July, the month of we’re coming home, we’re coming back, we’re really hot, we didn’t mean it, we’re really hot again and the following not-to-be-missed eCommerce news. 

La-da-de la-DaWanda

European marketplace DaWanda is closing its doors on 30 August, and Etsy is swooping in, with a shoulder to cry on and a room to move into. Etsy has created an import tool to make it easy for DaWander shoppers to DaWander over to Etsy and continue selling on their platform. The tool is only available until the 30 August, so online retailers need to act quick. Selling on DaWander and Amazon, eBay or Wish.com? Speak to one of us about integrating your new Etsy account with your existing sale channels.

Have you had a busy night mate?

Forget driving and forget awkward conversations with taxi drivers; Google is trialling self-driving cars that take hungry shoppers to and from their local Walmart store. 400 trialist are taking part in this trial in Phoenix, Arizona. Google clearly thinks that there is a future for physical grocery stores but how we get there will be different. Keep the change mate.

Sorry we missed you

eBay has agreed a landmark deal with Collect+ to add over 2,500 collection points. A new parcel retailer app will also be launched to make the whole experience easier. Click and collect options are favoured by online shoppers who know they won’t be in but don’t entirely trust Mrs Smith with their online purchase.

Holidays are coming

Yes, the Iberian plume might be causing temperatures of up to 118F across Europe, but Amazon reportedly wants us to chill out with a Christmas toy catalogue, somewhat similar to Geoffrey’s. Online sellers also operating in the toys, games and crayons market may also want to start preparing to fill the holiday-season gap that will be left by Toys R Us. It was a magical place.

High in fibre

The British Government has promised full-fibre broadband coverage by 2033, with all new homes fitted with full-fibre as standard. With fibre coverage currently only at 4%, the UK significantly lags behind other countries but, hopefully, that is all about to change. 15 million premises should be connected by 2025, with full coverage by 2033. Great news for eCommerce sellers.

Primed out

Amazon Prime Day came along with strikesclapbacks from eBay, website crashes, and Amazon’s biggest global shopping event ever. More than 100 million products were purchased, SME businesses exceeded $1.5 billion in sales and the words one-trillion-dollars were whispered.

That’s an Ottawa jobs

Amazon is building a new fulfilment centre in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, bringing more than 800 full-time jobs. Amazon hopes that this will enable it to better support its customers in the area and so do Canadian Amazon sellers.

Around the world, around the world

Etsy wants to take you global. Currently, more than one-third of Etsy sales are international, and they want to increase that by helping sellers using the online marketplace to expand their global reach. As part of this they will: expand payment options in Germany with Klarna; make shipping between the UK and Australia easier; spread the word about Etsy in Italy and the Netherlands; and explore opportunities in India. Flip flops packed.

Show me the money

Or at least how to make it. eBay has launched its eBay Community Mentors Program to help sellers help each other. Those taking part in the program will receive a community badge on their profile, as well as access to the eBay community team (with monthly video chats), access to a private mentor’s lounge, involvement in shaping new Community features and invitations to exclusive opportunities and events. Sign up for the US-based progam here.

Image-ion that

Last year eBay released a new Image Search feature for its app, and if that wasn’t quite making shopping easy enough, eBay has now made it even easier. Beginning in August, users of the feature can drag and drop images into the search bar to find similar items.

I’ve got one of those somewhere

Need another screw, nut, washer, bolt or fastener that is definitely somewhere you can’t find. Seach no more – the Amazon ‘Part-Finder‘ app feature will find it for you. Just take a photo of the item and then Amazon takes you to someone selling it. The app is capable of identifying thousands, if not millions, of parts – exactly the same amount in our garage, somewhere.

Look after the pennies

And the pounds will look after themselves. July was the month for Q218 results for many in the eCommerce world.

Paypal

PayPal’s quarterly results included a very pleasing revenue of $3.86 billion (22% increase). It also announced 7.7 million new active accounts and 2.3 billion processed transactions. And for those of you wondering, PayPal will continue to be a feature on eBay up until 2025.

Amazon

As expected, Amazon had a robust Q2 (which didn’t even include Prime Day). Net sales increased 39% to $52.9 billion.

eBay

eBay was a mixed bag, reporting good quarterly earnings but weak revenue guidance for this quarter and the full-year sales outlook. Revenue was $2.6 billion (an increase of 9%), and active buyers were up by 4% (making a total of 175 million).

Shopify

Shopify was also pleased with its $245 million revenue, a 62% increase.

Home sweet home

In May we announced that Shopify was looking to get physical, with a store for e-retailers to visit for help with their online businesses. This month, Shopify revealed that it is settling down in ROW DTLA in downtown LA. Offering in-person support, events and workshops, Shopify merchants can learn first-hand how to grow their businesses.

Sorry, you’re not on the guest list

Selected eBay sellers have been invited to the eBay Payments Beta trial.  Set to replace PayPal as the default payment option, the trial begins in September and will include:

– One place to sell and get paid (daily)

– Simpler bills

– Consolidated pricing

– New payment options for your buyers

– Better protection

– More control

And, finally

A big shout out to our online retailers helping Brits beat the heat. Online shopping between 11 pm and 6 am has increased by 26%, as a population too hot to sleep turns to retail therapy instead. On behalf of the nation, we thank you.

Here’s to an awesome August

 

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