Retail News CRM

Tag: etail

  • Lazada Singapore celebrating 6th birthday

    Lazada Singapore celebrating 6th birthday

    Online market Lazada Singapore has marked its sixth anniversary with a festival at Plaza Singapura in a lead-up to its online birthday sale, starting next Tuesday.

    Crowds attended the weekend festival which offered surprise boxes and activities at Lazada brand and seller booths. Queues formed four hours before the event opened, with more than 550 people lined up on Sunday morning.

    Lazada sold more than 2000 surprise boxes across the two and a half days in less than two hours each day. Shoppers were also able to score discounts of up to 80 per cent on flash deals available only at the event.

    A 5m-high Super Surprise Box held up to 6000 freebies worth $120,000, available for shoppers spending at least $25 at either Plaza Singapura or on the Lazada app. Shoppers had only six seconds to grab a freebie from the box, echoing the “fastest fingers first” at last year’s Lazada Online Revolution Sale, where several brands sold out all 200 units of their surprise boxes in less than seven seconds.

    Partnering with CapitaLand, Lazada aimed to recreate the online shopping experience and ensure a clear link promoting an omnichannel shopping experience. This included QR codes at brand booths linking directly to their official stores on Lazada, as well as encouraging shoppers to buy at Plaza Singapura to qualify for a gift from the Super Surprise Box.

    All the freebies were claimed. These included Philips irons, Laneige serums, whey supplements, milk formulas and Jamie Oliver kitchenware.

    During the festival, Plaza Singapura had a fivefold increase in foot traffic.

    An innovation for the celebration is Shakin’ Deals, which encourages Lazada app users to shake their phones at midday and 9pm to win vouchers worth up to $120 to be used at the upcoming birthday sale.

    “Our daily app usage spiked by 37 per cent from the same time last month, and on Sunday we generated the highest app interaction we’ve seen all month,” says Lazada Singapore CEO/head of new retail Alexis Lanternier.

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  • Meilishuo on the search for IPO in New York

    Meilishuo on the search for IPO in New York

    Online fashion retailer Meilishuo, backed by Tencent Holdings, is seeking an IPO in the US that could value the start-up at about US$4 billion.

    Many tech corporations in China opt for New York for their debut listings as it offers a wide investor base and higher international profile.

    Meilishuo is reported to be talking with investment banks about the move.

    Founded in 2009, the company sells clothes, shoes and handbags. In 2016 it had about 15,000 merchants on its website and a mobile app that had been downloaded 100 million times. That year it merged with rival Mogujie, which was founded in 2011 and had about 130 million registered users. The re-formed company was valued at $3 billion.

  • JD.com promises to add ‘1000 stores a day’

    JD.com promises to add ‘1000 stores a day’

    As 50,000 people apply each day to be franchisees, JD.com promises to open more than 1000 stores a day this year.

    It started the journey last month, with founder/CEO Liu Qiangdong saying almost every store will be a franchise, according to local media reports.

    The ambitious aim is a part of a plan the e-commerce announced 12 months ago, when Liu said it would open a million convenience stores in the next five years, half of them in rural areas. JD.com’s convenience stores are run by independent investors, and the company offers loans for potential franchisees.

    “We receive 50,000 applications every day,” says Liu. “The applicants are mostly migrant workers who have returned to their villages or small towns. Jingdong Finance can provide them with loans to open stores. They can earn more than RMB8000 [US$1275] a month.”

    The first batch of shops, 1111 of them, opened their doors on the same day in November.

    Liu’s latest announcement comes a month after JD.com signed an agreement with convenience store group FamilyMart. This enables JD users to have food delivered to their homes from FamilyMart’s core locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu within 30 minutes at any time.

    Smart carts

    And in January, JD.com launched offline fresh-food supermarket 7Fresh, a 4000sqm store in Beijing that features “smart carts” that guide customers to the items they seek to buy.

    JD’s first high-profile deal in the emerging O2O retail sector was its investment of RMB4.3 billion for a 10 per cent stake in Shanghai-listed supermarket chain Yonghui Superstores three years ago.

    Meanwhile, JD.com is partnering with mainland retail conglomerate China Resources Vanguard in a deal to take Vanguard’s shops in Hangzhou and Nanjing to its O2O platform. Customers will be able to buy from Vanguard’s offline stores via JD Daojia, and the partnership will later extend to the brand’s 2000 retail stores in more than 30 major cities in China.

    China Resources Vanguard, formerly China Vanguard Super Department, has more than 3000 retail stores in 200-plus cities and has revenues of RMB103.6 billion last year.

