Food delivery platform Meituan plans to hire 10,000 workers to capitalize on China’s reopening: The company is expanding aggressively to counter competition from Bytedance and Alibaba.
Amazon reportedly laid off about 20% of Zappos’ workforce in January: The retail giant is cutting costs at Zappos and elsewhere as it recalibrates for slower growth.
On today's episode, we discuss what to make of Amazon's 2% decline in online store sales, how to interpret its advertising service's 19% revenue growth, and why the company is rethinking its Amazon Fresh strategy. "In Other News," we talk about how Pinterest views the future of shoppable video and how malls are resurging. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Andrew Lipsman.
The new tool, Shopify Magic, uses AI to help merchants generate product descriptions. So far, Amazon has stayed quiet on generative AI, giving Shopify the chance to gain a competitive edge. But it may not last for long if Amazon decides to get in on the AI craze.
“If you’re going to grow a brand, it’s not going to come to loyalty alone. You will have to reach more customers. You will have to have more customers buying more often.” That’s according to Jared Schrieber, co-founder and former CEO of InfoScout (now Numerator), speaking on the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast about his new book, “Breakout Brands: Why Some Brands Take Off...and Others Don't.”
After touting a recession-proof business model, the BNPL firm slashed 19% of its workforce and will restructure to the tune of $39M.
Amazon was the most downloaded mobile shopping app in the US in 2022 as its reach continued to grow. Closing in on Amazon was Shein at No. 2, followed by Walmart, Fetch, and Shopify’s Shop app.
Toys not as recession-proof as Hasbro and Mattel hoped: Both companies were hurt by lower-than-expected demand during the holiday season.
Netflix’s password sharing crackdown starts off rough: After a set of leaked rules provoked a backlash, Netflix’s plan is kicking off with that feedback in mind.
Among the major global platforms, Facebook and Instagram will remain firmly at the top in both total revenues and user base, and TikTok will once again be the fastest-growing platform in both areas
Several indicators suggest consumer spending remains strong: Consumer sentiment hit a 13-month high in February and retail sales appeared to pick up in January.
Instacart has had a busy few months. Besides scrapping its plans to go public, the company has cut its valuation a few times, trimmed its workforce, and explored other cost-cutting measures. That being said, Instacart has also made investments to bolster its business, including new technologies for merchants and expanded retail media offerings.
Advertisers and marketers can’t afford to waste budget, so we foresee a partial shift away from display ads and renewed emphasis on search—with one big exception, retail media.
The region’s revenues and transaction volume increased 13% YoY and 8% YoY, respectively, despite the firm’s total 6% YoY revenue decline.