June has been one of the most important months for the Marketplaces ecosystem. From events, important announcements from Amazon, new players and Marketplace Intelligence. Artificial generando un futuro prometedor. Junio ha sido un terremoto para el ecosistema.
In the different events in which I had the pleasure of participating, SellerEmotion, Digital 1to1 and MarketplaceSummit I was able to share challenges, opportunities and learnings with the rest of the participants that I would like to share very briefly with all of you:
It’s time for Internationalization: there is a great opportunity to scale beyond Spain through these platforms. These platforms have broken many entry barriers to take the first step in selling in other countries and continents and have become great market testers.Profitability must always be present: The margin is one of the KPIS that most obsesses us when we work with marketplaces and everything happens to have controlled all those costs derived from the sale in the channel. Above all, if we work with Amazon we must be very careful with the ‘hidden’ costs of FBA. Rapid adoption of marketplaces is always a benefit for sellers: being able to quickly enter a new marketplace that aligns with your strategy or expand your reach to other countries gives you the possibility to have more channel support and capture a larger market share.
But this month has not only been a month of learning, it has also been a month with very important new products from Amazon.
Also together with Década and AVASK Spain we joined forces and organized a webinar to talk about a topic that raises a lot of expectation and interest for many companies: internationalization in the United States through marketplaces. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about how to sell in the United States, a market that has great potential due to its size and purchasing power. They also learned about the tax implications in the US and about the legislative changes in the United States for 2023.
Amazon Prime Day already has a date: July 11th and 12th.
After long months of waiting, Amazon has announced that Prime Day will take place on July 11 and 12. For 48 hours, Prime customers around the world will be able to take advantage of incredible discounts on a wide selection of products.
However, what does this mean for retailers? These 48 hours represent the result of months of hard work and planning. It is the perfect opportunity for all the strategies developed and preparation done to pay off.
Now you can find Posts in the Amazon Ads Console
Advertisers can now take advantage of the Posts feature directly in the Amazon Ads console, without having to visit posts.amazon.com.
In addition, it is no longer mandatory to have an active store to create posts. Now, all sellers and suppliers with a Brand Profile can create their own posts.
To obtain a Brand Profile, you must be registered with Amazon’s Brand Registry. Learn more about this process.
Until now, Posts was only available outside of the Amazon Ads console and advertisers had to have a store to create a Posts profile.
Changes in Prime eligibility requirements as of June 21, 2023
On June 21, 2023, Prime eligibility requirements will be updated for all sellers in stores in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Belgium.
The Prime eligibility requirements and Prime badge criteria will apply equally to offers from all sellers across the various logistics management (Amazon-managed or seller-managed) and Amazon Retail channels, and are based on indicators of the experience customers expect from Amazon Prime. For an offer to be Prime-eligible, it must be available nationwide, offer free shipping, and offer free returns for Prime members (with limited exceptions based on product weight and for cross-border shipments).
To be eligible for Prime, you must meet the following requirements on an ongoing basis at the product classification level:
- Guaranteed Delivery Date: Prime offers have to meet guaranteed delivery date targets based on product sort level and inventory location type.
- On-time delivery: Prime orders must be delivered on or before the guaranteed delivery date to the customer. You must have an on-time delivery ratio of at least 90%.
- Tracking: You must provide valid tracking information from the carrier when you confirm shipment of Prime orders. Your trackable shipment ratio must be at least 99%.
- Cancellation Rate: The ratio of Prime order cancellations initiated by you prior to handling must be less than or equal to 0.5%.
The marketplace ecosystem is showing us that there is life beyond Amazon and a very clear example of this is the effort that Chinese companies are making to enter the European and U.S. market.
Alibaba considers launching Tmall in Europe
Alibaba is continuing its international push. Now, according to statements from CEO Michael Evans picked up by CNBC, the company plans to expand Tmall to Europe. Evans also revealed that the company is currently conducting a pilot project in Spain.
In China, Tmall is a marketplace for local Chinese and international companies to sell well-known branded products to consumers in mainland China. The launch of Tmall in Europe reflects a significant shift in Alibaba’s strategy for its international e-commerce operations.
Shein prepares to launch its marketplace in Spain
Shein is preparing to launch its own marketplace in Spain as part of its expansion strategy. This initiative marks an important milestone for the company, as it will be the first time it has implemented this model in the Spanish market. The Chinese company has previously been successful in introducing its marketplace in Brazil and the United States, and is now ready to continue expanding to other European countries, including France, Germany and Italy.
Shein’s focus on the Spanish market reinforces its commitment to this sector, which has proven to be very receptive to the platform. During the past month of April, Shein managed to position itself at the top of the most downloaded shopping apps in Spain, maintaining that position in May as well. Although it is currently in second place, surpassed only by Temu, Shein’s presence and popularity in the Spanish market are undeniable.
And of course, I want to dedicate the closing to the already famous AI and its use in the marketplaces ecosystem. Our innovation department is always trying to explore this topic and I share with you some of the most interesting news I have found this month.
Using artificial intelligence to improve Amazon's performance.
Artificial intelligence embodies the ability of machines (i.e., computers) to perform tasks that require human-like associative and creative intelligence. Understanding language, recognizing patterns, solving problems, and learning from past data are just some of the capabilities associated with artificial intelligence. These capabilities are constantly evolving, for example, GPT version 4 is now available, while a possible version 5 is also in the works.
At the heart of artificial intelligence are algorithms capable of processing large amounts of data, learning from feedback and improving performance over time through what is called “learning.” The foundation of generative artificial intelligence goes back to decades of research on “artificial neurons,” which has resulted in today’s highly complex algorithms that mimic human thinking and learning amazingly accurately.
Here are some recommendations to improve your Amazon performance using AI:
- Listing optimization: Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can generate high-quality product descriptions that enhance your brand voice and speak to your target audience.
- Trend forecasting: Artificial intelligence can be used to predict customer demand and changes in the market by analyzing historical data, social networks and other sources..
- Performance improvement: Artificial intelligence can be used to monitor your performance and identify areas for improvement using actionable insights provided by it.
Amazon is collecting and summarizing Reviews with AI
Amazon is testing a feature that adds a block of text above each review with a subheading “Generated by AI from customer review text.” Presumably, the feature ingests all reviews and identifies the most important features and criticisms of each product. Amazon had previously conducted experiments by providing star ratings based on product features, but this latest iteration is the most user-friendly yet. This feature is a key element of Amazon’s AI ambitions.
Currently, the summary generated is basic and does not capture the full breadth of opinions expressed in reviews. It is also uncertain how Amazon handles the proliferation of fake reviews to avoid summarizing fake reviews mixed in with genuine reviews. We will see how this issue develops.
June has been an incredibly exciting month, full of surprises and exciting changes. And the best is yet to come, because even more movement is expected after the summer. I recommend you to follow my newsletter so you don’t miss any news, see you soon!
