Amazon's Q3 profit soared, Temu's quarterly GMV reached 5 billion US dollars, and the "Cross-border E-commerce Weekly" reports

【Ebrun Original】Amazon's Q3 profit soared; Temu's quarterly GMV reached 5 billion US dollars; SHEIN's first Forever 21 store-in-store landed.

Compiled by | Wang Yu

In the past week, the following events occurred in the field of cross-border e-commerce:

# Platform Trends #

【Amazon】

1 Amazon is Testing Humanoid Robot "Digit" in Warehouses

Amazon has announced that it is testing two new technologies to increase the automation of warehouses, including an experiment with a humanoid robot. Named "Digit," this humanoid robot is a bipedal robot that can crouch, stretch, and use its mimic hands to grasp items. Initially, it was used to help employees consolidate emptied handbags. In addition to "Digit," Amazon is also testing a technology called "Sequoia," which will identify inventory and sort it into containers for employees to pick and fulfill customer orders.

2 Amazon's Q3 Total Net Sales Increased by 13% to $143.1 Billion

Amazon released its third-quarter financial report for the 2023 fiscal year ending on September 30. The report shows that Amazon's total net sales in the third quarter were $143.1 billion, a 13% increase compared to the previous year's $127.1 billion; the net profit was $9.9 billion, a 241% increase from the previous year's $2.9 billion, including a $1.2 billion estimated valuation gain from investing in the electric vehicle startup Rivian.

3 Amazon to Launch "Consult-a-Friend" Feature Allowing Viewing of Friends' Product Feedback

Amazon recently announced the launch of a new social media feature – "Consult-a-Friend" – allowing shoppers to request, view, and manage product feedback from their friends within its application. When using this feature, users need to first select a product they want to consult a friend about, then click "share" with a friend. The recipient will receive a message instructing them to click the "Consult-a-Friend" link and to enter the Amazon application to view product details, select emojis, respond, or add comments.

4 Amazon US Site Announces Holiday Season Return Deadlines

According to a recent announcement by the Amazon US site, return deadlines for holiday season purchases made between November 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, have been issued. Seller responses to this year's return deadline policy have been mixed.

The announcement states that the return deadline for items purchased during the aforementioned period is January 31, 2024, while the return deadline for Apple brand products is January 15, 2024. The policy emphasizes that this will apply to all seller-fulfilled, FBA, and Amazon Retail orders. While most orders' return deadlines have been extended, the return eligibility for all orders remains unchanged.

5 Amazon Brazil Site Launches "Almost New" Page to Promote Second-hand E-commerce

According to reports from foreign media, the Amazon Brazil site has announced the launch of the "Amazon Almost New" page, which sells second-hand, refurbished, or repackaged goods to consumers. The "Almost New" page covers 14 categories of goods and provides discounts on each item. Prior to the sale, Amazon experts conduct quality inspections and comprehensive assessments of the second-hand items to determine their condition.

6 Amazon Introduces AI Image Creation Feature

Amazon recently announced the beta test of an image creation feature. According to Amazon, within the Amazon Advertising Console, advertisers need only select products and click "create" to use this tool, which can provide a set of lifestyle and brand-themed images within seconds using artificial intelligence based on the product details.

【TikTok】

1 TikTok Launches Genuine Product Authentication Service

TikTok is currently seeking cooperation with the luxury goods authentication agency Entrupy to provide genuine product authentication services for second-hand luxury handbags sold through its TikTok Shop platform, allowing buyers to purchase with peace of mind and confidence.

From TikTok's move, it shows a keen interest in the second-hand luxury e-commerce sector. According to previous reports, TikTok has long been recruiting in the U.S., aiming to establish a professional e-commerce team dedicated to selling second-hand luxury goods, such as handbags and sneakers. Additionally, TikTok plans to introduce more internet celebrities to promote its second-hand luxury goods. (Cross-border focus)

2 TikTok Shop's Launch of an E-commerce Platform in Indonesia May Lead Sellers to Return

According to foreign media, the Indonesian Digital Empowerment Community (Idiec) believes that if TikTok Shop launches an e-commerce platform, sellers currently transitioning to other platforms (such as Shopee and Tokopedia) will return.

