China’s share in US imported goods has dropped to its lowest level since 2006; Amazon plans to launch an advertising version of Prime Video streaming service | Cross-border e-commerce daily news

China's US import share falls to lowest since 2006; Amazon to launch Prime Video advertising version

China’s share of imports into the United States falls to its lowest level since 2006 Americans imported more goods from overseas in April while reducing their reliance on Chinese goods, another sign of strong economic momentum in the US this spring.

The proportion of goods imported from China to the United States has fallen to its lowest level since 2006. In recent years, imports from other Asian countries have grown to meet normal overseas product demand.

The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday that US businesses imported more cars, cellphones, and industrial products in April. Due to the weakening of global economic growth, US exports have declined.

Amazon plans to launch an ad-supported version of Prime Video streaming service On June 8th, sources said that Amazon plans to launch an ad-supported version of its Prime Video streaming service to further develop its advertising business and generate more revenue from the entertainment industry.

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These sources said that the relevant discussions have been going on for several weeks, but are still in the preliminary stage. The company is evaluating its various businesses for cost reductions and has already laid off tens of thousands of people.

Despite macroeconomic challenges, Amazon’s advertising business continues to grow. The company’s first-quarter advertising revenue was $9.5 billion, up 21% year-on-year. According to Insider Intelligence, Amazon’s digital advertising revenue ranks third in the United States, behind only Google and Meta.

01

North America

New York air pollution index drops to 189 On June 8th, as of Thursday noon local time, the air pollution index in New York, USA had dropped to 189, but it is still at an unhealthy level.

Due to the ongoing spread of wildfires in Canada, air pollution in parts of the eastern and central United States is severe. On June 7th, air quality in many parts of New York reached its worst level since the 1960s, forcing New York authorities to issue air quality warnings.

Amazon India Launches “Yoga Store” to Celebrate International Yoga Day On June 8th, Amazon India announced the launch of the “Yoga Store” on Amazon.in. The unveiling of the Amazon India Yoga Store was attended by the Indian government’s AYUSH and Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal. The 9th International Yoga Day will be held on June 21, 2023.

It is reported that the Amazon Yoga Store will offer more than 10,000 different products, with thousands of sellers selling on the platform. The product range covers yoga mats, yoga blocks, and accessories from Indian sellers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and manufacturers.

At the same time, Amazon India is also expanding its product offerings in sub-categories such as aerial yoga, Ayangar yoga products, children’s yoga mats, and travel yoga mats.

Neiman Marcus Sales Decline in Q3 Neiman Marcus announced inventory oversupply and sales decline issues in the third quarter and released its performance report. The luxury retailer said that oversupply and sluggish sales put pressure on the company’s gross margin.

The performance report showed that Neiman Marcus’ sales declined, and gross margins also decreased. The company plans to respond to the challenges of oversupply and sales decline by reducing inventory levels, improving the supply chain, and strengthening marketing efforts.

UPS and Teamsters Reach Agreement on SurePost Service UPS and the Teamsters union have reached an agreement to increase the handling capacity of millions of packages in the SurePost service. SurePost is a service provided by UPS that transfers lightweight packages from the UPS network to the United States Postal Service (USPS) for final delivery.

This agreement aims to improve the efficiency and processing capabilities of SurePost services to meet the growing demand for express delivery services in the e-commerce market. This will allow UPS to handle more packages and provide faster delivery services.

The Teamsters stated that this agreement will create more job opportunities for union members and provide better working conditions and benefits.

【FedEx closes a delivery center in Mississippi】 FedEx announced that it will close a delivery center in Mississippi, which will result in layoffs of delivery personnel. This logistics giant decided to close the delivery center in order to optimize its network and improve operational efficiency.

The closure of the delivery center will result in approximately 240 delivery personnel losing their jobs. FedEx stated that this is to align with market and operational demands in order to adapt to the ever-changing logistics environment.

FedEx stated that they will do everything possible to help affected employees, including providing employment opportunities and support resources to help them transition to other jobs.

【Meta plans to fully ramp up AI, emphasizing it is not a replacement for the metaverse】 Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced a plan to add generative AI text, image, and video generators to its flagship products such as Facebook and Instagram to expand its metaverse work rather than replace Meta’s focus there.

【Google makes stricter regulations for office attendance】 Google will consider office attendance records in performance evaluations and send reminders to employees who are frequently absent, becoming the latest company to urge a return to on-site collaboration after embracing remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Human Resource Officer sent an email to all company employees on Wednesday announcing these changes, and will also consider new requests for full-time remote work on a case-by-case basis.

【Google DeepMind releases new AI system to discover faster algorithms】 Researchers at Google DeepMind, Alphabet’s AI research lab, released a new AI system on Wednesday that improves computing efficiency and sustainability.

DeepMind said the latest breakthrough, published in the scientific journal Nature, focuses on discovering faster computer algorithms. Computer algorithms are the foundation of software development and are used by businesses trillions of times every day.

【Volvo releases new electric SUV targeting first-time buyers】 Volvo Cars unveiled the pure electric SUV, the EX30, in Milan on Wednesday. The car is much smaller in size than Volvo’s seven-seater pure electric SUV, the EX90, which will begin mass production at the factory next year.

The larger EX90 starts at over $109,000 in Europe and as low as $80,000 in the United States. Volvo hopes to compete with Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi for affluent suburban buyers with this car.

