As we wrap up the first month of the year, big changes happened in online marketplaces like Amazon and TikTok. From TikTok’s push into the US and North America to new updates on Amazon PPC, our January news and updates have got you covered. So, get ready to learn about the latest e-commerce updates that are set to shape the future of online selling.
A quick view into the article:
- Amazon Extra SEO Fields
- Amazon Comparison Chart Changes
- Sponsored Brands Theme Targeting
- Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” Program
- Brand Tailored Promotions Expands Internationally
- Amazon Sponsored Brands Video
- Amazon’s AI Optimization
- TikTok’s E-commerce Expansion
- TikTok’s Fee and Order Minimum Changes
Amazon Extra SEO Fields
One noteworthy development that has caught the attention of Amazon sellers is the introduction of Amazon Extra SEO Fields. This update allows sellers to expand search term fields to a generous 500 characters, doubling the previous limit. This expanded character limit offers a broader canvas to refine your SEO strategy. By incorporating a wider array of keywords and phrases relevant to their products, you can increase the chances of appearing in relevant search results and attracting more potential buyers.
Moreover, sellers now have the option to include up to 5 descriptions and 10 bullet points per product listing. This provides them with a unique opportunity to provide comprehensive and detailed information about their products. By highlighting key features, benefits, and unique selling points, sellers can better engage with shoppers and differentiate their offerings from competitors.
With these enhancements, sellers can stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of shoppers browsing Amazon’s marketplace. By using the expanded search term fields and enriching product descriptions, sellers can effectively optimize their listings to improve visibility, drive traffic, and ultimately increase sales.
Overall, Amazon’s update to the search term fields represents a significant opportunity for sellers to strengthen their online presence and maximize their success on the platform.
Amazon Comparison Chart Changes
The Amazon Comparison Chart feature has undergone significant changes. These changes will affect sellers’ ability to modify Comparison Charts and other informational documents associated with their product listings. Sellers are now restricted from making modifications to Comparison Charts and other informational documents such as Application Guides, Brochures, Compatibility Guide, FAQs, Size Guide, Specification Sheet, or Product Documents. This means they have limited control over how certain product details are displayed to customers. Amazon’s goal with these changes is to create a more consistent and streamlined shopping experience for customers.
While standardization may benefit customers, it may pose challenges for sellers who rely on Comparison Charts to highlight unique features or specifications of their products. Sellers need to monitor how these changes impact their ability to effectively manage and showcase their products on Amazon. Adapting strategies to comply with the new guidelines may be necessary to maintain competitiveness on the platform.
Amazon Sponsored Brands Theme Targeting
Sponsored Brands is rolling out a groundbreaking feature known as theme targeting. This update simplifies the process of campaign creation by introducing a model-based approach to targeting themes. Here are the two targeting groups:
- Keywords related to your brand: These are keywords that are closely tied to your brand name or products.
- Keywords related to your landing pages: These are keywords that are relevant to the content on your landing pages.
With theme targeting, advertisers can now easily select keywords related to their brand or landing pages. This makes it easier for advertisers to tailor their campaigns to reach their desired audience effectively. Theme targeting utilizes a model-based approach to identify and target relevant themes based on the advertiser’s selected keywords. This allows for a more precise and targeted advertising strategy, ensuring that ads reach the most relevant audience for improved campaign performance.
Sponsored Brands’ new theme targeting feature represents a significant advancement in goal-based advertising campaigns on Amazon. By simplifying campaign creation and offering more precise targeting options, this update will boost the effectiveness and efficiency of sponsored brand campaigns for advertisers.
Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” Program
Amazon Subscribe & Save Program offers a unique way to engage customers and drive consistent sales. This program allows customers to subscribe to regularly receive your products and enjoy the convenience of automatic deliveries with savings of up to 15%. The new updates Amazon auto-enrolls if the product is eligible for this program, and you can now easily check it from Seller Central.
To check the eligibility, log in to your Seller Central account, head to Growth, and select Explore Programs.
Within the Increase Conversion section, locate and choose Subscribe & Save. Click on Learn More to delve into the program details.
Now, click on Check Subscribe & Save eligibility for FBA Products to check.
Give your ASIN, and SKU then click on Check Eligibility. This way you can see easily if the product is eligible for this program or not.
