Consumer Electronics | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/consumer-electronics/ Your source for ecommerce news, analysis and research Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:37:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-2022-DC360-favicon-d-32x32.png Consumer Electronics | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/consumer-electronics/ 32 32 6 ways retailers are using generative AI right now https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/10/17/6-ways-retailers-are-using-generative-ai-right-now/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 17:29:43 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1308657 When the Digital Commerce 360 editors embarked on the October edition of Strategy Insights, we knew we wanted to focus on generative AI, but we weren’t sure how much we’d find. The OpenAI consortium released its generative AI bot ChatGPT for public use during Q4 2022, and it quickly became the hottest topic around. Months […]

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When the Digital Commerce 360 editors embarked on the October edition of Strategy Insights, we knew we wanted to focus on generative AI, but we weren’t sure how much we’d find.

The OpenAI consortium released its generative AI bot ChatGPT for public use during Q4 2022, and it quickly became the hottest topic around. Months later, everyone in the online retail industry is still buzzing about generative AI, but how many businesses are actually using the technology today? And how many would want to talk to us about it?

Turns out, quite a few.

While many merchants we talked to are still just piloting and exploring how best to use the burgeoning technology, many brands have live generative AI programs up today. This Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce,” showcases examples of many large retail brands (and a few smaller ones) and how they are using generative AI right now.

Below is just a sampling of examples you’ll find in the rest of this report. Download the entire Strategy Insights here.

1.) Stitch Fix taps generative AI to write  ad headlines and product descriptions

Apparel retailer Stitch Fix uses generative AI to write headlines for Facebook and Instagram ads. In the past, it would take about two weeks to develop a creative campaign and draft copy. But now, human copywriters can evaluate a headline created by the generative AI system in less than one minute — and they approve the machine-created content 77% of the time, Stitch Fix says.

2.) Babylist uses generative AI to write email subject lines

Baby products marketplace and registry says its marketers are expected to use generative AI to help create ideas, content and copy, says Lee Anne Grant, chief growth officer. Babylist finds that ChatGPT-generated subject lines increased open rates for marketing email in half of their tests. It concluded that ChatGPT is a “great resource for when the team needs subject line inspiration or help writing one,” Grant says.

3.) J’evar uses generative AI to create product models

Online-only jewelry merchant J’evar has its product designers use generative AI to speed up how it creates custom jewelry pieces. Instead of going through dozens of product mockups over the course of weeks, genAI can help its designers produce product samples in minutes, says J’evar founder and CEO Amish Shah.

4.) Newegg uses generative AI to summarize customer reviews

Online electronics retailer Newegg built a generative AI tool in house that creates one product summary for a product based on all of the published customer reviews. This review is published at the top of all the reviews. Reviews are an important feature for Newegg, as 20% of Newegg.com shoppers read reviews, and these shoppers spend 40% more money on the site than non-review reading shoppers, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg.

5.) UrbanStems creates images with genAI

Online flower merchant UrbanStems is using generative AI in multiple ways, including having it create images of potential products it wants to sell. For example, the brand can tell its generative AI software to create an image of a 10-stem red and white arrangement of peonies in a glass vase and white background — and send that image to its merchandising team to create the product in real life. This helps the brand quickly experiment with new designs, without having to purchase flowers and conduct a photo shoot just for a design mock up, says Katie Hudson, content director for UrbanStems.

6.) EBay enables its marketplace sellers to use genAI to write product descriptions

Marketplace giant eBay built a tool based on Open AI’s ChatGPT that creates a product description based on data sellers provide about a product’s category, condition, color, brand and more. Roughly 20% of sellers shown the generative AI tool use it, and of those, 90% accept at least part of the description, says Xiaodi Zhang, vice president of seller experience at eBay.  

Download the free Digital Commerce 360 October Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce” here.

—April Berthene, Editor, Strategy Insights

Additional reporting from Digital Commerce 360 editors Don Davis, Gretchen Salois and Abbas Haleem.

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Newegg launches generative AI product review summary https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/08/24/newegg-launches-generative-ai-product-review-summary/ Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:55:07 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1308220 Online electronics retailer Newegg Commerce Inc. launched a new website feature this August that uses generative AI to summarize product reviews on its site. The goal of the tool is to save shoppers time in finding the right product, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg. The AI generates a few […]

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Online electronics retailer Newegg Commerce Inc. launched a new website feature this August that uses generative AI to summarize product reviews on its site.

