Single’s Day, Macy’s, and a huge IPO
Route
Less than two weeks until Black Friday, the most important shopping day in the US! Are you ready? That might be a bit of a loaded question this year as supply chain issues and an ongoing pandemic have thrown yet another wrench into what was supposed to be a more normal holiday season. Oh well, there are still some lemons, so let’s make lemonade. One way you can make sure you get the most out of your holiday shopping season is by adding Route to your store. You’ll provide a better customer experience, save money in the case of lost, stolen, or damaged packages, and retain your new customers well past the holiday season. Install Route now!
Then check out the latest in ecommerce news:
Yeah, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big shopping days, but they pale in comparison to Singles’ Day. Singles’ Day (previously just one day, but it’s now dragged out over several) is a completely shopping-focused “holiday” in China started in 1993 to celebrate young single adults.
While Black Friday through Cyber Monday in the US brought in just about $40B last year, Singles’ Day saw more than $139B in sales in China. Highlights of sales included luxury items and electronics including iPhones. And this year’s Singles’ Day lacked the fanfare of previous years as the Chinese government cracks down on big tech companies like Alibaba and JD.com.
The record-breaking sales come as analysts around the world worry about the power of the Chinese consumer amid the breakdown of several major real estate companies threatening to throw the whole economy for a loop.
For the first time ever, JD.com began accepting China’s digital currency at checkout. China’s digital yuan is not a cryptocurrency, but it’s rather a digital form of its paper money that will be issued to banks just like normal currency. China banned cryptocurrency just a few months ago. The large sales volume of Singles’ Day should be a good test to see how well the digital currency systems hold up as the government works to expand to more consumers (only 450,000 consumers have used digital currency at this point).
Singles’ Day, while not connected with Black Friday or Cyber Monday, is a good litmus test for consumers’ willingness to spend later this month.
🛏 In a deviation from recent trends, Casper is going private
🪑 Wayfair plans to build permanent brick-and-mortar stores
🇻🇳 Kilo, a Vietnamese ecommerce platform, raises $5M in Pre-Series A money
🍜 Oja grabs $3.4M to build a delicious marketplace for ethnic foods
🍪 Foody wants to monetize your family’s multi-generational cookie recipe
As one of the mainstays of brick-and-mortar, Macy’s has had a long road into ecommerce. But with Saks Fifth Avenue announcing it will be spinning off its ecommerce presence into a separate company, Macy’s investors are privately pushing for the company to do the same.
But Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette, who has been with Macy’s longer than 30 years, is pushing back on the idea. He believes using both brick-and-mortar and online together in an omnichannel experience will be more beneficial.
The company projects just over $10B in online sales this year, but some investors worry the online presence could end up cannibalizing its brick-and-mortar strategy, which is much more expensive to run. Macy’s stock is up big since the news of activist investor group Jana Partners’ recommendation to spin off the digital business. Some investors are wondering if Gennette is the right person to lead Macy’s into the future of retail, which sees Amazon as much, if not more, of a competitor as Saks or Nordstrom.
Need a dose of happiness and sunshine in your life? Introducing FARM Rio, a Brazilian clothing brand that started as a market stand in Rio in 1997 and has evolved into a worldwide brand. FARM Rio tries to embody Rio’s vibrant feminine spirit in its clothing. The results are colorful designs, creative patterns, and products that are sure to put a smile on your face.
But FARM understands its responsibility to the environment that allows the brand to make its clothes. That’s why it plants a tree for every purchase made on the site. As of May 2020, FARM Rio had planted more than 50,000 trees in the Amazon.
Rivian goes BIG in one of the largest IPOs ever. It’s been a big year for IPOs. Some have gone well (Allbirds) and some have not… (Honest Co). But none have been as big as Rivian. In fact, Rivian’s IPO is the largest since Facebook went public. The company initially priced shares at $78 per share, but the stock opened at over $100 per share. Rivian is now priced at over $145 per share in less than a week’s time, valuing the company at over $123B. This is a company that lost $900M in 2020 and is expected to report revenue between $0 and $1M in Q3 2021. Still, the electric vehicle (EV) market is only expected to grow and Rivian, with Amazon’s now $21B+ stake, is in prime position to win.
Supply chain issues will likely last well into next year according to Secretary of Commerce. US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, said she expects gradual improvements over the next few months to help moderate inflationary issues, but that it will take several months to get back to normal. In the meantime, the number of ships in the LA harbor just reached all-time highs as the logjam continues.
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