Wednesday, September 20

#1 - ⏱️ Amazon wants your inventory ASAP

📰 TL;DR - If you sell on Amazon, the platform would really like you to get your inventory in sooner rather than later. Amazon is recommending that third-party sellers place their holiday inventory within their fulfillment network by Oct. 26 at the latest. This is to get ahead of an anticipated spike in demand with BFCM and the holidays coming up. And don’t forget this fall’s Prime days. Coincidentally, October also marks the start of higher fees for sellers in Amazon’s fulfillment network.

💡 Insight - This is smart advice for everyone — get your inventory in order. We’ve seen multiple reports showing that shoppers are planning on starting their holiday purchases early this year, like in October. Now is the time of year to be doing physical counts, confirming those counts with your 3PL, and making sure your inventory numbers all match up in your digital system of choice. Q4 is make or break season for e-commerce, so get ready!

➡️ You can read the article here...

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

It's time to catch the biggest wave in e-commerce history! 🏄‍♀️🏄‍♂️ TikTok Shop is opening its doors to everyone in the U.S., and you have the chance to capitalize big time.

👉 Three-Point Swell You Need to Catch

1️⃣ Ease into TikTok Shop without a hitch—it's a breeze to set up and won't disrupt your operations.

2️⃣ Tap into the soul of TikTok and ride a tidal wave of audience engagement.

3️⃣ Boost conversion rates by selling directly through TikTok Shop—no need to detour your audience back to your DTC store.

📅 Save the Date

This virtual event on Sept 20th (9AM PST) will elevate your TikTok Shop know-how, from marketing to operations. Plus, you'll get free on-demand access to all sessions and a chance to win epic prizes. 🎁

👇 Don't Miss This Opportunity

Whether you're exploring TikTok as your next big channel or already have traction, this is one wave you don't want to miss.

👉 Register now to ride the wave

📣 If you want to reach our audience of 10,000+ DTC store owners, tap here 

#3 - 👀 5 e-comm challenges for Q4

📰 TL;DR - I just said above that Q4 is make or break season, and this article refers to it as the “golden quarter.” The sentiment remains the same — with the holidays and BFCM, Q4 is the busiest time of the year for e-commerce. But that also means it comes with challenges. This outlines five of them for this year, including shifting spending habits, major brands stealing the thunder, declining customer loyalty, rising operational costs, and the risk of fraud. This article also offers suggestions for tackling those challenges.

💡 Insight - I want to highlight the suggestions under the first point, which is shifting consumer spending habits. We keep hearing that between inflation and mountains of debt, people are holding onto their purse strings a little tighter this year. And yes, that means people will be looking for discounts, but not every brand needs to position itself as the cheapest option. Rather, aim to showcase your value. What are you providing beyond your price point? Will your product fall apart or last a lifetime? What kind of care do you put into the quality of your goods? Hype that up.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

🤖 CHATGPT - Here are some suggestions for the best type of content you can generate with ChatGPT’s help.

🎄 HOLIDAYS - Remember I said the holiday shopping season is starting early? Here’s more proof.

🏷️ SALES - To no one’s surprise, Walmart and Target are planning their own sales as Amazon starts early.

🎥 LIVESTREAMS - Here’s a fascinating look at how deepfake “influencers” are taking over Chinese livestream shopping.

🍭 TIKTOK - TikTok Shop is cracking down on people selling homemade food goods. Read here.

#5 - 🥎 5 tips for your product pages

📰 TL;DR - This piece has five suggestion strategies for leveling up your product pages (and overall website), and they’re both simple and effective. The first is leading with video. It offers a better idea of the size, shape, and feel of your products. Next is verified reviews — show that the reviews are coming from the people who actually bought the product. It also suggests live chatbots, persistent shopping carts, and free shipping and easy returns.

💡 Insight - Some of these are obvious, but verified reviews and a persistent shopping cart may be things you don’t have. Consumers tend not to trust reviews on a brand’s website, as opposed to a third-party site or social media, because there’s the suspicion that they’re not ready. Having a “verified purchaser” badge alleviates that. A persistent shopping cart is when a user bounces but their cart is saved so they can see it next time they visit the site. Remember it can take many touchpoints with a brand for a customer to actually make a purchase, and coming back to a filled cart will remind them what they were mulling over and cut down the time to purchase.

➡️ You can read the article here...