The Webretailer News Digest July 4, 2022
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Amazon preps sellers for Prime Day
Prime Day is just around the corner, and sellers around the world are prepping for the big day. To help merchants get ready, the retail giant released a list of tips focused on maximizing revenue from the enormous boost in site visitors.
Amazon third-party sellers definitely reaped the benefits on Prime Day last year as it was the largest two-day period ever. We recommend you take advantage if you’re a seller on the platform. Below are some of the top tips the retail giant suggested:
- Coupons – The announcement reminded people that coupons are a nice incentive to get people to buy. The tactic works even up until the day before Prime Day, but be sure to use these Amazon coupon guidelines –
- Has a discount of at least 5%
- Set July 12-13 for the coupon dates
- Use Prime Exclusive targeting
- Make sure Prime is the ASIN
- Prime Day Store Layout (Time-sensitive) – It’s possible to set up a ‘Prime Version’ of your store using the ‘Store scheduling feature’. But it requires at least a week for approval, so get it done immediately if you want to take advantage.
- Ad Budget – Prime Day nets higher traffic, which can eat through your ad budget quickly. If you hit your max, your ads will pause until midnight. Don’t let this happen! Be sure to increase your budget in advance to account for the traffic bump.
Be sure to read the rest of the tips from the post — link in the first paragraph — to ensure your store is ready for Prime Day 2022.
Etsy does some category rearranging
Last Thursday, Etsy announced a variety of category changes with most of them affecting Furniture and Lighting. The changes seem to show Etsy’s further push into the home goods market which nets — on average — a higher selling price.
This falls in line with the shift in the strategy we’ve seen from the online marketplace since 2019. CEO Josh Silverman stated back then that they didn’t want to just sell couch cushions on the site. They want to sell the whole couch. And they’ve even altered their algorithm to align with their strategy.
Here are some categories affected by the change:
- Furniture – Adds Standing Coat Racks, Hall Trees, Filing Cabinets, and Umbrella Stands. Changes Entryway Furniture to Entryway & Mudroom Furniture
- Lighting – Adds Deck Lights, Garden Lights, Post Lights, Pathway Lights, and Step Lights
- Scrub Caps – Added to Accessories as a subcategory
- Baby – Removed Crib Bumpers, Moses Baskets & Hammocks, and Baby Nests for policy reasons. They’re no longer on the platform.
Retail Ecommerce Ventures partners with Bodybuilding.com
If you’re not familiar, bodybuilding.com is the largest online fitness store in the world. The company boasts over 15 million online subscribers, has an inventory of over 10,000 products, and hosts an online library containing 25,000 articles and 9,000 videos.
This week, the retailer partnered with one of the top eCommerce marketing firms in the world, Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV). The firm has worked wonders in the marketing space helping previously brick-and-mortar retail names transition to eCommerce — RadioShack, Dressbarn, Steinmart, Linens ‘n Things, and Pier1.
REV will take on high-level operational roles for bodybuilding.com in a bid to expand its market and increase revenue.
Retailers and suppliers can take advantage of RangeMe’s B2B ‘Deal Days’
Online wholesaler RangeMe is giving independent retailers and their lengthy list of suppliers something to look forward to in August. The company announced an upcoming ‘Deal Days’ event earlier this month to be held from August 1 – 5. During the event, they’re offering commission-free transactions to connect merchants with new suppliers.
The company expects 2,500 brand suppliers will take part in Deal Days to help merchants to expand their inventories. Those suppliers will be able to pass on their normal 15% commission as savings to their buyers.
The event boosts independent retailers, but it’s important to note that large retailers like Walmart, Albertsons, and Walgreens also use the platform. The company works with over 200,000 suppliers and over 15,000 retailers as a whole.
Metaverse shopping arrives in the Middle East
Magnati — formerly First Abu Dhabi Bank — announced Friday that it is launching a new metaverse shopping platform in the Middle East. The company aims to let consumers in the region experience a new way of shopping that immerses them in an electronic marketplace.
The new Magnati-MetaV platform operates on the Magnati blockchain and will have categories for fashion, groceries, gaming, and technology. Users can pick up and purchase products virtually on the platform, and the company plans to offer classes and virtual concerts soon.
Promoting the announcement, Magnati CEO Ramana Kumar stated, “Magnati-MetaV is a natural evolution of our strategy to help merchants stay ahead in this fast-paced digital age.”
eCommerce conversion maximizer Promoted lands more funding
Promoted markets itself as “the only company to unify search, feed, ads, and promotions for top marketplaces.” There must be something to that statement as the company raised another $6 million in a seed funding round last week, led by Y Combinator.
The company will use the funds to develop its real-time streaming data infrastructure even further and hire more engineers. This will provide clients like Snackpass, Hipcamp, Outschool, Teachers Pay Teachers, and other eCommerce marketplaces with even better data results.
Solidifying the investment, Y Combinator Group Partner and Managing Director Michael Seibel stated, “Promoted’s tools optimize marketplaces — leading to double-digit conversion increases — and are becoming an integral component of how marketplaces make money. We are excited to continue to work with the Promoted team, who have deep experience in ad tech engineering.”
Mollie and Xentral collaborate to streamline ERP and eCommerce payments processes
ERP specialist Xentral and European payment service provider Mollie are partnering on a new project they say will smooth out both order management and payment processes for eCommerce businesses around the world.
The new service — available now — integrates Mollie’s payment services into Xentral’s multi-channel ERP platform and offers a solution that will help eCommerce companies grow.
In announcing their new solution, VP Sales & Partnerships of Xentral Stephanie Richheimer stated, “Xentral and Mollie are both pioneers in simplifying complex processes for innovative e-commerce companies. In doing so, each of the two companies has a unique focus: fast-growing e-commerce businesses are made easily scalable by Xentral, and with the integration of Mollie, challenges in connecting disparate payment services are now a thing of the past.”
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