#151 - Amazon's Brandless Foundation, new AI tools for advertisers, and more
Hot News
Amazon Laid the Brandless Foundation for Temu
Amazon taught shoppers to look past brand names, laying the foundation for the rapid growth of Temu. It made buying no-name products the norm, and Temu is now selling them for less. Amazon is a brandless retailer. Most shoppers do not include a brand name in their searches (they look for “running shoes” rather than “Nike running shoes”), and most products carry a brand name shoppers have never seen before. But it all works because they trust Amazon and pick products based on product reviews and ratings.
marketplacepulse.com
Google Merchant Center To Integrate Amazon For Shipping Data
Google integrates Amazon MCF with Merchant Center, offering improved shipping data display and potential boost in ad performance. Google announced plans to integrate Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service into its Merchant Center platform. This integration provides retailers using Amazon MCF with new tools for displaying shipping information on Google’s shopping platform.
searchenginejournal.com
Amazon Ads launches new AI tools for advertisers—here’s your first look at the beta
Amazon Ads announced AI creative studio and Audio generator—two new generative AI tools designed to lower creative barriers and expand opportunities for advertisers, and create a more dynamic and engaging experience for customers. “We’re excited to introduce these new AI-powered creative tools, which have the potential to transform how brands connect with Amazon customers,” said Jay Richman, vice president of Creative Experiences for Amazon Ads.
aboutamazon.com
Good to Know
Product reviews are core to the Amazon shopping experience, providing customers with invaluable insights and honest opinions from fellow shoppers. Amazon understands the pivotal role these reviews play in helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions, and is dedicated to preserving the trustworthiness of reviews. However, the rise of fake review brokers undermines the trust of customers and jeopardizes the success of selling partners.
aboutamazon.com
Marketplace Briefing: Amazon is quietly testing product search results that show seller ratings
Some agencies and sellers recently noticed changes to the Amazon website and mobile app that add seller ratings to products that appear in search results. In one example posted on LinkedIn, an Amazon consultant posted a mobile phone screenshot of product listing results for a search for “shampoo.” In addition to the usual product information customers are accustomed to seeing when they search for something on Amazon — like price, shipping time and product ratings — search results now include a new line of information.
modernretail.co
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days break record as company’s biggest October shopping event
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days broke records as the e-commerce site’s biggest October shopping event yet, the company said Thursday. Amazon hosted its Prime Big Deal Days on Tuesday and Wednesday – a two-day event that offered a slew of deals and promotions to its members. While Amazon doesn’t release specific sales numbers from its Prime events, the company said Prime members worldwide saved more than $1 billion across millions of deals.
nypost.com
Amazon Shipping joins EasyPost’s carrier roster
EasyPost now offers Amazon Shipping as a delivery option for its users, the shipping software provider announced last week. Shippers must be Amazon sellers to access Amazon Shipping rates, but they can use the service for orders placed outside of the e-commerce giant’s marketplace, said Lori Boyer, senior marketing communications manager at EasyPost, in an email to Supply Chain Dive.
supplychaindive.com
Amazon to pay $400,000 in settlement over Vermont ban on tobacco product sales
Amazon will pay Vermont $400,000 and improve its vetting practices to settle claims that it failed to stop online vendors from selling e-cigarettes, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark announced Wednesday. An investigation by the attorney general’s office found that third-party sellers had been hawking tobacco products, especially vapes, to Vermonters on Amazon over the past few years.
vtdigger.org
Amazon can be held responsible for hazardous products sold by 3rd-Party sellers
In a world where online shopping reigns supreme, Amazon has long been considered the go-to marketplace for convenience and variety. However, recent legal rulings have emphasized that even the largest e-commerce platforms are not above accountability. In a landmark decision, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ruled that Amazon can be held responsible for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform.
islandernews.com
Are Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days a threat to Black Friday?
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days return this week — and the popularity of the October sales push could threaten next month’s Black Friday as the main shopping day for discounts. Amazon sellers have seen a large boost in sales during Big Deal Days, which runs from Oct. 8 to Oct. 9, as Prime members scoop up exclusive discounts and deals on a wide variety of products. Jay Kamhi, the creator of top-selling Amazon toys like the fortune-telling Mr. Predicto, said his toy stores saw a spike in gross sales during the two-day event in the past.
nypost.com
How Amazon is improving packaging and boosting sustainability
We spend a lot of time thinking about the best way to deliver products to our customers, including how they’re packaged. And when it comes to the packaging, we start with protecting the product to ensure orders will arrive undamaged. From there, we find ways to use less packaging, while prioritizing curbside recyclable materials.
aboutamazon.com
Leading social media traffic referrers to amazon.com worldwide as of December 2023
YouTube has emerged as the dominant social media platform for driving traffic to Amazon.com, accounting for nearly 60 percent of referrals to the e-commerce platform in December 2023. Facebook and Twitter followed, contributing about 11 and ten percent of social media referrals respectively, while Reddit and WhatsApp rounded out the top five sources.
statista.com
Amazon will likely see a boost in consumer spending during its Prime Big Deal Days as cash-strapped consumers — also jittery over last week’s strike at US ports — pounce on deals early and often, according to experts. Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days – also known as the October version of the Prime sale – will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. The 48-hour sale is similar to Prime Day in July and offers a wide range of deals and discounts on various products exclusively for Amazon Prime members.
