Thursday, September 14

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#1 - 🚨 Amazon adds generative AI listing feature

📰 TL;DR - Amazon just held their Accelerate conference, which means we have some announcements. One is a new feature to generate product listings using generative AI. It will be able to create product descriptions, titles, and other listing details. The point is to make it easier and faster to create optimized listings. You just offer some context to kick it off then Amazon does the rest. From there, you can edit what it spits out or simply publish. Based on testing, those with access so far are pretty pleased with the tool.

💡 Insight - Amazon is actually a bit late to the game here — eBay and Shopify have similar tools on the market already. I wouldn’t be surprised if other platforms and marketplaces follow suit, such as Etsy. This cuts out the middleman because plenty of sellers are already using ChatGPT or similar tools to help write listings. My word of advice is that even if the copy looks good, you should edit. Keep the great keywords, but don’t forget to include some brand voice.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#2 - 🌊 TikTok Shop is Making Waves and You Don't Want to Miss Out!

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#3 - 📦 Amazon offers delivery for independent sellers

📰 TL;DR - Here’s another juicy nugget from Accelerate — Amazon is opening up its delivery network to any brand that wants to use it. Amazon Shipping is a ground delivery service that picks up your warehouse and gets it into customers’ hands in two to five days. And that includes weekends without extra fees! It also allows real-time tracking and a photo of the delivery. Basically, it’s all the perks of Amazon’s delivery network without selling on the platform itself.

💡 Insight - This is pretty compelling! For whatever critiques you have on Amazon, they’ve built a vast and generally reliable delivery service. The fact that they deliver on weekends and have precise tracking is already a leg up over competitors. I could also see shoppers being enticed to purchase if they know Amazon is handling delivery, due to familiarity and a sense that it would mean quick delivery. Something to consider!

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

🚀 VIDEO - Stunning videos, few editing skills needed! Scale high-quality content with AI customization. Showcase products dynamically with auto-generated videos. Visit Boolvideo & use code DTC.

💎 LUXURY - If you like taking inspiration from luxury brands, check out Burberry’s site redesign.

🤖 CHATGPT - If you’re using ChatGPT for your business, Practical Ecommerce has some tips for training it for better responses. Read here.

📦 SHIPPING - This survey shows that free shipping is a very compelling offer.

📧 EMAIL - Here’s a little Twitter thread about how powerful it is to let your e-mail marketing breathe a little with some white space.

#5 - 👟 Heydude hit with FTC charges

📰 TL;DR - Shoe brand Heydude has agreed to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission to the tune of $1.95 million. The brand is owned by Crocs and was found to violate rules including not using shipping delay notices and issuing gift cards instead of refunds for unshipped orders. They’ve also been ordered to publish all reviews after being accused of suppressing negative reviews including “more than 80 percent of reviews that failed to provide four or more stars out of a possible five.”

💡 Insight - Take this as a warning. Everything Heydude is accused of is, to start off, terrible business practices and a bad idea if you want a thriving brand. You don’t win loyalty with these stunts. But the other reason to do better is that the FTC has made it clear that they’re targeting e-commerce, especially with review supression. Don’t be silly — play by the rules.

➡️ You can read the article here...