UK watchdog pressures Amazon to clean up review abuse

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• UK watchdog cracks down on fake Amazon reviews 🕵️
• Walmart Marketplace is 2025’s hidden gem 📈
• TikTok steals 35 hours of customer time ⏱️
• Fraud is bleeding ecommerce dry 💸

BIG IDEA

Did you know nearly 90% of UK shoppers use reviews to make buying decisions, influencing £23B in spending? That means fake reviews aren’t just shady tactics, they’re powerful enough to tilt the playing field.

But the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is pushing back. According to The Guardian, Amazon has now pledged to crack down harder on fake reviews and catalog abuse.

🕵️ After a years-long investigation

The CMA’s investigation kicked off in 2021. Fast forward to 2024, and:

• The UK has officially banned fake reviews under its new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. 
• Now the CMA has real power to enforce penalties and demand action—no court required.

📋 Amazon’s new checklist

The retail giant claims it’s already ahead of the game, saying 99% of reviews are authentic, and that it blocked 275 million fake reviews in 2024 alone.

But with new powers, the CMA now has teeth—and Amazon’s making moves to stay compliant, including:

• Stronger detection systems (AI + human moderation)
• A crackdown on catalog abuse (copy-pasting reviews to unrelated products)
• Easier ways for shoppers to report suspicious reviews
• Impose serious sanctions on sellers and reviewers involved in fake reviews, including:
  • Seller suspensions and bans
  • Deletion of reviews
  • Potential legal action

🚨 For sellers, the message is clear:

This is your signal to clean the house. No shortcuts. Review manipulation isn’t worth the risk anymore. 

And if you’re playing fair? These changes help level the field so your real ratings can shine.

TOGETHER WITH WALMART MARKETPLACE

Selling on Walmart Marketplace is one of 2025’s smartest investments

For eCommerce brands looking to diversify their sales and expand their footprint, there’s no better time to join Walmart Marketplace. 

Right now, Walmart’s New-Seller Savings event is offering new sellers up to $75K in incentives, which includes up to 75% off base referral fees and generous credits toward advertising and fulfillment.*  

Walmart is one of the world's most recognizable brands with over 255 million customers and members shopping at Walmart online and in-store around the world each week. New-Seller Savings run from sign up to January 31, 2026, so don’t wait—the faster you start, the more opportunities you’ll have to save. 

To take advantage of this unprecedented offer and the endless opportunities on Walmart.com. 

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Join Walmart Marketplace Today.

BITES OF THE WEEK

• Distribution Not Discovery: Shoppers don't discover billion-dollar creator-led brands on Amazon—marketplaces are just for distribution.
• Cash On The Clock: TikTok influencers make approximately $15,000–$25,000 depending on metrics (engagement, followers, views, etc.)
• Like-new Luxury: Walmart Marketplace’s Pre-Loved Luxury Fashion program gives Walmart shoppers access to high-end brands.
• Plunging Numbers: Chinese-U.S. exports and imports are down 34.5% and around 18% respectively as tariffs only paused this May.

SOCIAL PULSE

TikTok is hijacking 35 hours of your customers' time

If you feel like TikTok is everywhere, it’s because it is. According to Exploding Topics, users are spending more time than ever glued to the app, and the growth isn’t slowing down. 

👇 Here’s what the numbers say 

⏱️ TikTok Screen Time by the Numbers

• Average daily usage: 55 minutes and 48 seconds
• Monthly usage per person: 34 hours and 56 minutes
• Average visit length: Users open the app 15+ times a day with an average visit lasting nearly 16 minutes

32% of all U.S. social media time goes to TikTok—more than Facebook and Instagram combined

🌍 Where TikTok is really taking over

In 2024, these countries led in total time spent on TikTok each month:

• 🇲🇽 Mexico: 45h 25m
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia: 44h 54m
• 🇺🇸 U.S.: 43h 53m

TikTok isn’t just growing, it’s gripping. With nearly an hour of daily screen time per user and 1.8B+ monthly visitors, it’s the most attention-rich platform out there.

Translation? It’s prime real estate for ads, product drops, and viral momentum. If TikTok isn’t part of your 2025 strategy, you're already behind.

ACTIONABLE ADVICE

Fraud is now one of ecommerce's biggest expenses

Ecommerce fraud has already cost us $44.3B in 2024 alone. What’s worse? The damage is projected to grow to $107B by 2029.

MEMCYCO recently listed some of the most common—and dangerous—types of ecommerce fraud, along with actionable solutions.

• Impersonation and fakes. Fraudsters clone your website or create fake e-shops and social media accounts to lure customers into buying from them.
  • Solutions:

• Monitor your digital footprint (web, social, marketplaces)
• Engage and educate through your authentic (and exclusive) brand channels
• Embed code-level protection to flag scam sites as soon as they go live

• SEO poisoning. Scammers exploit popular keywords to manipulate search rankings and promote malicious sites.
  • Solutions:
    • Audit branded search terms regularly
    • Watch for suspicious traffic or keyword spikes
    • Use SEO poisoning detection tools
• Phishing attacks. Phishers send deceptive emails, texts, and even calls to steal shopper information.
  • Solutions:
    • Train customers and employees to recognize scams
    • Enforce strong authentication protocols
    • Deploy tools that detect phishing sites and decoy data theft attempts

With billions at stake, protecting your brand isn’t a luxury. Don’t wait until a fake site torches your reputation.