nypost.com
Amazon implements longer return period during holidays
Ecommerce giant Amazon has announced that it is implementing a temporarily extended return period. The longer return period is coming into effect during the holiday season. According to the marketplace, it will help merchants increase their sales. After summer, most online businesses start preparing for the holiday season. Amazon, which was recently announced as the fourth biggest online store in the Netherlands, is doing just that. In previous years, the online marketplace also extended its return deadlines, meaning that customers have a longer period in which they can return ordered items.
ecommercenews.eu
Amazon is testing product search results that don’t show customer review ‘star’ ratings
Amazon is experimenting with removing customer ratings from its product search results page, a test that the retailer says could make it easier for shoppers to scan its vast selection of products. The "limited test" affects only a small set of products, the company told Fortune on Thursday, and only affects the search results page, with star ratings and review count totals still available on individual product pages.
msn.com
Amazon's substantial investment in preventing fake reviews from reaching customers is further evidenced by a recent lawsuit, which further demonstrates its ongoing commitment to combating this issue. Product reviews are essential to the Amazon shopping experience, offering customers valuable insights and genuine feedback from other shoppers. Recognising these reviews' crucial role in helping consumers make informed purchases, Amazon isn't sparring any effort to maintain its integrity.
ibtimes.co.uk
Amazon sales come up short, profits nearly double
Amazon’s sales fell short of Wall Street’s estimates but profits exceeded expectations in the company’s second quarter results, released Thursday afternoon for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The tech giant reported a 10% increase in second-quarter revenue, to $147.98 billion, shy of expectations of $148.56 billion. Profits were $13.5 billion, or $1.26 per share, nearly double Amazon’s profits in the same quarter a year ago, and surpassing expectations of $1.03 per share.
msn.com
Transforming e-Commerce marketing: How AI video ads boost sales on Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy
As e-commerce has become extremely popular and saturated at present, it is important to stand out from the crowd on huge e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy. While there are few options to make products more visible and increase sales rates accordingly, one of the best and most effective is the use of exciting video ads. However, the process of making professional-looking video commercials is usually time and cost-intensive.
londonlovesbusiness.com
Amazon and eBay still leading the way in marketplace sector
The brand new ChannelX Europe’s Marketplaces 2024 report has found the majority of traffic goes to multi-sector marketplaces, with Amazon and eBay unsurprisingly way out in front. Yet, these behemoths only take around 17% and 14% of European traffic respectively. Behind them is a raft of ‘second tier’ multi-sector marketplaces, such as AliExpress, Allegro and Etsy, all getting single-digit percentages of traffic.
internetretailing.net
Tips and Tricks
How to List Amazon Product Bundles in 2024
With the recent changes to Amazon’s Product Bundling policy for consumables, sellers must know the new rules to ensure compliance. Effective October 14, 2024, Amazon introduced a significant update affecting sellers in the grocery, pet products, baby products, and health and beauty categories. If you’ve been creating custom bundles of products in these categories, you’ll want to pay close attention. In this article, we’ll go over how to sell product bundles on Amazon and how to navigate Amazon’s new product bundle policy.
junglescout.com
How To Sell On Amazon: 2024 Guide
Popular with both sellers and customers alike, it’s no wonder Amazon is a multibillion-dollar company. The site gives sellers an easy way to get their products in front of a global audience. Getting started on the platform might seem intimidating, but it’s easier than you might think. In this guide, Forbes Advisor will walk you through how to sell on Amazon in five simple steps. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
forbes.com
The 7 Best Business Credit Cards for Amazon FBA Sellers [2024]
Becoming an Amazon FBA seller is one of the most interesting, unique businesses you can start. FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon, and it’s a program offered by Amazon to third-party merchants that allows you to get your products on Amazon’s website and leverage its global fulfillment network to scale your e-commerce business. This is a huge simplification, but lots of people have made a healthy living, even small fortunes with Amazon FBA, and it is built on one of the most trusted brands in the world.
upgradedpoints.com
How I use Amazon price-history checkers to spot fake Prime Day deals
If you're scouring through Amazon during October's Prime Day event, you’ll likely notice that prices ebb and flow. Sometimes, costs can fall and shoot right back up within a week or so. Knowing whether you’re getting the best price possible is often difficult. Thankfully, there are a few free Amazon price trackers available. For example, if you’ve been eyeing a storage card for a brand-new smartphone or are in the market for a new device from Amazon. How do you know whether to pull the trigger right then and there?
pocket-lint.com
Podcasts
There Is No Such Thing As The COSMO Algorithm!
Join us for an engaging discussion with Kevin Dolan from Pacvue AI Labs as we explore the cutting-edge advancements in AI and Amazon’s pivotal role in shaping this dynamic landscape. We’ll unravel the mysteries behind intriguing names like Rufus, COSMO, and Project Amelia, representing Amazon’s ongoing AI initiatives. Kevin shares his expertise on the evolution of AI from its early conceptual roots in the 80s to the transformative impact of transformer models around 2019, which paved the way for groundbreaking applications like ChatGPT.
helium10.com