Best Buy’s electronic product sales hit a low point in 2023; US GDP revised upward while domestic total income shrinks | Cross-border e-commerce daily news

Best Buy's electronic sales dropped in 2023; US GDP increased while domestic total income decreased

【Best Buy’s electronic product sales hit a low in 2023】 Best Buy’s financial report for the first quarter of 2023 showed that its electronic product sales hit a historical low. This is mainly due to the decline in consumers’ purchasing power and the saturation of the electronic product market.

Best Buy also mentioned in the financial report that compared to the same period last year, there was a decrease in demand for products such as televisions, phones, and computers. In addition, the global chip shortage has also had an impact on the supply chain and product availability.

Despite the slump in electronic product sales, Best Buy’s online sales performance remains strong. As consumers turn to online shopping, Best Buy continues to strengthen its e-commerce channels and provide diversified digital services.

【US GDP revised up, while domestic total income shrinks】 The US GDP annualized growth rate for the first quarter was revised up to 1.3%, slightly higher than the government’s previous expectations. Data released by the US Department of Commerce on Thursday showed that consumer spending was revised up to 3.8%. However, the measure of income and costs generated from the production of goods and services, domestic total income, shrank by 2.3% this quarter after a 3.3% decline in the fourth quarter.

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01

North America

【Minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting show division among officials over whether to pause rate hikes in June】 Federal Reserve officials agreed at this month’s policy meeting to raise interest rates, but there was division among officials over whether it was necessary to further hike rates, with some officials saying they were prepared to pause rate hikes.

At its May meeting, the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 5% to 5.25%, marking the tenth consecutive rate hike since March 2022 to combat high inflation.

The next policy meeting of Federal Reserve officials is scheduled for June 13-14, when they will decide whether to raise interest rates.

【eBay partners with Posta Romana to boost local product exports】 On May 25th, American e-commerce giant eBay announced a partnership with Romanian postal service company Posta Romana to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered on the local electronic export platform export products to more than 190 countries/regions.

eBay has also launched a simplified online export platform called “e-export nation” in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization and Posta Romana.

【Costco’s Q3 total revenue of $53.65 billion misses expectations】 Costco’s Q3 earnings per share were $2.93, lower than analyst expectations of $3.30; Q3 total revenue was $53.65 billion, lower than analyst expectations of $54.66 billion.

【Gap’s Q1 net sales of $3.28 billion】 Gap’s Q1 adjusted earnings per share were $0.01, lower than analyst expectations of $0.16; Q1 net sales were $3.28 billion, in line with analyst expectations; Q1 same-store sales declined 3% overall, slightly lower than the analyst expectation of 3.04% decline; Q1 gross margin was 37.1%, higher than the analyst expectation of 34.6%; Q2 net sales are expected to decline between 5% and 10%.

【Nvidia’s sales expected to hit record highs due to demand for AI】 Chip giant Nvidia is profiting from the artificial intelligence wave of language generation, and is expected to see sales growth of more than 64% as it rapidly provides more processors to meet the booming interest in the technology.

The CEO of Nvidia said that the company’s next-generation advanced Nvidia chip for data center artificial intelligence computing is in production, and the company is significantly increasing supply to meet surging demand.

The company is expected to achieve a record sales of $11 billion in the current fiscal quarter, far exceeding Wall Street’s expected figure of $7.2 billion, making it the highest quarterly sales in the company’s history.

【TikTok is testing an AI chatbot named Tako】 It is reported that TikTok is testing a chatbot named Tako, which can answer users’ questions and chat with them.

Currently, Tako’s icon appears in the upper right corner of the app screen. After clicking on this icon, users will be taken to an instant messaging tool where they can ask questions. Currently, Tako is only available to TikTok users over 18 years old.

【Musk urges more companies to follow Twitter’s example of streamlining】 Musk said on May 23 that many employees do not add value to American companies, and layoffs can make employers more efficient. Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter last year, the number of employees at Twitter has dropped from about 8,000 to about 1,500. Musk said that Twitter has not yet turned a profit, but operations have stabilized and positive cash flow may be achieved next month. In addition, he also said that Twitter may carry out some additional recruitment, but he believes that the current personnel level is reasonable.