    JD Daojia is a one-hour delivery service that partners with 100,000 local merchants and provides on-demand groceries, fresh produce, snacks, flowers and pharmacy needs in more than 30 cities. It has more than 50 million registered users and 20 million monthly active clients.

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  • DHL expands e-commerce fulfilment internationally

    DHL expands e-commerce fulfilment internationally

    DHL Parcel and DHL eCommerce are now offering online retailers a global solution for their e-commerce fulfilment needs with a global fulfilment platform and new fulfilment centers in the UK, Americas and South-east Asia.

    Today’s e-commerce market is placing aggressive demands on the retailer to provide fast fulfilment and delivery, and doing so without increasing costs. This is simply not possible for most merchants because they lack capital or the ability to manage the complexity.

    DHL has built a new IT platform that provides access to a network of fulfilment centres and is closely integrated with DHL’s shipping capabilities to allow our customers to meet their fulfilment and shipping requirements in a much more efficient fashion.

    DHL is investing in this platform as well as in expanding its fulfilment centres in key international markets, enabling retailers to reach their consumers worldwide.

    “Without seamless and reliable logistics processes, the current e-commerce boom would be inconceivable. The physical storage of ordered goods, their picking and packaging, the global shipping and delivery to the end-user’s front door or desired address – we now offer all of this in even more markets and from one single source,” says Jürgen Gerdes, CEO of the Post – eCommerce – Parcel division at Deutsche Post DHL Group.

    “By further internationalizing our fulfilment portfolio we will be able to do even more to help online retailers tap into new regions and benefit from the global e-commerce boom.”

    With existing fulfilment centres in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Australia, Germany, and now in the United Kingdom and South-east Asia, DHL already covers major e-commerce markets with its own presence and will expand these further in the future.

    Situated near London on an area of about 6,500 square meters, the latest addition to the fulfilment network in the UK town of Radlett, offers great potential for same-day processing for the Greater London area due to the centre’s good transport links.

    Apart from the centre in Radlett, DHL is already working on the expansion of its fulfilment centres across other European markets, like the Netherlands, Poland or Switzerland.

    The new IT platform allows DHL to provide online retailers with access to all of these e-commerce regions from a single source. This ensures simple and secure data synchronization as well as an easy connection to new business locations or regions since a reintegration is no longer required.

    “Online retailers don’t have to look for new logistics partners any more if they want to expand their international reach,” Gerdes says.

    By directly integrating the new DHL solution into the webshop of the relevant retailer, the business can access different reporting options in real time and view current order data, for example, or the stock of individual products.

    More and more retailers and companies recognize the increasing importance of smooth fulfilment processes because traditional approaches that are aligned with individual sales channels have long since failed to satisfy the purchasing habits and expectations of modern consumers.

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  • Priceza Indonesia data shows Ramadan boom

    Priceza Indonesia data shows Ramadan boom

    Ramadan month is the most popular time for online shopping in Indonesia, data from shopping search engine and price comparison platform Priceza Indonesia shows.

    Click rates increased by 26 per cent compared to the previous month, its figures show, while transaction values rose by as much as 16 per cent.

    Priceza Indonesia says this is in line with conventional shopping, where the turnover of traditional traders can double and even triple in some cases as Lebaran (Eid Al Fitr) approaches.

    During the Ramadan period to its peak on Lebaran day there was a “significant transaction boom”, says Priceza Indonesia co-founder/country head Bayu Irawan.

    “This means the traditional month of Ramadan is still going to be effective for e-commerce promotional programs.”

    Indonesian consumers tend to spend their time shopping online during the holiday, says Priceza Indonesia. Its data shows the top three categories during the month are fashion, electronics and smartphones.

    Priceza was established in Thailand in 2010, with the Indonesian offshoot starting in 2013 with nearly 4.5 million users a month. The platform is also active in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam.

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  • E-commerce upgrade for Benetton

    E-commerce upgrade for Benetton

    Benetton Group is upgrading and expanding its e-commerce platforms with new online stores for the Sisley and United Colors of Benetton brands.

    Meanwhile, the Italian fashion brand has overhauled its www.benetton.com e-shop to offer customers an increasingly immersive shopping experience. The renewed website is available in seven languages ​​in 24 countries, and features fresh graphics plus an easier browsing experience even on mobile devices.

    Its clean design, including a reorganised menu and improved search engine, follows an analysis of buying behaviour and interviews with consumers.

    The new e-shop and the further development of e-commerce are an integral part of  Benetton Group’s strategy to focus more on an omnichannel approach. It also marks a new phase in the company’s online strategy, as Benetton Group is taking over direct management of the online channel.

