Foreign trade information | Amazon Prime Day's first day orders hit a new high; UK unemployment rate rises to 4.0%

NO.1 Amazon Prime Day first-day orders hit record high

According to data from market research firm Numerator, Amazon Prime Day is off to a strong start, with orders breaking new highs on the first day.

Analysis of Amazon’s big fall sales data tracked by Numerator shows that as of 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11, the average order value on Prime Day was .26, an increase of nearly 8% from .22 during the same period in 2022.

The data also shows that on the first day of Prime Day in 2023, more than half (52%) of Prime Day shopping households have placed two or more orders, bringing the average household spending to approximately 5.23.

As of 4 p.m. on the first day of Prime Day 2023, the top-selling items were liquid IV kits, Temptations cat food and the Amazon Fire TV stick. The main categories shoppers buy are clothing and shoes (34%), household essentials (29%) and home furnishings (26%).

NO.2 UK unemployment rate rises to 4.0%

According to data released by the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate in the UK from March to May was 4%, a record high. A series of factors, such as an increase in the number of early retirees, long-term illnesses and reduced immigration, are consuming the British labor force, and the labor market is still facing severe challenges.

At the same time, the UK's inflation rate remains high. According to data released in June, the UK's inflation rate in May was unchanged from April, at 8.7%, higher than market expectations of 8.4%, exceeding expectations for the fourth consecutive month. The annual rate of average wages recorded 7.3%, exceeding market expectations of 7.1%, and wages continued to rise.

NO.3 South Korea's economic size in 2022 falls out of the world's top 10

According to data recently disclosed by the Bank of Korea (the central bank), calculated at market exchange rates, South Korea’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) last year was US.6733 trillion, ranking 13th in the world, falling out of the top 10 for the first time in three years. Yonhap News Agency analyzed that the main reason is that the overall recovery is sluggish, and the strengthening of the US dollar last year led to a decrease in nominal GDP converted into US dollars. In addition, a person from the Bank of Korea said that due to the strengthening of the US dollar last year, most of the exchange rate indicators were not ideal.

NO.4 eBay upgrades seller protection with two new security measures

In order to maintain the security of eBay's online retail platform, eBay has introduced two security measures to sellers, reporting inappropriate information and/or directly blacklisting users who have conversations with sellers, to protect the rights and interests of sellers.

After receiving a report, eBay will internally review each message submitted by the seller. After review, if eBay determines that the user has violated the eBay policy, it will punish the user, including sending a warning to the user, adding the user to the blacklist to prevent it from sending more messages, freezing the user's eBay account, etc.

NO.5 62% of Spanish consumers choose AliExpress for online shopping

Recently, the authoritative research organization IAB Spain (Spanish Advertising Association) released the annual "Spanish E-Commerce Report".

The report shows that e-commerce is developing rapidly in Spain. 62% of Spanish consumers will give priority to the three major e-commerce platforms AliExpress, Amazon, and eBay when shopping, and 81% of Spanish consumers will eventually purchase on these platforms. The reasons why AliExpress attracts them to buy are the richness of products on the platform, competitive prices, timeliness of logistics, and convenient after-sales service.

It is reported that in March this year, as the cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress announced the launch of a new service channel Choice in Spain, the number of users of AliExpress in Spain has grown rapidly. According to Data.AI data, by the end of June 2023, AliExpress ranked No. 1 in the number of users in Spain. Two, it has approached Amazon.