Alibaba continues to roll out new features and functions which will continue to drive more sellers to its B2B marketplace.

Today at Co-Create, Alibaba’s second annual user conference in Las Vegas, the company unveiled two new features: an updated sourcing tool enhanced by artificial intelligence and a co-branded credit card with Mastercard and extended financing.

Alibaba says that the new sourcing tool, AI Sourcing Agent, will provide more accurate search results for global suppliers and product searches. Meanwhile, the new AI tool gives users the chance to use natural language queries in their searches on Alibaba.com, making the query seem more like a regular conversation.

Alibaba owns the world’s two largest online marketplaces by gross merchandise value (GMV), Taobao and Tmall.

Other features help sellers make faster product sourcing decisions through a series of “agent” suggestions in real-time. They also have more detailed product comparisons with information on each supplier and their quotations.

Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang says that the company continues building a global network of diversified suppliers and making global sourcing simpler.

About 30,000 businesses on the B2B marketplace use Alibaba’s AI tools to increase product exposure in targeted markets. Sellers on the marketplace say the practice helps them grow, even with limited internal staff.

Alibaba is also rolling out new payment options. The Alibaba.com co-branded credit card with Mastercard offers buyers an option of either 3% cashback or 60-day interest free payment terms, subject to a total spend limit of up to $40,000 per year.

A newly launched buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) program now allows sellers entrepreneurs to split payments into three or four installments over six weeks using Afterpay, PayPal or Klarna.

About 30,000 businesses on the marketplace use Alibaba’s AI tools to increase product exposure in targeted markets. Sellers on the marketplace say the practice helps them grow, even with limited internal staff.

Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy beyond primarily oil and gas exports and now intends to build an expansive national and international ecommerce market.

The size of the Saudi B2C market is expected to reach $70 billion by next year and is expected to account for about 12% of the country’s gross domestic product.

According to The General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monsha’at), a government agency in the kingdom, e-commerce is booming as the second-highest venture capital-funded sector in Saudi Arabia, but there’s still room for growth. Compared to leading markets, where online sales account for 18% of retail, ecommerce is relatively untapped in this country.

The number of Saudi Arabia ecommerce patrons will total 34.5 million by 2025.

There are 42,900 online stores and 191 shipping and delivery services providers.

The number of fulfillment centers totals 14,000.

Venture capitalists invested $428 million in Saudi Arabia ecommerce business ventures in 2023.

35% of all products were global imports.

Muhannad Al-Mulhim, a consultant with the Ministry of Commerce said that traditional sectors still have significant opportunities to transition fully or partially to e-commerce models. There are also numerous opportunities when it comes to automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Amazon detailed new options that will be available when customers link their accounts to either Pinterest or TikTok’s social platforms.

Amazon is pushing deeper into social shopping channels, launching support for shoppers to order when logged in to Pinterest or TikTok.

The new functionality will be possible when TikTok and Pinterest users link their accounts to Amazon. Doing so will allow them to buy through Amazon without ever leaving either social platform’s own experience.

An Amazon spokesperson outlined that it is making it more convenient for customers to shop on social media by expanding in-app shopping. Customers can now shop Amazon’s TikTok or Pinterest ads and check out with Amazon without leaving the TikTok or Pinterest app.

The spokesperson added that customers who choose to link their accounts in the U.S. will see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates and product details on select Amazon product ads in TikTok or Pinterest.

That doesn’t mean TikTok users can do all their Amazon shopping from the site. There are certain limits, according to Amazon.

In-app shopping with Amazon is available for select products advertised on TikTok or Pinterest and sold by Amazon or by independent sellers in Amazon’s store.

Retail experts see the pros and cons of the new partnerships.

Julian Reis, founder and CEO of the social commerce platform SuperOrdinary, which assists brands with marketing on both Amazon and TikTok, is watching the new platform partnerships closely.

