[Crew Review] The end of targeted marketing?

Your data, your choice

Why Facebook hates Apple's new iOS

Apple’s latest iOS 14 gives users more freedom in terms of data protection—and it’s ruffling Mark Zuckerberg’s feathers.

Better privacy features are incorporated into the new iOS, and one in particular is said to threaten personalized ads that help small business owners target customers on Facebook.

Mark is not happy about this, but because we can’t really tell what he feels by looking at his face, the social media platform launched a page full of testimonies about concerns for the changes.

The main problem of sellers with iOS 14 is that it can disable personalized advertising. This tool is responsible for helping Facebook determine, based on user data, what interests a person has and presents paid advertisements that match those interests.

Without personalized ads, it can mean less conversion rates for business owners because they can’t target the right customers. Translation: higher costs for marketing.

To this unease, Apple claps back that apps can still be allowed access to user data—but only if permission is given first.

In relation to this new feature, apps on the iStore now show how they are going to use user info. They can indicate which data will be used anonymously, which can be linked back to the user, and which can be used for tracking.

With this move, the tech company is lessening the chances of having unwanted surprises creep up, unlike when Facebook silently changed its homepage slogan “It’s free and always will be” to “It’s quick and easy” back in 2019.

E-commerce in an America under Biden

Speaking of data protection, Apple’s iOS isn’t the only thing that Facebook should be worried about.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that under Biden’s leadership, more regular scrutiny is expected for big tech companies, including Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

These companies should also prepare their wallets under a bluer America.

Before he was even elected as president, Biden had openly criticized Amazon’s zero 2018 federal tax bill, tweeting that no company making billions should be allowed to pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers.

With his proposal to increase corporate taxes as well as minimum wage, Amazon might have to shell out more money both to the government and its own workers. It won’t be long before these costs will be defrayed by the sellers in one way or another.

Furthermore, Biden is also concerned about data access, which may have an effect similar to the one caused by iOS 14.

The United States is now under a president who is not fond of Amazon from the get-go and who is willing to go through great lengths to collect more money from Jeff Bezos. It will be no surprise when third-party sellers start feeling the adverse effects of sharper legal teeth.

Elon is now richer than Uncle Jeff

Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos’ net worth at the opening of 2021. | KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES

There’s more bad news for Amazon’s founder. After the company’s stock fell by 1.2%, Jeff Bezos is $2 billion poorer than he was last year.

This puts him second only to Tesla founder Elon Musk whose net worth is about $1 billion more.

This might not be much of a loss for Jeff considering his great wealth and lack of necessity to buy shampoo. But he would need every penny he has with Joe Biden in the White House, ready to collect more taxes.

Advertising management in one dashboard

Amazon rolled out its manager account, which allows sellers to manage multiple sponsored ads accounts in a single dashboard.

This feature permits users to

• Link multiple country-specific accounts into a single regional manager account
• Export all performance metrics on all linked accounts
• Streamline billing and payments
• Invite new users to access all linked accounts

The manager account makes it easier for sellers to manage their ads by incorporating all the necessary information and action in one place.

One less thing you can do on Amazon

While Amazon has added new features, it also took out an important one: the ability to reply to customers’ comments.

Last month, multiple sellers received an email similar to this:

In deciding on the removal, Amazon explained that the feature was “rarely used.” Many sellers disagree on this statement since it can be helpful to address specific customer concerns directly.

Sellers who actively reply to negative comments to reach out with a solution also use it to not scare off potential customers who are browsing their listings.

Amazon superfans

E-commerce has continued to grow in the last year, largely because of the limitations posed by the global pandemic. And with Amazon getting a huge slice of the pie and its customer-centric Flywheel model, there’s no wonder why there are more Amazon superfans now.

These loyal customers cite fast and free shipping, more product options, and review programs as some of the reasons why they regularly purchase from Amazon.

With more people getting comfortable with buying online, it won’t be surprising to see a surge in numbers of these superfans.

What happens when you have nothing to sell on Amazon

Running out of inventory means more than just not having anything to sell. Many sellers believe that this also significantly affects ranking.

But does it really?

We’ve studied the effects of stockout and determined that it is not as devastating to rankings as it once was. Nevertheless, it’s still better not to run out of stock especially if it can be prevented by proper planning.

Importing from China takes more than just a quick Alibaba search for suppliers and making a deal with them.

If you want to learn how to time your inventory delivery properly by polishing your negotiation skills and understanding the process of importing, we developed a course that covers both the basics and the advanced techniques.

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