  • ShopBack Thailand Announces Partnership With Shopee

    ShopBack Thailand Announces Partnership With Shopee

    ShopBack, the biggest online Cashback platform connecting retailers and consumers, is partnering with Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, in response to Shopee being the top-requested merchant by ShopBack customers. This strategic collaboration is set to enhance the ShopBack shopping experience, broaden the range of brands available and provide Shopee users up to a whopping 6.5% Cashback on their purchases.

    Since ShopBack’s launch in Thailand in July 2017, demand has been high, with shopping trends revealing that Thailand is leading the way in online retail therapy.  Top favoured products by Shopback users include health and beauty products and electronics – two of Shopee’s leading categories. Interest in these categories is growing and ShopBack has experienced huge buying peaks during big online sale events, with a 10 times increase in purchases – another reason why the ShopBack-Shopee partnership is destined to capture more of the online market.

    Now, ShopBack fans can click on the Shopee logo on the ShopBack app, and conveniently shop millions of products on Shopee, while earning Cashback as they spend on their favorite products. New Shopee users can enjoy a special 6.5% Cashback rate while existing Shopee users can also benefit from a 2.5% Cashback rate on the purchase price of Shopee goods. The Cashback will be paid directly to users’ bank accounts, allowing for greater convenience.

    Kawin Prachanukul, Country Head of ShopBack Thailand explains how important the relationship with Shopee is, “The success of ShopBack is that we give power to consumers, not only by giving them Cashback for their loyalty and their custom, but also by listening and responding to the platforms, brands, and types of products they want. They want Shopee and now they’ve got it. ShopBack has experienced a great milestone in Thailand with over 1,300 merchants, over 4 million users and around 1,000 orders per hour.”

    Agatha Soh, Head of Marketing at Shopee, said, “We look forward to working closely together with Shopback to provide a great online shopping experience for users all across Thailand, and to further drive the growth of the Thai e-commerce industry.”

     

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  • Amazon mulls taking over Toys R Us

    Amazon mulls taking over Toys R Us

    Bloomberg reports the bankrupt toy retailer is in talks with the e-commerce giant over the future of an unspecified number of stores which could be converted to Amazon’s growing portfolio of offline retail spaces. The company recently acquired grocery chain Whole Foods, which has 450 sites, and has been opening physical book stores in selected US markets.

    Toys R Us US is closing down more than 700 stores, many of which have moderate- to large-sized footprints suited to bulky goods or grocery retailing.

    Bloomberg’s sources said Amazon is not interested in the Toys R Us brand but sees opportunities to use physical stores to deliver online purchases faster. It may possibly use the sites to demonstrate its Alexa voice-activated technology.

    Amazon has previously negotiated taking over Radio Shack stores after that chain collapse, but no deal was reached.

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  • iPrice Thailand is profiling online shoppers

    iPrice Thailand is profiling online shoppers

    Thai online shoppers are most active before leaving the office or school, according to research from online shopping startup iPrice Thailand.

    Based in Kuala Lumpur, iPrice has a presence in seven markets across Asia and aims to uncover important e-commerce metrics from the perspective of thousands e-commerce practitioners, highlighting the differences and similarities in each market.

    Its research draws on its proprietary data from more than 1000 e-commerce players in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    For Thailand, mobile traffic is the second-highest in Southeast Asia, where mobile traffic has grown by an average of 19 per cent in the past 12 months to now account for 72 per cent of overall e-commerce web traffic.

    Indonesia leads the field, accounting for 67 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 and 79 per cent in the second quarter last year.

    Therefore, mobile e-commerce traffic accounts for more than 70 per cent of overall web traffic, while desktop traffic is less than 30 per cent.

    Meanwhile, Thailand’s conversion rate is lowest in Southeast Asia (conversion rate is the percentage of website visits that result in a product purchase). Along with the Philippines, Thailand’s conversion rates are 20 per cent lower than average.

    The comparison between mobile and desktop conversion rates shows that mobile is 1.7 times higher on average. For Thailand, the desktop conversion rate is 1.3 times higher than mobile. However, there is an increasing trend of mobile e-commerce traffic.

    Thai basket size is fourth among the six countries in the study. This metric measures the average total amount spent for every order made by customer over a defined period of time. Singapore has the highest basket size of $91, with a GDP per capita of US$90,530; on the other hand, Vietnam was the lowest with a basket size of $23 and a GDP per capita of $6880. Thailand’s basket size is in the middle with the value of $42 and a GDP per capita of $17,000.