As he says, TikTok’s integration offers Amazon valuable opportunities to increase sales and improve digital marketing. It also introduces potential risks concerning brand control, platform reliance, and regulatory issues. More than ever, it is essential for brands to have end-to-end capabilities on both Amazon and TikTok so that they could maintain complete control of their presence on these platforms.

The most significant risk for Amazon is the lack of control. Reis says Amazon’s brand perception could suffer if the shopping experience on TikTok is not seamless. If TikTok’s popularity declines for some reason, it could impact Amazon. Alternatively, if TikTok or Pinterest changes course, that can impact Amazon.

Relying on TikTok for a significant portion of sales could expose Amazon to risks related to changes in TikTok’s algorithms, policies or business strategies.

Michael Zakkour, founder and chief strategist at retail consulting company 5 New Digital, said the move has upsides for Amazon.

He asserts that this is an unusual and bold move for Amazon and is part of their larger effort to move beyond flat, 2D, catalog ecommerce to an ‘Immersive Commerce’ model.

The partnerships fit with Amazon’s announcement about offering a discount cross-border commerce platform to compete with Temu, he said. They also help Amazon connect with a younger audience.

This partnership provides real benefits to Amazon, including extended reach in social spaces without having to build their own, convenience to TikTok and Pinterest users, and gaining consumer insights and data.

As consumer and business ecommerce spending continues to increase and even more deliveries are made, more states including New York, Ohio, Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado, and Washington are exploring taxing delivery fees for road repair revenue.

Cash-strapped states and other municipal governments are no strangers to taxing e-commerce to generate revenue.

States have been collecting sales tax on ecommerce purchases by consumers and businesses for years.

Now, a growing number of states, including Colorado, Minnesota and Washington, are looking for options. Solutions include collecting a percentage of the fee consumers and businesses pay to have ecommerce packages delivered to homes or offices to pay for road repair and related projects.

For example, in 2022, Colorado became the first state to impose a retail delivery fee. That became one component of a 10-year, $5.4 billion transportation funding package. The retail delivery fee is expected to bring in $78 million a year. At that level, the fee represented approximately 15% of new revenues in the package.

All businesses were initially required to collect and remit a 27-cent fee on each retail delivery order by motor vehicle placed to a location in Colorado. Since being implemented, the fee has increased to 28 cents. However, Colorado also has amended the law to exempt businesses with $500,000 or less in annual sales from having to collect the fee.

Currently, two states Colorado and Minnesota have passed bills that collect a percentage of ecommerce delivery fees for fixing roads, bridges, and related transportation infrastructure.

Now, Washington is considering similar legislation. Washington has 57,000 miles of city and county streets. They account for 71% of the total miles in the state, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Cities primarily fund their transportation systems on their own. As they do, 69% of transportation expenditures come from local sources, which face pressure due to competing local demands and structural budget deficits.

Meanwhile, the state’s share, which comes from state fuel tax receipts, is in decline. As a result, local governments are searching for new transportation revenue sources, according to a newly published report from the Washington State Joint Transportation Committee.

Two in ten surveyed online shoppers in the United Kingdom begin their search for products on social media. However, only 7 percent finalize their orders through this channel. Most of them finalize their purchase on a retailer’s website or app.

These data come from the 2024 Elusive Consumer Survey by Capterra, which was conducted in April this year. During that time, 499 citizens in the United Kingdom over the age of 18 were surveyed.

According to the report, three quarters of consumers start their online search for products on internet search engines. Retailer’s websites and apps were also named often (55 percent), which is also the most common place where orders are finalized.

While social media is not yet playing a major role in online shopping, the findings do show that consumers tend to look at this channel for shopping inspiration. Consumers that use social media platforms to shop often do this on Instagram (69 percent), Facebook (54 percent) and TikTok (50 percent).

A common reason for shoppers to use social media is to find products they are interested in (73 percent). Discovering discounts is also common (61 percent) and some shoppers do it to find new brands (58 percent). Even 46 percent said they are interested in finding small or local brands on social media. This shows that by using social media marketing, brands can reach relevant audiences, ecommercenews.com reports.