【World’s largest diamond jewelry retailer SIG sees 9.3% drop in Q1 revenue】 Shares of Signet Jewelers, the world’s largest diamond jewelry retailer, fell 12.25% in early US trading. The earnings report showed that the company’s Q1 revenue was $1.7 billion, down 9.3% year-over-year, and comparable store sales were down 13.9%. Q2 revenue is expected to be between $1.53 billion and $1.58 billion, and the full-year revenue guidance has been lowered from $7.6 billion to $7.3 billion, with EPS revised from $11.07-$11.59 to $9.49-$10.09.

02

EU Area

【Hungary’s May inflation rate was 21.5%】 Data released by the Hungarian Central Statistical Bureau shows that the consumer price index rose 21.5% year-on-year in May. In the past year, the prices of household energy and food have risen the most. Among them, the price of household energy rose 37.2% year-on-year, and the price of food rose 33.5% year-on-year.

【Carrefour launches ChatGPT-based chatbot for online shopping】 French grocery retailer Carrefour has deployed a chatbot based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology, bringing generative artificial intelligence to its online shopping platform through partnerships with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Bain & Company.

03

Other Areas

【Total visits to Lazada/Shopee Southeast Asian sites in May were 657 million】 On June 8, it was reported that the total visits to Lazada/Shopee sites (Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam) in May were 657 million, a decrease of 2% from the 670 million in the previous month. This number was positive at 3.1% last year.

Among them, the total visits to Lazada sites were 209.9 million, a decrease of 4.8% from the previous month; the total visits to Shopee sites were 447.1 million, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous month. In May, the data for the number of visits to both platforms in the Thai and Vietnamese markets increased, while other sites performed poorly.

In addition, the month-on-month growth rate of Lazada Singapore’s site exceeded 10% (11.8%), but it was unable to surpass Amazon. This is also the first time that Lazada Singapore’s site has had two consecutive months of lower visit data than Amazon.

【Baltic Dry Index rises for the fourth consecutive day】 The Baltic Dry Index rose for the fourth consecutive trading day on Thursday due to the rise in Cape and Panamax freight rates. The Baltic Dry Index rose 20 points or 2% to 1,040 points. The Cape freight index jumped 73 points or 5.3% to 1,460 points. The average daily profit of Cape ships rose by US$609 to US$12,112. The Panamax freight index rose 7 points or 0.6% to 1,146 points. The average daily profit of Panamax ships rose by US$60 to US$10,312. The Supramax bulk carrier freight index fell 19 points or 2.5% to 747 points, its lowest level since the end of February.

【Amazon Japan: Prime Day member exclusive discounts application has begun】 On June 9th, Amazon Japan announced that the application period for the limited-time sale of Prime Day member exclusive discounts has started.

In order to enjoy the Amazon Prime member exclusive discounts during the Prime member period, the seller’s products must: have a rating of 3.5 stars or higher; the product must be priced at least 20% lower than the regular price and at least 15% lower than the comparable price (reference price or historical price).

Qualified to use Prime shipping services in all regions of Japan; the price must be lower than the lowest price (LHP) in the past 30 days; the seller’s rating must be 4 or higher.

It should be noted that Amazon Prime member exclusive discounts do not charge any fees.

【Shopify launches efficient tool Shopify Magic based on AI technology】 On June 8th, Shopify launched an efficient tool based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology called Shopify Magic, which uses information provided by sellers to generate content suggestions, such as product descriptions, email subject lines, and titles in online stores, to improve the speed of writing for sellers.

Sellers only need to list a few product keywords, and Shopify Magic will quickly generate product descriptions or optimize existing product descriptions. At the same time, sellers can also create personalized product descriptions suitable for their own brand by exploring different tones and adding special instructions.

【Temu may officially launch in Japan on June 22】 On June 8th, it was reported that the overseas version of Pinduoduo, “Temu,” will be launched on the Japanese site on June 22nd. Temu has already purchased a large amount of air transportation capacity in the market for Japan and contacted professionals in the e-commerce industry.

The report stated that Temu will mainly use small package mode to enter Japan in the initial stage, and has already contacted a large number of logistics companies and entered the bidding stage; the initial cold start is mainly to test the order process and consumer feedback; there is currently no clear external investment plan, and they will first test products in the existing European and American product library.

【AliExpress Upgrades Multiple Official Warehouses to Ensure Overseas 618 Delivery Experience】 On June 8th, it was announced that the Overseas 618 Summer Sale will officially begin on June 12th. AliExpress continues to upgrade its warehouse network capabilities, launching a new overseas warehouse in the Middle East, and expanding two Shandong preferred warehouses for the Korean market by more than 30,000 square meters, to ensure efficient logistics during the big sale period.

【DHgate Reminds Sellers That the U.S. “INFORM Consumers Act” Will Soon Take Effect】 On June 9th, DHgate issued a notification that the U.S. “INFORM Consumers Act” will take effect on June 27th, 2023.

According to the law, from June 27th, 2023, high-volume third-party sellers are obliged to provide their business information, and the platform is obliged to collect, verify, and disclose relevant business information. To ensure that buyers and sellers can have a healthy business environment, DHgate has established a process to collect and verify seller business information. Sellers are required to submit relevant information in accordance with regulatory requirements.

【Lazada Indonesia’s BLC Bonded Warehouse Will Cease Services on July 15th】 On June 8th, Lazada announced that due to business adjustments, the platform will stop using the Indonesian BLC bonded warehouse on July 15th, 2023. Due to the special nature of the BLC bonded warehouse, the inventory in stock can only be destroyed or returned.

Merchants who choose the destruction plan must apply for destruction. After receiving the application, the warehouse will operate for sellers’ outbound orders as early as June 12th. The platform will bear the operation fees related to the destruction.

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