Digital commerce equals one in four discretionary dollars of consumer spending, reported Comscore Tuesday, saying the pandemic pushed stores into a new era. Of the 24.2% growth in digital commerce spending in Q2, 16.8% came from desktop PCs, 7.4% from mobile, it said, with mobile at one in three dollars spent since Q3 2019. As mobile web and app experiences improve, consumers are growing increasingly comfortable buying on mobile devices, though growth is moderating at 16% vs. 5% for desktop. Of the $156 billion in e-commerce spending in Q2, $108.2 billion was via desktops, $47.8 billion by mobile.

Amazon’s disclosure Thursday that Prime Day third-party sales grew 60% year on year could signal a “busy holiday season,” Cowen's John Blackledge wrote investors. Amazon said small- and medium-sized businesses raked in $3.5 billion in sales over the 48-hour Prime Day event, which Blackledge called a “robust start” to the holiday sales season, with an estimated total Prime Day gross merchandise value of $6.6 billion. It’s a “positive note for what is likely to be an unusually long 4Q / holiday shopping season, as consumers order earlier to ensure delivery in time for key holiday dates," said the analyst. Robust growth indicates Amazon overcame any supply chain hurdles “as they manage an unprecedented 4Q with Prime Day so close to the post-Thanksgiving Cyber Monday events.” Consumer appetite appears to be "strong," underscoring Cowen’s belief that the pandemic is driving a “meaningful and sustained increase in consumers’ online purchasing habits.” Amazon highlighted top-selling tech items as Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II headphones, discounted 43% to $199 (see 2010130022), the Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch, Fire TV Edition smart TVs from Toshiba and Insignia, Roomba’s iRobot vacuum and a MyQ smart wireless garage door opener. Among its own products, the $19 Echo Dot was the most popular item purchased globally, it said. "Tens of millions" of customers supported small businesses in the two-week lead-up to Prime Day, generating more than $900 million in sales for small businesses included in Amazon's "Spend $10, Get $10" promotion, said the e-tailer.

Amazon’s seller fees and commissions are “very competitive when compared” with other options, a spokesperson emailed Friday in response to remarks on the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s Big Tech investigation (see 2010090053): “Sellers have many choices regarding how and where to sell their products, including physical stores, online marketplaces, and selling direct through their own storefronts.”

Amazon announced the first of its fleet of custom electric delivery vehicles from its partnership with Rivian (see 2009170047). It’s part of the company’s pledge to be net zero carbon by 2040, including having 10,000 Amazon electric delivery vehicles by 2022, 100,000 by 2030. The vans combine Rivian’s technology with Amazon’s delivery logistics and Alexa integration, said Ross Rachey, director-Amazon Global Fleet and Products, Thursday. The vehicles have sensor detection, highway and traffic assist technology and exterior cameras linked to an interior display for 360-degree coverage. Amazon is working on supporting technology for the vans, including charging infrastructure, Rachey said.

EBay kicked off Vinyl Week Monday with a breadth of “rare and trending titles” curated directly from physical stores participating in Record Store Day, said the company. The event “celebrates records, music culture and the shops that make it all possible,” taking record shopping digital “with an experience that nods to beloved in-store offerings,” it said. Shoppers can tap into staff picks or browse virtual bins for rare collectibles, it said. “At a time when shopping small is more important than ever, eBay is spotlighting the entrepreneurs at the heart of Vinyl Week and encouraging shoppers to browse their distinctive offerings.”

The “big brands” that formed the Coalition for App Fairness purportedly to promote fair competition in digital app stores “do not speak for the thousands of small business app developers we represent,” said ACT|The App Association President Morgan Reed. The coalition represents “a few large app companies with global brand reach,” said Reed in Friday's statement. “Years ago, as start-ups, these companies enjoyed all the advantages of the services provided by the app stores. Now that they are well-known brands or in some cases providers of stores themselves, they openly question [that] environment.” Policy-mandated changes to app stores’ business models “will force our members to change their business models -- something not all can afford to weather.” said Reed. “All app developers must be able to continue to compete.” The coalition didn’t respond to questions.

Amazon hasn't announced dates for Prime Day (see 2009210057), emailed a spokesperson Tuesday in response to our questions about reports it begins Oct. 13. “Stay tuned for more details." Customers can say, "Alexa, keep me posted on Prime Day," to be notified when there's more, she said. Prime Day was delayed from its usual July slot due to COVID-19 fulfillment issues. The sales event stretched to 48 hours in 2019.

Amazon Prime Day, which has come to span well more than 24 hours, is “coming,” said an Amazon placeholder Monday. The company didn’t give dates for the two-day event that’s informally seen this year as launching the 2020 holiday season. The company didn’t hold Prime Day in July in the typical slot as it looked to catch up from pandemic orders that drove overall Q2 e-commerce orders to record levels. On Amazon’s Q2 investor call, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said (see 2007310023) Amazon delayed Prime Day due to fulfillment constraints created by strong COVID-19-related demand that began in March and “remained elevated” throughout Q2. Adobe reported, meanwhile, that overall U.S. e-commerce receipts exceeded $2 billion daily in May and June (see 2009140031), numbers typically achieved only during the holiday season. Three days topped $3 billion. John Copeland, Adobe vice president-marketing and customer insights, predicted last week that the holiday season "will likely get here even earlier this year.” He said 2020 “has been a difficult year, and consumers are looking forward to the comfort of the holiday season.”

U.S. retailers cut orders for merchandise by 9% at the pandemic's height, said PingPong Payments Monday, while consumer spending rose 6% year on year in Q2. Demand outstrips supply, and shortages will get worse when the holiday retail season starts next month, said the payments facilitator. With Amazon Prime Day set for October (see 2009210057), merchants “have been left scrambling for goods” for Q4, said Kenny Tsang, PingPong managing director, saying retailers planned too conservatively at the height of spring lockdown when placing holiday orders. Those who wanted goods faced disrupted supply chains, Tsang noted. The sector should be focused on a global e-ecommerce strategy, he said. Cross-border online sales worldwide increased 21% since January, as consumers seek cheaper prices and a broader selection.

COVID-19 is vastly accelerating the growth of e-commerce, said Brie Carere, FedEx chief marketing and communications officer, on a fiscal Q1 investor call Tuesday evening. Pre-pandemic, FedEx projected the U.S. would surpass 100 million daily packages by 2026, she said. “We now project that the U.S. domestic parcel market will hit this mark by calendar year 2023, pulling volume projections forward by three years.” E-commerce activity “remains elevated,” though it has declined as a share of total retail from its “apex” in April, said Carere. FedEx is “working hard to set expectations with our e-commerce merchants” for the holiday selling season, she said. “I think they are very well aware that this is going to be a peak like no other.” The stock closed 5.8% higher Wednesday at $250.30.