The denim brand recorded $1.4 billion in net revenue for Q2, with earnings facing challenges from consumer denim interest.

Challenges persist in the denim industry in 2024, and those struggles were evident in Levi Strauss & Co.’s Q2 earnings. Nevertheless, the brand is optimistic that its transformation into a digital and direct-to-consumer retailer will bear fruit.

Levi‘s net revenue for the second quarter was $1.44 billion, below analysts‘ expectations of $1.45 billion. Still, that marked an increase of 8% over the same period last year. The company noted that, taking into account wholesale deliveries related to the implementation of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in the United States, net revenue increased by 1% year-on-year and by 2% in constant currency terms.

Levi’s reported net revenues in 2024 are expected to be up 1% to 3% year over year, and probably toward the upper end of that range.

Cash and cash equivalents were $641 million, while total liquidity was approximately $1.4 billion.

Total inventories decreased 7% on a dollar basis and 19% excluding the impact of modified terms with the majority of suppliers, which now results in the company taking ownership of inventory for goods brought into the Americas closer to the point of shipment rather than destination.

According to Levi’s CEO Michelle Gass, the core of the business remains very healthy. She specifically pointed to the strength of some of their legacy products like the 501 brand.

Levi’s has been undergoing a strategy that emphasizes more direct-to-consumer sales as opposed to its long-time strategy of its jeans being sold in retailers like Macy’s and T.J. Maxx.  The direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy was a bright spot, seeing revenues increasing 11%. Its women’s DTC channels saw a 22% increase.

Revenues from ecommerce grew 19% on a reported and constant-currency basis, reflecting double-digit growth across the Levi’s and Beyond Yoga brands. DTC comprised 47% of total net revenues in the second quarter, down 1% from Q1.

Harmit Singh, Director of Finance and Development at Levi & Strauss, was particularly optimistic speaking about the company‘s e–commerce and digital channels development during the conference

The company’s Beyond Yoga brand has seen one of the biggest increases in digital sales.

Singh said that the DTC of the company’s business is growing in profitability.

While Levi & Strauss leaders voiced general confidence in continued growth, inflation continues to be a drag on consumers.

Singh warned that consumers are “generally cautious” and aren’t spending a lot on discretionary items.

Amazon.com Inc. confirmed it will hold another Prime Day sale in July 2024. It will be the 10th year Amazon has held the sale. The retailer did not share the date of the sales event yet, but said it will share more details as it gets closer. A source at Amazon confirmed to Digital Commerce 360 that the Prime Day 2024 event will fall July 11 through 13.

Reached for further comment, an Amazon spokesperson did not confirm or dispute the planned dates. She said that while Prime Day 2024 dates have not been officially announced yet, details would be coming soon.

Most recently, the online retail giant held its inaugural Big Spring Sale from March 20 through 25, its first Prime Day-equivalent sales event of 2024.

The Amazon Big Spring Sale event was open to all customers, and Prime members received access to exclusive deals, Amazon said. Additionally, Amazon said it would release new deals each day of the event. In the U.S., shoppers found deals up to 50% off on beauty products as well as sports and outdoors equipment, according to Amazon. They also saw 40% off some home products, spring apparel and electronics.

The Big Spring Sale was an opportunity for customers to save on seasonally relevant deals across a wide selection of products, including spring fashion, outdoor furniture, lawn and garden essentials, cleaning and organizing products, and more.

Google is eliminating third-party cookies, and retailers are actively searching for how to fill the gap.

Cookies have long been an essential piece of online advertising, mainly because they track a consumer’s activity across the internet so advertisers can serve them relevant ads. They power what the research firm eMarketer estimated would be a $600 billion annual online advertising industry in 2023.

Now, Google is phasing them out after years of concerns over privacy. Meanwhile, cookies’ retirement has been repeatedly pushed back. Most recently, Google delayed its plans to enact the phaseout by the end of 2024 into early 2025 after restricting cookies for 1% of all Google Chrome users in January.

That gives retailers some more time to fine-tune their plans.

