Sixty-two percent of consumers plan to shop exclusively online this year, said Redpoint Global Tuesday. Some 56% of survey respondents expect to spend the same as last year, but 27% will cut back, they say, citing high unemployment. Some 50% plan to use buy online, pick up in store capability. Shoppers’ expectations for personalization are increasing, with 49% saying they're more likely to buy from retailers that send personalized content and offers this holiday season. Irrelevant offers are a top consumer frustration. Thirty-nine percent of consumers are overwhelmed by marketing from retailers during the holidays, “so striking the right balance of personalized communication at the cadence the customer prefers is as important as what the marketing materials say,” Redpoint said. Out of stock items are a top friction point for shoppers: retailers should manage customer expectations with transparent communication, it said.

Amazon wants to fill 100,000 new jobs in its operations network, it blogged Monday. It's opening 100 operations buildings this month, including fulfillment centers, delivery stations and sorting facilities. Salaries start at $15 hourly.

Instacart charged Washington, D.C., residents “millions of dollars in deceptive service fees” and failed to pay “hundreds of thousands of dollars in District sales tax,” D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleged in a lawsuit Thursday. For 18 months, the grocery delivery app “failed to clearly disclose to consumers that optional service fees were added on their bills and led them to believe these fees were tips for their delivery workers,” Racine alleged in a D.C. Superior Court filing, noting the fees didn’t increase employee pay. Customer transparency is “incredibly important,” an Instacart spokesperson emailed, saying service fees are clearly marked. Racine’s complaint is without merit, the company said: “We’re disappointed with today's action by D.C. Attorney General Racine’s office and we welcome the opportunity to continue an open dialogue on these matters.”

Amazon’s unannounced hardware sale put consumer tech sites into a frenzy Tuesday as Prime Day watchers wondered what was up. Nearly every Amazon device -- Kindles, Fire tablets, Echo smart devices and the Fire TV Stick -- were discounted. Echo Dot settled into its usual $29 sale price from $49, Fire TV Stick hit $35 at 30% off and the Echo Studio reached its lowest price yet, said CNET, at $169. The Fire HD 10 tablet, took a $50 cut to $139. In a bundle offer, Amazon discounted its smart oven by $60 to $259 and gave shoppers the choice of a free Dot or an Echo Show 5 for $10. Amazon didn’t comment.

There appears a “connection" between the "proliferation" of e-commerce and its third-party sellers and the increase in counterfeit goods from China, three House Commerce Republicans wrote the CEOs of Amazon, eBay and Facebook Tuesday. President Donald Trump “negotiated important provisions to combat counterfeits” in the U.S.-China phase one trade agreement (see 2001160022), but “government action alone is not enough,” said ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. “More must be done by the private sector to address these concerns,” they said. They asked for written responses and “documentation” by Aug. 17 to questions about policies and procedures for vetting third-party sellers, including for links, “direct or indirect, to the Chinese Communist Party or Chinese state-owned entities.” The lawmakers also want to know what procedures are in place “to address the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods on your platform,” and what “proactive actions” they take to prevent the sale of bogus goods. The companies didn’t comment.

A Customs and Border Protection "administrative ruling" clarifies "duty-free exemption status of low-value shipments sent to U.S. fulfillment centers and domestic warehouses,” said the agency Monday. “The ruling is intended to enhance accountability in the e-commerce environment while strengthening CBP’s ability to identify counterfeit goods, consumer safety violations, and other threats.” The “exponential growth” of e-commerce gave “illicit sellers” the “extraordinary opportunity to evade duties and sell unsafe and unregulated products,” said CBP. It won't “sit idly by and allow these bad actors to evade duties, report false values, and harm American businesses and consumers.”

Buying activity in eBay’s core marketplaces grew 29% in Q2, its “highest quarterly growth rate in 15 years,” said CEO Jamie Iannone on an investor call. EBay hired him in April from Walmart, where he was chief operating office for e-commerce (see personals section, April 14). He was an eBay vice president for eight years before leaving in 2009 to become CEO of SamsClub.com. “Consumer behavior is rapidly evolving and this dynamic has been accelerated by COVID-19," said Iannone Tuesday evening. The pandemic is significantly speeding buying activity growth and "new customer acquisition,” he said. But he’s “not satisfied with where we currently stand,” he said. “We've not executed to our full potential. New competitors have taken share because we neglected our core area of expertise.” EBay wrongly focused on new areas that “could not drive sustainable or profitable growth,” he said. “To be candid, we did not adapt quickly enough to the rapidly changing needs of our customers.” The company has “enormous untapped potential that we absolutely must capitalize on,” he said. “This is what brought me back to eBay.” Reshaping the company will be a “multiyear process,” he said. “Tech-led reimagination, our plan is to become the best marketplace in the world for buyers and sellers.”

Stay-at-home restrictions in Q2 should result in “substantial revenue upside” for Amazon, which reports Thursday, Wedbush's Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday. Grocery business will likely be a key driver, said the analyst, maintaining a revenue estimate of $81 billion. The company has switched focus from boosting shipping speeds to “the wellbeing of its employees,” Pachter said. COVID-19-related expenses in Q1 were over $600 million; Q2 estimates are $4 billion or more, he said. Spending on safety measures is “unlikely to slow down any time soon.”

Yahoo Mail users can fill Walmart grocery shopping carts directly from their inboxes, said Verizon Media Monday, calling it an industry first. They can track promotions and coupons from the mail app, it said. The shopping cart never expires. Groceries from Walmart are available on the Yahoo Mail iOS app and desktop, with Android coming later this year, it said.

The National Retail Federation scheduled a free, three-day online event to help retail e-commerce and digital marketing professionals navigate COVID-19. The July 20-22 event will include marketing strategies for reaching Generation Zers, said the association Tuesday. “Consumer expectations have never been higher,” said NRF. “It’s about building personalized omnichannel experiences, cultivating brand loyalty and much more.”