Issue 101: Amazon influencer marketing & TikTok’s impact on eCommerce
Hello, MyFBAPrep Sellers!
Today we dive into the world of social media, influencers across platforms, and creating trustworthy content. Read on for the best tips from pros in our network.
Creating Content With Research and Partnerships: A Chat With Tristan Williams of Envision Horizons
In this video, Rachel Go chats with Tristan Williams of Envision Horizons about managing marketing, creating content, learning about Amazon and eCommerce platform trends, and more.
The Evolution of Influencer Marketing on Amazon
The Amazon Influencer Program was designed to forge a relationship between Amazon sellers and influencers, acknowledging influencers’ crucial role in modern eCommerce strategies.
Liz Saunders’ discovery of the Amazon Influencer Program was almost serendipitous, the result of a friend’s recommendation to explore this emerging opportunity. “A friend of mine was like, ‘Hey, you like all the Amazon stuff. You should take a look at the Amazon Influencer Program.’”
The program represented a significant digital marketing shift, providing a formal platform for influencers to connect with brands and promote products within Amazon’s marketplace. It recognized influencers’ critical role in driving eCommerce success and so gave them the tools and support necessary to create impactful content that drives sales and engagement.
Through Saunders’ involvement in the program, we see a vivid illustration of how Amazon began to bridge the gap between the potential of influencer marketing and the platform’s operational capabilities, setting the stage for a new era of eCommerce strategies that leverage the power of influencer partnerships.
Learn about the Amazon Influencer Program and how to leverage it.
Keep up with booming sales on Amazon
Whether it’s from your new influencer content, or thanks to Prime Day, you can work with MyFBAPrep to ensure your Amazon store stays stocked and products flow seamlessly into FBA whenever you need to replenish.
The Rise of eCommerce on TikTok: A New Frontier for Sellers
Don’t discount TikTok just yet! Compelling statistics underscore the engagement and trustworthiness of TikTok Shop among users:
- 50% of TikTok users have purchased something after watching TikTok LIVE.
- TikTok users are 50% more interested in branded LIVE content than non-TikTok users.
- One in five live streaming users watch TikTok LIVE, with 62% viewing it every day.
- TikTok users are twice as likely to trust live content for shopping compared to non-TikTok users.
- TikTok LIVE users are 1.5 times more likely to consider TikTok their most trustworthy platform for shopping.
Learn how to leverage TikTok for your brand.
Top Industry News
Next-Level Ecommerce: AI’s Secret Weapon For Personalized Experiences (Forbes)
As e-commerce competition intensifies and personalized shopping experiences reign supreme, businesses of all sizes are under increasing pressure to keep customers with short attention spans and precious little loyalty devoted and engaged. Artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a pivotal ally in this quest, offering tools to craft hyper-personalized shopping journeys. Without a doubt, AI is reshaping the retail landscape by creating unique, tailored experiences that resonate deeply with individual shoppers.
Maad Raises $3.2M Seed Amid B2B eCommerce Sector Turbulence in Africa (TechCrunch)
Maad, a B2B e-commerce startup based in Senegal, has secured $3.2 million debt-equity funding to bolster its growth in the western Africa country and to explore fresh opportunities in the wider Francophone region. Maad’s end-to-end distribution platform enables informal retailers (mom and pop stores) to source fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) directly from partner suppliers, tackling key issues they face, including stockouts and high-cost of inventory brought by multiple levels of dealers.
How a TikTok Ban Could Impact eCommerce Retailers (Digital Commerce 360)
TikTok Shop hasn’t publicly released any total sales figures. In November alone, 5 million new customers made purchases through TikTok Shop during the marketplace’s holiday promotions, TikTok said. TikTok reportedly had plans to grow its ecommerce reach in the U.S. this year. A Bloomberg report found that TikTok aims to grow U.S. ecommerce sales to $17.5 billion in 2024.
Shark Tank Entrepreneur: E-commerce Giants are Eating My Sister’s Lunch—and Destroying the American Dream (Fortune)
In the wild west that is today’s e-commerce landscape, there is only one way to describe the current patent enforcement system: a disaster that is slowly but surely killing the American Dream. Large online retailers such as the Chinese titans TEMU and Shein have established business models that significantly profit from the stolen intellectual property of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Even beloved retailers, including Shopify, Etsy, and eBay have benefitted from a blatant lack of patent enforcement. With no reasonable legal recourse for the little guy, small businesses pursuing true innovation find themselves exploited, manipulated, and left out in the cold. Although all these companies say they do their best to counter knockoffs, our experience proves the opposite.
More Sellers Hit $1 Million Milestone on Amazon in 2023 (Chain Store Age)
The e-tail giant said that more than 10,000 independent sellers surpassed $1 million in sales for the first time on its site in 2023. According to Amazon, during 2023, independent sellers in the U.S. grew sales to more than 4.5 billion items—an average of 8,600 every minute– and averaged more than $250,000 in annual sales.
Like a ‘Kick in the Gut’: Sellers Pinched by New Fees on Amazon (Boston Herald)
Amazon said the new fees are intended to reflect its own cost of distributing inventory around the U.S. so more items can be delivered in just one day, which helps boost overall sales for online merchants. Some fees actually went down. In January, Amazon cut commissions for sellers of low-cost apparel, a move interpreted by merchants as an effort to blunt competition from Chinese fast-fashion startup Shein.
Healthy Growth Helps B2B Food eCommerce Startup Pepper Nab $30 Million Led by ICONIQ Growth (TechCrunch)
Pepper, the e-commerce platform for food distributors, continues to edge into Sysco and US Foods territory by giving smaller, independent distributors a technology leg up. The company developed an ordering system specifically for independent food distributors that supports catalogs of over 100,000 items, and enables these companies to launch mobile apps and websites so they can accept orders and payments online.
Until next time,
Rachel Andrea Go
Marketing Director, MyFBAPrep