Cookies are a tool retailers use to reach consumers and show them relevant advertisements. They’re used to keep consumers logged in to a retailer’s website, identify them and serve them ads.

For example, cookies allow a retailer’s website to maintain a consumer’s shopping cart if she closes and later reopens the website. Moreover, they allow advertisers to show ads related to products a consumer was already looking at.

Google’s cookie deprecation refers to third-party cookies, the kind that are used to serve these curated ads.

Despite the long lead time for the phaseout, advertisers still lean on cookies. A 2023 Adobe survey of 2,667 marketing and customer experience leaders found that 75% rely heavily on cookies. 45% spend at least half their advertising budgets on cookie-based targeting.

Nevertheless, 51% of those surveyed also qualified cookies as a “necessary evil,” suggesting that they’re on the hunt for a better solution. Even so, 49% said they don’t have access to enough resources to rethink advertising strategy in a post-cookie world.

Retail media networks are shaping up to be part of the solution for some of the largest retailers. They are a type of advertising platform where retailers can sell ad space on their own digital channels to third parties. Advertisers can target their ads using the retailer’s first-party data on customers, including information from loyalty programs. Ads can be placed on retailers’ websites, within mobile apps or in stores via screens and displays.

They’re advantageous both as a way of targeting ads and as an additional revenue stream for retailers.

Many retail media networks are explicitly courting retail advertisers with the threat of a cookieless future.

For Walmart Connect, Walmart DSP will provide a solution to huge challenges that brands and agencies teams will face with the cookie deprecation process. Walmart Connect is Walmart’s retail media network.

Brands will begin to seek media with vast amounts of consumer purchase data, and we already have it through Walmart Audiences, which will also enable us to understand new audiences and potential new buyers for different categories.

Target’s Roundel retail media network has similar information on its website.

“When the cookie apocalypse hits, it will wipe out the current way the industry has built audiences and the performance measurement capabilities used to measure the effectiveness of those audiences,” the website says. “If you don’t have real database and identity resolution tools at the ready to build targeted audiences and measure closed-loop media performance, you will suddenly find yourself relying on pre-digital proxies and methods of measurement.”

It presents the solution of advertising to Target customers through Roundel.

Albertson’s, Macy’s, Best Buy, Home Depot and many others also have retail media networks.

Advertisers have proposed other solutions for ad targeting after cookies are finally phased out.

For example, the advertising company Criteo suggests tracking consumers with alternative IDs as a replacement for third-party cookies. These are browser-based technology which seeks to emulate the functionality of the third-party cookie in a privacy-safe way.

Alternative IDs work in two ways. The first, deterministic IDs, are based on consumers’ personal information after obtaining their consent and using first-party data. Conversely, probabilistic IDs attempt to identify consumers without any first-party data using signals like IP address, device type and operating system.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) may also play a role. Using zero- and first-party data to personalize experiences for consumers can be challenging and costly to scale up. Supplement retailer GNC is using generative AI to turn that data into “hyper-personalized” recommendations, former chief information officer Scott Saeger told Retail Touchpoints.

Data clean rooms are another approach touted by Amazon and Walmart. They allow two actors — for example Walmart and an advertiser — to share their first-party data for more insights and precise ad targeting. The benefit of data clean rooms is that they can maintain privacy on the original data set.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that it grew revenue 7% year over year in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024, but income from operations decreased 3%. Meanwhile, net income decreased 96% compared to the prior Q4.

For the full year, Alibaba revenue grew 8% over 2022 and operational income increased 13%. Net income increased 9%.

In a statement announcing quarterly earnings, Alibaba attributed the net income drop in the quarter to “a net loss from our investments in publicly-traded companies during the quarter, compared to a net gain in the same quarter last year.”

CEO Eddie Wu said in the statement that the company’s China and international commerce businesses realized double-digit year-over-year GMV growth through their focus on the customer experience. The management are also excited by the accelerated growth of customers and cloud computing revenues related to Alibaba’s AI products.

Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group grew revenue 3% year over year to about $3.55 billion. Its cloud offerings include elastic compute, database and AI products.

