Most U.S. consumers will increase their Amazon spend in 2023 and TikTok users have noticed a rise in shopping-related content [MDSR#17]

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Hot Off the Presses 📰

A recent Wedbush Securities survey found that 60% of U.S. consumers will increase their Amazon expenditure in 2024. 41% of consumers said they'll increase their e-commerce spending in 2024, while 17% expected to reduce it.

More:

• 41% of consumers will increase spending on Walmart compared to 21% for Target.

• 11% of consumers said they'll spend more on Shein, while 9% anticipate spending more on TikTok Shop.

• 45% of consumers said they purchased an item on Amazon after they were shown an ad on its platform.

• 26% of consumers made a purchase directly from Facebook after seeing an ad on its platform compared to 19% on Instagram.”

62.5% of U.S. TikTok users said they experienced a rise in shopping-related content following the release of TikTok Shop, according to a recent eMarketer survey. 91.7% of users said they hadn't reduced their TikTok usage between Sept. 2023 - March 2024, despite the rise in shopping-related content.

More:

• 70% of users said they increased their TikTok usage during this time, a sign that TikTok's increased focus on e-commerce hasn't disrupted user engagement.

• Earlier this month, TikTok executive Marni Levine said the company had no plans to reduce TikTok Shop content and that it was trying to become an "e-commerce juggernaut."

• EMarketer projects that on average U.S. TikTok users will spend 54 minutes per day on the platform this year.

Shopify merchants account for the bulk of the thousands of merchants that use Amazon's Buy With Prime offering, according to an analysis by Marketplace Pulse.  Buy With Prime was rolled out in April 2022, and the current customer numbers are a sign that it hasn't achieved the widespread adoption that Amazon had expected.

More:

• The analysis found that while Buy With Prime has boosted conversion rates, it remains unclear if it results in faster shipment times.

• In August 2023, Amazon and Shopify announced an integration that enabled the latter's merchants to offer Buy With Prime from their Shopify stores.

• Marketplace Pulse speculates that one reason why adoption has been limited is because Amazon mandates merchants store their inventory at its warehouses to be eligible for Buy With Prime.

Amazon's U.S. e-commerce business generated 208 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2022, a 9.8% increase YoY, according to Marine conservation group Marina. Globally, the company reduced its plastic packing output by 11.6%

More:

• Over a decade ago, Amazon rolled out its Ships in Product Packaging Program (SIPP) to persuade merchants to ship items in the original manufacturer's packaging.

• 11% of all Amazon orders in 2022 were sent in the original manufacturer packaging.

• In December 2023, Amazon noted that it has used AI to reduce cardboard waste by 7-10% (60,000 tonnes of cardboard) per year.

• Lawmakers in some jurisdictions such as the European Union have recently introduced legislation to ban single-use plastics as part of efforts to combat climate change.

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Weekly Reading 📖

This week's recommended reading is "Ride the Amazon Wave: The Pro Seller's Guide to Private Label Success" by Tomer Rabinovich. The book provides readers with invaluable tips on how to successfully launch a product, manage inventory, and sell the business.  Rabinovich is a top Amazon seller and consultant with years of experience scaling e-commerce brands.

"Ride the Amazon Wave: The Pro Seller's Guide to Private Label Success"  has a 4.8/5 rating.

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E-commerce Tool of the Week 🏫
Fliz uses AI to turn any URL into a high-quality video in minutes. Fliz enables e-commerce merchants to turn a product listing into a sales video that can easily be shared on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook. Fliz enables merchants to produce world-class content, save time and boost conversion rates. Fliz is platform-agnostic and ideal for merchants of all sizes. The company offers various pricing tiers ranging from free to $129/month.

Fliz has a five-star rating on ProductHunt.

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Videos Worth Watching 💸

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An Event You Should Attend! 🗓️

DX3 Canada will be held between April 9-10 in Toronto, Ontario.

Why you should attend:

• The list of speakers includes Uri Gorodzinsky, Managing Director of Amazon Ads, and Andrea Di Domizio, Head of Industry - Retail and Commerce at TikTok.

• You'll be able to attend DX3's Amazon Ads Marketing Innovation Summit, where marketing leaders from several top brands will provide unique tips on how you can accelerate your brand's growth.

Click here to view the agenda and here to buy tickets.
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Did You See That Post

5 Useful Tips for New Amazon Sellers:

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Looking for a mastermind community?

Million Dollar Sellers (MDS) is an exclusive community of 650+ like-minded Amazon and DTC sellers from all over the world. Collectively, our members generate more than 8 billion in annual sales and dominate some of the biggest categories on Amazon. MDS offers world-class events, chapters, industry discounts, resource libraries full of SOPs, templates, and video recordings of private trainings, workshops, events and so much more.

If you are looking for a business professional community made for e-commerce entrepreneurs, then consider applying today. 

*To qualify, you must be a full-time seller or brand owner and do at least 1 million in verified annual revenue.

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Quick Hits:

• Amazon will phase out its "Just Walk Out" technology from its Fresh stores.

• Full Glass Wine, a startup that buys and scales DTC wine marketplaces, raised a $14M Series A.

• Amazon laid off "hundreds" of employees from its AWS division.

• Social commerce startup Flip announced it has secured an additional $144M in venture funding.

• Amazon's efforts to combat unionization cost $3.1M in 2023.

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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,