The Future Of Online Shopping

CNBC Marathon explores how companies like Amazon, Walmart and their competitors are shifting their marketing and business strategies to compete in today’s economy.

Quietly launching its app in September 2022, it only took Temu a few weeks to top app store charts, edging out Amazon, Walmart and even fast-fashion brand Shein. By February 2023, the 5-month-old company made its TV debut during Super Bowl LVII, airing two commercial spots totaling an estimated $14 million. With an annual advertising budget of about $1.4 billion, Temu is focused on aggregating a user base of nearly 100 million people by year-end.

Walmart employs more people than any other company in the world and is the country’s largest grocer. But when it comes to e-commerce, Amazon is the clear leader, with 39.5% of the market share compared to Walmart’s 7%. Now Walmart has ambitious new plans, and new leadership, to try and catch up.

Livestream shopping took China by storm during the pandemic, growing into an estimated $423 billion market in 2022. The trend has caught on more slowly in the U.S., but now Amazon, TikTok, YouTube and Shopify are making big investments in hopes it takes off. CNBC goes behind the scenes with creators like Myriam Sandler to find out what it’s like to sell via livestream, and what it’ll take for the emerging model to become a mainstream way that U.S. consumers shop.

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