[Crew Review] Trucker protest delayed our shipment. How 'bout yours?

Resistance 

AB5, or the gig worker law, is meant to protect the labor sector and ensure they receive their proper benefits. This is done by making it mandatory for companies to classify some independent contractors as employees. However, some of the law’s intended beneficiaries don’t seem to support it as protesters shut down the Port of Oakland.

Ecommerce brands took a hit.
 

Amazon Top Terms

Ecomcrew gathered data from Amazon Brand Analytics and churned out the top 10 trendiest terms that have jumped up in popularity between July 10th to July 23rd.

Some products have a generally steady demand over the year, while others are seasonal, having unusually high peaks during particular months. 

Certain items related to seasonal products such as “air chill blanket” and “cooling blanket for hot sleepers” are more desirable during the summer season and sellers see how seasonality affects their revenue. Some of these products have reached sales of up to 473 units per day in the last few days.

Even Amazon Products Are Adulting

Amazon doesn’t allow sexual imagery or nudity in listings. This is clear in its latest policy update. The company encourages sellers to review their listings for any inappropriate content. Those who fail to do so before September 26, 2022, will have their listings suppressed or restricted in search results.

This may sound straightforward, but a lot of sellers are concerned about what qualifies as explicit sexual imagery and language. For example, a frame hanging kit was recently tagged as an adult product. These are certainly not one of those in Amazon's table. There was no sexual imagery or nudity in the listing, but it did mention “screw” and “slot” quite a bit.

Problems like this arise because Amazon’s bots detect these triggers. When this happens, sellers have to make a case, defending their listings—hopefully, to actual humans who are actually going to take a look at the product.

So Many Layoffs

Some big names in the ecommerce and tech industry are shaving off their workforce for various reasons.

Boosted Commerce, an Amazon aggregator, laid off about 5% of its employees according  to Insider. The layoff affected directors and vice presidents as well as the marketing departments. 

Notably, Thrasio, one of the biggest Amazon aggregators, also laid off 20% of its employees earlier this year. This gave the impression that the rollup business must have slowed down post-pandemic. However, Boosted Commerce insists that it was not struggling. CEO Keith Richman told Insider that they’re simply reallocating their investment.

On the other hand, Shopify is laying off around 1,000 employees. CEO Tobi Lütke admitted that they mistakenly thought the company would continue to grow after COVID. Those in sales, support, and recruitment will be hit the hardest.

Finally, Facebook is letting go of workers who fail to meet its “increased intensity.” Meta is going harder this year, and those who can’t keep up are given the option to leave.

A New Wallet

Amazon recently announced a new feature that will enable third-party sellers to manage their fund on Amazon within Seller Central. The feature, called the Amazon Seller Wallet, gives sellers more control over how much and when to convert their funds. Store proceeds may be transferred directly to the seller’s bank account on their schedule.

A few notes about the Seller Wallet:

• It’s free with no minimum amount requirement.
• Currency conversion and international fees apply.
• It’s currently available only to a few sellers for now but will be rolled out in a few months. 
  
  

The Rise of Prime

Amazon Prime recently increased in the US by $20 and $2 for the annual and monthly subscriptions, respectively. A few months after, Europe will experience similar increases, some going up to 43% a year.

Here are some of the countries affected:

• France: from €49 to €69.90
• Spain and Italy: from €36 to €49.90
• Germany: from €69 to €89.90
• The United Kingdom: from £79 to £95

Unsurprisingly, Amazon points to increased operating costs and inflation as the causes of the fee hike.

Product Research Direct from the Experts

How do you look for the right products to sell online?

This August 3 at 1 PM (PST), EcomCrew teams up with Helium 10 to give you some of the best strategies to leverage your competitor’s keyword ranking strategy and find your next best seller, whether on or off Amazon.

Brand Evangelist Shivali Patel will demonstrate how to use Helium 10 to find the most effective keywords to succeed on Amazon and on other ecommerce sites such as Walmart. The techniques you will learn will help boost both your sales and brand awareness.

This webinar is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Reserve my seat.