In the next five years, the United States may close nearly 50,000 retail stores; the logistics industry has been identified as an important service industry for the Vietnamese national economy; Amazon has become the first choice for online shopping in the United States; and this week’s foreign exchange market update includes information from the Cross-border Intelligence Bureau

The US may close 50k stores, Vietnam's logistics industry is important, Amazon is top for US online shopping, and the forex update includes Cross-border Intelligence Bureau info

Weekly Forex Market

After breaking the 7 yuan mark against the US dollar for the first time this year, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar continued its short-term adjustment trend on May 18. Experts believe that the recent rise in the US dollar index has caused short-term disturbances in the trend of various non-US dollar currencies, including the RMB. The high US dollar interest rate has had a certain impact on the foreign trade enterprise’s foreign exchange settlement behavior, which in turn affects the short-term market supply and demand.

At present, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has broken the “7” mark, which is a very good structural hedging opportunity for exporters. It is recommended to pay more attention to the capital repayment situation of different countries and currencies and seize opportunities.

From a trend perspective, the internal and external environment facing the RMB exchange rate operation is more favorable compared to the previous period, and it is expected to maintain basic stability at a reasonable and balanced level in the future.

• Shopee has launched a brand protection plan! Strengthening the fight against infringement of counterfeit and inferior products!
• Top platform ranking favored by Indonesian sellers Shopee drops to third place
• Shopee will allow buyers to inspect goods upon delivery; FedEx deepens cooperation with Guangzhou city

On May 19, the central parity rate of the RMB exchange rate in the interbank foreign exchange market was 7.0356 yuan against the US dollar.

Source: China Money Net

(The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.)

Industry News

1. Amazon becomes the first entry point for US online shopping

According to a survey report released by PowerReviews, Amazon is the most popular search starting point for American online shoppers. The survey showed that 50% of American online shoppers use Amazon as their search starting point, while Google accounts for 31.5%.

The survey also found that reviews and ratings are more decisive in determining the success or failure of sales than any other factor, including product prices, free delivery, free returns, and exchanges.

2. Shopee’s visits account for more than half of the market share of e-commerce platforms in Indonesia

The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) released data on the behavior of Internet users in the country. The data shows that among many online shopping platforms, 56.04% of visitors go to Shopee, followed by Lazada at 32.72%, then Tokopedia (12.80%), TikTok Shop (8.29%), Bukalapak (2.84%), Blibli (0.92%).

3. Golf clubs, electronic products, and household appliances are hot-selling items during Korea’s Big Smile Day promotion.

During the Big Smile Day promotion held by a Korean e-commerce platform, golf clubs, electronic products, and household appliances were all very popular. Among them, the best-selling item was the Roborock vacuum robot, which sold out.

In addition, large tents for outdoor activities were also very popular. Consumers generally pay attention to well-known brand products and value product quality. Big Smile Day is held in May and November each year and has become a direction indicator for Korean consumers’ demands.

Global Information

1. The logistics industry has been identified as an important service industry in Vietnam’s national economy.

According to reports, the logistics industry has been identified as an important service industry in Vietnam’s national economy, and it plays a supporting, connecting, and promoting role in the development of the national and local economy and society, contributing to improving the competitiveness of the economy.

In recent years, the Vietnamese logistics industry has made significant progress at an average annual rate of 14% to 16%, with a scale of between $40 billion to $42 billion a year. The number and quality of logistics service companies continue to improve, making a significant contribution to the achievement of Vietnam’s highest-ever import and export volume of $732.5 billion, an increase of 9.5% from 2021.

According to Agility’s assessment, in 2022, Vietnam ranks 11th among the top 50 emerging markets in the world.

2. The ranking of e-commerce app downloads in Spain in April has been announced.

Recently, the data analysis platform Data.ai released the ranking of e-commerce app downloads in April, including both the Android and iOS systems in Spain. In April, the largest shopping app downloaded on the Android system was Shein, followed by Miravia. Similarly, Shein and Miravia were the two most downloaded shopping apps for iOS users.

It is noteworthy that Spaniards have shown a high level of interest in second-hand shopping apps such as Wallapop and Milanuncios, which are among the top five most downloaded shopping apps on the Android system.

3. In the next five years, the United States may close nearly 50,000 retail stores.

According to reports, the wave of store closures by retailers in the United States will continue this year. According to a report by UBS, the United States will close 40,000 to 50,000 retail stores in the next five years. Some government officials, including the mayor of New York, pointed out that the surge in retail theft cases is the main reason for the closure of many businesses. At the same time, under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work in the United States has rapidly become popular, which has dealt a blow to many shopping malls in city centers. Now, the average consumption per person per year of ordinary office workers in the city center in the United States has decreased by $2,000 to $4,600 compared with before the pandemic.

Domestic News

1. China’s imports and exports with the five Central Asian countries grew by nearly 40% in the first four months.

The General Administration of Customs announced that China’s imports and exports with the five Central Asian countries reached 173.05 billion yuan in the first four months, a year-on-year increase of 37.3%. It is worth noting that the monthly import and export volume between China and the five Central Asian countries exceeded 50 billion yuan for the first time in April, reaching 50.27 billion yuan, and reached a new level.

From the perspective of operating entities, in the first four months, China’s private enterprises imported and exported 110.88 billion yuan with the five Central Asian countries, an increase of 64.6%, accounting for 64.1% of China’s total imports and exports with the five Central Asian countries, and an increase of 10.6 percentage points year-on-year, further enhancing the trade vitality between China and the five Central Asian countries.

2. Trade in agricultural and food products has become an important area of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

From January to April this year, China’s import and export trade of agricultural and food products with Central and Eastern European countries amounted to 720 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 34%. Trade in agricultural and food products has become an important area of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

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