Welcome to this week’s edition of CartHustle!

From free shipping dominating consumer priorities to AI transforming payments and eBay’s push into online car sales, we’ve got you covered.

Plus, a look at December’s retail boom and BigCommerce’s Catalyst launch.

Let’s dive in!

ECOMMERCE CRO

📦 Free Shipping Tops Consumer Wishlists

66% of online shoppers prioritize free shipping when choosing where to buy, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence report. This feature outshines other preferences like an easy checkout process (50%) and delivery tracking (46%).

Other key factors consumers value include:

• Fast delivery and convenient returns (46%).

• Easy-to-navigate sites (40%).

• Availability of preferred payment methods (34%).

Discounts also play a significant role, with Adobe reporting that every 1% price drop during the 2024 holiday season boosted demand by 1.029%, adding $2.25 billion to total online sales of $241.4 billion.

Retailers are responding to these trends. For example, Adobe Commerce partnered with ShipStation to enhance global shipping options, automating workflows and streamlining order fulfillment.

Free shipping resonates across generations, with Gen Z, Gen X, and even Baby Boomers ranking it as a top reward in credit card programs, PYMNTS found.

Online marketplaces, like Amazon, dominate in offering features shoppers value. Better prices (18%), free shipping (13%), and wide product selection (12%) make them favorites among consumers.

Takeaway for Retailers: Prioritizing free shipping, discounts, and seamless user experiences can enhance customer loyalty and boost sales.

SPONSORED BY DONKEYCLIP

THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO CREATE YOUR BANNERS FOR SHOPIFY.

You can create and publish banners directly to your Shopify store in seconds, with fully customisable templates to match your brand style with DonkeyClip.

Their banners automatically update based on your product changes, and you can track their performance with real-time statistics. DonkeyClip will handle the hard work while you focus on growing your business.

• Automated Inventory Updates: Banners update automatically, eliminating manual effort (images, prices, etc).

• Free-to-use templates: No design experience or external designers needed.

• Real-time statistics: See your click-through rate increase with our real-time performance insights.

Check out DonkeyClip now for free!

ECOMMERCE DIGITAL PAYMENTS

🤖 Making Transactions Invisible with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming payments, aiming to create frictionless, secure experiences that blend seamlessly into daily life.

According to Gaurav Singal, CTO at Cantaloupe, the future of payments involves biometric solutions like voice or facial recognition replacing physical cards or wallets.

Key Highlights:

• Social Gifting: Through Cantaloupe’s Cheq mobile app, users can send personalized gifts with AI-crafted messages at events.

• Real-Time Fraud Prevention: GenAI detects subtle anomalies, flags risks, and neutralizes high-risk transactions before human intervention.

• Enhanced Platform Reliability: AI automatically detects and resolves technical issues, reducing downtime and accelerating development cycles.

While GenAI still faces challenges, like the need for 100% accuracy, its potential to revolutionize payments is immense. Singal emphasizes that integrating AI into processes like fraud detection and sales optimization is already driving growth and innovation.

As AI evolves, payments may soon become an invisible yet essential part of everyday life.

ECOMMERCE TRENDS

🚗 eBay Accelerates Online Vehicle Sales with Caramel Acquisition

eBay is enhancing its platform for buying and selling vehicles by acquiring Caramel, an online automotive transaction solution provider. The deal, announced on Jan. 11, is set to close in Q1, pending standard conditions.

Caramel’s platform simplifies vehicle sales by managing paperwork, ownership transfers, financing, and transportation. By integrating this technology, eBay aims to offer a secure and seamless vehicle transaction process across all U.S. states.

What This Means for eBay Users:

• Simplified Transactions: Buyers and sellers can navigate complex processes like ownership transfers with ease.

• Enhanced Trust: The partnership minimizes fraud risks, ensuring greater peace of mind for users.

• Expanded Automotive Services: This builds on eBay’s growth in the car parts business, where it has added billions of data points to improve fitment accuracy.

As eBay focuses on used car sales, Amazon is entering the automotive market with plans to partner with dealerships and brands, starting with new Hyundai vehicles through its Amazon Autos platform.

eBay’s move signals a broader trend in streamlining online automotive sales, as industry players aim to revolutionize how consumers buy and sell vehicles.

ECOMMERCE TRENDS

December Retail Sales Reflect eCommerce's Dominance

December’s retail sales showcased consumer resilience and marked the fourth consecutive month of growth, according to the Census Bureau’s Jan. 16 release. Overall retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month, with eCommerce emerging as a key driver in 2024’s digital retail shift.

Despite economic uncertainties, total retail sales grew 3.0% year-over-year, with the holiday season contributing a significant 3.7% annual increase in Q4 sales. Nonstore retailers, a category largely encompassing eCommerce, posted a 6% year-over-year growth, reflecting the ongoing transition to online shopping.

Holiday Spending Trends

• Increased spending: Sporting goods, books, and hobbies (+2.6%); electronics (+0.4%); home furnishings (+2.3%).

• Decreased spending: Building materials (-2%), dining out (-0.3%), health and personal care (-0.2%).

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options have also gained traction, with one-third of consumers exploring these installment payment methods for holiday purchases. This shift underscores the growing appeal of flexible financing.

The data reflects a robust close to 2024, with eCommerce leading retail growth. While consumers remain price-sensitive, the digital retail landscape continues to thrive, driven by convenience, promotions, and flexible payment solutions.

ECOMMERCE TECH

💳 BigCommerce Introduces Catalyst for One-Click Store Launches

BigCommerce has unveiled Catalyst, a next-gen storefront technology that simplifies the eCommerce setup process. With one-click launches and a marketing-friendly visual editor called Makeswift, Catalyst combines cutting-edge technology with ease of use for both B2C and B2B brands.

The platform enables retailers to launch high-performance, customizable stores without the constraints of rigid templates or extensive development costs. Its modular, composable architecture integrates seamlessly with BigCommerce’s APIs, checkout tools, and catalog management.

Key Features of Catalyst

• Fast, flexible launches with integrated tools.

• Built using Next.js and React for speed and scalability.

• Core Web Vital scores of 100 out of the box for optimized performance.

• Plug-and-play integration for seamless cart, checkout, and account management.

UPLIFT Desk, a Texas-based retailer, transitioned to Catalyst to leverage its flexibility and scalability. “Catalyst’s modular design streamlined tasks like cart-to-checkout integration,” said UPLIFT’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Daniel Burrow.

With Catalyst, marketers can focus on creative storefront designs while developers innovate behind the scenes. This enhances agility for real-time updates, ensuring brands can quickly adapt to trends like Black Friday surges or viral campaigns.

Signing off,

The Merchant @CartHustle