蘑菇AV

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions and regulatory scrutiny in the US and Western Europe, Chinese ecommerce giants are increasingly turning their focus to Asia-Pacific.

Temu and Shein won over cost-conscious shoppers in 2024: But regulatory concerns over tax loopholes, product safety, and labor practices could weigh on growth in 2025.

Our take: Cheap delivery is one of the many ways Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and other Chinese ecommerce players are able to offer shoppers ultra-low prices. But the growing tide of lawsuits against these companies鈥� delivery providers could soon eliminate that advantage.

Retail foot traffic is bouncing back, especially in malls, thanks to diverse tenant mixes and engaging experiences that attract shoppers, Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, said during a recent 蘑菇AV webinar. The pandemic鈥檚 lasting influence has also changed how we shop, with more people visiting multiple grocery stores for the best deals and quality, while small-format stores are helping retailers meet local needs.

PDD misses expectations as competitive pressures erode price advantage: The ecommerce company expects challenges to continue in the short-term as domestic and international rivals gain an edge.

Those pressures finally led Amazon to launch its own low-cost marketplace, Haul, where products retail for $20 or less. While Amazon is clearly hoping to lure shoppers away from its ecommerce rivals, there鈥檚 no guarantee that its new offering will resonate鈥攅specially considering the retailer鈥檚 efforts to separate Haul from its main online store.

Still, Shein remains wildly popular with shoppers. The total value of goods sold on the marketplace鈥攊ncluding from third-party sellers鈥攔ose 40% YoY, roughly in line with last year鈥檚 growth. Our take: Shein certainly faces its share of growing pains.

Amazon, Temu, and other marketplaces sold toys that failed EU safety standards, investigation finds: That could open the retailers up to stricter regulatory oversight.

Go further: Check out our Asia-Pacific Ecommerce Forecast 2024 report and 4 Charts on Indonesia鈥檚 Ecommerce Battleground.

The insight: While Temu goes on the offensive to win over Amazon sellers in the US, it and sister ecommerce company Pinduoduo are facing a revolt from merchants in China who say the marketplaces鈥� relentless push to lower prices and onerous policies are hurting their ability to make a living.

At the same time, merchants are eager to tap into the explosive growth experienced by Temu, Shein, and other Chinese ecommerce platforms鈥攊ncluding big Amazon sellers like electronics brand Anker and furniture maker Costway, both of which can now be found on the former.

Why it matters: This change could especially handicap China-founded ecommerce companies like Temu and Shein, making it harder for them to ship to the US. The de minimis exemption helps overseas ecommerce retailers maintain competitive pricing by avoiding tariffs. Removing this provision could raise costs, make their products less competitive and potentially lower those companies鈥� ad spending.

Cryptocurrency volatility has tempered expectations for crypto payments. But it hasn鈥檛 erased them: Retail, remittance, and cross-border B2B payments remain in growth mode.

Signed, sealed, delivered: Walmart continues to streamline its fulfillment services for sellers, introducing multichannel logistics and cross-border fulfillment. The retailer鈥檚 new Multichannel Solutions program, launching September 10, enables sellers to fulfill orders from any ecommerce site via Walmart鈥檚 fulfillment services. Walmart is opening its carrier network to full truckload shipments.

Consumer device and behavior trends are affecting payment providers鈥� strategies across retail, P2P, B2B, disbursement, and cross-border channels. Here鈥檚 what that means for the payments ecosystem.

Product safety issues could derail Chinese ecommerce platforms鈥� growth ambitions: Shein and Temu are struggling to keep products with high levels of toxic substances鈥攁s well as those hazardous to babies and children鈥攐ff their marketplaces.

Retail media growth is constrained by unrefined measurement. Agencies and trade organizations are answering advertisers鈥� calls for standardization to enable cross-platform optimization. Out-of-home (OOH) has moved on to measuring outcomes. But not all advertisers are up to speed, and the next big hurdle is making OOH metrics compatible with other digital channels.

Retailers with ties to China, like Temu and TikTok Shop, have gained popularity in the US. Now, a wave of Japanese-based retailers and retail concepts has come to the US, signaling a potential shift for the retail landscape.

The Latin American economy is on the upswing, with digital innovation in the driver鈥檚 seat. Our trends report explores how retail media, commerce, and generative AI will be redefined in 2024 and what businesses need to know to get ahead.

Ant Group鈥檚 cross-border payments arm will help wallets from across Asia-Pacific operate in mainland China during the 2022 Asian Games.

Amazon can stake a claim as one of Canada鈥檚 top mass merchants, even without having physical stores. It has reached this milestone after more than three years of accelerated retail ecommerce in the country.