Ecommerce & Marketplaces Newsletter – Feb 2nd, 2024

Feb 2, 2024 | Newsletter

In this edition, CNBC story reports that Amazon has introduced Rufus, a generative artificial intelligence-based shopping assistant designed to aid customers in finding products. CEO Andy Jassy stated that the company intends to integrate generative AI throughout all its business operations. Rufus uses Amazon’s product catalog, customer reviews, and Q&As, as well as information from across the web, to answer questions. Nowadays, the typical shopper uses three different marketplaces for online purchases as alternative platforms gain traction. Despite consumers being willing to diversify their shopping sources, Amazon remains the most trusted, with 42% of consumers expressing trust in Amazon compared to 34% who trust a brand’s direct-to-consumer website and 21% who trust other private marketplaces. ChannelX has some exciting findings based on the new research by Rithium. Newegg attributed its successful fourth quarter to increased gaming accessory sales through TikTok Shop. NightCap exited the platform following penalties that included bans; the story from Digital Commerce 360 has more details. TikTok reportedly 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. In the fiercely competitive online retail landscape, developing a solid ecommerce growth strategy is not merely advantageous—it’s critical. Numerous ecommerce enterprises face the hurdle of distinguishing themselves within a bustling and ever-changing digital market. A great how-to story from Mediatool emphasizes a well-crafted e-commerce growth strategy that pays close attention to the customer journey, aiming to create seamless and memorable experiences for online shoppers. Artificial intelligence has emerged as a critical catalyst in contemporary business practices, fostering efficiency, innovation, and competitive edge. Autogpt looks at top ten AI projects revolutionizing e-commerce. Read this and other great stories in this week’s edition.

Notable news from the past week


Amazon Announces AI Shopping Assistant Called Rufus

Amazon on Thursday announced a new artificial intelligence assistant for shopping called Rufus. The tool is designed to help users search and shop for products. Shoppers type or speak a question into the search bar in Amazon’s mobile app and a chat window will appear at the bottom of their screen. Users can ask conversational questions such as, “What are the differences between trail and road running shoes?” or “Compare drip and pour-over coffee makers.” “Rufus meaningfully improves how easy it is for customers to find and discover the best products to meet their needs,” Amazon said in a blog post. Rufus uses Amazon’s product catalog, customer reviews and Q&As, as well as information from across the web to answer questions, the company said. Amazon said it’s testing the feature with a small subset of users in the U.S. but intends to roll it out nationwide in the coming weeks.

Digital Commerce 360

Retailers Weigh In On Early TikTok Shop Results

The Newegg Commerce Inc. fully embraced TikTok Shop as part of its live shopping strategy over the 2023 holidays. The technology retailer held a 24-hour livestream shopping event on the platform for Cyber Monday, with great success, it said. “TikTok is a great way to get Newegg in front of people who have not shopped from Newegg before,” director of Newegg studios Drew Roder said. With the marketplace poised to take on a bigger role in ecommerce in 2024, other retailers are considering whether to join and how to best leverage it. Newegg is No. 57 in the Top 1000. The Top 1000 database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers by web sales. TikTok Shop launched in the U.S. in September 2023 with more than 200,000 sellers and 100,000 creators sharing products through its affiliate program, a spokesperson said.

Three in Four Consumers Now Browse Multiple Marketplaces Pre-purchase

The average consumer now shops on three marketplaces when purchasing online as challengers grow in popularity. While shoppers are open to expanding their options, Amazon holds their trust with 42% saying they trust Amazon versus 34% for a brand’s direct-to-consumer website, and 21% for other private marketplaces. These findings come from new research by Rithum, the global ecommerce company formerly known as CommerceHub and ChannelAdvisor. The brand surveyed 1,000 consumers and 250 ecommerce decision makers in the UK to discover how consumers are changing their shopping habits and how brands are preparing for ongoing sales challenges in 2024. Fear of missing out on a deal has also been found to influence purchase decisions, with half (51%) of respondents admitting to abandoning a purchase if they suspect the price could be better elsewhere or decrease in the future. This trend coincides with the popularity of marketplaces, where consumers, enabled by features like price comparison and reviews, can shop around for the best value.

Ecommerce Growth Strategy: Navigating the Online Marketplace

In the competitive world of online retail, establishing a robust ecommerce growth strategy is not just beneficial—it’s essential. Many ecommerce businesses encounter the challenge of standing out in a crowded and dynamic digital marketplace. With an ever-increasing number of online stores vying for attention, the absence of a well-defined growth strategy can leave an ecommerce business struggling to find its footing. The issue is multifaceted: understanding the diverse needs of potential customers, effectively reaching and engaging them, and turning them into loyal patrons. Additionally, the rapid pace of technological advancements and changing consumer behaviors make it imperative for e-commerce businesses to adapt quickly and intelligently. To tackle these challenges, a well-crafted ecommerce growth strategy is key to make informed decisions, optimize operations, and achieve sustainable growth in a highly competitive online environment.

Ten AI Projects Revolutionizing Ecommerce

Artificial intelligence has become a driving force in modern businesses, enabling efficiency, innovation, and strategic advantage. In the realm of e-commerce, the impact of AI continues to grow, transforming various aspects of online retail operations. By delving into the cutting-edge AI projects that are revolutionizing e-commerce, businesses can harness these innovative technologies to stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the competitive digital landscape. One of the key AI projects revolutionizing e-commerce is AutoGPT, an artificial intelligence system with the capability to write its own code and execute Python scripts. Its advanced features open up a world of possibilities for automating and developing e-commerce platforms. A. The capabilities of AutoGPT in writing code and executing Python scripts AutoGPT is designed to understand and generate code based on natural language input. This enables it to write code snippets or even complete programs in response to specific tasks. Its ability to execute Python scripts further enhances its potential to automate e-commerce operations and streamline various processes.

The Future of E-commerce is Circular

Consumers don’t want their lifestyle to add to the landfill (especially millennials and Gen Z). They are increasingly seeking brands that align with their values and provide solutions to the waste that they and their products create. The explosive growth of DTC e-commerce has shifted the responsibility of dealing with packaging and product waste from centralized retail stores to the homes and trash bins of individual consumers. The infrastructure to deal with this waste has not (and cannot) evolve fast enough to keep up – our bins, garbage trucks, and landfills are filling up with cardboard boxes, single-use plastics, and fast-fashion textiles. Over 3 billion (with a B) trees are cut down every year to make paper and cardboard packaging. Cardboard is now the #1 component of municipal solid waste (landfill) in America and makes up 40% of the total, where it decomposes into methane and other greenhouse gases, warming the planet.

How AI Is Changing Ecommerce Personalization

As online retail evolves seemingly by the day, artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in a new era of ecommerce personalization. AI-powered personalization is transforming the way businesses engage with their customers, creating tailored and immersive experiences that were just recently impossible to offer. With AI paving the way for ecommerce companies to gain a deeper understanding of their customers, these companies can now make the incredible transformation from offering limited or siloed personalized experiences online to offering limitless personalized experiences across all channels of the customer journey. How, exactly? The power of AI, generative AI specifically. By analyzing vast amounts of data, generative AI algorithms can uncover valuable insights about individual preferences, behaviors and purchasing patterns. This newfound knowledge empowers ecommerce businesses to deliver personalized recommendations, curated product selections and targeted advertisements that resonate on a much more intimate level with each customers.

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