Idiec Chairman M. Tesar Sandikapura stated that the experience of selling on TikTok is irreplaceable by other platforms. Additionally, TikTok aims to create a professional e-commerce team dedicated to selling second-hand luxury goods, such as handbags and sneakers. In addition, TikTok also plans to introduce more internet celebrities to promote its second-hand luxury goods. (Cross-border Southeast Asia)

3 TikTok Introduces New Advertising Services for Peak Season Sales

According to an email sent by TikTok to advertisers recently, in order to drive growth in peak season sales, TikTok USA plans to launch an "Audience Recommendations" advertising service on Black Friday for advertisers, representing an effective strategy for TikTok to seek growth in advertising revenue. These audiences are carefully selected by TikTok based on multiple criteria, including whether they have already shown interest in the brand, industry, or similar products, as well as metrics such as playbacks and interactions.

4 TikTok Shop's Third-quarter E-commerce Market Share Rises in Vietnam

Metric has released the Q3 2023 e-commerce report for Vietnam. The data shows that the total GMV of e-commerce platforms in Vietnam reached 630 trillion Vietnamese dong in the third quarter, with a year-on-year growth of 54.4% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 22.66%. In addition, in this quarter, 443,000 merchants in the Vietnamese e-commerce market delivered a total of 602 million items. The report indicates that in the first 9 months of this year, the cumulative sales revenue of e-commerce platforms in Vietnam reached 1.63 quadrillion Vietnamese dong, with a total of 1.576 billion items delivered, which is 7% higher than the full-year performance in 2022. Among them, TikTokShop contributed 250 trillion Vietnamese dong in sales. Moreover, TikTok Shop is the only platform in Vietnam to have significantly increased its market share.

5 36% of American consumers will use TikTok as a shopping tool during this holiday season

A new survey shows that an increasing number of American consumers are using TikTok as a mainstream holiday shopping tool. The latest survey by ESW of 890 American adults shows that 36% of respondents plan to use TikTok during this holiday season, making TikTok the most popular holiday shopping tool. Another noteworthy trend is that older respondents are more likely to order gifts from TikTok Shop: 16% of respondents aged 40-60 plan to order gifts from TikTok, while only 8% of respondents aged 18-29 plan to do so.

【Shopee】

1 Shopee Philippines launches new service platform

Recently, Shopee Philippines announced the launch of a new feature, the seller service platform, which allows sellers to handle all operational issues in one place.

It is understood that the new seller service platform is divided into two major sections. One is "Self-service Tools", where sellers can find and use common self-service forms.

【Shopify】

1 Shopify now supports order delivery item-level adjustments

Shopify announced that merchants can now adjust specific item attributes, such as shipping locations, delivery positions, and inventory status, on a partial basis without affecting other items in the order, allowing for more flexible control of the order management process. Additionally, whether merchants need to ship some order items and retain others for restocking, or need to change the delivery location of specific items, they can customize the delivery process to meet business needs. If merchants need to change the delivery location (such as inventory availability, related shipping costs, or need for expedited delivery, etc.), they can change the location of any unshipped order items to ship from a new location.

【Alibaba】

1 Alibaba International Station officially launches Southeast Asia Pavilion

The Alibaba International Station will officially launch the Southeast Asia Pavilion on October 31st. At the same time, Alibaba International Station has specially provided more than 20 platform logistics routes for the Southeast Asian market, with the fastest achieving 2-day delivery of B2B cross-border logistics.

2 Cainiao and AliExpress release six major cross-border logistics assurances

At the Cainiao International Express Elite Merchant Exchange, Cainiao and AliExpress jointly released six major cross-border logistics assurances, including JIT instant delivery guarantee, increased frequency of air routes, comprehensive coverage of smart manifests, global "5-day delivery," "X-day delivery, late compensation," and fully managed logistics disputes, to enhance efficiency and service levels for cross-border logistics during the Double 11 event.

As the world’s largest cross-border e-commerce logistics company, Cainiao’s global intelligent logistics network covers more than 200 countries and regions. In the 2023 fiscal year, Cainiao handled a total of over 1.5 billion cross-border parcels, serving more than 133 million cross-border consumers, over 100,000 merchants and brands. (Cainiao)

3 Lazada Thailand partners with UnionPay to accelerate global online transactions

UnionPay International announced its collaboration with Lazada, aiming to provide more payment choices to shoppers, especially consumers in Thailand and neighboring Southeast Asian countries, and ultimately drive the increase in local and international transactions on the online shopping platform Lazada. Werapong Goo, CEO of Lazada Thailand, stated that this partnership strengthens Lazada's payment ecosystem in Thailand and will better serve a wider group of e-commerce shoppers in the region.

4 Alibaba increases investment in the Southeast Asian market and signs a trade agreement with Cambodia

During the "Belt and Road" forum in Beijing, Alibaba and the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce signed an agreement known as the eWTP (Electronic World Trade Platform). This agreement aims to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in e-commerce, cloud computing, digital talent, and tourism. eWTP, initiated by Jack Ma in 2016, is a private sector-led, multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to promote public-private cooperation and dialogue that supports inclusive global trade. The signing of the eWTP agreement with Cambodia marks Alibaba's further investment in the Southeast Asian market in international business.

5 Lazada launches AI service ChatLSS

Lazada has launched an AI service called ChatLSS. ChatLSS not only provides instant assistance and personalized responses, but also has a feature for one-click recommendations, helping users to resolve platform usage problems more promptly. It is understood that ChatLSS will review the user's past activities and provide assistance based on specific issues. For urgent issues, ChatLSS can provide help within seconds.

6 Alibaba International Station launches AI Business Assistant

Alibaba International Station announced the launch of the AI Business Assistant, Al-native tool. According to the announcement, the Al-native tool is the first foreign trade tool created by Alibaba using a professional vertical corpus training with new AI technology after 24 years of digital foreign trade practice and global business analysis.

【Temu】

1 Under Pinduoduo, Temu's quarterly GMV increases to $5 billion or exceeds annual targets

It is reported that the sales of Temu in the third quarter of this year have exceeded $5 billion. On the occasion of the first anniversary of its launch in September, the daily GMV reached $80 million. In the first half of this year, Temu's GMV was close to $3 billion, which means that in just the month of September, Temu's sales were roughly on par with the first half of the year.

Following the promotion of "Black Friday" and Christmas, Temu may exceed its annual GMV target of 15 billion US dollars. According to CICC's prediction, this figure could reach 18 billion US dollars, equivalent to 60% of SHEIN's GMV in 2022. (36Kr Future Consumption)

2 Temu and AliExpress Make Their Way into the Top Three Downloaded Apps in South Korea

Domestic B2C e-commerce platforms such as Temu and AliExpress are continuing to dominate the e-commerce market in South Korea. In the latest release of the top three downloaded apps in South Korea, Temu and AliExpress secured two spots. According to data from data.ai, from September 25th to October 9th, Temu ranked first in app downloads in Korea with 399,000 downloads, while AliExpress ranked third with 257,000 downloads. (kedglobal)

【SHEIN】

1 SHEIN Plans to Sell Products Manufactured in Brazil to Various Parts of Latin America

Fabiana Magalhaes, SHEIN's Production Director in Brazil, recently stated that the company plans to start shipping its products produced in Brazil to other markets in Latin America beginning in 2026. It is understood that SHEIN began producing clothing in Brazil earlier this year, making it their first manufacturing center outside of China. In addition to Brazil, the company started production in Turkey this year and plans to establish factories in Mexico.

2 SHEIN’s First "Shop-in-Shop" with Forever 21 Settles In

In August of this year, SHEIN announced an investment in the parent company of Forever 21 and initiated online and offline collaborations with Forever 21. Just recently, SHEIN officially opened a pop-up store in the offline Forever 21 store located in the Ontario Mills shopping center in the United States. The event will last for four days. It is reported that within the 50,000 square foot Forever 21 store, the shop occupies 8,000 square feet.

3 Shein to Launch a Joint Brand with Forever 21’s Parent Company

According to the fashion business news, the US brand management company Authentic Brands Group (hereinafter referred to as ABG Group) has signed a long-term agreement with Shein under which Shein will be responsible for designing and producing Forever 21 clothing and accessories. These joint brand products under the name Forever 21 x Shein will be exclusively available for sale on Shein's websites in the United States, Europe, and parts of Australia.

【Other Platforms】

1 Former Lazada CEO Li Chun Joins Early Cross-Border Company Dunhuang.com

The former CEO of Lazada, Li Chun, has joined the long-established cross-border e-commerce enterprise Dunhuang.com as Group CEO. From 2020 to 2022, Li Chun served as CEO of Lazada, later succeeded by Dong Zheng. Li Chun joined Dunhuang.com as a full-fledged member after working as an advisor for the company for over half a year following his departure from Lazada. (LeiPhone News)

2 Russian E-commerce Giant Ozon to Delist from US Stocks

Ozon, dubbed the "Russian version of Amazon," has announced its voluntary delisting from Nasdaq and stated that the delisting will not affect the company's business operations. On February 28th of last year, Nasdaq took measures to suspend Ozon’s trading.

3 Wish Releases a Powerful Buyer Report: US Users Contribute the Most GMV

Wish has released a strong buyer (Power Buyer) reports. Compared to other users, Power Buyers are more enthusiastic about online shopping, making frequent purchases and spending more money. They remain actively engaged on the platform and are considered loyal users by the platform and are the core users that all merchants need to focus on.

Wish defines a Power Buyer as a platform buyer who has made a purchase within the last 14 days and has placed ≥3 orders in the last 90 days, with expenditures of ≥30 US dollars over the past 90 days.

4 Etsy Opens Registration for New Countries

According to official information from ETSY, EtsyPayments has opened up to sellers in Thailand and Ukraine for the first time, meaning that individuals in these countries who can use EtsyPayments for receiving payments can now sell goods on Etsy. In addition, Etsy states that more countries will be able to register with them in the future.

5 Indonesian Platform Bukalapak Collaborates with Indonesian Banks to Launch Pre-Release and Post-Purchase Services

Online platform Bukalapak has collaborated with the Indonesian bank AlloBank to launch the latest digital banking product and service, AlloPayLater. This is a digital credit product that meets customer needs. To celebrate the joint efforts between AlloBank and Bukalapak, AlloBank is offering a promotion for AlloPayLater transactions on Bukalapak. During this period, the first AlloPayLater transaction on Bukalapak can receive a maximum cashback of 75%, up to 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah (approximately 6.3 US dollars) from October 18th to 31st, 2023.

6 Linio Becomes the Best-Reputed E-commerce Company in Mexico

The Latin American giant Linio has been rated as the best-reputed e-commerce company in Mexico in the latest results of Merco (Business Reputation monitor). It is worth noting that Linio has received this honor for the second consecutive year. The evaluation results stem from 24,121 surveys conducted among 1,242 managers of major companies, 94 business professors, 72 economic journalists, 84 financial analysts, 80 consumer association representatives, 70 labor representatives, 82 representatives of non-governmental organizations, 80 government members, and 86 non-governmental organization representatives.

# Business Circle #

1 B2B Logistics Platform Inteluck Completes $34 Million in Financing

东南亚技术驱动型物流平台Inteluck announced the completion of a $34 million Series C financing. The round was led by Navegar, a private equity firm focused on the Philippines market, with continued investment from East Ventures, a leading venture capital firm in Southeast Asia, and Qianci Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. Inteluck, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Singapore, is a B2B logistics platform serving enterprises in Southeast Asia and China, with business operations covering the markets of the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and ongoing expansion.

2 ST YKS suffered a net loss of 142 million yuan in the first three quarters, with a year-on-year decrease in revenue of 44.87%

On October 26th, ST YKS released its third quarter report for 2023, with operating income of 345 million yuan for the first three quarters, a year-on-year decrease of 44.87%. The net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 142 million yuan. The net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company excluding non-recurring gains and losses was 143 million yuan. Basic loss per share was 0.3375 yuan.

# Overseas Marketing #

1 YouTube adds two new shopping features

According to reports, YouTube announced the launch of several new shopping features. First, it will add timestamp functionality to its long-form video content, automatically showing product links in sections of video content relevant to the products. For example, when a creator showcases their favorite gadgets or beauty products in a video, links to purchase these products will automatically pop up.

2 Zuckerberg: AI will be Meta's biggest investment area next year, human resources will be concentrated on AI

During Meta's third quarter fiscal year 2023 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized his belief that the related technology of generative AI will make people's use of various applications more meaningful. In the future, Meta may even use AI to generate content directly for users based on their interests. Regarding the company's future development, Zuckerberg stated that in 2024, AI will be Meta's largest investment area in terms of engineering and computing resources. Additionally, Zuckerberg added that in order to avoid deploying a large number of new employees, the company will deprioritize some non-AI projects and shift relevant personnel to AI work. (Pengpai News)

3 Ad views grew by 31% compared to the same period last year, Meta's profits and revenues both surpassed expectations

Meta's third quarter financial report shows that both its profits and revenues exceeded expectations, thanks to the recovery of its digital advertising business and proactive cost control measures. Data shows that ad views in the third quarter grew by 31% compared to the same period last year. While the average price of each ad decreased by 6%, the rate of decline was the slowest in seven quarters. Jeremy Goldman, chief analyst at Insider Intelligence, said that global digital advertising spending is expected to reach $667.6 billion next year. Coupled with Meta's effective execution and cost control, this has enabled the company to stand its ground.

4 Most of the world's largest advertisers have stopped buying ads on the X platform

The latest data from marketing consultancy Ebiquity showed that after the world's richest person Elon Musk acquired the social media platform Twitter and renamed it "X", the vast majority of top-spending advertising clients globally have stopped placing ads on the platform. According to data from media research firm COMvergence, Ebiquity has relationships with 70 out of the top 100 highest spending advertising clients. Ebiquity stated that last month, only two clients purchased ads on the X platform. Compared to that, in September last year, 31 clients were advertising on the Twitter platform.

# Cross-border Logistics #

1 Express Mail Service listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Global logistics service operator Express Mail Service Global Co., Ltd. was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at an offer price of HK$12 per share, with net proceeds from the global offering amounting to HK$3.528 billion (the exercise of the over-allotment option is pending). It is understood that Express Mail Service plans to use the funds raised in this listing to expand its logistics network, upgrade its infrastructure, strengthen its sorting and storage capabilities and capacity in Southeast Asia and other existing markets, open up new markets, expand its service scope, and for research and technological innovation.

2 UPS and FedEx to impose peak season surcharges

UPS has announced an increase in surcharges for shippers with high volumes during the peak season. From October 29, 2023 to January 13, 2024, surcharges ranging from $1.35 to $7.50 will be levied on each package, depending on the extent of the increase in customer parcel volumes. From October 1, 2023 to January 13, 2024, fees for large, extra-large, and difficult-to-handle packages will also be raised.

FedEx will charge customers with high shipping volume during the peak season from October 30, 2023 to January 14, 2024. Each ground parcel will be charged $1.35 to $6.35, and each express parcel will be charged $2.40 to $7.40. During the same period, the company will also impose surcharges on its ground economy services. In addition, surcharges will be levied on large, extra-large, or difficult-to-handle packages at levels similar to UPS.(China Post Express News)

3 Global container shipping industry expected to lose $15 billion next year

According to the latest container forecast report released by Drewry, the global container shipping industry is expected to remain bleak, with the entire industry expected to lose $15 billion next year. Drewry's senior manager Simon Heaney expressed a "pessimistic" view on the prospects of the liner industry, expecting global freight rates to decline by 60% this year (including spot freight and contract freight), and then by 33% in 2024.

# Industry Policies and Data #

1 Vietnam's e-commerce growth in 2023 expected to reach 20%

Recently, at a cross-border e-commerce conference hosted by Amazon in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Anh, Deputy Minister of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Business of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (IDEA), stated that Southeast Asia is currently the fastest growing e-commerce region globally. In terms of both market size and growth rate, Vietnam has become one of the top three leading e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia, with an expected growth rate of 20% in 2023 and a revenue scale of approximately $10 billion.

2 Significantly decreased online retail in Germany in the third quarter of 2023

Germany's latest data from the e-commerce association Bevh shows that due to weak consumer spending, the online retail sales in Germany fell again in the third quarter, with a double-digit decline. In the third quarter, Germany's online goods sales (including value-added tax) fell by 13.9% year-on-year to 17.05 billion euros. This means that the nominal sales in the third quarter were even lower than the level of the same period in 2019. Since the beginning of this year, the German e-commerce market has not yet emerged from the previous downward trend. The online sales in the first 3 quarters were 13.7% lower than the same period in 2022.

3. Per capita Black Friday spending in Brazil will reach 250 reals

According to Shopee's survey, this year on Black Friday, Brazilian consumers will spend an average of 250 reals per person. The survey also shows that during this year's Black Friday promotion period, Brazilians will spend the most on mobile phones and accessories, with other popular categories including household appliances, portable appliances, audio equipment, electronics, and cameras. The number of buyers purchasing home, kitchen, and decorative items is on the rise, with 39% of Shopee users planning to purchase these goods, an increase of 4% compared to last year.

4. Southeast Asia's cross-border e-commerce revenue will grow by 70% by 2027

According to the latest report released by the American market research company IDC, the digital economy in Southeast Asia will grow at a rate of 15.8% in the next five years, surpassing the United States (9.4%), the European Union (8.7%), and followed closely by South Korea (12.7%) and Japan (10.2%). In addition, cross-border e-commerce revenue will also grow by 70% by 2027, reaching 148.1 billion U.S. dollars, surpassing the growth rate of domestic e-commerce revenue in the United States. It points out that there are huge opportunities for Southeast Asian companies that wish to expand their customer base to South Korea and Japan, and vice versa.