer News

Temu to become the most downloaded app in the US

Linked to one of China’s top retailers, Temu — an online superstore — is positioning itself to become one of the most downloaded apps in the United States. 

The app has surpassed Amazon and Walmart in the number of downloads, thanks to their commercial intermission during the Super Bowl. The store has taken the world by a storm. And it’s no wonder! With so many items available for purchase, at very affordable prices, it’s a shopper’s dream come true. 

Shop like a billionaire

The colorful commercial made its debut with the slogan “shop like a billionaire”, and portrayed users buying clothes for surprisingly low prices. According to the US app store ranks, Temu surpassed Shein in the shopping category. And while Shein seems to be in second place in this scenario, in the overall ranking, Temu is the number one downloaded app, while Shein is all the way down at number thirteen. 

Final thoughts

So what’s next in line for Temu? According to Twitter, the firm plans to expand to Canada and is not planning on slowing down any time soon. It looks like we will hear about this platform a lot more in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Singapore: Food Safety Standards in the eCommerce Space

With more businesses moving online, supply and demand in the eCommerce food industry has been booming. To ensure safety for customers, regulators in Singapore introduced new health regulations. The guidelines came together through the work of a government agency and private sector players, and it looks like they’ll stay with us for good.

What does that mean for customers?

Thanks to the new standards, the process of online food sales will be much more transparent, and customers will have much better knowledge about their food purchases. So what do the guidelines include? For sure: 

• The food business/seller onboarding process
• Product traceability
• Product recall
• Last-mile delivery
• At-point delivery 

Most importantly, the guidelines will ensure food safety and allow innovative sales practices to continue.

Also in the news

• Cross-border eCommerce stabilizing China’s market. China Daily. 

Webinars

For everyone 

Various dates: Amazon advertising’s global webinar program continues with 20+ webinars scheduled, covering Prime Day Preparation, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, reporting, optimization, and other tips. Amazon.

For US sellers

March 2: The 15 Minute Breakdown. Tinuiti.

For UK sellers

Various dates: Amazon advertising’s global webinar program continues with 20+ webinars scheduled, covering Prime Day Preparation, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, reporting, optimization, and other tips. Amazon.