Ecommerce News #14: positive news from the world of e-commerce

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Ecommerce & Business News

Welcome to this week's ecommerce & business news from the UK and around the world. We're feeling as optimistic as ever as things start to spring back to life.  Non-essential shops and services are re-opening and we can all finally get our 'lockdown locks' cut (and if that isn't reason enough to celebrate, we don't know what is).  

This week, we've particularly love the story about Matt Reed getting so tired of Zoom calls that he created an AI-powered Zoombot to sit through them for him - yes really!

Enjoy!

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Farfetch has been named as Fenty’s exclusive online retailer, becoming the only e-commerce specialist to stock the label outside the brand’s own website. 
(UK Fashion Network)

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How White Stuff, John Lewis, Poundland and Hotter are responding to the shift online.
(InternetRetailing)

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Investing in packaging ticks the right boxes for ecommerce boom (*subscribe to read).
(FT.com)

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Not Just A Label, the online network of independent designers, is evolving its business-to-business focus with the launch of a new direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform. 
(UK Fashion Network)

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Google launches experimental video shopping platform Shoploop. 
(ChargedRetail)

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UK’s Drover raises $26M to take its car subscription marketplace to Europe. 
(TechCrunch)

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Poundland reveals ecommerce pilot as part of transformation scheme. 
(Retail Gazette)

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AO.com’s full-year profits soared 54% to £19.6m to the year ending March 31, as more shoppers went online during lockdown. 
(Retail Week)

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Ocado investments hit half-year profits as sales jump.
(Retail Week)

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How U.S. and U.K. shoppers are responding to the coronavirus crisis. 
(Digital Commerce 360)

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Philips CEO sees strong recovery in consumer demand in Europe. 
(Reuters)

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Molton Brown announces new partnership with Loop – a ground-breaking global shopping platform that reduces waste and single-use plastic.

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John Lewis has launched a free virtual personal shopping service for customers across the UK in an effort to support them in finding specific products as well as receiving product advice. 
(Retail Gazette)

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Matt Reed got so tired of the number of Zoom calls in his life that he created an AI-powered “Zoombot” to sit through them instead. 
(WERSM.com)

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PC shipments surge as the world gets serious about working from home. 
(TheVerge)

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M&S to Monzo – the top 50 brands bossing customer experience. 
(Retail Week)

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17.2m Brits plan to switch to online shopping permanently. 
(Retail Gazette)

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German online fashion retailer Zalando SE increased its full year earnings guidance on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic prompts more people to shop online. 
(UK Fashion Network)

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Many businesses are using e-commerce for the first time thanks to the pandemic. Q&A with Heidi Gibson, senior director of product management at GoDaddy
(Fortune)

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Top 10 Ecommerce Retailers Will Grow Their Market Share to 60.1% in 2020.
(eMarketer)

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Half of June’s retail sales online for the first time, as ecommerce helps drive the industry’s fastest growth for two years: BRC
(Internet Retailing)

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Ecommerce in Germany: Opportunity Amidst a Pandemic.
(Practical Ecommerce)

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The Pandemic Will Push China’s Time Spent with Smartphones to a Near 20% Annual Increase. 
(eMarketer)

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Vroom’s CMO Is Betting That The Pandemic Will Lift Ecommerce Auto Sales. 
(AdExchanger)

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Fujitsu announces permanent work-from-home plan in Japan.
(BBC)

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How lockdown is accelerating the at-home adoption of Spotify. 
(The Drum)

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The older generation (aged 65+) are likely to be major drivers of eCommerce growth in the short to medium-term, according to a new study by Mintel.
(Essential Retail)

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Walmart & 3 Other Retailers Stand Out on E-commerce Boom.
(Nasdaq)

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Google plans to invest $10 billion in India over next five to seven years as the search giant looks to help accelerate adoption of digital services in the key overseas market.
(TechCrunch)

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Pet Care E-commerce Market Size Worth $54.95 Billion by 2027: Grand View Research, Inc.
(PRNewsWire)

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Coronavirus Consumer Pulse: Online traffic returning to pre-crisis levels.
(Retail Week)

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Nike opens tech-driven Rise concept store in China.
(Retail Week)

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TechWire rewind: COVID-19’s impact on ecommerce; Epic Games lands $250M from Sony; startups across NC raise cash.
(WRAL TechWire)