Latest news with #ecommerce
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon predicts thriving future for high street retail hand in hand with e-commerce
Amazon is often accused of causing the decline of high street retail, but is it really that simple? 2024 saw fashion brand Esprit close 56 stores in Germany, Ted Baker shut all of its 46 stores in the UK and Ireland, and Casino Group in France (owners of Casino, Monoprix, Naturalia and Franprix) shed 768 non-profitable outlets. Is this a sign of further closures to come? Vice President of EU stores at Amazon Mariangela Marseglia doesn't think so. In fact, she predicts 'a future where e-commerce and traditional commerce will coexist.' 'Customers are not either highstreet or e-commerce, they do both.' In this episode of The Big Question, Marseglia joins Euronews' Stefan Grobe to discuss the state of retail in Europe and Amazon's impact on the industry. Related The Big Question: Can AI really add €600bn to Europe's economy by 2030? Marseglia insisted that consumers still want both online and brick-and-mortar retail options, and the industry needs to continue catering to both. She credited online stores, like Amazon, as being a great way to source specialist or rare items which high street stores simply don't have the space to stock. 'When I started working at Amazon, I was managing the book business,' Marseglia recalled. 'And we offered, on our infinite shelves, millions and millions of books, including foreign language books and books hard to find. And normally, these items don't find a space in a regular bookstore, so it is really complementary to traditional retail.' Marseglia also cited UK supermarket Morrisons, who offer delivery through Amazon, and has seen it successfully coexist alongside both their physical shops and their own online delivery service. And Marseglia seems to live by her philosophy too. When asked where she chooses to shop on her days off, she admitted to buying many items from Amazon when she's busy, but delights in visiting her local market in Luxembourg to buy cooking ingredients from the region of Puglia in her home country, Italy. Unsurprisingly, the cost of living crisis has had an enormous impact on the way Amazon's customers spend their money. 'What we are noticing is people being a little bit more conscious with their spending: buying more of everyday essentials, and maybe [taking their time with purchases] for goods that are more durable.' 'So instead of changing their washing machine every 10 years, it takes them a little longer. So they are postponing those types of purchases,' Marseglia added. 'They're much more interested in deals, for example. Deals events are becoming very popular, like our Prime Day or Black Friday. They tend to wait for those moments to kind of get great deals and save some money.' Related Microsoft pledges more than 200 datacentres in Europe by 2027 despite geopolitical uncertainty Amazon outlines job initiatives in Europe's low-employment areas 'Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the European economy" is the age-old phrase we hear again and again. According to Marseglia, there are over 127,000 European SMEs thriving on Amazon. 'We are not a killer. We are actually an ally, a catalyst for their growth,' she told The Big Question. 'Thanks to a company like Amazon, their job is simplified because we allow them, for example, to export to foreign countries in a very easy way.' Marseglia also proudly declared that Amazon contributed €41 billion to the bloc's GDP. That's roughly equivalent to the entire economy of Latvia or Estonia. However, she was critical that Europe is a harder place for businesses to survive than the US. 'The US market is one big single market. In Europe, I think we should do much more to strengthen Europe as a single market because the reality is that there is a tendency towards that, but we are still operating a little bit like 27 different marketplaces,' Marseglia explained. 'We can cope with that because we are big grownup guys. But I'm much more worried for the small companies that sell on our marketplace. For them it's much more difficult to cope with complicated legislation and different regulations, et cetera.' The Big Question is a series from Euronews Business where we sit down with industry leaders and experts to discuss some of the most important topics on today's agenda. Watch the video above to see the full discussion with Mariangela Marseglia. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Fast Company
12 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Can I shop at Big Lots online? Retailer warns of fake websites as stores reopen under new owner
Big Lots has been through a wild ride since the home-goods discount retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last September. In December 2024, the company announced that it would hold going-out-of-business sales at its remaining store locations. The following month, however, Big Lots announced that Variety Wholesalers—a retail company based in North Carolina—would acquire and operate hundreds of existing Big Lots stores. After a period of remodeling and restocking, Variety Wholesalers has since reopened 219 Big Lots stores in a handful of states. The openings took place in four waves, starting in April and ending in June. The final reopening phase concluded with the reopening of 78 Big Lots stores on June 5. While the return of Big Lots is good news for fans of the brand, it may be exposing some unsuspecting bargain hunters to scams—particularly, for shoppers who prefer to buy things online. Big Lots warns of online scams Earlier this month, Big Lots took to social media to alert customers about the presence of online scams, explaining that its current website has no e-commerce component. 