September – the month of back to school, pumpkin-spiced everything, Christmas seedlings and the following not-to-be-missed eCommerce news.
Congratulations
Celebrations are in order for all of the Northern eCommerce Award finalists, announced this month. Shortlisted businesses range from flooring and leather to apparel and even sheds – find out more here, and put the finals in your diary now (23 October).
But, don’t put the champagne away just yet. Other events worth celebrating this month include:
? US fulfilment expert Deliverr boosting funding to $30m;
? eBay Free & Fast celebrating its 7th birthday; and
? Sian Zeng winning the Etsy Design Awards.
eBay’s falling for …
eBay has released its 2019 Fall Seller Update, announcing some exciting autumnal changes for its sellers. Highlights include expanded TeraPeak access, increased Promoted Listings visibilty, offers for incompleted purchases, additional benefits for Top Rated sellers, and new managed payment features.
Read all about it here.
Amazing Amazon
Amazon has been churning out the announcements this month, cementing itself as a key player in the eCommerce, food, tech, and pretty much every else industry. Top announcements include:
? UK supermarket chain Morrisons signing a multiyear deal for same-day grocery deliveries.
? The release of the Amazon Guide to Christmas 2019.
? Amazon testing one-click product review system.
? FBA repackaging service becoming a requiement.
? A plethora of Alexa products and update releases.
Etsy heads up
Etsy has contacted all of its US sellers, asking them to put two and two together:
2. 83% of all sales come from the first page.
2. Etsy Free Shipping is going to dominate the first page.
In other words, get free shipping.
Aside from teaching basic math, Etsy has also been busy releasing some new features to its buyer app features, including:
? Recommended shops
? Improved shop search
? In-app notifications
? Buyer appreciation photos
? Chat and phone support
In other Etsy news, the Etsy Community Space has been updated with new languages and a team search, the 2019 holiday trends have been announced, country-specific sales are here, and Etsy is running a Halloween sale – spooky!
Passion for fashion
With the world’s attention on the health and future of our planet, sustainable fashion searches have sky rocketed 600% in the past three years. eBay thinks it can help, by encouraging its users to sell, recycle and buy pre-owned items.
Read more about eBay’s sustianable fashion movement here.
Fair and square
Payments provider Square has launched an all-in-one device for UK businesses – enabling them to process credit and debit cards out of the box. Call Square Terminal, you can start accepting major credit cards straight away, with no contracts or hidden fees.
Price increases and decreases
Now to the good-part-bad-part of the news roundup – the price increases:
– UK eBay delivery by Packlink for Hermes and DHL is rising by 7p from 16 October.
– UK eBay delivery by Packlink for UPS is decreasing by 30p average.
– FedEx isn’t applying additional residential surcharges during the holiday season, except for oversized, unauthorized or additional handling shipment.s
Xerowall
Xero‘s expanding in the UK and the city of choice is Manchester. Famous for Oasis, football and Corrie, Manchester has also been pitched as an emerging Fintech hub. We wish you luck!
Shopihigh
“Welcome to Retail” were the words Shopify used to introduce US hemp and CBD merchants to the platform. Shopify is offering CBD sellers the tools to get started, boost sales and build their business with confidence.
But it’s not only CBD sellers who are benefiting this month. Merchants using Shopify Marketing can now advertise across the entire Microsoft Search Network.
In other news…
eBay says goodbye to its CEO, Amazon‘s accepting cash, eBay’s collecting tax on transactions for buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas & Utah, Amazon Prime has come to Turin, Pinterest has released new ways to reach shoppers, and we’ve been talking about 2020 eCommerce events, the best Magento extensions, and getting Xero to work for eCommerce.
And, when it all gets too much
Just think of that $4,000 home you can buy for your dog.
Until next month…