Amazon Pushing Customers Off-Platform, Haul Rising, Etsy Feature Playbook, Amazon Outage Fallout Update - This week in Amazon & eCommerce - Mar 18

Is Amazon going through an identity crisis?

1. Amazon Boosts Shop Direct… but Why? Amazon is expanding its AI-powered Shop Direct program by enabling merchants to join through third-party product feeds. Very strange given AMZ’s hostility towards brand sites being even listed in main images. One wonders why, and how they plan to stop listing crossover between Amazon and Direct... [Learn more]

2. Amazon Haul Scales Up as It Takes On Temu and Shein in the Low-Cost Race: Amazon’s budget marketplace Haul has grown to over 3,000 sellers since its 2024 launch, generating an estimated $2 billion in GMV and focusing heavily on low-cost, direct-from-China goods, positioning it as a smaller but emerging competitor to Temu and Shein. [Learn more]

3. Etsy Reveals How Sellers Can Get Featured in Its Top Marketing Campaigns: Etsy has shared guidance for sellers aiming to be featured in its marketing campaigns, such as Editor’s Picks and seasonal promotions, highlighting the importance of discoverability, strong visuals, brand storytelling, and customer experience. [Learn more]

4. Amazon Outage Disrupts Sales and Sparks Ad Spend Concerns: Amazon experienced a widespread outage caused by a software deployment issue, temporarily preventing customers from browsing, checking out, accessing lockers, and using services like Kindle, while sellers faced disrupted listings and lost sales. [Learn more]

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Isaiah Fritz, Joe White and the OSP Team

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