The Remazing News Package
Here are the most important @Amazon and e-commerce news of the last month. Our evaluation of each update is marked in italics.
What Caught our Attention.
Amazon currently offers a pilot program called "Call-Off Stock (COS)" that allows merchants in the EU to sell in other EU markets without having to register for tax in the respective country. Amazon stores the merchants' goods in the respective EU countries but makes the purchase at the moment of sale, becoming the seller itself. The program is currently free of charge, but merchants must meet some requirements. They, for example, need active accounts on the respective EU marketplaces and must use Amazon's billing and tax service.
💬 This is an interesting pilot since merchants save Amazon fees and all the resources it takes to be registered for taxes in the country of choice. It’s only questionable whether COS will remain free of charge if it makes it past the pilot stage. The merchant furthermore will have to give up a fair share of control over where and how their products are stored.
A/B Testing is now available on Amazon for individual ASINs, regardless of their variation. Previously it was only possible to test single ASINs that were not in variations.
💬 We are currently still testing this, but by A/B testing selected ASINs, it might now be possible to get more detailed results.
Amazon is currently testing a new feature for the product detail page: the customer gallery. Here, an image from the gallery is repeated after the video, which links directly to the rating images with a button placed above it. However, we have only discovered this feature on the German Amazon marketplace so far and it is only available in the mobile view.
💬 At the moment, it is still very questionable whether this innovation will catch on. However, it would give the reviews even more weight and could be a valuable addition to one's own product gallery, because authentic reviews are an important trust factor. However, since customer images cannot be influenced and the link only comes at the end of the gallery, the optimization of product images should never be neglected.
Amazon’s Brand Analytics tool is now called “Top Search Terms”. Brands can leverage the same features that enable sellers to analyse the top search terms, search frequency rank, ASIN, and product title of the top three products. “Top Search Terms” now additionally offers the following:
The “download reports” option is currently unavailable.
💬 These updates are pretty exciting! Although the reports cannot be downloaded yet, this upgraded version of the tool is most likely very handy for identifying new opportunities and making better data driven decisions.
Updates: Amazon.
Amazon Flags “Frequently Returned” Products
To alert consumers to products on its platform that are regularly returned, Amazon is introducing the "frequently returned" label. This is intended to encourage consumers to check item details and reviews before purchasing to help reduce returns. Currently, new and unused items can be returned for free up to 30 days after purchase.
💬 This new label could help Amazon reduce costs associated with returns. If it works it could help Amazon avoid upsetting consumers by not having to make returns chargeable. It could however upset those selling product in high return categories like fashion. We’ll see when or better, whether this label will be introduced.
Amazon Makes Sales Data Public
On the website and in the app, Amazon will in future display rounded sales figures of all products. The new label is in its testing phase so far only visible to some users, it shows the sales figures of the past week or month and is intended to encourage the purchase of popular products from unknown brands. However, the data is not yet available via Seller Central or an API, and it remains to be seen whether the innovation will remain in place beyond the test phase.
💬 This is an interesting addition to the product page. It is intended to make unknown brands look more credible, more popular and therefore encourage shoppers to purchase. And although that seems promising, it might just be overlooked as product detail pages display many such details. This is, however, quite interesting data, also from a sellers perspective, so we are curious to see when, or whether it is going to be available via seller central.
Another Wave of Layoffs: Amazon and Walmart
Amazon has announced plans to cut another 9,000 jobs worldwide. This is already the second major job cut this year. The company said the wave of layoffs will primarily affect its cloud services, advertising and Twitch livestreaming divisions. Walmart also announced it was cutting hundreds of jobs at its fulfillment centers, but offered those affected jobs at other locations. In their announcements, both groups name the uncertain economic situation in the U.S. in the coming year as a reason for the cuts.