Amazon Brand Tailored Promotions Expanding Internationally
Brand Tailored Promotions is designed to create customized promotional offers and has now expanded its reach to seven new international stores. If you’re an Amazon seller based in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, or Canada, you can now take advantage of this exciting opportunity to enhance your sales strategy. It enables sellers to create and distribute custom promo codes to their most loyal customers, also known as Brand Tailored Audiences. These personalized offers can incentivize repeat purchases and foster brand loyalty among customers. Sellers have the flexibility to offer discounts ranging from 10% to 50% off on any product within their brand catalog.
The expansion of Brand Tailored Promotions presents a golden opportunity for sellers to capitalize on holiday shopping events and seasonal trends. By running targeted promotions during peak shopping periods, sellers can attract new customers and drive incremental sales.
Amazon Sponsored Brands Video
Amazon Sponsored Brands has introduced a new feature to launch video-only creatives via the advertising console and Amazon Ads API. Advertisers now can create and launch video-only creatives as part of their Sponsored Brands campaigns. These videos serve as powerful tools for conveying brand messaging, showcasing product features, and immersing customers in compelling storytelling experiences. Video-only creatives are designed to drive customers directly to the advertiser’s Amazon store, providing a seamless path to purchase. With this feature, advertisers can increase conversion rates and capitalize on immediate buying intent. Video content allows brands to connect with audiences on an emotional level, building trust, loyalty, and affinity for the brand.
This new creative, available under Goals > Grow brand impression share, allows advertisers to tell their branded story without tying a video campaign to a product, or a collection of products. This ad will be eligible for top-of-search placements only and will allow advertisers to set a performance-based goal for brand-building purposes and receive the unique campaign configurations to achieve that goal. Specifically, advertisers can now optimize video campaigns for their brand’s share of voice, on Amazon.
Advertisers will also have the option to edit their existing live video campaigns under Grow brand impression share and eliminate highlighted products. This allows advertisers to edit a live campaign without needing to re-create a new campaign.
Amazon’s AI Optimization
In recent times, there has been a notable uptick in complaints from sellers regarding unexpected modifications to their product listings on Amazon. Sellers have reported alterations to titles, bullet points, descriptions, and even instances of listings being suppressed without prior notification. Upon investigation, it has been confirmed that Amazon has implemented AI-driven optimization processes for product listings.
The AI algorithms are programmed to scan and analyze listings, determining areas where content can be improved or optimized for better performance. The implementation of AI optimization has presented sellers with a myriad of challenges. Sellers who encounter issues with AI-driven modifications to their listings have the option to opt out of Amazon’s AI optimization processes. This can be done by reaching out to Amazon support and requesting to disable AI-driven optimizations for their listings.
TikTok’s E-commerce Expansion
Recent reports have unveiled TikTok’s ambitious plans to venture into the e-commerce business with a massive $17.5 billion investment, targeting Amazon’s turf.
In the past year alone, TikTok has demonstrated remarkable growth, boasting a global gross merchandise value of approximately $20 billion. Notably, Southeast Asia emerged as a key market, with TikTok dominating the sales game in the region. While TikTok’s presence in the American market has yet to reach similar heights, the company is gearing up to set new benchmarks in the US and North America.
As TikTok continues to make strides in the e-commerce arena, industry observers are keenly anticipating the impact of its ambitious ventures. With its innovative approach to blending entertainment and commerce, TikTok has the potential to disrupt traditional e-commerce models and shape the future of online shopping.
TikTok’s Fee and Order Minimum Changes
TikTok has recently announced significant adjustments to its referral fees and order minimums, signaling strategic shifts in its approach to monetization and profitability.
TikTok is set to raise its referral fees imposed on Merchants, with rates climbing to 6% of each sale starting in April, and further escalating to 8% by July across most product categories. While these increases may seem substantial, it’s worth noting that TikTok’s referral fees still remain notably lower compared to Amazon, where the referral fee stands at a hefty 15%. This move underscores TikTok’s ambitious expansion plans, particularly in the lucrative US and Latin American markets.
With adjustments to referral fees, TikTok is also raising order minimums for shoppers. These changes may impact the purchasing behavior of consumers.
Final Thoughts
And that was all about the e-commerce news and updates of January 2024. These updates promise to bring a fresh perspective to online selling. As the e-commerce platform continues to evolve, staying informed about these changes is your key to success.
If you have any queries, please let us know through the comment box or email us at info@ecomclips.com. We understand that every situation is different, so we offer a personalized approach to our service.
To know more about Amazon, please check out our other blog. Also, you can check our YouTube videos related to Amazon.
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