Opinion: Factors that will likely shape ecommerce in the second half of 2020

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As we enter the second half of 2020, Dan Barker examines the key trends that are set to shape ecommerce, and how retailers can respond to them. The first half of 2020 has been eventful for ecommerce. Of course technical innovation has progressed: Shopify launched a marketplace, Google relaunched organic product listings, Facebook introduced ‘shops’, and thousands of other changes. But much of the first half of 2020 was shaped by a disease named after 2019. The effects of ‘SARS2’ on ecommerce are tough to overstate. Tens of thousands of…

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COVID-19 is Transforming E-Commerce Globally

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Just over 306 million Americans are affected by stay-at-home orders, nearly 95% of the U.S. population. COVID-19 will forever change retailing, and its initial impact on e-Commerce is creating challenges to online selling & service no one imagined in January. The following graphic from COVID-19 Commerce Insight, an Emarsys initiative in cooperation with GoodData show how year-over-year revenue growth comparing the last seven days to the same period last year: Mobile devices are the most popular device for online shopping by a wide margin. 72% of consumers are using mobile…

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Nigeria proposes law to tax local online purchases

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Online purchases in Nigeria could soon come with a tax bill in part of plans to raise more revenue to fund a record budget, Nigeria’s government is considering a 5% Value Added Tax (VAT) specifically for online purchases. Babatunde Fowler, head of Nigeria’s federal tax agency, says the government may appoint banks as agents to deduct 5% VAT on all local online purchases with a bank card. The policy could be in place by early next year, Fowler said in an interview with Premium Times, a local online newspaper. This…

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Mobile now accounts for 47% of all online transactions in Middle East and Africa, Criteo

The advertising platform Criteo released its 2018 Q2 Global Commerce Review, having analysed browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers in more than 80 countries. Michele Iozzo, managing director for the Middle East & Africa, Criteo, says, “Mobile continues to command a higher share of the online transactions pie driven by high smartphone penetration across the MEA region. The study has revealed a year-on-year increase of the share of In-App Transactions for retailers who promote their shopping app, proving that it isn’t enough to just launch an app, but…

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Sources Intimate that Rocket Internet is preparing a Jumia IPO

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Reuters sources have intimated that German start-up investor Rocket Internet (RKET.DE) is preparing its African online shopping platform Jumia for a possible New York listing in the first quarter of 2019 which could value the firm at about $1 billion. Citi (C.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Berenberg are coordinating the IPO, the sources said. Shares worth up to $250 million may be sold, one of the sources said, adding that no final decision about the timing or metrics of the deal had yet been taken. The investor and the banks…

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e-Commerce in Africa could hit US$75 billion by 2025

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How to capitalise on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and develop an African e-commerce strategy for possible adoption by the Africa Union (AU) dominated discussion at a recent AU conference in Kenya. Jean Bertrand Azapmo, Regional Trade Advisor at the AU Trade & Industry Department, said, “The roadmap provides for the mapping of stakeholders and the creation of Multi-stakeholder Working Group/Platforms so as to provide an opportunity for African SMEs and startups to share experiences and best practices, share ideas; which is crucial for e-commerce development.” e-commerce can…

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