EP253: Ecommerce Market Mood - Strategy, Tech & Interesting Stories, July 2024

Ecommerce is a fast-paced industry, with constant change, new market entrants and incumbents updating their products with new features and fixes. James & Paul spend a lot of time looking at ecommerce strategy and technology, talking to agencies and technology vendors, so this series is a digest of what they’ve found interesting, what ecommerce teams should be thinking about, as well as highlighting interesting stories and cool tools they come across in their day-to-day work. In this episode we cover the general, more positive market mood in the ecommerce industry. Inevitably we reference the dominance of Shopify in replatforming projects, the positive outlook for agencies, and the growth of other platforms like BigCommerce and Centra. We also discuss interesting technology developments, including the launch of Blueprints by Patchworks and the ecommerce design subscription by Grebban. We then cover Amazon Prime Day, drone delivery, and collaborations between non-competitive businesses. Key takeaways: Shopify continues to dominate the replatforming market, but other platforms like BigCommerce and Centra are also seeing growth. The market mood for agencies is more positive, with an increase in inbound leads and a surge in new projects. Interesting tech developments include the launch of Blueprints by Patchworks and the ecommerce design subscription by Grebban. Amazon Prime Day saw significant growth in mobile sales and a surge in high-ticket item purchases. Drone delivery is gaining traction, with Amazon receiving FAA approval for longer flights and beyond visual line of sight. Collaborations between non-competitive businesses, like Card Factory and Just Eat, are opening up new distribution channels. Shein is suing Temu for selling counterfeit products, which affects brand reputation and drives up costs for brands. Vervaunt's Pulse event in New York is expanding, offering a platform for ecommerce professionals to connect and learn. Stay updated on the latest ecommerce news by following Inside Commerce on LinkedIn and subscribing to their newsletter.