After a few months of beta testing, Jet has been cleared for takeoff. And the ecommerce skies have got a little more crowded.
A members-only marketplace, Jet is going after Amazon by allowing sellers to undercut the ecommerce giant on price by using a system that finds and exploits cost inefficiencies in the fulfillment process.
The timing of Jet’s launch may be perfect, since many Amazon customers were not impressed last week with its Prime Day sales holiday. Although, to be fair, Amazon’s Roomba sales did spike 14,000% compared to the prior Wednesday…
Here’s a look at this weeks’ news, commentary and events that shaped the direct-to-customer world… and more.
Marketing
A National Retail Federation report shows that Facebook is the top acquisition platform for retailers even though email marketing and paid search are still on the top of the list… Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Meghan Trainor is teaming up with lifestyle footwear company Skechers and will appear in its global marketing and social media campaigns through 2017… Sailthru announced its official integration with hybris software…
Ecommerce
Gap is teaming up with Birchbox by piloting beauty counters in major cities throughout the U.S… Moosejaw Mountaineering had launched its redesigned responsive website… Boston-based specialty sporting goods retailer City Sports has chosen BlueConic to help it offer a more personalized shopping experience across channels… ThreatMetrix has announced several cybersecurity strategies for ecommerce merchants to prepare now for the upcoming holiday online shopping boom…
Shipping and delivery
Amazon has expanded its Prime Now service to Chicago and Indianapolis, giving Prime members the ability to get orders delivered in one hour ($7.99 per order) or two hours (free with Prime). Prime Now launched in Manhattan in December and has expanded to over a dozen other cities since… UPS expanded its billing options by partnering with Staples… Walmart opens new ecommerce fulfillment center in Bethlehem, PA.
Cross-border
At an event hosted at its new Munich office, Under Armour announced several new strategic partnerships in Germany and the surrounding region in support of the brand’s aggressive global expansion plans… AmazonFresh will expand to the U.K. as early as September of this year… Terapeak and Alibaba.com will assist online retailers to source inventory from suppliers around the world… In other grocery news, Tmall.com has launched a RMB 1 billion ($161 million) online grocery promotional campaign targeted at Beijing users, and teamed up with Cainiao, the logistics affiliate of Alibaba Group, to offer same-day delivery services to Beijing city residents… Huntkey, a household electrical appliances brand in China, is making inroads into the Chilean market, with the cooperation from PC factory, by lanching universal notebook adapters this year…
Mergers and Acquisitions
The Home Depot has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interline Brands, Inc., a national distributor and direct marketer of broad-line maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, for $1.625 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter… Walmart announces it has taken full ownership of Yihaodian in China, Wal-mart previously owned 51% of the ecommerce business. PayPal Holdings Inc. has completed its separation from eBay Inc., and is now an independent public company trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol PYPL… Bluestar Alliance LLC has acquired the LIMITED TOO brand trademarks…
Financials
Cabela’s saw an increase in total sales of 9.9% to $836.3 million in the second quarter… VF Corporation’s direct-to-consumer revenue rose 7% in the second quarter (or 13% currency neutral)…
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… And more
The Bon-Ton Stores named Hudson’s Bay Co.’s William Tracy as its new Chief Operation Officer… Elizabeth Arden, Inc. announced the appointment of JuE Wong as President, Elizabeth Arden Brand, effective August 3… Levi Strauss & Co. announced the expansion of its clothing recycling initiative to all Levi’s mainline and outlet stores in the United States… Barnes & Noble, Inc. has hired Toys R Us’s Frederic (Fred) D. Argir as Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. Argir will oversee the retailer’s ecommerce and NOOK businesses…