Online shopping Monday (27th) is the first Monday after Black Friday in the United States, and online retailers offer generous promotional discounts to attract people to shop. This day is often seen as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
This year, the landscape of the online retail market in the United States is undergoing changes.
According to the data compiled by research institute Attain, in the first eight hours after the opening of "Online Shopping Monday", the average consumption transaction volume of large retailers such as Amazon, Wal Mart and Target dropped slightly compared with that of last year, while new platforms such as China's cross-border e-commerce merchants Temu and Shein further emerged.
Irene Tunkel, chief US asset strategist at investment consulting firm BCA Research, told First Financial reporters at a recent seminar that US retailers have embarked on a long holiday promotion season to compete for consumer funds, and as the tailgating factor caused by excess savings is weakening, consumers will be more cautious and strategic in their timing and methods of purchases, They hope to buy as many things as possible within the budget limit.
As of the time of the first financial reporter's press release, the S&P 500 retail index in the United States has risen by 0.73% in the past 5 days, and has risen by 34.38% so far this year.
China's Emerging Cross border E-commerce
According to Adobe's data, over the past weekend, it reached $10.3 billion (approximately RMB 73.68 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.7%. As a result, the company has raised its online consumption forecast for "Online Shopping Monday" to $12.4 billion (approximately RMB 88.7 billion).
On this year's "Online Shopping Monday" (27th), according to Attain's data, the average spending per consumer on Temu in the first eight hours was $30 (approximately RMB 214.6), exceeding the level of $21 per day last year. The average transaction volume of consumers on Shein is $49 (approximately RMB 350.5), which is roughly the same as last year's $50.
In contrast, the average single transaction volume of consumers in Wal Mart, Target and Amazon last year was $49, $44 and $36, respectively. This year, it decreased by $4, $3 and $1, respectively.
Attain CEO Brian Mandelbaum said that these data indicate that shoppers are confident and curious about shopping on new platforms such as Temu and Shein. He said, "Emerging platforms like Temu are attracting new consumers and have the opportunity to grab market share from established giants like Amazon."
Although spending by American consumers seems to remain strong, Adobe has found that people are still feeling inflationary pressure and striving to save money. During Black Friday, approximately 80% of online orders use standard shipping.
Low priced retail platforms like Temu and Shein have thus gained more opportunities. For example, Shein has added some products this year, including $10 bathroom holiday decorations and $6 headphones, as well as dresses and jeans priced between $13 and $16. And Temu is also selling dresses for $9 and women's shoes for $12.
In addition, according to data from marketing intelligence firm SensorTower, Shein increased advertising spending by 60% in the first two weeks of November this year compared to the same period last year. Temu's advertising expenses doubled at the same time.
Jordi Ord ó ez, a retail e-commerce analyst who founded his own consulting firm, said, "The competition for market share requires a huge investment. But this strategy makes sense. If you enter a market like the United States and take 1% of the market share from Amazon, the result is calculated in millions of dollars."
This competition seems to have taken effect. According to data from the analysis website Statista, from December 2022 to March 2023, Amazon's independent visitors in the United States decreased by 17 million to 211 million. During the same period, Temu's independent visitors increased from 44.5 million to 70.5 million, while Shein's visitors increased by 6 million, bringing the total to 41 million.
Amazon's strategy
Amazon is not only facing challenges from new forces, but its old rivals are also making efforts.
Grocery has always been a major expense during the Thanksgiving holiday. However, according to the data released by Insider Intelligence earlier this month, in the e-commerce field of this track, Wal Mart has opened a gap with Amazon. The former will have online sales of $58.92 billion by 2024, while the latter will only have $40.5 billion.
But Amazon doesn't seem to be in a hurry. According to SensorTower data, Amazon reduced holiday advertising spending in early November compared to a year ago, but user engagement was higher than in 2022.
And Amazon doesn't just want to become a retail giant. Before Thanksgiving this year, Amazon had already surpassed UPS and FedEx in the number of packages delivered in the United States, becoming the largest courier company in the country.
According to documents reviewed by American media, as of late November, Amazon has delivered over 4.8 billion packages in the United States, and its internal prediction is that it will deliver about 5.9 billion packages by the end of this year. Last year, Amazon processed 5.2 billion packages. In contrast, UPS stated that its domestic freight volume in the United States this year is unlikely to exceed last year's 5.3 billion pieces. In the fiscal year ending May 31, 2023, FedEx had only approximately 3.05 billion domestic express and land parcels in the United States.
A senior industry insider engaged in shipping and logistics business told First Financial reporters: "Amazon has been building end-to-end capabilities, which is indeed a market trend. In a declining market, building a full chain can expand business, increase customer stickiness, and build a moat. Amazon comes with its own traffic, and the US segment has strong fulfillment capabilities, making it the best platform. The network that has been invested heavily for several years is a wide moat."