Econsultancy’s Ecommerce Quarterly curates the latest trends, developments and statistics in ecommerce that you need to know about. This edition covers:
- Peak season results: The holiday period saw growth and milestones, with mobile outstripping desktop for the first time in the US and the global average discount rate reaching its highest since 2020. What key takeaways can marketers glean from the results?
- Cross-border retail: China’s ecommerce giants have been making headlines this quarter as Alibaba reports its international sales are up 44% and Temu spends millions on Super Bowl ads. However, as the global popularity of Chinese marketplaces drives up airfreight costs, is this cross-border growth sustainable in the long term?
- Retail AI technology: With retailers such as Walmart and Amazon moving quickly to introduce innovative new AI search and shopping features, cautionary tales are starting to appear, including that of a recent ruling that penalised Air Canada for false information provided by its GenAI chatbot. This edition covers some of the latest gains and pitfalls in this area.
- Returns: The National Retail Federation reports that online sales see a higher rate of returns than in-store purchases, amounting to $247bn of merchandise. What are the latest strategies being adopted by retailers to minimise the cost of returns and reduce their likelihood at the point of purchase?
- International markets: This quarter South Korea, the world’s 13th largest economy, takes the spotlight as its leading ecommerce company acquires Farfetch and expands into the country’s luxury market.
Bringing to life data from the latest trend reports and industry updates, Ecommerce Quarterly presents the best insights from ecommerce in an easy-to-digest format.