Blog and Research Digest — Week 19, 2020
Every week, the Digishare team prepare a digest of the previous 7 days of online retail news. Along the way, we’ll pick the most interesting stories from the worlds of technology, social media, marketing and more, allowing you to see everything at a glance.
Retail News and Trends
Global retail sales set to fall by 9.6% in 2020: Forrester
https://internetretailing.net/themes/coronavirus-round-up-forrester-predictions-on-global-sales-co-op-central-england-intu-and-as-small-businesses-move-online-fast-21339
“Analysts have predicted that retail sales will fall by 9.6% around the world in 2020 – equivalent to a loss of $2.1 trillion (£1.65 trillion).”
Amazon shutters French warehouses until 5 May
https://internetretailing.net/marketplaces/amazon-shutters-french-warehouses-until-5-may-21321
“The decision comes as Amazon evaluates how to proceed after being ordered by the Versailles Court of Appeal to shut down all non-essential shipments due to alleged unsafe conditions in its warehouses.”
Ecommerce brands set to fare best – with Amazon faring best of all – in the coronavirus year
https://internetretailing.net/industry/ecommerce-brands-set-to-fare-best–with-amazon-faring-best-of-all–in-the-coronavirus-year-21319
“According to the latest report by Brand Finance, the top 50 most valuable retail brands, on average, should see a slight increase in brand value following the pandemic, growing a modest 1% – a result of the majority of the brands in the ranking either being e-commerce brands or dominant, well-known brands, which tend to have strong e-commerce capabilities.”
Online grocery sales grow 33% in 2020 as shopping habits shift permanently, consumers tell Mintel
https://internetretailing.net/industry/online-grocery-sales-grow-33-in-2020-as-shopping-habits-shift-permanently-consumers-tell-mintel-21316
“This rise follows four consecutive years of slowing growth: in 2019 growth fell to a historic low of just 2.9%. The market is set to be worth £17.9 billion by 2024, growing by 41% over the five-year period.”
Coronavirus ‘obliterates’ hopes of UK retail recovery for months to come, as spend set to fall by globally 3% over 2020
https://internetretailing.net/industry/coronavirus-obliterates-hopes-of-uk-retail-recovery-for-months-to-come-as-spend-set-to-fall-by-globally-3-over-2020-21315
“According to separate research by McKinsey, consumer confidence is at an all-time low, with just 17% of British consumers saying they believe the economy will rebound in the next 2-3 months.”
Shopify launches its own shopping app allowing users to browse local businesses
https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2020/04/29/shopify-launches-its-own-shopping-app-allowing-users-to-browse-local-businesses/
“Shop is a new shopping platform from Shopify, which provides the foundation for over 1 million ecommerce websites across the world, now available to download on iOS and Android.”
Amazon unique visitor level tips 4 billion mark
https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/amazon-unique-visitor-level-tips-4-billion-mark/
“Amazon saw 4.06 billion unique visitors in March — more than eBay, Apple, Walmart, Samsung.com, Apple.com and Rakuten sites combined.”
The White House included Amazon on a list of “notorious” piracy sites
https://qz.com/1848245/us-includes-amazon-on-list-of-piracy-and-counterfeit-goods-sites/
“Several of Amazon’s international sites have landed on a list of “notorious markets” for counterfeit and pirated goods published annually by the US government.”
Amazon expected to post 25% boost in revenues as it’s accused of potentially violating safety laws
https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2020/04/29/amazon-expected-to-post-25-boost-in-revenues-as-its-accused-of-potentially-violating-safety-laws/
“Amazon’s labour practices “may violate several provisions” of official health and safety laws according to New York’s attorney general Lititia James.”
Amazon Q1 sales soar but profits tumble
https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-q1-sales-soar-but-profits-tumble/577171/
“Online product sales rose 24% year over year to $36.7 billion, falling from last quarter’s $45.7 billion, with physical store sales up 8% year over year to $4.6 billion.”
Amazon testing live video calls to vet third-party sellers
https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-testing-live-video-calls-to-vet-third-party-sellers/577115/
“Amazon will use a proprietary machine learning system to review hundreds of unique data points to spot potential risks, such as whether the account is associated with another previously shuttered account.”
Voice
Soon there will be more voice devices than people on Earth – but monetisation remains a problem
https://internetretailing.net/mobile-theme/soon-there-will-be-more-voice-devices-than-people-on-earth–but-monetisation-remains-a-problem-21312
“By 2024, consumers will interact with voice assistants on more than 8.4 billion devices, overtaking the world’s population and growing 113% compared to the 4.2 billion devices expected to be in use by year end 2020.”
Marketing
Anchor launches a video conference-to-podcast conversion tool
https://marketingland.com/anchor-launches-a-video-conference-to-podcast-conversion-tool-279108
“The Spotify-owned company’s new tool may help businesses get more out of their webinars and online conference content.”
How to Make a Weekly Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2020/04/process-publish-podcast-tools/
“Hopefully this is helpful as you either begin or actively look to build your business case for creating a podcast of your own.”
How the Hub and Spoke Strategy Can Help You Drive More Content Leads
https://contently.com/2020/04/27/hub-spoke-strategy-drive-more-content-leads/
“…it’s a smart strategy to turn your meaty research and reports into smaller pieces of content, tailored to your various distribution channels. These divisible pieces of content are the spokes that drive traffic back to your “hub” content.”