The goal of the tool is to save shoppers time in finding the right product, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg. The AI generates a few product review features. Beneath the product image, Newegg shows “Review Bytes,” which highlight a few positive keywords that frequently appear in reviews, such as “battery life” or “sound quality.”

Newegg’s new generative AI review tool highlights positive keywords from customer reviews immediately beneath the product image, called Review Bytes.

Newegg’s new generative AI review tool highlights positive keywords from customer reviews immediately beneath the product image, called Review Bytes.

At the top of product preview section, the AI tool paraphrases the sentiment of all the customer reviews into a few sentences. This is posted as a summary review displayed at the top of all the reviews, aptly named “Summary AI.” The AI also lists out “Pros” and “Cons” for each product, again taken from the reviews. The Pros are typically the same words that appeared in the Review Bytes section underneath the product image.

At the top of the customer review section on a PDP, Newegg displays the SummaryAI review.

At the top of the customer review section on a PDP, Newegg displays the SummaryAI review.

“We feel that this would be helpful for many customers that are looking for a quicker analysis,” Choi says.

At Newegg, 20% of its shoppers read reviews. And shoppers who read reviews spend 40% more than shoppers who don’t read reviews. So any way to enhance this section of the website is important to Newegg.

“We ultimately want the customer to get the right product for their needs,” Choi says.

Customer reviews can help with conversion rate

Customer reviews are an important part to any ecommerce site. 39% of online shoppers say quality and quantity of product reviews is a website attribute that is mostly likely to place an online order, according to a 2023 conversion rate survey of 1,060 online shoppers in January 2023 by Digital Commerce 360/Bizrate Insights. An April 2023 Gartner survey of 2,025 U.S. adults also finds that 51% of consumers look to user reviews when shaping their opinions of a new brand or considering a new purchase.

The effectiveness of reviews is likely why the large majority of retailers show shopper ratings and reviews online, with nearly 79% of Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 offering this feature, according to Digital Commerce 360 research data.

Reviews are especially important in the consumer electronics category, Choi says. Shoppers are spending more money and time to find the exact product they need. Newegg’s average order value is $511, according to Digital Commerce 360 research data, compared with the median AOV for the entire Top 1000 at $179. Newegg ranks No. 58 in the Top 1000.

Kassi Socha, director analyst, retail, at research firm Gartner, says AI generated review summaries are a great application of the technology.

“Ratings and reviews have become even more important to the consumer today than they were a couple of years ago, with one of the reasons being the general expansion of the retail catalog,” Socha says. “It’s harder to search and comb and find the right product and consumers rely on reviews to make the decision on what is the best product.”

“Retailers who take this approach may find conversion is quicker because the consumer is able to consume information at a faster pace and make a purchase faster,” she adds.

After Newegg debuted its AI generated review feature, Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1 in the Top 1000) also announced a generative AI review feature. Amazon’s generative AI product reviews, available to a subset of its mobile shoppers, also summarizes the sentiment of customers’ reviews with a few sentences at the top of the review section on the product detail page.

Newegg immediately publishes the AI generated review

It took Newegg about two months to develop its AI review feature in house, and about 20% of Newegg’s active SKUs with reviews have an AI summary review. The feature is only available to desktop shoppers, which is where the majority of its sales and shoppers are, Choi says. Overall, Newegg has 20.2 million SKUs on its website and marketplace, although not all of these SKUs are considered active.

Once a product hits an undisclosed number of text reviews — meaning more than just a star or “egg” rating on Newegg.com — the AI technology automatically creates the review. A product needs to have a certain number of reviews, fewer than 100, to qualify for the generative AI summary review, Choi says without revealing the number. The review is generated from only the reviews that have already been published on Newegg.com.

The AI summary is immediately published on the site and there is no manual review period.

Choi says shoppers can submit feedback on a Summary AI review or give it a thumbs up or down. If a product review receives feedback that warrants attention, Newegg can adjust if needed.

Socha suggests, however, that retailers have a human touch all content created by generative AI before it is made consumer facing.

“Generative AI can suggest copy and suggest opportunities, but there still needs to be a team in place to validate some of the outputs,” Socha says. “With any machine learning or artificial intelligence, it’s only as good as the inputs, and it take time to optimize learn.”

