Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…
Amazon and Shopify Finally Hook Up
After a year of resistance, Shopify has finally enabled the integration of Amazon’s Buy with Prime feature, allowing merchants on its platform to offer this fulfillment and checkout service. Consequently, individuals with Prime memberships can now make purchases on Shopify stores using their Amazon accounts
Amazon and Shopify:
The Buy with Prime Shopify app also adds catalog, promotions, and order syncing which previously did not appear without plug-ins.
With Amazon expanding its logistics-as-service business model and gaining access to millions of Shopify merchants, the future is bright for all sellers.
Read the full story here.
Walmart Expands Fulfillment Options, Introduces New Seller Tools
During the recent “Let’s Grow! Marketplace Seller Summit” hosted by Walmart in Las Vegas, several new seller features and tools were introduced:
- Expanded Fulfillment Options: You can now ship larger items with ease through Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), a move that has boosted sellers’ gross merchandise value (GMV) by 50%.
- Branded Shops: You can now easily set up a dedicated digital storefront, offering a branded and curated experience to your customers.
- Virtual Garage: A new tool that allows Walmart customers to store multiple vehicle details, simplifying their shopping experience for automotive goods. This will probably trend to other types of products too.
- Marketplace Expansion: Walmart marketplace is currently available in Canada, Mexico, and the US, where its ecommerce sales grew by 24% in Q2. It is expanding to Chile and other countries next year, offering an extended customer reach (if you are into international selling.)
Walmart to Amazon:
Ecommerce Leaders to Host Huge Seller Events This Month
Ecommerce leaders Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Alibaba, and Pinterest are holding virtual and in-person seller events this September:
Don’t forget to scroll down and check out our full list of upcoming seller events.
FedEx Price Hikes Inbound
FedEx recently announced that it was implementing temporary ‘demand’ surcharges for the upcoming holiday peak season. They also announced rate hikes across all services for 2024.
The detailed breakdown of all these rate adjustments, surcharges, and fee revisions will be made available on FedEx’s official website, fedex.com, starting from September 7, 2023.
AI Caramba! This Week in AI + Ecomm
- Vibram’s New AI-Powered Website: Footwear giant Vibram recently launched its new AI-powered website which demonstrates the tremendous potential for companies to combine the power of AI, data, and CRM to meet customer expectations.
- Automators AI in Hot Water: The FTC has filed a lawsuit against Automators AI for violating the Business Opportunity Rule and the FTC Act by making misleading earning claims. The complaint alleges that Automators AI offered clients pricey store packages consisting of automated third-party stores on Walmart, Amazon, and Facebook which they claim could deliver monthly profit margins ranging from 8% to 20% due in part to the AI machine learning. It didn’t go so well.
Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self
Directly Email Your Brand Customers on Amazon
If you are an Amazon-registered brand, you can now directly email your customers and include discounted offers of 15% to 50% using the Manage Your Customers Engagement tool.
Campaigns can be sent to repeat customers, high-spend customers, and brand followers.
To create and send promotions with customizable budgets suited for your brand’s needs, follow these steps:
- Select Customer Engagement after clicking the Brands tab in Seller Central.
- Select the brand and audience type that will receive the promo code. Make sure to select Promote a Promotion as your campaign type.
- Select an eligible promotion.
- If you have no promotions available, head to the Advertising tab in Seller Central, select Promotions, and then select Percentage Off.
- Enter email details and submit.
Learn more about this feature here.
Read the full announcement here.
Discover High-Demand Products in the EU, the UK, and Japan with the Marketplace Product Guidance Tool
The Marketplace Product Guidance tool offers weekly customer insights and FBA selection recommendations that can help you create your product offerings for Amazon US, EU, UK, and Japan.
Powered by machine learning, Marketplace Product Guidance generates product recommendations based on the opportunity your product may have across different marketplaces. You may also utilize category insights to analyze and target buyer preferences.
Marketplace Product Guidance offers two types of recommendations:
- Global Product Demand – identifies the marketplaces where you have the best chances for expansion through machine learning and the analysis of 600 data points.
- Category Insights – allows you to customize product offerings based on buyer preferences as it enables you to analyze category trends including metrics for selection and competition across marketplaces.
Learn more about this feature here.
Read the full announcement here.
This Week in Seller School
Here is a roundup of learning resources for this week:
Blog Posts
- What Are the Most Important Ecommerce Holiday Dates in 2023? by Salsify
- September 2023 Sales Tax Due Dates by TaxJar
- FBA Holiday Readiness Guide by Amazon
- Amazon Best Sellers and Trending Products in September 2023 by Jungle Scout
- How to Create a Compelling Amazon Brand Story by eCom Engine
Podcasts
- Creating a High-Productivity Schedule for Amazon Sellers by Full-Time FBA
- Five Huge Mistakes New Amazon Sellers Make by Reezy Resells
Upcoming Seller Events📍
Here are a few upcoming industry events that you might be interested in. Slick that hair back and start mingling, playa!
Amazon Accelerate (September 13-14, 2023) – Seattle, Washington
Amazon’s premiere annual seller conference.
Amazon Ads Holiday Summit (September 26, 2023, 9:00 am PST) – Virtual
Learn sponsored ad tips and tactics to help unlock your brand’s potential this holiday season.
Chicago eCommerce Summit (September 26, 2023) – Chicago, IL
“A one-day gathering of Chicago’s eCommerce experts and decision-makers across retailers, brands, merchants, and solution providers.”
RISE Amazon Sellers Conference (October 9-11, 2023) – Miami, FL
RISE will bring you the latest insights, trends, and tactics that will help you stay ahead of the Amazon curve.
Seller Velocity Conference (October 11-12, 2023) – New York City, NY
2 days focused on optimizing performance to drive brand growth
Amazon Ads Unboxed (October 24-26, 2023) – New York City, NY
Learn about Amazon’s newest solutions and innovations to help brands connect with their customers, expand their business, and prepare for the future.
Eclimb Summit (November 2, 2023) – Austin, TX
“Bridge the gap between Amazon and Ecomm for D2C.”
AMZ Innovate (November 13-14, 2023) – New York City, NY
The ultimate Amazon summit – learn about never- before-seen tactics and gain some hands-on-experience with today’s brightest and boldest Amazon sellers.
Other Quick Clicks
- Amazon excited about India; sees huge headroom for e-commerce market growth
- Amazon investors critical of company’s competitive tactics
- Amazon Market Watch: Patio, lawn, and garden trends fuel 3,000%+ revenue spikes for some products
- Amazon raises free shipping minimum for some non-Prime members
- What happens to Amazon returns?
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, let us know below!
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