The Webretailer News Digest July 11, 2022
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eCommerce world focuses on Amazon Prime Day 2022
Whether you’re a seller expecting large sales numbers or a consumer looking for the best deals, Prime Day is upon us. And with Amazon’s high inventory levels and slowing sales numbers, the company is hoping for a huge payoff.
Externally, there’s a lot of buzz in the eCommerce world. Outlets have focused their attention on telling readers where to find the best deals. And some even mentioned specific product sectors expected to offer larger discounts — like camera lenses, TVs, and home decor. We even saw warnings to look out for Prime Day scams.
Other retailers like Walmart and Target are also dealing with their own overstuffed inventory issues. But Walmart is refusing to hold a counter-event to Prime Day. The company stated that they already have heavily marked-down prices. However, Target is proceeding with its three-day Deal Days event even after putting large discounts on many big-ticket items last month.
Many Amazon sellers are dealing with overstock issues as well. But there are conflicting theories about how sellers will respond to the issue. Some outlets stated we should expect big discounts as the sellers they polled and interviewed are trying to offload excess products.
Yet, many sellers are in another camp stating they won’t give big discounts as they’re trying to recoup for poor sales numbers over the previous months. Bobsled Marketing posted a poll where 22% of sellers responded they are holding back on discounts this year. The poll cited multiple industries ranging from groceries to electronics.
Regardless, the Amazon marketplace offloaded $11.19 billion in products last year, which was a 7.7% increase over 2020. And with the company’s heavy 20% discount recommendation for most products, we can expect an influx in transactions this week. Come back Friday, and we’ll have the results and talking points about what went down.
Walmart Open Call Event brings in new products for online and in-store sales
Walmart recently held its annual Open Call event that hosted pitches from over 1,100 businesses with US-made products. And of those 1,100 participants, the company reported they reached deals with 330 of the pitchers and that talks will continue with 280 of them.
Walmart Inc. president and CEO, Doug McMillon, stated, “We’re excited that more and more great products at strong price points are being produced in the U.S. Our $350 billion investment in items made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. helps deliver our customers the goods they need, when they need them, at affordable prices, while supporting the creation of more than 750,000 jobs.”
The company also announced that the event worked both ways this year. Walmart executives and merchants held several breakout sessions during the event to provide insights to suppliers and provide additional resources.
The Open Call event is a big part of fulfilling Walmart’s pledge to invest $350 billion in US-made products through 2031. They had a similar initiative in 2013 for $250 billion over ten years and reached it last year.
FleetPride hits eCommerce milestone
If you’re not familiar, FleetPride is the largest truck and trailer part distributor in the US. And they’re working hard to create eCommerce and digital solutions for their customers.
This week, the company added over 650k parts and 4.5 million cross-references to its site to help customers deal with supply issues plaguing the industry. And by the end of the year, the company expects the site to grow to over 2 million parts with access to over 400 parts suppliers.
With numbers like these and a heavy focus on digital expansion, the company is staking a claim as the ‘go-to’ site for heavy-duty truck parts. They’re promoting a heavy focus on transparency with their suppliers and offering original equipment brands. Things can only get better from here.
Revolut partners with Stripe for the UK and European payments
Stripe announced last week that British fintech leader Revolut has partnered with the business financial infrastructure platform. Revolut will use Stripe for payment support and to speed up its growth into additional markets.
The deal marks a big step for Revolut which has grown its product portfolio over the past five years to include banking, trading, and insurance services alongside its exchange and transfer services. The fintech company also has plans to expand into Brazil and Mexico soon.
Speaking on the partnership, Stripe EMEA revenue and growth lead Eileen O’Mara said, “Revolut and Stripe share an ambition to upgrade financial services globally. We’re thrilled to be powering Revolut as it builds, scales, and helps people around the world get more from their money.”
SEKO Logistics is investing more in eCommerce
Last month, logistics powerhouse SEKO made another move that will further stake its claim in the eCommerce industry. The company announced that premiere eCommerce logistics company MyFBAPrep will be their preferred Fulfillment by Amazon partner.
This means that SEKO can now offer FBA fulfillment services, and the deal gives MyFBAPrep access to SEKO’s global network of warehouses. That network includes four million square feet of additional space around the world.
This deal should draw the attention of many sellers out there who use MyFBAPrep as SEKO has ties to Asia Pacific markets. They also have a network of warehouses located near airports and ports that help cut delivery times by huge margins.
We can expect more moves like this from SEKO as they launched an eCommerce business unit in January specifically for this purpose.
Watchdog to investigate Amazon business practices in the UK
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) — antitrust watchdog for the UK — announced this week that it is investigating Amazon for anti-competitive practices. A general counsel for the CMA stated they want to explore Amazon’s use of third-party data as it potentially gives them an unfair advantage over their competition.
In response, an Amazon spokesperson stated that the company will work to assist the CMA with the investigation. They added that sales for their merchants are growing even faster than Amazon’s retail numbers.
The news comes in addition to Germany’s watchdog announcing tougher supervision rules for the company this week. And the European Commission is also probing similar business practices within continental Europe.
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