“I applaud retailers that are adopting the technology with confidence and testing the use of generative AI, but the continued guidance at Gartner would be to approach with caution and be prepared to adapt quickly if a weakness is exposed,” she adds.

Newegg will measure the success of the tool based on clicks, views and shopper behavior after engaging with the feature. In the two weeks since Newegg launched the feature, many shoppers have engaged with the tool, and the brand is happy with the results, Choi says, without sharing any data.

New customer features typically launch on desktop first at Newegg, Choi says, as the development work for its mobile site and app gets “heavy.” Newegg doesn’t have a date it’s sharing for launching the generative AI review feature on mobile.

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Merchants say Prime Day 2023 went well https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/07/13/petcube-prime-day-2023-went-well/ Thu, 13 Jul 2023 20:24:33 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1048309 Andrey Klen is pleased with how things went for his company on Amazon.com during Prime Day this year. The co-founder and chief marketing officer of Petcube said “Prime Day performed much better in comparison to the previous year. Compared to an average day, we’ve seen a double-digit multiple on sales. We were able to beat […]

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Andrey Klen is pleased with how things went for his company on Amazon.com during Prime Day this year. The co-founder and chief marketing officer of Petcube said “Prime Day performed much better in comparison to the previous year. Compared to an average day, we’ve seen a double-digit multiple on sales. We were able to beat optimistic high growth projections on our main product.”

That product is Petcube Cam, a wifi camera that allows people to watch and interact with their pets remotely.

Petcube

The Petcube cam won a “Best Deal” designation from Amazon during the Prime Day sales event, boosting sales of the watch-your-pet-when-you’re-not-home device.

Klen told Digital Commerce 360 that his company “managed to get the ‘Best Deal’ offer for Petcube Cam” from Amazon. That ensured that large numbers of shoppers were exposed to the product. “And we were lucky it was applied during the first day of Prime.”

Klen said sales numbers suggest that shoppers were excited about Prime Day this year and had planned purchases of Petcube products well in advance of the two-day sales event.

“We had lower conversion a couple of days prior to Prime Day followed by the massive explosion for the first hours on the date. Most likely, people were adding the products to the cart beforehand,” Klen said.

Amazon is No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s new 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report. It ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces by 2022 third-party GMV.

Prime Day success

Doing well on Prime Day is crucial for many merchants. It can be a make-or-break day for retailers like Petcube that use the Amazon marketplace as the primary channel for online sales. Given the high stakes, Petcube puts considerable effort into getting things right.

The retailer bought ads for sponsored products, sponsored brands and display ads. Petcube also “optimized heavily for keywords and spending,” Klen said. “We take pride in developing a super-efficient automated script that pulls all of our key metrics into a designated spreadsheet hourly throughout Prime and dedicated managers monitor the performance 24/7 on those two days.”

Amazon aggregator

Petcube likely isn’t the only merchant pleased with its Prime Day 2023 performance.

Amazon said the first day of this year’s Prime Day event was the biggest ever for third-party merchants on the marketplace.

For example, Thrasio Holdings Inc., an investment company that has purchased a number of Amazon merchants, said some of its brands had their best days ever during the event.

“These were the two most profitable days in Thrasio history,” Thrasio CEO Greg Greeley said in a written statement.

Thrasio’s latest acquisition — a seller of insect-repellent spray called Ranger Ready Repellents — had a record-breaking day on Amazon and tripled its Prime Day 2022 sales.

Amazon’s Prime Day event is limited to members of its paid Prime loyalty program. Benefits of the program include free one-day shipping for a variety of items.

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Crocs, AirPods and ice makers dominated pre-Prime Day sales https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/07/11/prime-day-presales/ Tue, 11 Jul 2023 18:02:28 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1048169 Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale kicked off on July 11, but some consumers were already shopping presales.  Web traffic measurement firm Similarweb Ltd. shared data with Digital Commerce 360 on the most popular Amazon purchases in the week leading up to the sale, June 26 through July 2. Amazon ranks No. 3 in Digital Commerce […]

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Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale kicked off on July 11, but some consumers were already shopping presales. 

Web traffic measurement firm Similarweb Ltd. shared data with Digital Commerce 360 on the most popular Amazon purchases in the week leading up to the sale, June 26 through July 2.

