Alibaba is reportedly establishing an online shopping venture with South Korean retailer E-Mart. The two companies are set to combine the assets of their respective online platforms, AliExpress Korea and Gmarket, to form a 50-50 joint venture, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (Dec. 26), citing a regulatory filing. The joint venture will launch next year, with the two platforms operating independently, the report added, citing a statement from E-Mart parent Shinsegae Group. Shinsegae Group said it expects cooperation with Alibaba to help bolster its Gmarket services and customer experience in the competitive eCommerce space

This year, the holiday shopping season belonged to digitally savvy consumers.New data from Mastercard showed that while total retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 rose 3.8%, online shopping was up 6.7%, according to a Thursday (Dec. 26) press release. Those figures, from Mastercard SpendingPulse, are not adjusted for inflation.“The holiday shopping season revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value as can be seen by concentrated eCommerce spending during the biggest promotional periods,” Michelle Meyer, chief economist for the Mastercard Economics Institute, said in the release. “Solid spending during this holiday season underscores the strength we observed from the consumer all year, supported by the healthy labor market and household wealth gains.”Consumers looked for values “at every turn” during the season, responding to sales throughout November and the Black Friday period, the release said

As consumers rely more on online shopping, the importance of optimizing the payment process has never been more evident. With peak shopping periods like the holidays driving even higher consumer demand, retailers are focusing on pre-purchase testing and offering flexible payment options to ensure smooth transactions, according to Quantum Metric VP of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Mike Hanson. Payment Testing: A Critical Component for Success. The rise of payment testing among consumers is reshaping the retail landscape, Hanson noted