Digital Commerce

Access research reports and presentations on the retail and technology ecosystem, including consumers, companies, economies, and retail and technology trends. Use the filters below to find research reports and presentations by sector, theme, company or other parameters. Alternatively, use the search box above to find relevant research content.

Deep Dive | January 13, 2020 Premium

Can AR and VR Be Game Changers in Furniture Retail?

Augmented and virtual reality technologies are slowly but surely transforming the shopping experience for consumers in both online and offline retail. We review how various store-based and digital-first furniture retailers are investing in these technologies and assess the impact, challenges and potential of these investments.

Flash Report | December 20, 2019

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Double 12 Shopping Festival 2019 Wrap-Up

E-commerce platforms and offline merchants celebrated China’s last major shopping festival of the year, Double 12, on December 12. We provide highlights from this year’s festival, including the promotions and performance of Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall, the popularity of livestreaming, Alipay’s partnership with offline merchants and the strong consumption in lower-tier cities experienced by JD.com.

Event Coverage | December 20, 2019

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Insights from the Second Alibaba ONE Business Conference: Customer Acquisition, Product Innovation and Organization Digitalization

China’s retailers come together to discuss new digitalization strategies at the Second Alibaba ONE Business Conference.

Deep Dive | December 19, 2019 Premium

Alibaba vs. Amazon: Head to Head in E-Commerce and Technology

Alibaba Group and Amazon are innovators in retailing and technology, and both are expanding their presence into international markets. Employing its “New Retail” strategy, could the emerging China giant threaten Amazon’s global dominance? We discuss the competition between these two companies, considering their retail ecosystems, global expansion plans, financial performance and internally developed technologies.

Insight Report | December 18, 2019 Premium

The Landscape of China’s New Digital Economy: Reviewing Recent Trends

The landscape of China’s digital economy has changed dramatically, with some existing players losing share of consumers’ time spent on digital platforms, and a number of new companies gaining share. We assess the current marketplace and review recent trends, with a focus on major players Alibaba and Tencent.

Insight Report | December 17, 2019 Premium

New Retail Briefing: Christian Louboutin Beauty Launches a Flagship Store on Tmall

Dior launches a seasonal Christmas mini program on WeChat; Christian Louboutin Beauty opens its flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall; and Alibaba invests in milk-delivery startup Tianxianpei.

Deep Dive | December 10, 2019 Premium

Tencent’s Smart Retail Strategy

Chinese Internet giant Tencent is focusing on the business-to-business space through its “Smart Retail” concept—the company’s answer to Alibaba’s New Retail. Tencent’s Smart Retail ecosystem has a number of components that facilitate the integration of online and offline commerce, including the leveraging of WeChat mini programs, investment in JD.com and the exploitation of the company’s strength in gaming and digital entertainment.

Insight Report | December 10, 2019 Premium

Insights from China: The Opportunities in China’s $1.3 Trillion Lower-Tier Markets

China’s online retailers target the country’s fast-growing but lower-income, lower-tier cities. For decades, retailers and brands have focused on a handful of China’s “tier-1” cities that are seen as wealthier and more sophisticated. Now, retailers are looking at up-and-coming lower-tier areas for growth.

Deep Dive | December 9, 2019 Premium

How Dollar Stores Are Gearing Up To Sustain Growth

Dollar stores emerged as Wall Street darlings in the early 2000s, got a boost during the financial crisis—and just kept going. We look at how the major players, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar General, plan to maintain the momentum in the coming years.

Insight Report | December 5, 2019 Premium

Insights into Belgrade’s Innovation Ecosystem

We discuss the nature and impact of the emerging technology innovation ecosystem of Belgrade in Serbia, which is evolving as a solid community of innovative companies and as a regional hub for the Balkans and Southeast Europe. The Coresight Research team visited Belgrade to talk with notable accelerators and startups, including one that applies blockchain technology in the food supply chain and another that helps retailers with staff training.

Insight Report | December 4, 2019 Premium

Ulta Beauty: A Timeline of Key Events

Ulta Beauty timeline: How a mass-market beauty retailer upped its game by moving into more high-end products, carrying digital native and DTC products – and bolstering its loyalty program.

Insight Report | November 27, 2019 Premium

Alibaba: A Timeline of Key Events

From 2017 to 2019, Alibaba expanded its cloud business into new territories outside China. We examine key events from the company’s recent history as part of our Retailers’ Timelines series.

Insight Report | November 26, 2019 Premium

Insights from China: Opportunities in China’s $63 Billion Livestreaming E-Commerce Market

Livestreaming is becoming a go-to source for consumers in China to discover products and secure discounts. With the livestreaming e-commerce market estimated to be worth $63 billion (according to Everbright Securities), we discuss the tactics that brands and retailers are emplying to promote and sell their products on live-video platforms.

Event Coverage | November 21, 2019

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Salesforce’s Dreamforce 2019: Top 10 Insights from Day 1

The Coresight Research team attended Salesforce’s Dreamforce 2019 in San Francisco from November 19 to 22. In this report, we highlight ten key insights from the first day of the conference, including major product announcements and the integration of artificial intelligence technology.

Event Coverage | November 20, 2019

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Key Insights from CEW’s Connected Consumer Conference 2019

We discuss the key insights from the Connected Consumer Conference 2019, with an emphasis on the beauty sector. We cover the changing consumption in China and findings from Singles’ Day this year, the emergence of “harmonized retail” and the growing influence of social media in commerce.