Bezos sells 2 Billon of Stock and Amazon been accused? [MDSR #9]

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Hot Off the Presses 📰

Amazon has been accused of rigging its algorithm to intentionally feature costlier items in its "Buy Box" in a new lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Amazon features its own products or items from merchants enrolled in the company's Fulfillment by Amazon Program in the "Buy Box" even if there are cheaper alternatives with equal or faster delivery times.

More:

• The lawsuit alleges that Amazon's actions result in consumers "routinely" overpaying for items as they're misled into thinking that products in the "Buy Box" are the lowest-priced goods on the platform.

• In September 2023, the FTC and 17 state attorney generals filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing it of using its "monopoly power" to charge unnecessary fees and force merchants to rely on its fulfillment service.

Amazon's legal woes aren't done:

• Amazon has been accused of breaching its contract terms after the company added ads to its Prime Video service.

• In December 2023, Amazon announced Prime members would have to pay an extra $2.99/month if they wanted to watch ad-free content.

Chinese e-commerce platform Temu spent tens of millions of dollars on ads and giveaways during the Super Bowl. The investment seems to have paid off as Temu was among the three most downloaded free apps on Apple' App Store on Monday alongside Paramount and Microsoft Copilot. Temu was the sixth most-downloaded app on Google's Play Store.

More:

• Temu ran its ad four times and provided viewers with $15M worth of giveaways. 

• Advertisers paid $7M to air a single 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl.

• Total downloads rose by 34% day-over-day on Super Bowl Sunday but were down 34% YoY compared to 2023.

• A link to the Temu commercial that aired during the Super Bowl is available here.

Temu Takeover:

• Amazon was the only retailer with a higher ad spend than Temu on Facebook in 2023.

• By the end of 2023, users spent an average of 23 minutes peer week on Temu, compared to 18 minutes on Amazon and 14 minutes on Walmart.

• Temu was the number one most downloaded app in the U.S. last year and eighth most popular globally.

Singapore-based e-commerce platform Qoo10 will acquire Wish for $173M.  In November, the company announced it was evaluating strategic alternatives amid declining sales and cash shortages.

More:

• Wish was founded in 2010 and developed a reputation for selling low priced items from Chinese manufacturers which had lengthy delivery times.

• The company went public at a $14B valuation in December 2020.

• In recent years, the company struggled to compete against Temu and Shein, which have spent billions to make inroads in the U.S.

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Weekly Reading 📖

This week’s recommended reading is “12 Months to $1 Million” By Ryan Daniel Moran. This book provides a three-stage playbook for reaching $1M in annual sales in one year. During “the grind stage,” Moran helps readers determine a great product idea and who their target customers are. In “the growth” stage, Moran teaches readers how to leverage advertising strategies to reach a minimum of 25 units sold daily. In “the gold” stage, Moran helps entrepreneurs diversify their product offerings and reach a minimum of 100 sales daily.

“12 Months to $1 Million” has a 4.7/5 rating on Amazon

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E-commerce Tool of the Week 🏫

IFoto is an AI-powered design tool that enables merchants to create customized designs. IFoto has a customized set of features ensuring it can be used for every product category. The tool is used by over two million users across multiple platforms including Amazon, Etsy and Shopify, who have collectively generated 120 million images. Users can start using IFoto on a free trial before converting to a paid plan. IFoto has a five star rating on Product Hunt.

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Videos Worth Watching 💸

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An Event You Should Attend! 🗓️

The Retail Innovation Conference & Expo (RICE) will be held between June 4-6 in Chicago, Illinois.

Why you should attend:

• You’ll be able to listen to high profile speakers such as Joe Cano, the CMO of Zappos and Ben Mand, the CEO of Homeless Harvest.

• You’ll have the opportunity to network with key decision makers at major brands such as Home Depot and IKEA.

Click here to check out the agenda and here to buy tickets

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Did You See That Post

Keep Iterating

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Quick Hits:

• Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sold over $2B worth of company stock.

• Neiman Marcus Group terminated its partnership with Farfetch.

• Shopify will raise the price of its Plus plan from $2,000/month to $2,500/month

• Buy now, pay later company Affirm’s revenue increased by 48% YoY to $591M.

• Amazon Prime Video was awarded exclusive rights to an NFL playoff game for next year.

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Until Next Time ✌️

As always, thanks for sticking with us until the end. 

If you’d care to share your thoughts on this newsletter, we’re all ears. Just hit reply to sound off. 

See you next time with more of the latest and greatest content you need to succeed this year 🔥

Sincerely, 

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