November – the month of fireworks, Christmas lists, “who opened the Christmas chocolates?” and the following not-to-be-missed eCommerce news.
And the winner is
We don’t normally start the news roundup with ourselves, but this was worthy of an exception. The Silicon Canal Tech Awards took place at the deliciously named Custard Factory this November, celebrating the very best in tech (not custards). Among the nominees was Expandly’s very own CEO, Alan Wilson. Following dessert the awards resumed, the drum roll started and the Most Influential Male in Tech was announced as…Alan Wilson. Well done Alan, Sandy and Expandly’s fellow table 11 dwellers, Alan Jones and Dwayne Rowley who won Large Company of the Year for PM Connect.
And the other winner is
The Northern eCommerce Awards also took place this month in Manchester, with winners ranging from augmented reality, false lashes and dancewear. A huge congratulations to all of the winners (view the full list here).
Merry Christmas to all and to all…
Free shipping. Amazon extended free shipping to everyone in the US over the holiday season, with no minimum purchase spend. Over in the UK, Amazon launched ‘try before you buy’ for Prime Wardrobe fashionistas. Shoppers can now order clothing free of charge and only pay for what they keep, with top brands taking part including New Look, Levi’s and Calvin Klein.
Result
This month it was eBay, Shopify and Etsy’s turn to announce their Q3 results. Etsy reported significant growth and development, with a 41.3% total revenue increase. eBay was also pleased with its 6% revenue growth, as was Shopify, with a 58% increase. Mince pies all round!
Turn around where possible
While everyone has been fretting about online sales taking over the high street, Amazon has been merging the two, opening pop-up shops and to-go stores across the world. Now, it’s taken on another high-street retailer favourite – the holiday catalogue. Described as the “ultimate wishlist for kids” the 65-page toy bible doesn’t disappoint, with plenty of toys, games and electronics to ask Santa for.
Collect + +
PayPoint increased the number of eBay Collect+ locations by 2,500 in the UK – just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now, over 80% of UK households are within a one-mile radius of a Collect+ location, making your deliveries even easier.
Updated platforms
Christmas came early with two big new releases. Xero rolled out its new improved and simplified navigation menu – making your Xero experience “more efficient and more intuitive than ever before”.
Magento was also busy, releasing Magento 2.3. The release comes complete with the PWA Studio (enabling “merchants to deliver superior mobile experiences that boost conversion rates and increase engagement”), an improved page builder, improved indexing performance and new security tools. We can’t wait to hear what you all think.
Mayhem
Yes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday took place with plenty of sales, competition and customers. And, it wasn’t confined to only those two days. eBay released deals four times a day in the week leading up to Black Friday and Amazon got its deals on a week early. Big wins included:
– Amazon announced a record-breaking weekend, with cyber Monday becoming the online marketplace’s single biggest shopping day ever.
– Shopify merchants generated more than $1.5 billion over the whole weekend.
– eBay also saw its biggest shopping day ever on Cyber Monday.
– In the UK, East London was home to the biggest shoppers.
And let’s not forget Thanksgiving. While physical shops were closed, online shops bustled, with US consumers spending a record $3.7 billion. Impressive figures given that Which? revealed that 87% of prices weren’t the cheapest of the year.
G’day, again
Amazon reopened sales to Australian shoppers this month, just in time for Black Friday. eCommerce sellers wanting to take advantage can add ‘shipping to Australia’ to their Amazon listings.
Snapify
Snapchat joined forces with Shopify to deliver Shop Cop. The dedicated shopping channel within the app features a curated selection of products available to buy through Shopify without leaving the app. And, it’s not just Snapchat getting in on the action. Instagram announced not one, not two but three new ways to shop in the app. Wishlists, shopping tabs and shop from videos – if your Shopify store isn’t connected to Instagram and Snapchat, now’s the time.
Let’s get personal
Etsy has created a personalisation field for listings – giving buyers the space to input the required personalisation information. To understand more, ready Etsy’s personalised items Q&A here.
In other news
Shopify Mobile is now available in seven languages, PrestaShop announced its Buy Button Premium Module, Royal Mail launched its new ‘Labels to Go’ returns service, Amazon is testing its cashier-less technology in larger stores, Xero celebrated one million subscribers across Australia and New Zealand and eCommerce websites have been warned of heightened DDoS threats.