Want to know Amazon’s secret to building (and continuously growing) its ecommerce empire? Millions of tiny orders! And Walmart+ is ‘copying’ this strategy to replicate the success of its rival.
That makes the ecommerce competition between the two giants more interesting—like a new battle we never knew the tech world needed to spice things up (just scroll down a little further to know what we’re talking about).
- TikTok vs. Google 🔍
- The real cost of selling on Amazon 💸
- Extended Subscribe & Save program 🧺
- Data-driven Prime Day advertising 🛞
ECOMMERCE NEWS
Move over, Google—TikTok is stepping into the search game with a fresh new feature.
According to TechCrunch, the platform is now testing an image search capability on TikTok Shop. If you're in the U.S. or Southeast Asia and you notice a camera icon in your TikTok Shop search bar, that's it.
No more struggling with the perfect search terms—let photos do the talking. 🖼️
The reason behind the innovation
TikTok Shop boasts over 15 million sellers globally, with 500,000 from the U.S. By introducing features like image search, the platform aims to generate revenue and keep users engaged.
To achieve this, the company:
- Invested over $400 million in platform safety; and
- Built a team of 7,500 to keep things running smoothly.
This visual search approach isn't entirely new. Google has had its Google Lens for years and Amazon offers similar capabilities. TikTok's entry into this space is a bold move to compete not just with these tech behemoths but also with other players like Klarna and startups such as Cherry.
🪝 Still on the ban talks
Amid these developments, TikTok still faces an impending U.S. ban. President Biden signed a bill that could see TikTok banned if its parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it within a year. But for now, it's full steam ahead with innovative features to boost platform sales.
If you're planning to optimize your ads for TikTok, this is your go signal. With this new search feature, there's an even greater opportunity for your products to be discovered by potential customers.
TOGETHER WITH EZ-COMMERCE
The real costs of selling on Amazon
Almost everyone's telling you to sell on Amazon if you want to get rich. What they don't publicize is the initial costs you might shell out on your first year of selling.
So, we're here to tell you straight up what you need to prepare for financially.
- Product inventory: Initial inventory purchases can be expensive, particularly if you're ordering in bulk to get better pricing. It's recommended to canvas suppliers before signing a deal with them. Some manufacturers require a minimum order quantity (MOQ), and the number might be too high, especially if you're just starting. Don't be afraid to negotiate this with them!
- Price: Depends on the product, but you might need to invest at least $500-$1,000 just for stock.
- Amazon fees: Selling on Amazon comes with various fees, including referral, fulfillment, and storage fees. These can add up quickly and eat into your profit margins. For example, FBA fees cover the cost of storing, packing, and shipping your products, but they’re not insignificant.
- Price: The Individual Account costs you $0.99 per item sold, and the Professional Sellers Account is $39.99 per month.
- Marketing and advertising: To get your product noticed, you'll need to invest in marketing and advertising. Amazon PPC campaigns, social media advertising, and influencer partnerships can cost several thousand dollars annually.
- Price: This depends on your budget. But it’s best to start with a budget of at least $100 for a successful PPC campaign.
- Tools and services: Subscriptions to essential tools for product research, keyword optimization, and inventory management can add up. Additionally, hiring professionals for photography, graphic design, and copywriting to create compelling product listings can be a significant expense.
- Price: Depends on whether you’ll do all of these yourself or find someone reputable to handle this for you.
If you’re looking for reputable experts to do PPC management and listing optimization, EZ-commerce can do it for you!
Ez-commerce was established by Dvir Cohen, an eight-figure seller and the author of more than 100 children's Kindle ebooks. They help brands scale and transform to achieve real net success in the Amazon market.
Want to learn more? Click on the link below.
BITES OF THE WEEK
- Register Now: Registration is now open for Amazon Accelerate 2024.
- Facts and Stats: Here are 20 things you need to know about Amazon sellers.
- Digital Race: Amazon and Walmart are innovating to digitize physical stores—who's leading?
AMAZON NEWS
Subscribe and Save program extends to seller-fulfilled orders
Starting June 27, 2024, you can entice shoppers to purchase your seller-fulfilled offers through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. According to a recent announcement on Seller Central, Amazon will “automatically enroll all of your eligible, replenishable products at the default discount set in your Subscribe & Save settings.”
🌀 What’s this program again?
Necessary consumables require shoppers to make frequent orders to replenish their supplies. Subscribe & Save makes this easier and more affordable by offering discounted prices and free shipping to eligible products.
- Previously called FBA Subscribe and Save, FBA sellers must meet certain requirements to qualify for the program. This includes having an 85% in-stock rate.
- Sellers of eligible categories can enroll and offer discounted prices for ASINs.
- Shoppers must subscribe to the product to avail of the discount.
⚠️ Seller alert
In line with the program’s expansion, Amazon will “fund an additional 5% discount for customers who have five or more subscriptions that are scheduled to arrive on the same delivery day.”
As such, you may receive an increase in pending orders. If you think the hassle isn't worth it, you can opt out of the automatic enrollment. According to a moderator, doing so won’t affect products already enrolled in Subscribe & Save.
But if you’re looking to boost your sales, you better set your default enrollment discount now by logging on to Seller Central. To view more details, click Learn more under Subscribe & Save. 🔍
TACTIC TALKS
How to use data to create high-converting ads for Prime Day
Hoping to craft more effective ads leading to Prime Day 2024? Well, look no further than your data! 📈
Relying on your intuition may have worked well in the past, but we’re now in the technology era. Translation: Numbers and statistics are your best sidekicks in reaching more customers and selling more products.
💡 To help you get started, MSN shared 5 ways to use data to create ads that hit the mark every time:
- Analyze key metrics. Use the advertising reports on Amazon Seller Central. Track click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate (CVR), and advertising cost of sales (ACoS) to see what’s working (and what’s not).
- Use search term reports to discover which search terms lead to your product. Focus on terms with high conversions and low costs for better-targeted ads and higher sales.
- Conduct A/B testing. Test different ads to see which images, text, and strategies work best. Focus on one element at a time to know exactly what clicks with your audience.
- Optimize spending. Find your best-performing products. Then, allocate more ad budget to them to maximize your ROI.
- Identify growth gaps. Separate products by performance to check which needs optimization. You can either improve or remove underperforming ads to make your campaigns more efficient.
🌟 Moral lesson: Make data your North Star
With data as your guide, you can create ads that captivate, convert, and move your business forward. So, start leveraging those bits and pieces of information to strategically reach your audience and maximize your sales.
