Walmart's warning, Amazon's seller tools

Author

Stephen Babcock
July 26, 2022

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This week, a ghost kitchen startup raises $100 million, while a startup named Ghost comes out of stealth. Elsewhere, Amazon makes its third-largest acquisition, social commerce companies raise big funding and Shopify makes a tokengated commerce investment. Plus, GSK completes a de-merger to create a new consumer health company. It’s our weekly look at ecommerce-focused activity in venture capital and M&A.

Walmart brought the week’s first economic warning bells with a pre-earnings move to cut its profit outlook for the second quarter and the year. The reason: Inflation is leading to higher consumer spending on food and fuel, and less on general merchandise. As a result, the retailer will have to implement more markdowns on items like clothing to move inventory that was already piling up due to supply chain delays and a mismatch with demand. – CBS News

Amazon’s latest product releases are focused on third-party sellers. A new Account Health Rating offers a single metric that measures compliance with marketplace rules. It will also serve as the “determining factor” for the company's decision to issue a suspension. Meanwhile, a new Seller Wallet to manage transfer of funds to bank accounts is also in early rollout.

The new Good Rewards program will provide customers who submit pictures of receipts through an app with exclusive offers. In turn, the company can raise consumer awareness across all of its brands, and build its first-party data library to inform personalization. – RIS News

When it comes to battery-powered delivery, progress has been accelerating in recent weeks. Among the most recent developments: Amazon’s Rivian vans are starting to take to the streets in a number of U, while the US Postal Service increased the number of next-generation mail trucks that will be electric.

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