Keep up to date with Digital Business Trends and what is happening in TheNTWK Community with our Newsletter. Learn from others and share your experiences at TheNTWK, the hub of knowledge for digital business models.
The Marketplace Suite Spot Report Release
McFadyen Digital published the 2023 Q4 Marketplace Suite Spot Report which evaluates the top marketplace development technologies businesses can use to create, launch, and grow an e-commerce marketplace. Some of these marketplace enablement technologies require integration with a standalone e-commerce platform to operate, some include customer-facing catalog/cart/checkout functionality along with marketplace-specific functionality.
The report contains vendor information, platform capabilities, ideal market fit, and more including several comparison visuals to gain a clearer understanding of the leading options in this space.
Social Implications of the Metaverse
Luca Lupatelli shared a great report from the World Economic Forum that was published in July 2023 regarding the social implications of the Metaverse!
"The metaverse, which is a term for the next iteration of the internet, continues to garner research, development and investment interest around the world. Recent findings from Accenture indicate that the projected value of the metaverse is expected to reach $1 trillion in the next three years, suggesting that the metaverse is already experiencing wide adoption. Furthermore, recent developments in generative AI will accelerate metaverse creation and growth, with the metaverse, in turn, providing a way for AI to reach consumers. While AI and metaverse announcements may compete for media attention, they are, in fact, partners in this digital evolution."
Amazon and Hyundai launch a broad, strategic partnership—including vehicle sales on Amazon.com in 2024
"Automotive sales are shifting to online platforms, with Amazon preparing for a 2024 partnership with Hyundai. This will transform the customer experience of car buying in many ways, shifting car dealerships more towards post-sale aftercare," shared Anna Noakes Schulze in the community.
Here are three key pieces to know about this announcement:
1. In 2024, auto dealers for the first time will be able to sell vehicles in Amazon’s U.S. store, and Hyundai will be the first brand available for customers to purchase.
2. Hyundai has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider to accelerate its digital transformation using broad and industry-leading AWS capabilities—from compute, storage, database, and analytics to artificial intelligence (generative AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).
3. Next-generation Hyundai vehicles will be even more responsive and interactive with Alexa Built-in.
Second-hand shopping a $1-billion-plus business for Amazon in Europe
Check out this interesting article posted by Peter Evans on LinkedIn: "Traditionally, Amazon has leveraged its platforms and logistics investments to supercharge the linear economy. However, signs of change are afoot. John Boumphrey, Amazon's UK Country Manager has indicated that last year Amazon sold more than 4 million used or refurbished products in the UK alone. Across the UK and Europe Amazon has generated $1.3 billion sales for refurbished and pre-owned goods. McFadyen Digital estimates that 60 percent of the growth in the Circular Economy will come from the growth of circular platforms between now and 2030. This means that they will power over $860 billion in transactions by the end of the decade. The bottom line: The world is moving to more Circular Platforms. Is your digital marketplace ready?"
How to Choose the Right Ecosystem Partners for Your Business
"As digital technologies revolutionize how we do business, companies increasingly compete through ecosystems in which they partner with a variety of other firms and organizations. The relationships with these partners are determined by the data and operating resources they provide.
This article offers a four-part framework to help companies identify the types of partners they need and outlines the challenges that the digital world adds to the relationships involved."
Why the Circular Economy is a Business Imperative
The World Economic Forum weighs in on the disruptive power of circularity:
"Born-circular companies aren’t just adapting to new rules; they are the architects of this burgeoning economic model. Just like the digital disruptors who came before them, these businesses are in the driver’s seat, dictating the pace and nature of the transition to a circular economy.
They’re born with an innate advantage, as their business models, from the ground up, are designed to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency."
Why AI Will Save the World
It's not all gloom and doom in the world of AI. This article by Marc Andreessen argues that the potential benefits of AI are too great to ignore and too important to fall behind in the race to develop new applications and use cases:
"What AI offers us is the opportunity to profoundly augment human intelligence to make all of these outcomes of intelligence – and many others, from the creation of new medicines to ways to solve climate change to technologies to reach the stars – much, much better from here."
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