    On average, the basket size on desktop is slightly higher than the basket size on mobile. In Thailand, desktop conversion rate is 1.3 times higher than mobile, which implies that people in Thailand prefer using desktops over mobile phones when buying online.

    Also, Wednesday shows the highest peak in online shopping in Thailand. Taking Monday as a base value, e-commerce merchants have an increase in conversion rate on Wednesdays of up to 15 per cent, but it dips up to 30 per cent over weekends, which is consistent across the region. For Thailand, the Wednesday conversion rate increases 8 per cent above the average while the weekend conversion rate drops 19 to 22 per cent.

    For Thailand, orders increase in volume up to 53 per cent at 11am and reach up to 69 per cent at 3pm. A dip in conversion rate is noted across all countries between 5pm and 7pm.

    Bank transfer and offline POS are among popular payment methods in Thailand.

    Credit cards are used for 90 per cent of payments, but the credit-card transaction rate in Thailand is relatively low at 6 per cent, which is below the average of 9 per cent in Asean countries, according to Global Findex database 2014.

    To work around this issue, Thai e-commerce companies offer alternatives. For example, 81 per cent offer a bank transfer option such as ATM, making the country rank third in Southeast Asia. Also, 46 per cent of e-commerce sellers offer offline POS such as counter service at 7-11, ranking Thailand second place when it comes to frequency of using this type of payment.

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  • Online retail sales in China to hit US$1 trillion

    Online retail sales in China to hit US$1 trillion

    Online retail sales in China are rising faster than previously predicted, and likely to surpass US$1 trillion this year according to a new report from Forrester.

    In the broader Asia-Pacific market, one in every four dollars spent on retail will be spent online by 2022, with China and South Korea the principal drivers.

    Forrester says rapid growth in mobile shopping and burgeoning online sales of fashion and food are likely to result on US$1.1 trillion in spending in China this calendar year.

    China already accounts for 83 per cent of online shopping in the region, although a projected annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the number of individuals buying stuff online suggests the market is becoming mature in terms of participation. Future growth will be driven by Chinese consumers buying more goods online rather in store.

    By 2022, Forrester estimates 631 million Chinese will shop online, compared with 502 million now.

    Japan is Asia-Pacific’s second largest online market, likely to account for $97 billion in sales this year, followed by South Korea with $69 billion. Australia is next, with $31 billion, followed by India, the region’s fastest-growing market, but currently worth $27 billion. India is expected to overtake Australia next year.

    Finally, Forrester projects mobile devices will account for 80 per cent of online retail sales in the region by 2022.

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  • Zilingo raises $54 million in a new funding round

    Zilingo raises $54 million in a new funding round

    Singapore-based lifestyle marketplace Zilingo has raised US$54 million in series-C funding, taking its total capital raised to $82 million.

    Zilingo was founded in October 2015 by Dhruv Kapoor and Ankiti Bose, who was inspired after seeing the clothing stalls in labyrinthine markets while backpacking across Indonesia and Thailand.

    Their idea was to connect a fragmented landscape of fashion supply for buyers across Asia.

    “Nowhere in the world has a horizontal e-commerce company also cracked fashion,” says Bose. “It’s a unique, high-margin category that is highly dependent on fast-moving cycles and has its own nuances. Unlike buying detergent or electronics, fashion is much more about your choice, individuality and trends. It requires a different approach than the rest of e-commerce.”

    Bose and Kapoor set out to build a proprietary platform where merchants could upload and manage their inventory in any language, using any currency, connecting them through 25 interfaces with logistics, warehousing and payment providers, as well as services like loans, cataloguing and insurance.

    They launched their B2C sites and apps in November 2015 across Southeast Asia, followed by their B2B business, Zilingo’s AsiaMall, where merchants internationally can buy wholesale from Asian suppliers.

    Zilingo is now selling in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and ships internationally to four further countries. As well as Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, Zilingo has supply bases in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and Vietnam. There are more than 10,000 independent merchants using the platform to sell to millions of customers around Asia and the world.

    Revenue growth has growth tenfold, and during the past year Zilingo has launched a TV campaign in Indonesia and expanded its merchant ecosystem.

    Zilingo’s latest capital injection follows a $17 million series-B round five months ago.

    “We think the market is showing us the right signs in terms of adoption and retention, so it’s good to double down,” says Bose.

    Each Zilingo office has local leadership, and half the top leadership team are women. “Having so many women at the leadership level, despite being a tech company, gives us a special edge while scaling,” says Bose,

    “Our leadership team comes from 10 different countries in Asia, Europe and North America, and 15 languages are spoken. The cultural diversity gives the team a unique perspective on how to solve challenges creatively.”

