80/20 Of Ecommerce – July 8, 2022

Amazon uses influencer relationships to bolster Prime Day sales

Image Credits: Pexels

Amazon has launched its Amazon Influencer Program with the belief that it would fuel the success of its upcoming Prime Day. 

The program would leverage influencers to raise brand awareness and inform consumers about Prime Day deals and promos. Then, Amazon pays popular social media users to promote its goods on sites like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Recently, they organized some events that invited some influencers and gave them a sneak peek at the Prime Day deals. After reporting $3.8 billion in losses at the end of Q1 2022, Amazon’s Prime Day sales event is becoming more and more crucial.

Takeaway: Will Amazon’s last punch for Prime Day be an effective strategy? The move by Amazon to rely more heavily on influencers for Prime Day comes in this era of creator economy. So, it is up to the consumers to decide on which has more weight— their trust in the content creators or the recession that we are currently facing. 

Retailers, determined to bulls-eye e-commerce growth

Image Credits: Pexels

The pandemic placed e-commerce into the spotlight. The last two years of juggling through the restrictions have pressured retailers to increase their digital capabilities and efforts. 

However, the digital paradigm shift in the retail industry is not enough. Being in the virtual realm will not suffice as there are a lot of other variables such as inventory and inflationary pressures that might erode the business’s profitability. Retailers also fail to find their niche in this everchanging game.

Giant retailers are not an exception. Amazon, Target, and Walmart have been experiencing profit warnings and inventory pain points on their end.

46% of the respondents in the Publicis Sapient/Salesforce survey said that their e-commerce store is less profitable than their physical one, and 37% are hitting below profit target.

To address all these dilemmas, Hilding Anderson, Head of Retail Strategy in Publicis Sapient, emphasized how vital customer service is in their research. Online shopping apps should integrate the ease of use and improvement of CX. In other words, e-commerce should make its decisions for the welfare of its customers. After such, profitability follows.

Takeaway: Putting your products available online to keep up with current demands is one thing, but improving your digital customer experience is another. It encourages first-time buyers to come back — you should not settle for one-time purchases only.

Amazon sellers to ditch mylar stash bags

Image Credits: Innovative Sourcing

In their recent announcement, Amazon is giving their sellers until August 5 to eliminate all single-colored and opaque Mylar bags.

Mylar bags are included in the compliance checklist for drug and controlled substances associated products posted by Amazon’s drugs and drug paraphernalia help page. The page states, “Products must not be primarily used for making, preparing, or using a controlled substance.”

According to the users of this container, Mylar bags are one of the best ways to store and conceal illegal drugs due to their smell-proof nature. 

Amazon’s advice for sellers: “If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and have any remaining inventory of Mylar bags that are not clear or single-colored in Amazon fulfillment centers on or after August 5, 2022, these ASINs will be removed from the Amazon store. You must initiate a removal request within 30 days of receiving this notice to have your inventory sent to a location of your choice.”

Takeaway: Amazon Sellers, to know more about this new regulation you can see the full announcement on Amazon Seller Central.

In case you missed it:

• Amazon Prime Day is losing its sizzle
• Second Prime Day is coming
• [Video Replay] How to Avoid the 3 Common Pitfalls When Selling your Business
• Watch my session at SellerFest Online to learn about the Amazon Sourcing Algorithm
• 7 Figure Seller Summit 7 Aug 22-26, 2022 – Call for Sponsorship 

Have a great weekend!

-Gary

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