Year-end review: 2022 for U.S. e-commerce

In January 2022, the global epidemic has not subsided, but the retail industry seems eager to return to normal. At that time, the number of confirmed cases of new crown infection in the United States surged, and the number of participants in various activities was halved compared to the past. The big retail event of the month was Kim Kardashian's underwear brand Skims, which doubled its valuation to .2 billion in nine months, heralding the birth of a new keyword in 2022, which is "celebrity effect".

Come February, the whole retail world was buzzing with renewed enthusiasm. Target decided to include Starbucks drinks in the list of online order and offline pickup. Peloton, Home Depot, and Wish have all appointed new CEOs.

And in the weeks that followed, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict saw major global companies cut ties to the Russian economy. Meanwhile, the global supply chain crisis is worsening. Inflation hit 8.5% between March 2021 and March 2022, the highest increase in a 12-month period since 1981.

Come April, pay now, pay later is becoming more popular with consumers and retailers. However, judging from the financial reports disclosed by various e-commerce giants that month, life is not easy. Amazon lost .8 billion, and Bed Bath & Beyond said its net sales fell 22%.

In May, the surge in redundant inventory caused the growth rate of e-commerce to continue to slow down. Wayfair announced a hiring freeze in May, eBay's sales fell, Target's earnings plummeted, Amazon began subleasing warehouse space...and things aren't getting any better.

In June, Bed Bath & Beyond's chief executive stepped down as sales fell further.

In July, Amazon held a Prime Day event, but sales did not exceed expectations. The reason was that soaring inflation prompted consumers to continue to use pay-after-payment settlements, and consumers lost their enthusiasm for shopping amid further accumulation of debt. Separately, Amazon announced a decline in e-commerce sales (although the data disclosed was for the second quarter before Prime Day). Meanwhile, Shopify announced layoffs.

Best Buy’s U.S. online sales fell 14.7% in August, while Macy’s said its online sales fell 5% in the second quarter, with several retailers struggling to clear excess inventory. In contrast, Walmart said its online sales rose 12% in the second quarter, and e-commerce growth in general has slowed. According to Digital Commerce 360’s analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. consumer spending in the second quarter marked the fourth consecutive quarter in which growth in the e-commerce market fell back to single digits after a high growth rate of 45%-50%.

In September, Kanye West and Gap suspended cooperation. In October, Amazon holds a Prime Early Access event.

With the end of October, Digital Commerce 360 ​​issued a document stating that how to attract consumers who are struggling with inflation and economic recession has become a headache for major e-commerce companies at the end of the year.

In November, Amazon said it planned to cut about 10,000 jobs. The layoffs, the largest ever by the e-commerce giant, come amid speculation that Amazon is preparing for slower growth and a possible recession.

In early December, Adobe Analytics released data that online sales reached .27 billion in the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber ​​Monday, an increase of 4%, with Amazon and Wal-Mart becoming big winners. Separately, the Commerce Department said the value of overall retail purchases fell 0.6% in November, the largest drop in 11 months.