Amazon ranks No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s new 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report, and the annual Prime Day sale draws millions of shoppers. Last year, Prime members purchased more than 100 million products in the sales leading up to the event. 

Crocs took the top spot

Crocs Unisex-Adult Classic Clogs were the biggest hit of the pre-sale, according to Similarweb. The polarizing shoes were the No. 1 best-selling item on six of the seven days Similarweb tracked. Amazon also noted the shoes were the No. 1 best seller in its Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry category for the period.

The only product that managed to beat out Crocs was Finding Cinderella: A Novella, for one day of the week, Similarweb shared.

Crocs are sold by Crocs Inc., ranked No. 104 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers.

Electronics deals were popular

As usual, Amazon heavily promoted its own devices, including Kindles, Fire streaming devices, and Ring security products. 

The ecommerce giant breaks out a specific category for its devices, and the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader was the most popular for each day tracked. In addition to being a marketplace, Amazon also ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000.

Electronics made up more than half of the top 10 selling products each day, Similarweb found. Apple products dominated the category, particularly the different models of AirPods. AirTags, 9th generation iPad, and the Apple Watch Series 8 also made appearances on the best sellers list. Amazon said Apple AirPods were among the top sellers in early access sales in 2022.

Apple Inc. ranks No. 3 in the Top 1000.

The KAMRUI Mini PC was also popular, per Similarweb.

Consumer bought appliances to beat the heat

Appliances tend to be another staple of Amazon Prime Day through the years. This year, a countertop ice maker by the brand Euhomy was the top-selling appliance during all seven days of the period, according to Similarweb. Seven other ice maker models also made the bestseller list during the same timeframe.

A minifridge and compact washing machines were the other top sellers in the appliance category, Similarweb found.

Mike Scheschuk, president of small and medium business at marketplaces software vendor Jungle Scout, previously told Digital Commerce 360 that appliances are always big Prime Day sellers, and he expects that to hold true in 2023.

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Newegg livestreams more than 24 hours a day https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/07/05/newegg-livestreams-more-than-24-hours-a-day/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:22:44 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1047793 In less than two years, Newegg Commerce Inc. went from no livestreamed content to livestreaming 150 hours per week. Newegg, which sells electronics and ranks No. 58 in the 2023 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, started livestreaming in October 2021.  The live videos, which it shot on a smartphone, featured one of three hosts demonstrating […]

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In less than two years, Newegg Commerce Inc. went from no livestreamed content to livestreaming 150 hours per week.

Newegg, which sells electronics and ranks No. 58 in the 2023 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, started livestreaming in October 2021.  The live videos, which it shot on a smartphone, featured one of three hosts demonstrating products. Viewers could watch the shows on social media and Newegg.com, and tap to buy the products the hosts featured.

“It was pretty rudimentary,” says Drew Roder, director of Newegg Media.

Today, Newegg has a team of 25 that handles its livestreams, 30 hosts and five professionally built livestreaming stages with professional lighting and recording equipment. The sixth stage is currently in construction for a total of 10,000 square feet in its Los Angeles studio. In fact, Newegg spun off Newegg Media in January 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Newegg.

Newegg’s livestreams are from six active social media handles, or usernames, that each have their own audience, focus of products and personality tied to them.

“We want to take the HSN, QVC tried-and-true business model and refresh it, give it a shot of energy and give it the Red Bull, and push it out to a new generation and see what we can do with it,” says Ben Tibbels, studio producer.

The hosts are influencers in their own right, Roder says.

“We really try to look for the host to bring the energy and to find the voice for that community,” he says.

Newegg touts engagement and revenue from livestreams

The reason Newegg is doubling down on livestream videos is because of the program’s success. From October 2021 through mid-May 2023, 26 million consumers have viewed a livestream on Newegg.com, and its livestreams received on average 260,000 monthly viewers on TikTok.

And the real litmus test for business success: “Millions in revenue” is attributed to livestreaming in just 2023 alone, Roder says. Plus, the venture is profitable, he says without disclosing more. Products featured in a livestream received increased traffic to those product detail pages, Newegg says without sharing specific traffic or sales data.

Newegg Live livestreams content

Consumers can watch Newegg livestreams on Newegg.com/Live, the Newegg mobile app, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook.

Newegg is pleased with these results, especially because not many other retailers have recently started a livestreaming program and had it grow so quickly.

