[Crew Review] Is Amazon stealing Shopify’s data?

All rise

Last April, Amazon launched Buy with Prime, a feature that allows sellers to offer Prime benefits on non-Amazon platforms. Needless to say, it competes directly with other sites’ checkout services. 

Shopify is warning its sellers.

A $20 Million Glow Up

The Port of Los Angeles is one of the busiest seaports in the world. In June 2021, it processed 10 million container units during a 12-month period.

Due to its importance in trade and as a way to try to counteract the effects of inflation by bringing shipping costs down, the port was awarded a $20 million RAISE infrastructure grant. The RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program gives discretionary grants for projects that will help modernize transportation across the country.

The $20 million grant will be used to build a road-railway grade separation project at the port, estimated to result in the reduction of 2,500 truck-hour delays daily.

Too Hot

Amazon understands that no one likes to receive melted chocolate when it’s supposed to be solid. 

We get it. It’s messy. 

So in answer to multiple customer complaints, the ecommerce giant recently announced that it’s going to implement a new meltable product shipping policy for MFN sellers. Here’s the breakdown of the announcement. 

• When does it take effect? - September 21, 2022
• What does it cover? - Heat-sensitive products
• What are its consequences to sellers? - When you receive multiple melted products complaints, Amazon might 1) remove the offer AND 2) either suspend or deactivate your seller account.

Apple vs. Google and Meta

Remember when Apple rolled out the iOS 14, earning the ire of Facebook? (Yep, this was before its rebranding to Meta.)

Facebook accused the iOS of harming small businesses because it gives users the option to keep their data private and to block apps from accessing them. Translation: It’s harder to make ads targeted.

Since then, Apple has released more privacy features, including App Tracking Transparency, which was launched in mid-2021. Now, a year later, it has boosted Apple’s search ad business so well the company is now a threat to the Facebook-Google duopoly.

This is according to a study published by Appsumer, which reported that while Apple grew its search ads business by 94.8% YoY, Facebook and Google appear to be slowing down. 

This is hardly surprising, especially for Facebook (now Meta) because it had already foreseen that ATT will cut into its ad revenues.

This rise is not unlike Amazon’s increase in digital ad shares.

Are Shipping and Logistics Killing Your Business?

One of our top articles last year was an explainer on why sea freights have soared by 300%. 

It wasn’t surprising.

Fellow importers have shared their woes about the continuously rising prices of getting products from the manufacturer to the customer’s doorstep.

Fortunately, there are ways to maximize your shipment. These strategies work whether you’re getting your inventory from China or anywhere else. Here are just some of the most important things we’ve learned after years of importing: 

• When you should ship via air 
• The best ways to ship via air/sea
• How to select and negotiate with a 3PL
• How to ship from China for optimal costs
• How to reduce transit times from China 
• How to save on FBA fees 

We’re diving deeper into these topics on our next Secret Sauce mini-class on September 15, 2022 at 10AM (PST).

For members, expect your unique link by next week. Non-members can join by signing up here.

What Happens in Vegas

We’ve been raving about the Sell + Scale Summit for months, so we hope your tickets are ready because it’s only a few days away!

Get to learn and interact with industry experts and fellow e-commerce sellers from around the globe. Gary Vaynerchuk and Neil Patel will be there, along with EcomCrew’s very own Mike Jackness.
 

All the VIP tickets are sold out, but you can still purchase Platinum tickets. Use the code S3PAXECOMCREW to get $100 off. 

See you in Vegas.