Part 1 Company
1.1 Shein’s U.S. downloads surpassed Amazon’s record in Q2
Online shopping platform Shein surpassed Amazon in U.S. mobile installs in the second quarter of 2022. Shein’s downloads were about 6.8 million, up 13% month-on-month; Amazon’s downloads were 6.3 million, down 7%. While Amazon’s App adoption in the U.S. may have slowed, its average monthly active user (MAU) in the second quarter of 2022 was three times that of Shein’s, the report noted.
1.2 Facebook is shutting down its live shopping feature on October 1
Recently, Facebook announced that from October 1, 2022, it will shut down its live shopping function, and users will not be able to host any new or scheduled live shopping events on Facebook. Citing a shifting preference for short-form videos among consumers as the driving factor, it will instead shift its focus to Reels, Meta’s short-form video product that is available on both Facebook and Instagram.
1.3 Vietnamese e-commerce likely to reach US$39 billion by 2025
A global e-commerce report unveiled by Metric.vn indicates that Vietnam has become the second largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, behind only Indonesia, by taking advantage of consumers’ increasing demand during the recent COVID-19 period.
1.4 USPS Plans To Shed 50,000 Jobs To Reach ‘Break Even Point
On August 8, according to reports, the United States Postal Service (USPS) plans to cut 50,000 jobs in the next few years, which is part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plan.
1.5 Walmart is slashing prices on clothing and other products
To help clear out the backlog, Walmart is cutting prices on some items and marking down products. Now, under the clothing category on Walmart.com, shoppers can find discounts of up to 60%.
1.6 Amazon opens the first Irish fulfillment center in Dublin
Online shopping giant Amazon has officially opened its first Irish warehouse in Co Dublin, which will create 500 jobs. The company confirmed that the fulfillment center at Baldonnell is the first of its kind in Ireland.
1.7 DHL’s Q2 revenue in 2022 increased by 21.6% year-on-year
In the first half of this year, DHL achieved revenue of 46.62 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%; Profit from operating activities (EBIT) was 4.50 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%; consolidated net profit reached 2.81 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%; earnings per share was € 2.30.
1.8 Wish adjusts commission policy for non-EU regions
Expected September 2022: The non-EU Progressive Commission Structure is applicable to orders shipped within/to non-EU destinations and released to merchants starting when the non-EU commission structure launches (expected September 2022).
1.9 MercadoLibre Posts Record $2.6B Revenue
In the second quarter of this year, Latin American e-commerce merchant MercadoLibre’s revenue was $2.6 billion, higher than analysts’ expectations of $2.5 billion; gross merchandise volume (GMV) was $8.6 billion, analysts expected $8.63 billion; EPS was $2.43, analysts expected $2.02. MercadoLibre reached 40.8 million unique buyers in the second quarter, , breaking the record they achieved during the peak shopping season of 2021’s fourth quarter.
1.10 Maersk Purchases Martin Bencher Group for US$61M
Maersk agreed to purchase Martin Bencher Group, a Danish project logistics company, in an acquisition-deal worth around US$61 million. With this deal, Maersk is now able to expand its land-based logistics operations and extend its reach across the world.
1.11 TikTok’s ad audience hits 1.02 billion, with over 500,000 new users added every day
TikTok ads now reach 1 billion adults each month, according to the latest data. According to statistics, in the past three months alone, its global advertising reach has increased by 52 million (+5.4%). That’s slightly slower than the pace reported in the previous quarter but still means TikTok is adding more than 500,000 new users every day.
1.12 EasyYa Bags Round-B Financing Worth Several Hundred Million Yuan
EasyYa, a Chinese cross-border supply chain management services platform, announced on August 1 that it had completed a round B financing worth several hundred million yuan. It has also reached strategic cooperation with Guangdong provincial state-owned Guangxin Industry Fund and Guangdong Foreign Trade Imp. & Exp. Corporation (GFTC). The company will now cooperate with GFTC on cross-border business digitalization.
Part 2 Industry
2.1 Amazon releases the 2021 Sustainability Report
The 2021 Sustainability Report builds on Amazon’s sustainability progress over the last decade-particularly since they co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019 and announced their commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across their business by 2040. In 2021, a total of 253 companies joined Amazon as signatories to the climate pledge, an increase of more than 700% from the previous year. To date, the pledge has joined more than 300 businesses and organizations across over 51 industries and 29 countries. According to statistics, in 2021, more than 100 million packages were delivered to our customers’ doorsteps globally using zero-emission vehicles.
2.2 Shopee ranked second in Brazil in half-year visits in 2022
According to the survey data, the top ten most visited platforms in Brazil in the first half of the year are Mercado Livre, Shopee, iFood, AliExpress, Americanas, Magazine Luiza, Shein, Amazon Brazil, Casas Bahia, Netshoes. Among them, the Shopee platform saw a 7% increase in half-year visits in 2022, making it the second most visited e-commerce platform in Brazil. The top-ranked Mercado Livre saw a 6% drop in visits in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, with an average monthly hit of 70 million to 75 million.
2.3 ‘Buy now, pay later seen gaining more popularity in the Philippines
Financial mobile app UnaCash made the claims in their latest research, asserting that BNPL transaction volume in the country’s e-commerce ecosystem could mushroom 568% to $2.5 billion by 2026. Factors contributing to the growth of the buy now, pay later industry in the Philippines include a young population, active consumer adoption of technology, and government support for digital businesses.
2.4 U.S. Ecommerce Forecast 2022
According to the report, in 2022, US e-commerce sales growth will slow to just 9.4% year over year—the slowest growth rate since 2009—but e-commerce sales will cross the $1 trillion mark for the first time. Digital buyer growth will stagnate, as 90% of digital shoppers are already digital buyers. The US will continue to add fewer than 5 million digital buyers every year for the next five years, for an overall growth rate of less than 2%. E-commerce sales—which include sales made on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices—will grow faster than retail sales transacted on desktops/laptops through 2026. We expect m-commerce sales to account for 40.0% of total retail sales in 2023.
