China - Jingdong, profitable for the first time since 2004
Number 2 of the Chinese e-commerce, Jingdong, generated in the third quarter of 2013, and for the first time since its launch in 2004, profits. When publishing its figures for 2013, Jingdong has unveiled a global turnover of 16.39 billion, an increase of over 60% compared to 2012 (9.8 billion) . Online sales were made for 70% of them by the retailer itself, while the remaining 30% comes from professional sellers selling at the market place Jingdong.
Russia: reliability and security encourage users to buy more
Russia is the biggest market for e-commerce in Eastern Europe, however, on average, the Russian e-buyers make a purchase once a year. Not without reason. According to a study conducted by Landor Associates research institute added, their main concerns when shopping online, deal with the reliability (56% of them) and security (51%). However, the speed of delivery does not seem to be a problem for many respondents, even in this country whose geographic scope is so vast that it is often seen as a barrier to buying online.
Source: eMarketer, January 2014
United Kingdom: A petition denouncing working conditions "humiliating" at Amazon
A petition was put online in the UK to ask Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, to pay "living wage" staff working for Amazon UK. The petition received more than 40,000 signatories in two days. Change.org launched the portal, the petition presents a picture of workers in a warehouse of the company rigged the caption, "Amazon UK: all we want for Christmas is a fair wage." In the description of the petition, and it is explained that the 15,000 workers in the e-retailer employees to face the Christmas rush, "will not win enough to provide most of what they need to live ".
Source: The Guardian, December 2013
USA: Zappos wants to end its managers
The U.S. e-merchant Zappos adopt a new mode of business organization of removing managerial positions in society. Zappos and intends to do away with the traditional corporate hierarchy by getting rid of those statutes, at least internally. Announced to employees at a meeting at the end of the year, the initiative is based on an approach called "Holacratie" whose principle is to replace the pyramid chain decision of the company through a series of autonomous circles of employees. According to the leaders of Zappos, this approach is part of an effort to avoid its 1,500 employees operate in a company becoming too rigid and too bureaucratic as it grows.
Source: Washington Post, January 2014
India: a modification of laws on e-commerce exalt Amazon and eBay
While India is about to reconsider the legal restrictions on foreign investment in the Indian e-commerce, two of America's largest corporations in the world - Amazon and eBay - barely wait for the idea conquer what they consider to be their last barrier to overcome. So far, Amazon and eBay could not be present in the Indian market only through their market place, without opportunities to market their own goods. They are not able to enter into direct competition with local industry leaders, such as Flipkart (photo above).
Source: TechCrunch, January 2014
Twitter launches Web Vine
Twitter, the application owner "Vine", announced the launch of the service on the web. To access it, simply to identify via a Vine account, the new site allows users to browse videos, with also the possibility of viewing on a TV screen. For the rest, the website provides the same functionality as the application.
Source: TheNextWeb, January 2014