'BIG LOTS! no longer operates any ecommerce website,' the retailer wrote on its Facebook page. 'These are scam websites using our name and logo. Any purchases made through these websites should be IMMEDIATELY reported to your bank or credit card company. Our official website is The post attracted hundreds of comments, with some commenters saying they had fallen victim to the bogus offers. Indeed, scammers have been targeting consumers with online ads impersonating Big Lots. Links within these ads direct hopeful shoppers to fake websites that are not affiliated with the official retailer. Be aware that any advertisements promoting online Big Lots deals are not legitimate. Some products are still listed on the official Big Lots website A section of the retailer's official website highlights products that Big Lots stores actually sell. Although the official Big Lots site does not offer the option for online purchases, its product listings include photos, descriptions, and prices. Jeff King, vice president of sales and marketing for Variety Wholesalers, told Fast Company that the products advertised on the Big Lots website are meant to illustrate the deals available in-store. 'We do have products listed on our website to show the great values on the large variety of products we carry in our stores,' he said. 'We do this to encourage customers to visit our stores and see what deals they can find.' Bottom line: It's essential to be vigilant against online shopping scams. If you're hoping to shop at Big Lots, you'll need to visit a physical store.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Geodis returns solutions aim for streamlined reverse logistics
Geodis has unveiled two innovative returns solutions designed to streamline the increasingly complex world of reverse logistics. As e-commerce continues its rapid expansion, the volume of product returns has surged, presenting significant challenges for retailers. Geodis's new offerings, a returns workflow automation module and a returns management module, aim to address these demands by enhancing efficiency and optimizing the entire returns cycle. While best leveraged in tandem, these modules can also function independently, offering flexibility to Geodis's diverse clientele, the company said in a release. The returns workflow automation module is a consumer-centric, self-service portal that simplifies the initiation of returns or exchanges. This user-friendly interface allows end consumers to generate return shipping labels, removing the need for direct shipper involvement. This automatic label generation serves as an advanced shipping notice for Geodis, eliminating the manual creation of entries within the warehouse management system. The technology is engineered to improve speed, reduce cycle times, and optimize costs, benefiting both Geodis customers and their end consumers. Built as a cloud-native solution, this module integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento, providing comprehensive visibility from the moment a return is created through product disposition and refund. Geodis clients can personalize the portal with their own branding, including logos, colors, fonts, and messaging. The highly customizable solution also empowers clients to tailor returns policies to their specific requirements, ensuring consistency in the customer experience. Furthermore, it offers advanced and configurable reporting capabilities, and multilingual support for English, Spanish, and Portuguese, for a localized returns experience for consumers in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. On the release, Pal Narayanan, executive vice president and chief information officer at Geodis in the Americas, noted the business-critical nature of returns optimization. He emphasized that the new modules were designed for adaptability and scalability, catering to an array of client needs to bolster their reverse logistics strategies in a quickly evolving environment. The returns management module focuses on optimizing the reverse logistics process within the warehouse. Upon receiving a return, the module swiftly assesses the product and its value, categorizing it for reintroduction into inventory, refurbishment, or disposal due to damage. Retailers can customize how items are classified and processed, aligning with their individual returns strategies. This module also delivers real-time visibility into inventory levels, alongside robust reporting features. These include SKU-level insights that identify frequently returned products, pinpointing potential issues. The reporting capabilities can enhance overall retail operations, including sustainability efforts, by uncovering consumer return patterns and trends. For instance, data-driven insights can help retailers stock more efficiently, determine which returns are suitable for re-entry into inventory to reduce unnecessary disposal, and identify product issues to lower the likelihood of future returns, reducing associated emissions and packaging materials. Both the returns workflow automation module and the returns management module are now accessible to Geodis contract logistics and transportation customers across the Americas region. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here. Warehouse automation surging ahead despite predicted slowdown FedEx to close 30% of package facilities as network integration ramps up Teamsters complain UPS slow to deploy air-conditioned vehicles DHL Express Canada, striking workers tentatively agree on labor deal The post Geodis returns solutions aim for streamlined reverse logistics appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Mercado Ads Scales Up: Can it Become MELI's Third Growth Engine?
