WEEKLY WISDOM
“The way to get out of a hole is to stop digging.”
The outlook for bricks-and-mortar retail is increasingly buoyant as a growing number of nations relax COVID-related restrictions.
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Apple is betting on an omni-channel strategy that includes expanding its 500-store global physical retail presence. Despite healthy online sales, the company wants consumers to experience the products in-store.
China is seeing an emerging trend in multi-brand stores that offer consumers curated collections of small to medium size brands.
- The popularity of this retail format is being driven by younger consumers’ desire for greater individuality and personal style.
- This is also creating another opportunity for newer brands to enter the market and connect with consumers.
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Amazon and Google are to be investigated by the UK’s Competition and Market Authority over concerns the marketplaces have not done enough to tackle the widespread problem of fake reviews on their websites.
- This is amid pressure to vet online sellers to try and rid online marketplaces of counterfeit products.
- Amazon has said it removed more than 200 million suspected fake reviews globally in 2020 alone.
India’s childrenswear now accounted for 17% of all online apparel sales in fiscal year ‘21, up from 3% in fiscal year ‘20, according to a Unicommerce report.
- New growth drivers include brands, multi-pack offerings and sets.
Amazon is now the biggest fashion retailer in the US with a 11%-12% share of all apparel sold in the U.S. and 34%-35% share of all apparel sold online, according to Wells Fargo.
- The bank estimates that Amazon’s apparel and footwear sales in the U.S. grew by roughly 15% in 2020 to more than $41 billion, which is 20% to 25% above Walmart.
- Amazon is forecast to surpass $45 billion in apparel/footwear sales in 2021.
India is the most recent nation to take action against foreign e-commerce marketplaces that it says go against local laws and consumers’ best interests.
- The government has recently come out with draft rules for e-commerce companies or marketplace models, which are applicable to all entities including Indian, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
- New rules would limit “flash sales”, curtail pushing private label goods and require businesses to have a system to address consumer grievances.
- India’s online retail market forecast to be worth $200 billion by 2026.
MARKETS
US inflation hit a 13-year high, up 3.9% year-on-year in May, stoking fears that the nation’s economy risks overheating as ultra-low interest rates and Pres. Biden’s extravagant spending plans pump up growth.
- The US Federal Reserve Bank has a target inflation rate of 2%, but is prepared to go beyond that for sometime to make up for previous periods of price deflation.
UK inflation will rise above 3% this year but the surge will prove ‘transitory’, according to the Bank of England, playing down concerns about rising prices.
In Australia, Sydney has issued a stay-at-home order amid a rise in COVID cases. However, authorities said that retail will remain open.
