Ä¢¹½AV

Sights on social commerce: As TikTok takes on social commerce, using social media to buy and sell goods, it could find traction in the UK, which is one of the world’s leaders in ecommerce but hasn’t fared as well in social commerce. The UK trails only China in ecommerce. This year, 35.9% of total retail sales in the UK will be ecommerce sales, compared with 45.3% for China.

Magna largely blames China for the weaker outlook due to its coronavirus policies (which, admittedly, appear to be lifting) and harsh digital restrictions hampered expansion there. Our own forecast for total media ad spending, last updated in October, calls for 6.9% growth in 2023 to $929.95 billion.

Oppo and Vivo are two of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in the world, and they are both gaining market share in China and other emerging markets. They account for 10% and 8% of the market share, respectively. Why it’s worth watching: Vendors are producing more smartphones than consumers are buying.

The Chinese economy shows signs of life: While that’s good news for retailers after flat growth last year, many are adopting conservative strategies to protect their bottom lines.

Ecommerce China: This includes Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, which operates one of China’s leading online shopping platforms. Ecommerce International: This includes cross-border and global retailers such as AliExpress, Lazada, Trendyol, and Daraz.

Thousands of Googlers get pink slips: As scavenging continues to rise among other industries, terminated workers shouldn’t be jobless for long. Meanwhile, Google is laser-focused on a revenue-driven AI strategy.

Brands that want to set up shop elsewhere face a lack of skilled workers, adequate machinery, and logistical infrastructure to ensure goods can be transported quickly to ports and on to their final destination. Those difficulties can stymie brands looking to avoid dependence on China.

A notable shift: Users’ sudden moves to Chinese social media app RedNote is the most surprising development. Owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology, RedNote is a TikTok clone that allows users to share videos, post pictures, and access shopping features. RedNote was the most downloaded free app on the US Apple App Store and on Google Play on Tuesday, per Appfigures.

That hasn’t escaped ²õ³ó´Ç±è±è±ð°ù²õ’ attention, as consumer sentiment declined in January for the first time in six months, despite a fifth consecutive month of improving personal finance assessments, per the University of Michigan. The downturn affected all income, wealth, and age groups, reflecting growing concerns about inflation and unemployment risks.

Tenpay Global will also now let Weixin users (WeChat users in mainland China) receive remittances from Tencent’s global money transfer partners—including Remitly and Wise—directly to their wallets. Previously, users could only receive remittances to cards linked to Weixin. Why it’s worth watching: Tenpay Global highlights two key payments trends. Chinese remittance inflow growth.

The news: Alibaba, China’s biggest ecommerce and technology company, is spinning out its $12 billion cloud business as part of a wider restructuring plan. CEO Daniel Zhang surprised the market last week by detailing Alibaba’s groundbreaking six-way shakeup announcement.

China faces a difficult road to recovery: Despite some encouraging signs of recovering consumer demand, falling exports and a property slump could weigh on confidence.

D-Store is likely to thrive as ecommerce grows and makes up a larger share of total retail sales across Asia. Ecommerce sales in Asia-Pacific are expected to hit $3.477 trillion by the end of 2022, per our forecasts. This article originally appeared in Insider Intelligence's Payments Innovation Briefing—a daily recap of top stories reshaping the payments industry.

The news: Chinese mobile wallet titans Alipay and WeChat Pay are trialing credit card cash advances, per China Daily. In partnership with banks including the Bank of Ningbo, China Everbright Bank, and Ping An Bank, users will be able to withdraw funds from their credit cards and transfer them to debit cards linked to digital wallets.

The share of consumers in China ages 21 to 24 who have credit cards is more than 20 percentage points lower than older generations, per McKinsey. This makes them more likely to use alternative lenders, including BNPL providers. Ecommerce. BNPL is most prevalent across digital shopping channels—and in Asia-Pacific, this is where many consumers shop.