【Tesla’s April sales in the UK soared nearly 15 times year-on-year】 According to new car registration data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Tesla’s new car registrations in the UK in April this year increased by 1436.4% year-on-year, from 118 in the same period last year to 1813 cars. Tesla’s market share in the UK has also increased from only 0.1% last year to 1.36% last month. The total number of new car registrations in the UK in April was 132,990, of which 20,522 were pure electric vehicle registrations, a year-on-year increase of 59.1%.

【Stellantis invests in US start-up Lyten to develop lithium-sulfur batteries】 European car manufacturer Stellantis announced on May 25 that it has invested in US start-up battery material company Lyten through its venture capital department to promote the development of lithium-sulfur electric vehicle batteries, lightweight composite materials, and on-board sensing solutions.

Citigroup ends sales talks with Banamex and turns to IPO Citigroup will spin off its Mexican consumer bank, ending its attempt to sell the legendary Banamex unit. Citigroup paid a year-long effort but failed to reach a deal, closely watched by the Mexican president.

The New York bank said on Wednesday it will now seek to take Banamex public, with the deal expected to drag on until 2025.

In early 2022, Citigroup first announced it would exit its Mexican consumer business through a sale or an IPO. The sale had been the focus of executives and analysts, but Citigroup had repeatedly sought to keep the IPO option open. The sale was originally expected to fetch $7 billion.

Verizon to lay off customer service employees Verizon, the US telecoms operator, held a meeting with customer service employees on May 24 to notify them of the planned “restructuring” and “streamlining” measures that are almost certain to result in massive layoffs. More than 6,000 employees participated in the conference call, and it was added that the number of people ultimately affected could be far higher.

02

EU

German economy continues to shrink in Q1 and falls into technical recession According to data released by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office on May 25, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3% in Q1 this year. This is the second consecutive quarter that the country’s GDP has fallen on a quarter-on-quarter basis, indicating a technical recession.

UBS acquisition of Credit Suisse may be delayed UBS Group may delay its acquisition of Credit Suisse as it has not reached an agreement with the Swiss government on the specific terms of the government guarantee of CHF 9 billion ($9.9 billion) to cover the potential losses UBS may incur. The final terms of the guarantee have yet to be worked out, which could be a hindrance and could result in a delay in the completion of the acquisition until June, later than previously expected.

Alibaba: Six Business Groups Will Need to Hire 15,000 New Employees by 2023 On May 25th, Alibaba stated that rumors of layoffs in various businesses such as Taobao, Tmall, Aliyun, and Cainiao have been circulating heavily, but they are just rumors. At the same time, Alibaba revealed that the six business groups will need to hire 15,000 new employees by 2023, with more than 3,000 of them being college graduates.

Lenovo’s Fourth Quarter Net Profit Drops 72%, PC Sales Continue to Suffer Lenovo’s fourth-quarter net profit dropped by 72%, with PC sales continuing to decline amid the global economic downturn and weak consumer spending.

The world’s largest PC manufacturer announced on Wednesday that its net profit for the three months ending in March was $114 million, down from $412 million in the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter fell 24% to $12.635 billion, with main businesses such as PC, smartphones, and other devices sales down 21%. Lenovo Group stated that slowing demand and exchange rate fluctuations were the reasons for the decline in performance.

Baltic Dry Index Falls for the 11th Consecutive Trading Day The Baltic Dry Index fell 6.18% on Thursday to 1215 points, marking its 11th consecutive trading day of decline.

Alibaba International Site Fully Releases “Digital Foreign Trade New Speed Plan” On May 26th, Alibaba International Site fully released the “Digital Foreign Trade New Speed Plan,” which helps small and medium-sized enterprises run at a new speed of digital foreign trade through four rounds of product upgrades.

The first round is intelligent upgrading. By using new intelligent technology, buyers and sellers are matched more accurately and efficiently. Through foreign trade workbench OKKI and other tools, foreign trade enterprises can be intelligently improved. The second round is video upgrading. Upgrading video and live broadcast products such as cross-border live broadcast, real-person reception, and digital exhibitions can bring more business volume. As of March 2023, the number of foreign trade merchants who have gone live on the international site for the whole year has reached 43,000, a year-on-year increase of 26%, and overseas viewing has tripled.

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