Welcome to our latest eCommerce and logistics news roundup!
Today, we’re taking a look at Amazon’s airport ambitions, Magento’s recently announced Google and Amazon integrations and UPS’ efforts to further expand cross-border commerce for U.S.-based merchants!
Amazon Begins Construction of Its $1.5 Billion Airport Near Cincinnati
Amazon recently kicked off construction of its new airport outside of Cincinnati, Ohio on May 14. The groundbreaking of the sprawling $1.5 billion airport development is expected to ultimately create approximately 2,000 jobs and comes in the wake of the eCommerce giant’s leasing of about 900 acres from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in 2017.
Easyship’s Take: Amazon’s ambitious airport project represents a watershed moment in its attempts to lessen its dependency on couriers like UPS, Fedex and DHL and gain greater control of its own shipping and logistics operations. In doing so, the company hopes to cut costs and increase its operational efficiency, which will all be critically important given its upcoming shift to free Amazon Prime one-day shipping and the growing popularity of Amazon Prime Day.
For online merchants, the airport project is likely yet another reason to invest in Amazon long-term, as shipping, especially to North American destinations, will probably become faster and more efficient once the airport is fully operational.
New Google, Amazon Integrations with Magento Announced
At the Magento Imagine 2019 event in Las Vegas, new integrations with Amazon and Google for the popular eCommerce platform were announced in an effort to improve its services for SMBs.
Merchants are now able to manage their Amazon inventory from Magento’s backend and can specifically manage multiple brands, set pricing rules and access critical data using a free extension available on the Magento Marketplace.
Native integration with Google Shopping has also been made available with another free extension, allowing merchants to manage both their Google Merchant Center account and any Google ads from the Magento dashboard.
Easyship’s Take: The new Amazon and Google integrations for Magento, which was acquired by Adobe in 2018, will likely be major assets for online merchants using the eCommerce platform.
Merchants can now more easily manage their Amazon stock and gain more insights into sales data for their products listed on the online marketplace, making managing their operations there more efficient and centralized. Likewise, the platform’s upgraded Google integration will now allow for running entire Google advertising campaigns from their Magento dashboard, making marketing efforts more seamless and simplified.
Overall, Magento merchants using either Amazon or Google Shopping should definitely take advantage of the new features to make their sales and marketing operations much more efficient.
UPS Expands Global Export Footprint
UPS is adding Saturday pickup services from the U.S. to 122 new international markets, offering parcel delivery to them as soon as Monday. The move triples the number of destination countries that U.S. customers can ship to on Saturdays, bringing the total number of destinations to 179. 20 of these new markets are in Europe, while 72 are in Africa and the Middle East, 28 are in the Americas and two are in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to UPS International President Nando Cesarone, the move is designed to help small businesses tap into the booming cross-border market.
“We are expanding our Saturday export pickup service to now reach 179 markets and we think it will help inspire smaller customers looking to chase opportunities across borders.
“Small and medium businesses account for 98 percent of all exporting companies in the U.S. But only one percent of all businesses in the U.S. are exporting. Just imagining the many opportunities out there for companies isn’t enough if you want to grow. That’s why we’re tripling the number of high-growth international markets that growth-minded companies can export to on a Saturday.
“An extra pickup day for businesses – especially the smaller ones – seeking to expand their customer base is another way to show that selling across borders can be as straightforward as shipping at home,” he said in a press release.
Easyship’s Take: UPS’ expansion into new growth markets abroad is great news for growth-minded eCommerce companies looking to go cross-border.
By offering Saturday export pickup services to 122 new countries around the world, the courier has just made exporting from the U.S. to international markets much easier. eCommerce startups and established online businesses alike should definitely explore this option if they’re looking to expand into cross-border markets.
Easyship’s UPS partnership, including our pre-negotiated shipping rates, tax and duty automation and global shipment tracking, will help make shipping cross-border with UPS an even better option for eCommerce companies. Sign up for a free account today to start shipping with UPS throughout the world!