“The growing pains are real. There is no a road map. No one has been doing this,” Roder says. “At this scale, it’s trial and error.”

Livestreaming is still gaining traction with consumers, and it varies by category, according to three separate Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights consumer surveys of online shoppers. For a survey of 1,038 online home shoppers in April 2023, 5% of shoppers said livestreaming was an important website feature when shopping for home products. And only 6% of online apparel shoppers said it was an important feature for apparel shopping, according to a June 2023 survey of 1,003 online apparel shoppers. But in a March 2023 survey of 1,053 online cosmetic shoppers, 15% of shoppers say they’ve watched a livestreaming beauty event to help find the right product.

TikTok receives the most livestream engagement at Newegg

Social media platform TikTok is where Newegg’s livestreams receive the most traction, Tibbels says. From January to mid-May 2023, the livestreams have generated 4.5 million product impressions, 6 million likes and 300,000 unique commenters on TikTok.

“Most of our action comes from TikTok. That’s where we see the most engagement. YouTube falls shortly behind,” Tibbels says.

This traction could be because of Newegg’s encouragement. Often, Newegg simulcasts the livestreams on TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Facebook, but the hosts will encourage viewers verbally to watch the streams on TikTok or YouTube. For example, a host may say, “If you’re watching us on TikTok, your shopping cart will be right down there.” Those platforms have the best native buying experience, Roder says. Meaning, if a viewer wants to buy a product that is featured in the livestream, she can typically buy it off of Newegg.com within three taps from YouTube or TikTok, compared with the seven steps it may take from other social media platforms, he says.

“From TikTok, if you click buy, it brings you straight to your shopping cart. It cuts out the pain points of the customer journey,” Roder says.

During a livestream, if a viewer asks a question to a host on Facebook, Newegg will make sure to add that question to the TikTok cue so more viewers can comment on it. This helps keep the TikTok engagement active, which helps feed TikTok’s algorithm to boost the post’s visibility, Roder says.

New revenue streams with livestreaming

Because Newegg Media is its own entity, it can look for new revenue streams. Part of how the merchant does this is by having one of the brands it sells sponsor a livestream.

For example, a consumer brand manufacturer like Intel Corp. may pay Newegg an undisclosed sum for a “brand takeover,” in which the host will only talk about Intel products during an entire livestream or for a specific block of time. Newegg may brand its background to Intel colors or show its logo as well.

A livestream will be sponsored at least weekly, if not daily, Roder says. When Newegg was only livestreaming eight hours a day, Tibbels estimates that about 20% of its livestreams were sponsored. This percentage has fluctuated and decreased as Newegg has increased its livestreaming hours.

Another avenue for Newegg Media revenue is white labeling its livestream service, or allowing other retailers and brands to use its livestream studio, equipment and share its expertise with them. Or, Newegg Media will help other brands set up a room or build a stage for livestreaming. Newegg charges an undisclosed fee for this service, which brings in revenue and helps create awareness that Newegg is an expert in this area, Roder says.

Newegg plans to continue to double down on livestreaming content, with more handles and spotlighted categories in the works.

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Retail media promises high returns for brands that can handle the workload https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/06/30/retail-media-promises-high-returns-for-brands-that-can-handle-the-workload/ Fri, 30 Jun 2023 15:42:31 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1047721 It’s easy to get excited about retail media, the growing practice in which a retailer or marketplace opens its own channels (website, apps, in-store displays, etc.) to brand advertisements. It promises a new revenue stream for retailers and offers brands a way forward in a world without third-party cookies. For brands, the potential is extraordinary. […]

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29 takeaways from ranking the largest online retailers by category https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/06/15/takeaways-largest-online-retailers-top-1000-category/ Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:41:33 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1046726 U.S. ecommerce sales grew 7.7% in 2022, but the Top 1000 online retailers only grew 5.1% — a big change from the double-digit growth they have seen in previous years. This month’s analysis consists of looking at the Top 5 leaders in each Top 1000 category and by merchant type, getting a sneak peek of […]

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Online prices were down 2.3% in May, Adobe found https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/06/13/online-prices-were-down-2-3-in-may-adobe-found/ Tue, 13 Jun 2023 17:42:14 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1046694 Online prices fell at the fastest rate in 36 months in May, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index. Prices were down 2.3% year over year, and 1.2% compared with April 2023. Adobe produced the report based on 100 million SKUs across 18 retail categories including groceries, personal care, and appliances. Biggest declines 11 of the […]

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Online prices fell at the fastest rate in 36 months in May, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index. Prices were down 2.3% year over year, and 1.2% compared with April 2023.