In a May 14 earnings call with investors, Wu said Alibaba’s “core business has gradually returned to healthy growth” after several quarters of “adjustments and continued user experience enhancement.”

Alibaba owns the world’s two largest online marketplaces by gross merchandise value (GMV), Taobao and Tmall.

For the full 2023 fiscal year, Alibaba grew revenue to $130.35 billion. At the same time, it grew operational income to nearly $15.7 billion and net income to $11.04 billion.

In Q4, Alibaba revenue grew to about $30.73 billion. It attributed that growth to increased investments in its ecommerce business.

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC), the company’s ecommerce division, grew revenue 45% year over year in Q4, to $3.80 billion. The combined orders on its marketplaces grew 20% in the same period. It attributed the performance to growth in its cross-border business broadly and the AliExpress marketplace specifically.

Wu told investors the company has “completed adjustments to Alibaba Cloud’s product strategy for the AI era.” He added that AI-related revenue more than doubled, increasing in the triple digits year over year in Q4. Wu said he believes this “wave of generative AI-driven technological innovation is in the early stages of the industry cycle.”

Starting in 2024, he said, Alibaba has seen a “rapid increase in customer demand for AI.” As a result, Alibaba is investing in its cloud-computing product matrix and — in Wu’s words — “especially in AI infrastructure.”

Alibaba withdrew Cainiao’s application for an initial public offering (IPO) in March, Wu stated. Cainiao is a logistics company that Alibaba and other companies launched in May 2013.

Cainiao provides essential infrastructure to Alibaba’s core ecommerce business and Wu hopes Cainiao will strengthen its synergies with the company’s Chinese domestic and international e-commerce operations. Alibaba Group will continue to support the expansion of Cainiao’s global logistics network.

Jiang Fan, AIDC’s CEO, said Cainiao’s cross-border logistics capabilities have helped AliExpress. He said “synergies” between the two have made AliExpress more competitive, with five-day and 10-day completion rates both doubling year over year.

Pepper announced it raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The ecommerce platform for food distributors will use the money to invest in generative artificial intelligence (AI), add new advertising capabilities and make other improvements, it said.

The round was led by investment firm Iconiq Growth. Existing investors from Index Ventures, Greylock, Imaginary and Harmony Partners also participated. Richa Mehta, principal at Iconiq, will also join Pepper’s board of directors.

Bowie Cheung, CEO and cofounder of Pepper said that the tremendous support from ICONIQ Growth and our existing investors not only validates the company’s vision but also reinforces otheir position as the most trusted and transparent technology partner in the foodservice distribution industry. This funding will enable Pepper to accelerate their roadmap, focusing on innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers and strengthen their operations.

New York City-based Pepper was founded as a startup in 2019. Cofounder Cheung previously spent four years at Uber Eats, according to his LinkedIn. The ecommerce platform works to help independent food service distributors find new customers, grow revenue and become more efficient, it says.

Pepper previously raised $16 million in a funding round in 2021. At the time, Cheung said the investment would accelerate product development in important areas like digital payments and product recommendations.

In 2024, Pepper has more than 140 food distribution customers and more than 16 thousand operators. Since the last funding round, Pepper doubled its customer base and released 100 new features.

The technology vendor shared some plans for investing the $30 million.

“This new funding will enable us to significantly accelerate product development and growth of our customer support teams, so that we can deliver even more value to independents,” Cheung said in a LinkedIn post.

Pepper will “double down” on the following key areas:

• Generative AI. Pepper says AI will make operations more efficient by creating order guides and turning voicemails into orders, among other uses.
• Customer relationship management (CRM). It will improve CRM capabilities with features like streamlined identification and setup and dynamic product recommendations.
• Product library expansion. Pepper uses AI to curate the food service product library.
• Advertising. It will implement new features like targeted advertising campaigns and sponsored search keywords.
• Ecommerce UX enhancements. Pepper will improve customer experience through investment in product displays, expanded analytics, and enhanced offline capabilities.