Every week, the EtailDetail 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
September online sales provides no respite for retailers
Online sales limped up by just 0.6% in September, according to the latest Online Retail Index
Amazon reports drop in third-quarter profits – and major investment in UK renewable energy to power its retail platforms
Amazon today reported a drop in third-quarter profits despite a 24% rise in net sales, as it announced investments in UK renewable energy and a raft of new devices featuring its Alexa voice assistant.
Amazon’s one-day shipping stokes sales but drains profits
https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazons-one-day-shipping-stokes-sales-but-drains-profits/565822/
In North America, its biggest market, net sales rose to $42.6 billion from $34.3 billion a year ago, according to a company press release.
Amazon ignored an international ban on dangerous factories in Bangladesh
https://qz.com/1734909/amazon-sells-clothes-made-in-unsafe-bangladesh-factories/
Amazon is selling clothes made in Bangladeshi factories that leading fashion companies have shunned as unsafe for workers, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
Digital much more entwined in consumers’ lives than most realize
The report is based on interviews with more than 7,000 consumers, including 2,000 interviews in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and 1,000 interviews within Germany, France and Australia. It was conducted by Insight Avenue in March 2019.
Black Friday Royal Mail strike to leave millions of items undelivered posing “major threat to UK retail”
Strike action is due to take place on unspecified dates across the Christmas period, after the Communications Workers Union (CWU) voted by an overwhelming majority to take action, threatening the first national postal strike in a decade.
Mobile
Retailers must think ‘beyond Black Friday’ and market on smartphones right now, warns study
Periscope® By McKinsey’s report The “2019 Holiday Season Shopping Report: Shoppers are ready to spend but retailers need to personalize” reveals that 52% of female shoppers in the UK and 50% in the US said that they get a jump-start on their holiday gift buying in the October-November timeframe, followed closely by 46% of female consumers in Germany and Canada.
Smartphones are most popular devices for online shopping, survey says
Less than a third (28%) of shoppers plan to use a desktop or laptop for shopping, while only 16% will use a tablet, the survey found.
Opinion
Can Amazon ever compete on quality?
https://www.retaildive.com/news/can-amazon-ever-compete-on-quality/565406/
The e-commerce giant stakes its value proposition on a “price, selection, convenience” trifecta. But as its Marketplace grows, it’s not always clear where “quality” fits in.
PEAK 2019 How shoppers and digital teams are planning for peak
How shoppers are set to buy at peak trading 2019, why digital teams need to revisit their peak experience are covered in today’s updates on peak trading 2019.
Social Media
E-commerce ad spend on search and social product ads keeps growing
https://searchengineland.com/e-commerce-spend-on-search-social-product-ads-keeps-growing-323964
E-commerce advertisers spent 39% of their search budgets on Shopping campaigns and 37% of their social budgets on product ads in the third quarter of the year, according to new Kenshoo data.
Want to connect with the Gen Z crowd? Don’t shy away from social issues
68% of 18 to 24-year-olds expect brands to contribute to society, finds a survey of more than 11,000 young adults.
Voice & Tech
Voice-enabled purchasing on the rise
https://www.retaildive.com/news/voice-enabled-purchasing-on-the-rise/565693/
Out of the 27% of American consumers who owned voice-enabled devices last year, 28% of them used the technology to make purchases. This year, 31% of consumers have voice-enabled devices, and 31% of them use the technology to buy goods, according to a new Visa-sponsored PYMNTS.com report.
Why voice search is where the puck is going for digital
https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2019/oct/25/why-voice-search-where-puck-going-digital/
Voice search has been growing in popularity and is starting to have a transformational impact on the way marketers can influence people to know, like, trust, and eventually buy from a specific brand.
How machine learning is transforming retail both online and offline
https://www.marketingweek.com/artificial-intelligence-transform-retail-ecommerce/
Ten years ago, using artificial intelligence to optimise retail processes, power product recommendations and improve the customer experience was the sole province of cutting-edge ecommerce powerhouses like Amazon. But other retailers are now catching up.
SEO
Five factors that determine the overall page quality
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2019/10/25/factors-determining-page-quality/
Google always ranks a web page after determining its overall quality. Page quality is a measure of the importance of a web page in the eyes of Google.
Marketing
5 ways cause-related-marketing can generate loyalty and sustain customer engagement online
The poll of 2,000 UK ecommerce shoppers found that sustainability resonated with 49% as a cause worth aligning to, followed by diversity (36%) and female empowerment (31%).
5 Useful Skills Marketers Should Learn From Media Companies
https://contently.com/2019/10/21/media-companies-marketer-skills/
To shed light on what marketers should try to learn from their media brethren, I’ve broken down some common (and successful!) media strategies across ideation, production, and distribution.
5 Insights From The Best Email Newsletters in Financial Services
https://contently.com/2019/10/24/best-email-newsletters-financial-services/
A popular email newsletter is the holy grail for content marketers.
Marketers have to play more videogames to make better brand experiences
Here’s a look into successful in-game mechanics and tactics that could help brand experiences drive engagement and revenue.
2020 B2B Content Marketing: What the Successful Do [New Research]
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/10/success-differentiators-b2b-research/
Most B2B marketers use content marketing effectively to achieve top-of-the-funnel goals like brand awareness and audience education. But they are missing out on opportunities deeper in the funnel.
The requirements for brands looking to build the new in-house marketer
To do that they need to start by building the right talent and culture – brands need to change their approach to recruitment if they’re to assemble the talent they need for a successful in-house marketing team