Adobe produced the report based on 100 million SKUs across 18 retail categories including groceries, personal care, and appliances.

Biggest declines

11 of the 18 categories Adobe monitored showed year-over-year price declines in May. They were driven by decreases in discretionary categories, Adobe said. The largest year-over-year price decrease was for the flower and gift category. Prices declined 27.8%. The category continued the trend from April, when it also showed the largest decrease.

Computers and electronics also decreased significantly, down 16.45% and 12.04%, respectively, year over year. 

Appliance prices dropped 7.9% year over year, and 2.4% month over month. This was the largest drop in the category pricing since Adobe first began tracking in 2014. Appliance prices decreased for the eighth month in a row, Adobe found.

Home and garden prices also decreased 6.3% over last May, when prices were up 2.5% over May 2021, per Adobe. 

Grocery prices increased again

Online grocery prices rose 8.2% year over year and 0.3% month over month in May, Adobe found. Though prices keep going up, Adobe noted that the rate of increase has slowed for eight consecutive months. Online grocery prices were up 9.3% year over year in April, 10.3% in March, and 11.4% in February. Growth peaked in September 2022 at 14.3% year over year.

Ecommerce splits from other retail

Adobe says it uses the same general methodology that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to track prices in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In May 2023, online prices fell 23% while the CPI grew 4%. That’s on track with recent months, with Adobe and BLS findings diverging. In April 2023, ecommerce prices declined 1.8% year over year and the CPI was 4.9%. In March 2023, ecommerce prices decreased 1.7% per Adobe, while the CPI grew 5%

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Ashley’s Frasers buys £75 million stake in online retailer https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/06/12/ashleys-frasers-buys-stake-in-online-retailer-ao-world/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:38:09 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1046460 Frasers Group Plc has bought an 18.9% stake in online electronics retailer AO World Plc, as Mike Ashley’s retail empire keeps up its acquisitive streak. Frasers has spent £75 million ($94 million) on the stake as part of a strategic partnership with AO World after two years of talks, according to a June 12 statement. […]

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Frasers Group Plc has bought an 18.9% stake in online electronics retailer AO World Plc, as Mike Ashley’s retail empire keeps up its acquisitive streak.

Frasers has spent £75 million ($94 million) on the stake as part of a strategic partnership with AO World after two years of talks, according to a June 12 statement. The deal will help Frasers expand its business delivering homeware ranges and bulk equipment.

AO World benefited during the early part of the pandemic as shoppers bought dishwashers and washing machines online, but they’ve been cutting back on spending amid the cost-of-living crisis. Last year, the retailer had to raise equity to strengthen its balance sheet.

AO is the latest in a long line of struggling retailers that have drawn interest from Frasers. The business majority Ashley owns raised its stake in struggling online hub Asos Plc twice in recent days. It took its holding to almost 10%.

ASOS Plc Holdings ranks No. 19 in the 2023 Europe Database. Digital Commerce 360’s database ranks the largest European online retailers by their web sales.

Ashley founded Sports Direct four decades ago and built it into Frasers. The company has purchased stakes in Hugo Boss AG and luxury handbag maker Mulberry as well as buying Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes, video game retailer Game Digital, apparel brand Jack Wills and online businesses Missguided and Amara Living.

The acquisitive approach is continuing with Ashley’s son-in-law Michael Murray as chief executive officer.

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Earnings recap: What you missed from Best Buy, Macy’s and more https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/06/02/earnings-recap-what-you-missed-macys-best-buy/ Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:11:26 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1045773 More businesses in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 list of ecommerce retailers in North America reported earnings over the last week. These are the highlights you need to know. Read more earnings coverage here. 23andMe Inc. (No. 309) Revenue was down 8% year over year for the fiscal fourth quarter, but it grew 10% to […]

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More businesses in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 list of ecommerce retailers in North America reported earnings over the last week. These are the highlights you need to know. Read more earnings coverage here.

23andMe Inc. (No. 309)

Revenue was down 8% year over year for the fiscal fourth quarter, but it grew 10% to $272 million for the full fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. The biotechnology company grew its customer base 11% in the fiscal year to 14 million genotype users.

