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☆ 'Dupes' clothing, perfume craze lures holiday shoppers as major brands fret
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Katherine Masters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Hashtag searches for dupes of major brands - including Skims underwear and Deckers' (DECK.N) Ugg boots - have been viewed millions of times on TikTok. Graphic shows pictures of four original products and their original prices under named brands compared with the prices of their 'dupe' counterparts. Newer technologies like the Google Lens app allow people to take photos of items they like and find similar products for sale. In other cases, dupe sellers opt to replicate the look of higher-priced originals with cheaper materials to maximize profit. However, experts say dupe sellers have grown increasingly skilled at avoiding brand logos and other design features that could infringe existing patents or copyrights.

Persons: Lauren Maginness, Shannon Stapleton, Maginness, Estee, Tom Ford, Dupes, “, ”, Penny Pincher, Leslie Ghize, Doneger Tobe, Calvin McDonald, Ian Taplin, Juozas Kaziukenas, Kaziukenas, Maria Boschetti, Mike Scheschuk, Birkenstock, Katherine Masters, Dorothy Kam, Vanessa O'Connell, Rod Nickel, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Abercrombie, Fitch, Scout, Walmart, Department, Nordstrom, Circana Inc, COMMERCE, Wake Forest University, eBay, Google, HK, Amazon, New, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Hong Kong, TikTok, Los Angeles, Zara, Italy, New York

☆ Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads. Insider found evidence of this special treatment, while others suffer from 'junk ads'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Other companies's product pages are cluttered with a mix of ads and product recommendations from competitors or sometimes irrelevant brands. The latest Apple product pages on Amazon have none of this extra marketing. In contrast, Amazon search results for other brands, such as Samsung and Sony, show at least two or three sponsored ads from rivals. At the time, Apple also asked Amazon to make its product pages clean, without any non-Apple product recommendations. By providing "accurate, relevant and qualitative content on Apple Product pages," Apple has been able to address much of the counterfeit issues on Amazon, the iPhone maker said.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Apple, Jeff Wilke, Kaziukenas, Amazon's, Wilke, Bose, it's, I'm, —, Bezos, Amazon Organizations: Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Samsung Galaxy, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, Sony, House, Committee, LG, Galaxy, FTC, Adidas

☆ Shopify's new marketplace takes a markedly different approach than Amazon's
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Like on the app, shoppers using the new site can search for and purchase products from across Shopify's merchant base. Shop Cash can only be redeemed on Shop. The app and website also display special offers from merchants where shoppers' Shop Cash rewards are multiplied. Shopify's web app and Shop app before it are as much marketplaces as Amazon," Juozas Kaziukėnas, CEO of e-commerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, told Insider. We're not disclosing just yet, but the Shop app is becoming much more popular," company president Harley Finkelstein said in response.

Persons: Shopify, Rick Watson, Watson, they've, Siti Panigrahi, Harley Finkelstein Organizations: Google, RMW Commerce Consulting, Cash, Shopify, Shoppers, Shop, Mizuho Securities, LTV, Amazon

☆ TikTok Shop is offering hemp-derived THC syrup, sex toys, and other banned goods to users as the platform struggles with enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Dan Whateley | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok is in an all-out blitz to make its e-commerce marketplace Shop take off. But as it races to drive up sales, it's letting prohibited products slip through the cracks. TikTok Shop has over 200,000 sellers, according to the company, which has been a challenge as it tries to keep out banned goods at scale. TikTok isn't alone in failing to keep its e-commerce marketplace cleanTikTok isn't the only e-commerce player to struggle with marketplace quality. It's early days for TikTok Shop in the US, and the company is still finding its footing.

