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🌀Shopify closer and closer to a true marketplace

Plus: Marketplaces outperform as consumers seek value

Author

Artur Stańczuk
June 11, 2023

Welcome to the MarketMaze newsletter, where we bring you the latest news, statistics, and analysis from the E-commerce & Marketplace space so you can stay ahead of the curve. Each week, we'll send you an email covering all the information you need, and it will take just ~5 mins to read.

Today's write-up is 1121 words, a 6-minute read.

This week’s TL;DR:

1. 📰News: Shopify introduced a new rewards program called Shop Cash in Shop app, a step closer to becoming a true marketplace

2. 📊Stat: As consumers seek for value, marketplaces continue to outperform heavily eCommerce growth

3. 📖Headlines: Amazon, Allegro, Vinted, Shein, Uber, ManoMano and more!

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1. 📰 News of the week

Shopify introduced a new rewards program called Shop Cash in Shop app, a step closer to becoming a true marketplace

Shopify’s Shop app is introducing a new rewards program called Shop Cash. The new program is funded by Shopify and earns shoppers 1% back on purchases made using its Shop Pay online checkout service.

The company says 35% of the orders on the Shop app are repeat purchases, and that Shop Pay can lift conversion by as much as 50% compared to guest checkout.

Shoppers can redeem Shop Cash by clicking on links and spending directly in the Shop app. Through Shop Cash offers, users can boost their Shop Cash accumulation by 2x, 5x, or 10x.

📓The Takeaway: The Shopify Shop app has undergone significant changes and now bears resemblance to a marketplace in certain aspects. Users have the ability to leave product reviews and are encouraged to explore shops that align with their existing purchasing preferences. According to Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, this development signifies a milestone for the Shop app, as it combines the conversion capabilities of Shop Pay with the remarkable discovery platform of Shop.

Deep dive → Shopify | ModernRetail

2. 📊 Stat of the week

As consumers seek for value, marketplaces continue to outperform heavily eCommerce growth

Consumers are looking for value and selection when they shop (89% of consumers globally say inflation has made them look for better value, according to a 9,600-person global survey recently conducted by Mirakl.

Brands are expanding their sales channels (In 2022, the number of businesses that began selling on marketplaces increased by 31% over 2021; Marketplace and dropship revenue per seller increased by 42% from USD 14.5K to USD 20.6K)

Good expectations for marketplaces going forward (94% of consumers worldwide expect to use marketplaces about the same or more in the future while retailers and brands)

📓Takeaway: 3 factors driving marketplace outperformance
1. Shoppers prioritize now value & choice; marketplaces can meet those needs
2. Retailers & brands find revenue profits through a third-party inventory strategy
3. Brands are expanding the number of online channels they sell through

Deep dive → Mirakl

3. 📖 Headlines of the week

🛒Mass merchants

  • Amazon rolls out AI across 12 warehouses in US and Europe to screen items for damage before orders are shipped to customers. AI is 3x more effective at identifying damage as a warehouse worker. Deep dive → WSJ

  • Amazon to test unpackaged item returns in German DHL APMs. DHL couriers will carry paper bags to wrap the goods and place a return label on them. Deep dive → Paketda!

  • Allegro launched Finance service where they can provide Merchant with credit line of EUR 650 up to EUR 34 000 based on merchant sales on the platform. Repayment after 30 days costs 2%, 60 days 4%. Deep dive → PropertyNews

👗Fashion

  • Vinted is technically ready for an IPO but has no plans of going public now. The company is planning to expand to new markets and into luxury fashion. Deep dive → Sifted

  • SHEIN aims to further expand in the U.S. by leveraging pop-up stores and a new third-party marketplace (available currently only in the US and Brazil). Deep dive → Modernretail

  • FARFETCH experienced a remarkable turnaround in Q1 '23, after 2Q of sales decline. The success comes from enhanced inventory mgmt, Reebok partnership, and AI investments. Deep dive → Pymts

  • ZARA SA to expand the second-hand clothing marketplace "Pre-Owned" to France, Germany, and Spain in 2023. The physical stores to serve as operational support for online. Deep dive → Fashionnetwork

🍔Food

  • Uber Eats to deploy up to 2,000 sidewalk delivery bots with Serve Robotics across the US. Serve’s robotic deliveries from over 200 restaurants in Hollywood have grown more than 30% month-over-month. Deep dive → TechCrunch

  • Amazon have extended free one year Grubhub+ offer for Amazon Prime members in the US for another year. This includes access to unlimited $0 delivery fees on eligible food orders over $12 at thousands of restaurants available on the food delivery platform. Deep dive → PointsGuy

  • Uber Eats to provide USD 10K grants for sustainable packaging to 1000 restaurants. Deep dive → Restaurantonline

📦Other

  • Uber sees an influx of European taxi drivers joining its platform. European taxi drivers' usage of the app has doubled in the year ended April 30, from 5% to 10% of all rides. Deep dive → Reuters

  • TikTok restructured ecommerce business in an effort to refocus on markets such as the UK and the US, as the Chinese-owned group struggles to export its livestream shopping model outside its home country. Deep dive → Financial Times

  • ManoMano deployed a carbon score on more than 200,000 products and its ambition is to assign a score to 40% of its products seen by its visitors by the end of 2023 and finally nearly 70% in 2024. This becomes a fundamental trend in DIY stores, after Leroy Merlin launched “Home Index” at the end of March. Deep dive → LaDepeche

  • Airbnb Sues New York City Over Limits on Short-Term Rentals. A law, passed by the city in 2021, sought to prevent illegal short-term rentals by requiring hosts to register with the city and reqiuore hosts to be present. Deep dive → The New York Times

That’s all. See you next week!

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Author

Artur Stańczuk is a Chief Strategy Officer at Packhelp, the leading European packaging marketplace. Previously worked ~8 years at Bain & Co. In the past, Digital Transformation Director at the leading Polish convenience chain Żabka and Entrepreneur that co-launched 3 start-ups

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