💬 These numbers seem shocking at first but both companies and especially Amazon have increased their workforces significantly in recent years. Due to the uncertain economic climate, it has become necessary to prioritize profitability measures - the number of employees who are being let go is, however, just a very small percentage of those who were hired these past years. Walmart states to employ 2.1 million associates worldwide and Amazon presently has a workforce of over 1.5 million people across the globe.
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Amazon’s New Web Browser
Amazon seems to be considering launching its own web browser. The company has sent out a survey to its users to find out which features might convince them to "download and try out a new desktop browser from Amazon". The goal of this project could be to expand the advertising business through additional advertising space and insights outside of Amazon.
💬 If successful, this move could have a significant impact on the advertising industry, particularly in light of Google's impending elimination of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. Which is a change with potentially drastic effects on how businesses track consumers for advertising purposes. One of Amazon's unique selling points to advertisers is its vast collection of data on consumer purchasing habits. By integrating this information with data collected through a web browser, Amazon could potentially tilt the balance of internet advertising in its favour.
"Just Walk Out" technology: Closures And New Collaboration
In the U.S., Amazon plans to close eight of its "Amazon Go" stores with "Just Walk Out" technology by April. However, the concept is to be continued: The group recently announced its collaboration with Transact, a mobile payment solutions provider, through whose technology cashier-less payments are now being integrated into stores on college campuses. The Amazon One technology, which lets customers pay via a palm scanner, is also being rolled out at Panera Bread, a fast-casual restaurant chain in the U.S.
💬 Amazon is seemingly stretching its feelers towards new implications of its existing technologies. Yes, on one hand they are closing their own stores, but selling their “Just Walk Out” technology to third-party stores might just be the more lucrative business.
Updates: E-Commerce.
Retail Media Updates: Asos & Walmart
Online fashion retailer Asos announced plans to expand its retail media activities to include sponsored ads. This is to be made possible through the new partnership with advertising technology service provider Criteo. Fashion brands will be able to play paid advertising content on the platform and in the app. In addition, Asos plans to improve the reach and monitoring of its existing display ad option. Walmart is also catching up and integrating a personalization and optimization platform for Connected TV (CTV) into the demand-side platform (DSP) of its Retail Media Network.
💬 For Asos, expanding their advertising is an obvious choice as it aligns with their primary business and offers a considerably high profit margin, looking at competitors such as Amazon. The same applies to Walmart, who appears to be on a “catching-up course” with Amazon.
USA: E-Commerce Grew Strongly in 2022
Despite inflation and supply chain issues, 2022 was a strong year for U.S. e-commerce, with sales exceeding $1 trillion for the first time. Sales from mobile device purchases grew 26.3% in Q4 2022 compared to 2021 and accounted for 38.4% of online retail sales. Revenue from online commerce generated through social media was $53.1 million, accounting for 5.1% of all online revenue.
💬 This sharp increase in mobile purchases and social commerce is likely to go hand in hand and shows how online retail in the U.S. is shifting towards the more personal, experience based and fast paced environment of social media. In Europe we also see this shift in mobile shopping: In our International Amazon Shopper Report we found that the majority of respondents in all EU5 and the U.S. prefers to use their mobile devices for online shopping.
Following Amazon, Walmart Increases Investments into Healthcare
Walmart announced plans to open 28 more "Walmart Health'' centers next year in the United States. The new facilities are expected to offer a wide range of health services such as labs, EKGs, and hearing aids. With this move, Walmart is following its competitor Amazon into the healthcare market. Amazon has been trying to gain a foothold in the healthcare sector for some time; for example, the group recently acquired the American online healthcare service One Medical.
💬 Walmart's recent expansion of Walmart Health coincides with the entry of Amazon into the doctor practice industry, following its acquisition of One Medical. Walmart seems to be aiming to catch up with Amazon on more than just the marketplace sector level. It also comes to show that both companies have long outgrown their retail-only stages and are transitioning into omni-players, stretching into all markets that promise profitability. With the move towards health, they follow a trend that has become apparent in physical retail as well, as over-the-counter medicine is the current focus category of CPG companies.
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