Walmart ecommerce grows; Shopify connects creators

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Take a moment to look beyond how Walmart is dealing with the current swings of inflation and inventory, and you’ll find that the nation’s largest retailer is making progress with the buildout of its digital business. In the second quarter, ecommerce revenue was up 12%, while advertising grew 30%. Executives think the growing number of services for customers will be an advantage as elevated inflation is expected to continue.

The resale platform is the latest to make cost-cutting moves as it sees growth slow down. Its CEO cited “deteriorating” consumer health as the cause. Along with reducing team size and closing an operating facility, the planned capacity at a future Dallas fulfillment center will be halved.

A new platform called Shopify Collabs is designed to facilitate partnerships between creators and merchants. It’s the latest in a series of releases that shows how creators occupy a unique role as both entrepreneurs that Shopify can serve, and a community that can support its merchants. Connecting them could start its own self-fulfilling cycle of building.

Amazon is raising fees for third-party sellers by an average of 35 cents per FBA item sold from October-January. It follows a 5% fuel surcharge earlier this year. While the holiday hike is big carrier-like behavior akin to fees implemented by USPS and FedEx, it underscores the importance of third-party sellers to Amazon’s business.

New this morning: The US Commerce Department reported no growth or decline in retail sales for July. Meanwhile, Target said its profits took a hit in the second quarter as it dramatically marked down prices to sell off a glut of inventory. However, the company indicated it is now positioned for a rebound, Bloomberg reported.

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