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  • E-commerce finally cracks $25 billion mark in Australia

    E-commerce finally cracks $25 billion mark in Australia

    Australian consumers spent around $25 billion online in the 12 months to February 2018, a more than 15 per cent boost over the same period last year, according to the monthly Online Retail Sales Index compiled by NAB.

    This equates to eight per cent of spending at traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers, as measured by the ABS in the 12 months to January 2018.

    Trend online retail growth is now well above the lows of this period in 2017, and sales volatility dampened in February, the index shows.

    The sector saw a 0.8 per cent increase in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted sales, compared to the 0.1 per cent growth seen by bricks-and-mortar retailers.

    Growth was mixed across categories, with toys and games and media seeing the biggest increase in online sales, followed by department stores, while grocery and liquor, food catering and fashion sales slowed slightly in the 12 months February, compared to the 12 months to January.

    Small and medium businesses represent just over a third of all online sales and saw slightly faster sales growth in February than larger online retailers.

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  • Alibaba buys Ele for US$9.5 billion

    Alibaba buys Ele for US$9.5 billion

    Alibaba has bought the Chinese food delivery business Ele.me for US$9.5 billion.

    The new deal will enable Alibaba to take over its daily operations and network of delivery drivers. Ele.me is China’s largest online delivery and services platforms.

    Alibaba, which already held a 43 per cent stake in the delivery business, hopes the move will bolster its offline retail infrastructure, furthering founder Jack Ma’s New Retail ambitions.

    Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the move into online food delivery will create more value for China’s 1.3 billion consumers.

    “Ele.me can leverage Alibaba’s infrastructure in commerce and find new synergies with Alibaba’s diverse businesses to add further momentum to the New Retail initiative,” Zhang said.

    Alibaba said in a statement it flagged an expansion of Eli.Me’s product horizons beyond its traditional food-focused base, with possible synergies with Alibaba’s existing local services platform Koubei. It also said it will give Eli.me access to its extensive product offering under the New Retail strategy.

    “This acquisition shows that we have built Ele.me into one of China’s most valuable internet businesses. Our customers, merchants and partners will benefit from our further integration into the Alibaba family. We share the same strategic vision that New Retail has a bright future and being part of Alibaba’s ecosystem will take Ele.me’s growth to a new level,” Ele.Me founder Zhang Xuhao said.

    The food delivery Ele.me founder will take the position as chairman of the business post-acquisition and will also be appointed as a special adviser to Alibaba’s CEO on its New Retail strategy. Alibaba vice president Wang Lei, a company veteran of 15 years, will become the CEO of Ele.me.

  • Lingerie e-tailer Adore Me expands offline

    Lingerie e-tailer Adore Me expands offline

    Lingerie e-tailer Adore Me says it plans to open between 200 and 300 stores during the next five years. The company will make its brick-and-mortar debut in New York City within the next few months, followed by up to 10 locations this calendar year and another 20 next year to gauge foot traffic in different locations.

    The offline expansion will accelerate in subsequent years.

    Adore Me founder and CEO Morgan Hermand-Waiche told The Wall Street Journal that online retailers need a physical store presence in order to compete with mainstream retailers.

    “Victoria’s Secret is the big guy in the room. Even if we are successful for a digitally native brand, we will remain small compared to Victoria’s Secret.”

    Adore Me is considering new formats for its stores, including bars where shoppers can relax with friends and showrooms allowing customers to try clothes on and have purchases shipped to their homes.

  • China’s online retail market to reach $1.1tn soon

    China’s online retail market to reach $1.1tn soon

    China’s online retail market will hit $1 trillion this year, a year ahead of predictions, according to Forrester.

    The Forrester report revealed the growth in mobile shopping and consumer spending in categories like fashion and grocery would see China’s retail sales reach $1.1tn in 2018.

    Chinese online shoppers will continue to grow by 4.6% annually to reach 631 million by 2022, up from the current 502 million.

    The report, which provides online retail forecasts for Asia Pacific, found China remains the largest market accounting for close to 83% of all retail sales across the region.

    Japan is the second largest with $97bn, followed by South Korea with $69bn, Australia with $31bn and India with $27bn. India continues to be the region’s fastest growing market and is expected overtake Australia in 2019.

    One-fourth of all retail sales in APAC will occur online by 2022, led by China and South Korea.

    Online retail via mobile devices continues to accelerate across the region and is expected to grow 17.64% annually to reach $1.7tn in 2022, up from $735bn in 2017. Mobile sales will account for 80% of online retail sales in 2022.

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