It also grew its subscription membership, 23andMe+, CEO Anne Wojcicki told investors. Subscription membership grew 51% year over year to 640,000 members. More customers are also opting in to the subscriber program with their initial purchase, though she did not give a specific figure.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (No. 101)

Advance Auto Parts reported a “double-digit sales increase” in ecommerce for its first quarter. Over the same period, net sales grew 1.3% year over year and comparable store sales decreased 0.4%. The auto parts retailer also reported that DIY omnichannel sales grew, without sharing specifics.

Bark (No. 173)

Revenue was down 2% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter to $126 million, coming out ahead of Bark’s guidance. Direct-to-consumer revenue also decreased 1.5% to $116 million. For the full fiscal year, direct-to-consumer revenue increased 5.3% over fiscal 2022.

Bark broke down DTC revenue by product category. Toys, beds, and apparel generated $307 million in revenue in fiscal 2023. Consumables including treats and food generated $165 million.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (No. 7)

Domestic online revenue declined 12.1% for the first quarter to $2.69 billion, Best Buy said. Online sales made up 30.5% of total domestic revenue in the quarter, down slightly from 30.9% last year. About 40% of those sales were buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) orders, the retailer said.

Online sales have doubled since 2020, CEO Corie Barry told investors.

Big Lots (No. 251)

Net sales were down 18.3% year over year to $1.1 billion the first quarter, Big Lots reported.

“Our lower-income consumer was hurt by inflation, lower tax refunds, and higher interest rates, and their confidence has been shaken by banking failures,” CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement.

The discount retailer declined to share specific ecommerce data.

“We continue to improve the [online] customer journey through a more curated experience, better site navigation, and eliminating friction,” Thorn told investors.

Deckers Brands (No. 167)

Direct-to-consumer net sales grew 19.5% in the fiscal fourth quarter to $343.1 million, up from $287.2 million the previous year. Much of the growth came from a few specific brands. Sneaker company Hoka net sales, including in stores and ecommerce, grew 40.3% year over year to $397.7 million. Teva sales also grew 14.6%, while Ugg sales were down 16.1%.

“Fiscal year 2023 was an exceptional year for the Deckers organization, delivering 15% revenue growth and increasing earnings per share nearly 20%,” CEO Dave Powers said in a statement. “We continue to deliver record results, including the HOKA brand adding more than half a billion dollars of top-line revenue.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (No. 27)

Lululemon reported ecommerce sales grew 18% in Q1 over the year-ago period. Online sales contributed $835 million in revenue in the quarter, 42% of total revenue, the retailer said.

Traffic grew 30% year over year both in stores and online, chief financial officer Meghan Frank told investors. 

Macy’s Inc. (No. 17)

Online sales were down 8% year over year in the first quarter. Ecommerce sales made up 33% of total sales in the quarter, CEO Jeff Gennette told investors. Digital penetration remained flat from 2022, down from a high of 40% during the pandemic. 

Nordstrom Inc. (No. 21)

Ecommerce sales were down 17.4% in Q1 due to eliminating digital order fulfillment at Nordstrom Rack stores and closing the Trunk Club in 2022, the retailer said.

Nordstrom reported that digital sales made up 36% of net sales in the quarter, down from 39% of net sales in the year-ago period. Digital sales were approximately $1.1 billion in the quarter.

Sportsman’s Warehouse (No. 361)

Net sales decreased 13.5% year over year to $267.6 million in the quarter. Sportsman’s Warehouse didn’t provide specific information on ecommerce sales. CEO Jeff White told investors that online sales are a “continually growing highlight” of the business even as overall sales were down.

Ulta Beauty (No. 48)

Ulta comparable sales were up 9.3% year over year in the first fiscal quarter. The beauty retailer didn’t specify what percentage of sales were through ecommerce.

Ulta also finished the two-year rollout of its updated website and app in the quarter. 

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (No. 53)

Net sales decreased 5% year over year $1.4 billion in the fiscal second quarter, Victoria’s Secret reported. Web traffic for the apparel retailer remained flat from 2022, though conversion rates and average unit retail both declined over the period. 

Casual sleep and beauty were the best performing categories both online and in stores, CEO Martin Waters told investors. Sales in China showed “outsized growth in digital,” he said.

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