Don Davis

Contrary to popular belief, #Amazon was not the big #ecommerce winner during the pandemic. Find out which important group of retail competitors grew the fastest online during Covid in this analysis of newly released Top 1000 data. bit.ly/4csEEEG

No surprises in NRF's annual holiday retail sales forecast today: total sales will grow by 3-4%, online by 7-9%. That suggests 60+% of growth will be online and store sales will grow only by about 2%. bit.ly/3FG7FOr

Looking ahead to #ecommerce tech trends for 2024, #forrester predicts more smaller, targeted tech projects and that #GenerativeAI will only be successful for a minority of companies. bit.ly/3MrgJuc

Will the Israel-Hamas war and other jarring news curtail retail #ecommerce sales this holiday season? Most retailers and analysts see a bigger impact from the resumption of student loan payments. And there are ways to limit the impact. bit.ly/3QcEfMv

Ambulances for Ukraine gofund.me/75c72454 Here's a concrete way we can all support the heroic people of Ukraine.

Why the U.S. government may try to break up Amazon cbsnews.com/news/amazon-an… via @cbsmoneywatch Most of Amazon's profits come from Amazon Web Services, and it uses those profits to subsidize its retail business, including free shipping. That's driving retailers out of business.

While the pandemic boosted online sales by $75 billion over a 3-year period for North America's 1,000 leading retailers by #ecommerce revenue, the winners might surprise you. #Amazon slightly lost market share, and midsized players fared quite well. bit.ly/44jtJbU

I'm not impressed with the FTC's #antitrust action announced this week against #Amazon because it's not going to change much. But reportedly the FTC is considering action that could have a much bigger impact. bit.ly/3XkZXBb

Online retail remains highly competitive, with North American retailers ranked Nos. 1001-2000 in the newly released Next 1000 Database from @DC360_Official still growing faster than those in the Top 1000 and Top 500. Learn more about these rankings here: digitalcommerce360.com/about-our-data…

Online conversion remains far higher for retailers that offer buy online, pick up in store: 3.9% for those who do versus 2.8% for those who don't among the @DC360_Official Top 500 retailers by online sales. Find out more in the 2023 Omnichannel Report. bit.ly/3mstZ86

Retail profits have rebounded some during the pandemic after falling from 2012-2019, says Lupine Skelly of @Deloitte. She advices retailers to limit expenses in such areas as free shipping, returns and costly services like buy now, pay later. bit.ly/3zx9wSD

Retail profits are being squeezed, in large part due to the investments needed to compete online, @Deloitte tells @DC360_Official. Deloitte's Lupine Skelly advises retailers to limit free shipping and be cautious with costly new services like BNPL. bit.ly/3zx9wSD

Most #ecommerce sites could increase their sales by 25% just by increasing conversion rate by .5%. Easier said than done. Here's a report that provides some hints (let shoppers know when their order will arrive is one) bit.ly/3SVcvNj @DC360_Official

Hybrid #ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair, Kohl's are growing faster than pure marketplaces (eBay, Houzz, Etsy). bit.ly/3YbbkdL @DC360_Official

One of the big developments in #ecommerce is big retailers opening up their websites to outside merchants, becoming marketplaces. These now represent half of Top 100 marketplaces globally. bit.ly/3YbbkdL @DC360_Official

The unwinding of #Walmart's ecommerce-focused acquisitions continues, selling @MoosejawMadness to @Dick's Sporting Goods. WM previously sold off ModCloth, Bare Necessities and Shoebuy.com and closed Jet.com. bit.ly/41wHpjh

B2B #ecommerce #marketplaces are exploding. Their sales doubled in 2022 to $112 billion, according to the 2023 U.S. B2B ecommerce report. And it's not just #Amazon, as many niche marketplaces are emerging. digitalcommerce360.com/product/b2b-ec… @DC360_Official

Consumers are ambivalent on personalization: 38% want retail sites to store their data but 39% want to be able to opt out. More data on online shopper likes and dislikes here: digitalcommerce360.com/product/web-de… @DC360_Official

Should online retailers match prices with competitors? 42% of major e-retailers did during the recent holiday season. That strategy makes sense for some retailers and categories, but not for others, says @ShikhaJain of @simonkucher .bit.ly/3QKRXGe

Investors remain skeptical of online-only retailers. Here's why the bloom is off the rose of #ecommerce merchants. bit.ly/3C7Suft