#Laogao E-commerce Newsletter# [E-commerce Morning Newsletter on July 1st]

      Morning news : Fengchao disclosed patents related to "Express Box Epidemic Warning Method"; WeChat Video Account Mutual Selection Platform has trading venues for brands and creators; NetEase Yanxuan COO Shi Wenyi resigned; Amazon's annual sustainability report: carbon emissions increased by 19% against the trend in 2020; Apple retail stores launched the "online ordering and offline pickup" service in mainland China...

      Lao Gao provides everyone with the latest and most valuable Internet and e-commerce information every day.

E-commerce newsletter

1. Fengchao discloses patents related to "Express Box Epidemic Warning Method"

      According to news on June 30, Tianyan Check information showed that yesterday, Shenzhen Fengchao Network Technology Co., Ltd. published an invention patent called "A Express Cabinet Epidemic Warning Method, Device, Express Cabinet and Storage Media". The disclosure number is CN113053538A, and the application date is March 10, 2021. The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, by checking whether the package involves epidemic warning information, and retrieving the corresponding epidemic prevention treatment plan according to the risk level and implementing it, it can block the secondary transmission or spread of the epidemic with less cost and cost, reduce the risk of epidemic transmission, and protect the life safety of couriers and consumers. (E-commerce News)

2. News says SoftBank invested about US$12 billion in Didi Chuxing

      On July 1, according to media reports, SoftBank invested a total of about US$12 billion in Didi Chuxing. Based on Didi's closing price of $14.14, SoftBank's holdings are worth $13.7 billion, meaning a 14% increase in value. Didi's prospectus shows that SoftBank Vision Fund previously held a 22.2% stake. Didi was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the evening of June 30, with an issue price of US$14, which is located at the upper limit of the issuance range of US$13-14. Based on the issue price, Didi's market value is about US$67 billion. If the underwriter completely exercises the option of over-allotment, Didi's IPO valuation will reach US$67.7 billion. (E-commerce News)

3. The WeChat Video Account Mutual Selection Platform has a trading place for brands and creators to go online.

      On June 30, WeChat announced the launch of the "Video Account Mutual Selection Platform" and began to invite brand parties and creators to join.

      The Video Account Mutual Selection Platform is a trading platform for brands and creators to select each other in two directions and achieve free content cooperation. On the video account mutual selection platform, brands can cooperate with matching video account creators based on the brand tone, target population and other dimensions; after the video account creators accept the cooperation invitation, they will customize creative content for the brand based on brand needs and fan preferences, and finally publish them in the video account.

      According to reports, creators need to join the platform to meet: 1. Video account effectively pays attention to 10,000 users and more; 2. Successfully complete real-name authentication and video account authentication; 3. Continuously publish original high-quality content. If a brand order is placed, it must meet the requirements of the WeChat advertising contract advertising access category, and the single cooperation budget is 100,000 or above. (Yibang Power)

4. NetEase Yanxuan COO Shi Wenyi resigns

      Shi Wenyi, the chief operating officer (COO) of NetEase Yanxuan, proposed to resign early this month and will officially leave in July. Shi Wenyi is one of the core executives of NetEase Yanxuan. After he resigned, his reporting lines were transferred to Liang Jun. (LatePost later)

Cross-border newsletter

5. Amazon's annual sustainability report: carbon emissions grew by 19% against the trend in 2020

      According to reports on July 1, Amazon's carbon emissions increased by 19% last year despite the sharp decline in global carbon emission levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its annual sustainability report released on Wednesday, Amazon said that the emission of carbon dioxide in 2020 is equivalent to 60.64 million metric tons. Amazon said that while absolute emissions increase, carbon intensity measuring emissions per dollar of sales fell 16% in 2020, in line with its internal company goals. Amazon announced its Climate Commitment in 2019. (E-commerce News)

6. Google launches shopping maps to join hands with Shopify

      June 30th news, at its Google I/O conference recently, Google's business and payments president Bill Ready revealed the details of its launch of Shopping Graph and announced its cooperation with Shopify.

