Expansion and Supply Bottlenecks

Impending Supply Bottlenecks at Christmas

International trade is threatened by supply bottlenecks in the pre-Christmas period due to congested transport routes from Asia with fully booked freighters. Increasing demand from the US, due to which fewer goods reach Europe, further exacerbates the problem. According to experts, the situation is not expected to improve before February 2021.

Amazon expands worldwide without precedent

Amazon has massively expanded its logistics worldwide to be prepared for the onslaught of the holiday season: the vehicle fleet has been greatly expanded, and storage space has been increased by more than 50%. Amazon has also hired more new employees than ever before. With 1.2 million employees worldwide and further growth, the platform could soon become the largest employer in the private sector.

Black Friday during Corona: online on top, offline a flop

In the U.S., the number of customers in brick-and-mortar retail shops on Black Friday fell by 52% compared to the previous year, while online sales increased by 22%. Amazon also confirms this trend: Small and medium-sized companies made 60% more sales on the online marketplace this year from Black Friday to Cyber Monday than in 2019.

Record number of downloads of shopping apps in the US

2.8 million Americans have downloaded Black Friday shopping apps – more than ever before. Amazon ranked second behind Walmart in the most downloaded apps. To remain competitive, Walmart recently eliminated the minimum order value in its Walmart+ program, comparable to Amazon Prime.

France introduces digital tax

France has levied a digital tax on internet companies and sent tax assessments to Amazon, Google, and Facebook, among others. The tax is 3% and refers to the turnover generated in the country. After Trump threatened to impose punitive duties on French goods, the tax was initially suspended in 2019.

Amazon mediates trademark attorneys to small companies

The Intellectual Property Accelerator program launched by Amazon in the US in 2019 is now coming to Europe. With it, small and medium-sized companies that register their brand and sell through the platform will receive free help from trademark attorneys. They are also allowed to use special trademark protection tools provided by Amazon.

IPO of the Russian platform Ozon

The Russian online marketplace Ozone has gone public. The company got off to a very strong start with a market value of over $7 billion. Like other platforms, Ozone profited greatly this year from the change in buying behavior caused by the pandemic and increased its sales by 70% compared to the previous year.

In Germany, Great Britain, and the USA at least 50% of people plan to buy the majority or even all Christmas presents on Amazon this year. Surely this is not only out of convenience, but also because of the increased online shopping due to the pandemic.