MercadoLibre MELI is expanding its ecosystem with increasing momentum in digital advertising, positioning Mercado Ads as a strong candidate for its next core growth engine. Mercado Ads helps sellers and brands reach millions of shoppers on and off MELI's platform using its first-party data for precise targeting. It offers Product Ads, Brand Ads, Display Ads and Video Ads, with Display and Video also shown outside MELI's ecosystem. Brand ads have seen strong growth after being expanded beyond top brands to more sellers. Display ads followed a similar path, growing more than 100% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. These gains are supported by new features like automated creative generation and improved analytics, which have made the ad tools more effective and widely accessible across the platform. The company took a bold step in the first quarter by launching Mercado Play, its TV streaming app, on more than 70 million smart TVs. With 15,000-plus hours of free content, the app targets a region where less than half the population pays for streaming, unlocking untapped ad inventory and creating value for users, content studios and Mercado Ads, especially in video. Now a $1 billion-plus annual revenue business, Mercado Ads grew nearly 50% year over year on an FX-neutral basis in the first quarter of 2025. Display ad revenues more than doubled, and its share of total ad revenues rose 10 percentage points year over year. Ad penetration increased across Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. MercadoLibre believes this is only the beginning of a much larger opportunity in Latin America's digital ad market. MELI Competes for Ad Spend in Latin America As Latin America's digital ad market expands, Mercado Ads is facing stronger competition from global players like Amazon AMZN and Sea Limited SE. Both are stepping up efforts to capture ad spend in MELI's key markets. Amazon is growing its ad business in Brazil and Mexico, offering tools like Sponsored Products through its LATAM hub. With brand support and access to millions of Amazon shoppers, it's becoming a major draw for regional and global sellers. Shopee, backed by Sea Limited, is expanding in Latin America with new tools for brands and low-cost ad options. Focused on price-sensitive and mobile-first sellers, especially in Brazil, Sea Limited's Shopee's rising presence adds further pressure on MELI's hold over regional ad dollars. MELI's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates MELI shares have gained 50.6% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively. MELI's YTD Price Performance From a valuation standpoint, MELI stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio of 4.20X compared with the industry's 2.01X. MELI has a Value Score of D. MELI Valuation Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at $12.01 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 14.60% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pegged at $47.75 per share, which has been revised downward by 1.9% over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 26.69% year-over-year growth. MercadoLibre currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double" Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Globe and Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
What Makes E-Commerce the Biggest Driver of Alibaba's Revenue Growth?
Alibaba 's BABA e-commerce business continues to be the company's biggest strength. Its main platforms, Taobao and Tmall, help drive strong customer management revenues, which grew 12% year over year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, driven by the improvement of take rates. Better tools and shopping incentives have improved user activity and order frequency, helping the company recover its core business despite a tough macro environment. Alibaba sees e-commerce as key to future growth, both in China and globally. With stronger monetization tools and better AI-driven search and recommendations, the company plans to grow consumption quality rather than just volume. Its global platforms, like AliExpress and Lazada, are also expected to benefit from rising cross-border demand. Alibaba is combining its food delivery platform, and Fliggy, its travel services platform, with its core e-commerce business, realigning resources around its main revenue engine and building a stronger delivery network. In April, the company also launched a new rapid delivery feature on Taobao, which the company called a strategic upgrade, as it helps it evolve from an e-commerce platform into a broader consumer-focused platform. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Taobao and Tmall Group earned RMB 93.2 billion ($12.9 billion) in revenues, up 4% year over year, and made up 47% of total company revenues. International commerce, including AliExpress and Lazada, earned RMB 27.4 billion ($3.8 billion), up 45% year over year, with AliExpress alone growing 22%. Together, domestic and global e-commerce remain Alibaba's strongest growth drivers. BABA Faces Stiff Competition in the E-Commerce Space As Alibaba sharpens its focus on e-commerce, it faces growing competition from domestic rivals JD and PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR PDD, both of which are rapidly expanding in China's digital retail market. is driving growth through strong category execution and ecosystem integration. Its RMB 200 billion 'export to domestic' program and food delivery momentum are boosting engagement. In the first quarter of 2025, JD Retail revenues grew 16.3% year over year. PDD Holdings continues to scale its group buying model while expanding merchant support. In the first quarter of 2025, online marketing services revenues rose 15% year over year, driven by PDD Holdings' enhanced tools to improve reach and performance. BABA's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates BABA shares have gained 34.4% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively. BABA's YTD Price Performance From a valuation standpoint, BABA stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 10.39X compared with the industry's 24.70X. BABA has a Value Score of B. BABA Valuation The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.48 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 9.73% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $10.47 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 16.2% year-over-year growth. Alibaba currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double" Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (JD): Free Stock Analysis Report PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (PDD): Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (
