The 10 ecommerce stories for the week ending 12 October 2012

Walmart testing same day delivery, eBay make big changes and Bezos finally tells the world the truth about the Kindle pricing strategy.

This past week has been a big one for ecommerce and was full of story lines but most importantly, it will be remembered as the week in which Walmart made steps toward same day delivery. Let us all agree on one thing, same day delivery is going to be a huge value add for whoever does it first.

What can I say about eBay? Well for starters they are a brave company. We are weeks away from the festive season and all that it brings with for ecommerce retailers. I am not sure whether eBay will ever be able to loose their marketplace mantra. Perception plays a huge role in ecommerce but eBay it seems are trying… Mobile first development is interesting but changing their interface and search functionality is all important but the timing is of concern for me. Surely, the changes should have been made individually over a period of time.

Jeff Bezos did something this week that raised some eyebrows. He finally came clean over the pricing strategy with regards to Kindles. Why the sudden honest answers to a question from the press? Hmm, I think Amazon is starting with a marketing campaign to ensure that online shoppers believe that they are not the expensive option to buy online.

Facebook is on my radar with regards to ecommerce but it needs a seperate post as I believe Zuckerberg is starting with a commerce push…

Without further ado, here is the 10 stories that got my attention this past week:

1. Social commerce spotlight: Will Facebook Gifts sink or swim? – Social gifting is something that is getting alot of attention at the moment. It is an interesting concept but I must say I have one concern, you are building a business on another platform.

2. Online warehouses to hire thousands of local job seekers during holiday shopping season – “Across the nation, Retailers are expected to hire 585,000 to 625,000 seasonal workers in stores and distribution centers across the country this November and December, about on par with the 607,500 seasonal employees they hired last year, according to the National Retail Federation.”

3. Facebook partners with retailers to test “want” button – Why did this take so long? I think Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg has kept ecommerce as a revenue driver after their IPO…

4. E-commerce in the Middle East: a gold rush shifting slowly from virtual to real – The Middle East is at the moment an interest of mine. Is the adoption to slow? Are their too many barriers to entry? Time will tell..

5. Telefonica To Sell Customer Data To Retailers – When a mobile phone operator mentions that they will be selling customer data to retailers, I get concerned. Surely, this practice is not in the best interest of consumers?

6. Decide.com trumps outdated Consumer Reports, study says – A digital versus existing industry leader battle. If you are outside the US, Consumer Reports have no value to you thus the comparison is a tad grey. Do I think that decide.com is the future of ecommerce? Read the answer here.

7. EBay Expects 82% Russian User Growth – Russian ecommerce is steadily getting more press. Is it because there is potential or that the market is an unknown quantity?

8. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos admits Kindles are sold at cost – I think Bezos has answered this question for a reason. What the reason is – I think Amazon is trying to position themselves as being in the corner of the consumer…

9. Mcommerce in Malaysia is on its way to $1.1 billion in three years – Mobile commerce in developing ecommerce markets is going to be a something to keep an eye on..

10. Rocket Tackles Africa: Jumia, Zando Announce Investment from J.P. Morgan – “Rumors say J.P. Morgan may have been the determining factor behind Rocket’s closure of similar Amazon clone Mizado this August; it may have stipulated to the German startup factory that only one of each property type could exist in a given region. If the Middle East and Africa counted as one region, Mizado would have been redundant (and more expensive) than Africa-based Jumia.”

Bonus links for the past week:

Onwards..