Retail & Ecommerce

As Amazon raked in more than $11 billion in Prime Day sales worldwide, health and beauty product sales boomed on the platform. In a survey conducted by Numerator throughout the event, 28.0% of US Prime Day buyers said they made a purchase in that category. Consumer electronics also made a spark: 27.5% of respondents reported buying tech gear and gadgets.

On today's episode, we discuss which pandemic personas will stick around, why brands are struggling to know who their customers are, and the most important ways consumer behavior has likely changed permanently. We then talk about how people will shop once businesses are fully reopen, two new in-store virtual reality (VR) experiences, and what Apple's new “buy now, pay later” service could do to the space. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Suzy Davidkhanian.

Growth revved up in June and could accelerate in the coming months—making retail tech solutions and other in-store enhancements more important than ever.

Following a diminished need to refresh their wardrobe, consumers are excited to celebrate the holiday season in style. Watch Industry Voices: Holiday Preparedness with Banana Republic’s Jen Mullen, vice president and head of stores, to hear how the fashion retailer is applying learnings from last year to ensure a seamless holiday shopping experience.

The QuickBooks Card Reader lets merchants accept contactless payments and chip cards—helping Intuit move further beyond accounting software and into in-store payments.

We expect US social commerce sales to rise by 35.8% in 2021 to $36.62 billion. That’s only a slight deceleration in growth from 2020, when sales surged by 38.9% thanks to the pandemic-driven boom in ecommerce, increased social media consumption, and brands continuing to leverage these platforms to sell directly to consumers.

On today's episode, we discuss which “digital habits” are just myths, whether travel has reached pre-pandemic levels, whether conversational commerce can take online shopping by storm, social audio getting some new big partners, which platforms creators want to create for, what it would look like if companies were mini countries, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

US ecommerce sales are projected to continue double digit growth.

Sustainability is increasingly top of mind for consumers in China. Many are making lifestyle changes to address the issue, spurred by the country’s many environmental catastrophes, as well as the government’s recent pledge to reduce emissions. And more than ever, shoppers expect brands to offer products and services with eco-friendliness in mind—and for the right price.

Apple Pay’s large acceptance network and user base could make it a formidable player in the buy now, pay later space—posing a major threat to incumbent BNPL providers and credit cards.

Many of the national and regional rankings for retail ecommerce sales and growth have changed little since 2020.

China could be ready to launch the digital yuan in early 2022, and India is building a CBDC framework while also warming up to Bitcoin.

As brick-and-mortar stores remained shuttered, ecommerce quickly became the channel of choice for many consumers in Latin America. In turn, retailers quickly shifted their attention toward online sales channels to keep pace with consumers’ growing appetite for online shopping.

HERO lets online customers connect with in-store retail associates to ask product questions and seek other support—which could help Klarna strengthen its merchant relationships.