      It is reported that Shopping Graph is a real-time data set that can connect shoppers to billions of product lists from all Internet merchants, and will cover Google services such as Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, etc. The conclusion of this cooperation means that Shopify's independent website sellers will soon be able to achieve full-scale sales and promotion on the Google-based product platform.

      Google said that the newly launched "Shopping Map" service can integrate information, product prices, reviews, promotional videos from various websites, and product data obtained directly from brands and retailers, so as to better provide product intelligence to online consumers.

      For example, when a consumer views a screenshot of a product in Google Photos, Shopping Map will automatically recommend it to use Google Lens to search for photos and go directly to the product's sales page. It is understood that in addition to Google, Shopify also has related cooperation with TikTok, Facebook and Wal-Mart to expand the sales and promotion market for Shopify independent website sellers.

      Recently, Shopify announced that it would reduce the revenue share charged to developers who release apps on its app store. Developers with annual revenues below $1 million will be exempt from commissions, and will also reduce commissions for developers with annual revenues above $1 million from 20% to 15%. The company said the benchmark will be reset every year. (E-commerce News)

7. Online fashion platform Secret Sales receives 10 million euros Series A financing

      June 29th news, recently, the British online fashion platform Secret Sales has received 10 million euros in its Series A financing, planning to become the world's largest discount store for fashion and beauty products. This round of investment was led by Perwyn Growth Capital and was supported by Belerion Capital. The company plans to use the money to improve its data mining capabilities and expand to other countries this year.

      Matt Purt, co-founder of Secret Sales, said the investment will be used to further innovate and deploy proprietary data artificial intelligence to help fashion companies sell discounted goods faster, clean up their current inventory, to earn higher profits and introduce new consumers to them.

      Secret Sales hopes to advance technology and expand its e-commerce platform to become a huge global player in the discount retail space, and also hopes to expand its presence in the UK and launch in new markets.

      Secret Sales CEO Chris Griffin said the Series A financing offers a significant opportunity for Secret Sales’ business model worldwide and will enable them to meet the growing demand of brands and retailers. And after their first year of outstanding performance, they are now ready to accelerate their domestic and international businesses and lead the discount industry into a new era. (E-commerce News)

8. Apple retail stores launch "Online Order Offline Pickup" service in Mainland China

      On June 30, Apple announced today that it will launch Apple retail store pickup service at Apple Store retail stores in mainland China. After customers place orders on Apple's official website, including iMac, iPhone, various accessories and other categories and complete payment, they can go to the nearby Apple Store retail store to pick up the goods as soon as one hour. Apple also said that in some cases, customers can also pre-select a time period to pick up the goods at the Apple Store retail store. (E-commerce News)

Internet news

9. Instagram announces virtual makeup trial shopping feature

      According to foreign media reports, Instagram recently announced the launch of a virtual makeup trial shopping feature. The technology mainly comes from the cooperation between Facebook and L'Oreal's respective AR platforms ModiFace and Spark AR. In order to allow customers to enjoy the same experience as offline physical stores, virtual makeup trial technology is becoming a necessary condition for entering the online beauty market. Currently, Instagram shoppers can experience virtual makeup trials of lipsticks such as NYX Professional Makeup, Urban Decay, Maybelline New York and Lancme. In the future, they can also experience more brands of lipsticks and other categories of beauty products online. (E-commerce News)

10. The "Sleepless Sea" beverage stations have exceeded 100

      According to June 30, Convenience Bee announced that the number of "Sleepless Sea Sober Hi" beverage stations that have developed in less than half a year has exceeded 100. It is reported that "Sleepless Sea Sober Hi" spans the dual tracks of fine coffee and new-style tea with the "Coffee&Tea" model, and has been laid out in the five major cities in North China and East China. Previously, Convenience Bee revealed that in the next plan, "Sleeping Sea Sober Hi" will be expanded to stores across the country as a standard store. (E-commerce News)