Are product recommendations even possible without 3rd-party cookies? [MDSR #10]

MDSR readers have spoken and 47% think tailor made product recommendations are the killer application of eCommerce AI. 

The AI news overfloweth this week, so let’s get into the intel and (free) million dollar advice you need to put it to work.

Hot Off The Presses 📰

Competition is alive and well in 2024 with TikTok, Temu, and Shein, setting up shop in (and poaching employees from) Amazon’s own backyard. But with Amazon’s impressive defense maneuvers (like logistics deals with Shopify and Salesforce, and their in-app shopping features on Facebook and Instagram) it’s hard to say just how far this US arms race will go. 

Especially with TikTok under scrutiny for protection of minors over harmful content. And Temu’s ad strategy bludgeoning us into knowing its name…

But it’s anyone’s game when the game is constantly changing — and becoming increasingly powered by AI advancements. With the introduction of OpenAI’s Sora, people can now create impressive videos from a few verbal cues to impressive results — albeit eerily similar to copyrighted materials. And a new AI model from Amazon is exhibiting language abilities that it wasn’t even trained on, and learning more like a human being than an AI. 

AI is even changing SEO as we know it with Google’s Search Generative Experience — and Gartner predicting search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 thanks to AI chatbots and other virtual agents doing the heavy lifting for people. 

If you told us AI was somehow responsible for the demise of third-party cookies that’s single handedly turning digital advertising on its head, we’d probably believe that, too. But with Meta passing Apple’s tax for boosted posts onto advertisers and their recent error causing campaigns to overspend by thousands, marketers seem eager for a new advertising landscape. And they’re already testing out cookieless ad methods like Shopify Audiences, a data-sharing and machine-learning co-op that gives Shopify Plus merchants a leg up in digital ads. 

So, you can take everything you once knew about digital marketing and forget about it. Because now we all need to level up… 

Million Dollar Advice 💸 

If this is how you think…

I can handle every business decision, challenge, and opportunity completely on my own — it just comes with the territory of being an entrepreneur. Asking others for their opinion when they haven’t been in my exact same situation seems like a waste of time…

Then you may be making things harder than they have to be by operating your business in a total vacuum. 

Sure, there’s plenty you can do all by yourself — but Tim Jordan would be the first to tell you there’s a case to be made for being open and transparent about what they’re going up against.

Listen to Tim Jordan - The 'Learn As You Go' Approach: From Firefighter to eCommerce

Personalization In A Post-Cookie World 🍪

Personalized product recs powered by AI are top of mind for most of you. And with figures like 35% of Amazon purchases being attributed to product recommendations, it’s easy to see why. 

Third-party cookies have been fundamental for ad targeting and content personalization for the last 20 years — but Google started phasing them out last month, and they’ll be gone altogether by the end of 2024. 

This means that eCommerce sellers will have to get creative and adopt new ways of collecting and using zero and first-party data — the info site visitors and customers voluntarily share with you — while still respecting users’ privacy. 

The good news is that simple online forms are the perfect hack to get all the data you need for personalization. 

Here are some creative ways to add forms to your online store strategy:  

1. Rethink the website signup form → Instead of greeting site visitors with a popup asking for their name and email, ask them 3-5 questions tailored to your products (think: clothing sizes and color preferences for a T-shirt company, or health goals and workout frequency for a fitness company) — just make them “non-required” fields to keep people from bouncing. 

2. Send a post-purchase survey → These can be sent any time between when the customer clicks “buy” to a week or more after delivery depending on what you sell — and with the right mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions, you can capture a 360 view of qualitative and quantitative data around what your customers like (or don’t).

3. Chatbot conversations → Customers tend to be more than willing to share some first-party data if it will help them track down the timely info they need. Pop-up and chatbot questions can range from questions about a specific order or product to a broad “how can we help you today?” — all of which help you gather info about customers and remove friction. 

4. Customer preference profiles →  Similar to customer account signups, preference profiles take the data a step further by giving customers the choice of how much they hear from you, and about what topics. 

5. Guided selling quizzes → Quizzes are probably the best way to engage site visitors, build your brand, and unlock useful data — all at the same time. This can look like a product recommendation quiz to match the customer to the right offering, a personality quiz to let customers discover what “type” of product or service they need — or even a trivia quiz to promote products, build brand awareness, and discover customer insights in a more carefree way. 

The only risk of switching to cookieless personalization is waiting — so, the sooner you act, the better. 

ChatGPT Prompts  🤖

Speaking of zero and first-party data, you can literally ask ChatGPT to come up with form questions tailored to your business…

• Come up with questions for a website signup form to understand customer preferences for [PRODUCT]

• Write a list of post-purchase survey questions for [PRODUCT]

• Develop a Chatbot script that prompts site visitors to share their name, email, or order number before to show relevant FAQs 

• Come up with a clever and creative guided selling quiz to help [TARGET AUDIENCE] find the right [PRODUCT] for them on my website

You’re welcome :)

Upcoming eCom Events  🗓️

ICYMI, Carbon6 is our Headline Partner for MDS Inspire 2024 and we’re absolutely thrilled about it 🤝

Teaming up with Carbon6 means we're in for an amazing event. Together, we'll bring you top-notch discussions, fresh ideas, and great connections.

👐 Their commitment to supporting sellers in optimizing and scaling their businesses perfectly aligns with our vision for this event.

With Carbon6 on board, Inspire 2024 is shaping up to be a must-attend experience that'll leave you inspired and ready to take on new challenges! 🔥

AI Playlist ⏯️

Think these are helpful?

eCom Stock Watch 📊

AMAZON → Last earnings report on February 1, 2024, next earnings report date TBC

Amazon stock started 2024 at $151.94. Today Amazon traded at $167.08, up +8.5% this month and +10% from the start of the year. Their forecasted price for the end of 2024 is now $244 (+46% from today and +61% YoY). Prices are expected to hit $245 by summer 2025 and $260 at year end (+56% from the current price). 

SHOPIFY → Last earnings report on February 13, 2024, next earnings report date TBC

Shopify stock was $77.90 at the top of 2024. Today they traded at $78.62, down -6% this month but up +1% from the start of the year. By the end of 2024, their price is expected to hit $164.24 (+109% from today, and +111% YoY) — and $192.39 by the end of 2025 (+145% from the current price).

ALIBABA → Last earnings report on February 7, 2024, next earnings report date TBC

Alibaba stock started 2024 at $77.51. Today they traded at $73.14, up +10% this month and down -6% from the start of the year. By the end of 2024, their price is expected to hit $81.25 (+11% from today and +5% YoY) — and $98.73 by the end of 2025 (+35% from the current price).

WALMART → Last earnings report on February 20, 2024, next earnings report date TBC

Walmart stock came into 2024 at $157.65. Today they traded at $175.86, up +7% this month and +12% from the start of the year. By the end of 2024, their price is expected to hit $197 (+12% from today and +25% YoY) — and $207 by the end of 2025 (+18% from the current price).

Did you see that post 📲

This is huge for Amazon campaign optimization…

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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