All articles tagged with #ecommerce
Xu Yangtian, Shein’s long-secret founder, made his first major public appearance at a Guangdong government event to stress the company’s Chinese roots, praise local party and government support, and announce a RMB 10 billion investment in Guangdong supply chains over three years, even as Shein pushes for an offshore IPO amid global regulatory scrutiny.
Bath & Body Works has opened its first authorized brand storefront on Amazon, selling its best-selling fragrances, body washes, soaps and candles with Prime shipping while retaining inventory ownership and pricing while using Amazon’s fulfillment network. The move treats Amazon as a logistics partner rather than a retailer for a vertically integrated brand, aligning with campus-store expansions and the company’s consumer-first growth plan led by CEO Daniel Heaf.
Amazon surpassed Walmart to become the world’s largest company by revenue in 2025, posting $717 billion in sales to Walmart’s $713 billion. Amazon credit’s growth in AWS, advertising, and Prime subscriptions for the lead, while Walmart remains strong in physical retail and recently hit a $1 trillion market value and shifted its listing to Nasdaq. US sales at Walmart rose about 4.6% last quarter as it leans into price competitiveness in a shifting retail landscape, and AWS remains a major profit engine helping offset retail-margin pressures.
Andrew Griffin argues that boycotting Amazon is nearly impossible because the internet and modern shopping are deeply intertwined with Amazon’s services and ecosystem; even with conscious avoidance, Amazon’s reach through third-party sellers, cloud services, and network effects keeps it embedded in daily life, illustrating how hard it is to exit the online world.
Kroger has sold its subsidiary Vitacost.com, an online health and wellness retailer, to iHerb, with the transaction closing on January 8, as part of Kroger's strategy to focus on its core business and simplify operations. The sale aims to help Vitacost reach its full potential under iHerb's leadership, with minimal disruption to customers and employees.
Walmart is expanding its presence in New York City amid a significant increase in ecommerce sales, signaling a strategic move to capitalize on the growing online shopping trend.
Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to enable customers to purchase products directly within ChatGPT using Instant Checkout, aiming to make online shopping more personalized and seamless, with the feature expected to include all items except fresh food and available across all ChatGPT service levels.
OpenAI is partnering with Walmart to enable shoppers to make purchases directly within ChatGPT, marking a significant step in AI-driven e-commerce. The feature, which will allow users to buy Walmart products through instant checkout in ChatGPT, is expected to launch soon and aims to simplify online shopping. This move expands OpenAI's efforts into online commerce, competing with giants like Amazon and Google, and could open new revenue streams for the company. Walmart is also integrating AI into its operations and customer experience, including its AI shopping assistant, Sparky.
Walmart has partnered with OpenAI to enable direct purchases through ChatGPT, aiming to make online shopping more personalized and convenient, although the exact launch date has not been announced.
StubHub's IPO raised $800 million, with shares opening slightly above the offering price of $23.50, reflecting strong investor interest in the ticket resale marketplace. The company, which processed over 40 million ticket sales last year and reported a 29.5% revenue increase to $1.77 billion in 2024, faces competition from TicketMaster and others, amid regulatory scrutiny of the ticket resale industry.
August retail sales increased by 0.6% from July, with a three-month average growth of 0.73%, indicating strong consumer spending despite inflation mainly driven by services. Auto sales showed volatility due to prior tariff fears, but overall retail categories like apparel, ecommerce, and restaurants are experiencing growth, reflecting robust consumer confidence and shifting purchasing patterns, including a move away from foreign direct sales and towards US-based retailers.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the de minimis exemption, which allowed duty-free import of packages under $800, making it more expensive for Americans to buy foreign products and impacting the ecommerce industry, especially non-Chinese sellers, with potential price increases and supply chain adjustments.
Temu is struggling to rebuild its US online retail presence due to Amazon's dominant pricing power, which prevents Temu from offering significantly cheaper branded products. The company has faced challenges after changes in US import duties and has reduced advertising, leading to a sharp decline in active users. Temu's efforts to incentivize sellers and compete on price are limited by Amazon's ability to match or undercut prices, making it difficult for Temu to gain market share without risking losses or offering non-branded or discounted goods. The company advocates for fair competition amid these challenges.
The global drone package delivery market is rapidly expanding, projected to reach $33.4 billion by 2030, driven by technological advances, regulatory clarity, and consumer demand. Major companies like Amazon are scaling up drone operations, aiming to deliver hundreds of millions of packages annually, while innovative and sometimes bizarre uses of drones continue to emerge, transforming last-mile logistics and customer experiences.
The holiday season is a prime time for tech gift shopping, with a wide range of gadgets available for every budget and interest, from earbuds and headphones to tablets, cameras, and fitness trackers. Despite missing Cyber Monday deals, there are still plenty of discounts to take advantage of. The article provides a curated list of tech gifts, with links to purchase through e-commerce sites, where prices may vary. ABC receives a commission from purchases made through these links.