Persons: TikTok, TikTok isn't, Etsy, it's, Madeline Stone, Dan Whateley Organizations: TikTok Locations: mstone@insider.com, dwhateley@insider.com

☆ Shein shifts shipping strategy to bring China-made goods closer to US shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Katherine Masters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The move also marks a strategy shift for Shein, which has traditionally flown goods directly from China to shoppers. Goods eligible for QuickShip are delivered significantly faster than Shein's standard shipping times, which can range from nine to 14 days, according to estimates on its website. Importing high-demand products in bulk helps Shein save money, a person familiar with Shein's strategy said, as ocean shipping is significantly less costly than air freight. Shipping goods by air directly from China is a strategy that helps the e-tailer avoid unsold inventory piling up in warehouses, according to Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of e-commerce analytics firm Marketplace Pulse. Prior to 2020, Shein imported no clothing by ocean freight, according to the ImportGenius data.

Persons: Chen Lin, ImportGenius, Shein, AWEIGH Shein, Juozas Kaziukenas, Katherine Masters, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Walmart, UBS, U.S . House, PDD Holdings, Shipping, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, U.S, Whitestown , Indiana, Shein, Indiana, Cherry Valley , California, York

☆ TikTok's new app store signals its goal to be an e-commerce platform that relies less on established players like Shopify
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTok Shop, the social media app's e-commerce platform, officially came out of beta in the US on Tuesday. TikTok Shop is meant to be an end-to-end shopping destination, with in-feed and live video shopping, a dedicated shop tab in the TikTok app, an affiliate marketing program, and in-app checkout. TikTok's app store filters apps according to a seller's current e-commerce platform, including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Amazon. Being on TikTok's app store also helps third-party software providers get discovered by sellers who might want to use their products. "We love an app store because the app store is saying: this is a trustworthy provider," Hallock said.

Persons: TikTok, Rick Watson, Watson, Anne Hallock, Hallock Organizations: Shop, RMW Commerce Consulting, Partners, TikTok Locations: Salesforce

☆ Amazon warns sellers who haven't completed its error-prone verification process they only have a few days before they stop getting paid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some sellers face issues when trying to complete Amazon's verification process. The company recently told third-party sellers on its marketplace that they have only a few days to complete an identity verification process before the e-commerce giant stops paying them. Some Amazon merchants have been scrambling to complete the process, which has been plagued with errors. Other brands were acquired in recent years and had to hunt down the original owners of the Amazon account. He said that about 40% of Seller Interactive's roughly 500 partner brands faced issues at some point during the INFORM verification process.

Persons: Shlomo Greenblatt, Albert Scott Ecommerce, Greenblatt, Mohamed Aden, We've, Juozas Kaziukėnas, hasn't, It's Organizations: Amazon, eBay, Albert Scott Ecommerce Management, Interactive Locations: Aden

☆ Temu is America's new dollar store
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Temu is the internet's new discount store with bargain prices that rival dollar chains. Most of these products wouldn't look out of place at a dollar store. "If Amazon and Dollar Tree had a baby it would be Temu," one Twitter commenter wrote. "Temu is basically an online dollar store," another said. This is especially pertinent as stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree continue to come under inflation-related pressures and raise their prices.

☆ Ultra-cheap Chinese shopping site Temu is becoming the new online dollar store
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Temu is the internet's new discount store with bargain prices that rival dollar chains. Most of these products wouldn't look out of place at a dollar store. "Temu is basically an online dollar store," another said. This is especially pertinent as stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree continue to come under inflation-related pressures and raise their prices. "You're unlikely to find the things you really need on Temu, you're much more likely to find throwaway items, which you won't perhaps always need.

☆ Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Shopify sellers feel the squeeze of higher fees. Now they must get creative to stay profitable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Etsy, eBay, Amazon, and Shopify have all raised fees for sellers in recent months. Amazon has also steadily raised fees for its Fulfillment by Amazon service since 2020. But he says things have gotten progressively more difficult in the last year as sales and traffic declined, inflation has squeezed his margins, and eBay has raised fees. Courtesy of Elizabeth MorganElizabeth Morgan, who sells handmade earrings on Etsy, said that she raised her prices by about 5% after Etsy raised fees last year. The Etsy fee hike has been more impactful, however.

☆ Amazon shoppers shrug off second Prime Day sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For Amazon, the event tested how members of its Prime subscription program would respond to two major discount events in the same year, after the company's main Prime Day sale in July. They estimate Amazon brought in $5.7 billion in revenue from the Prime Early Access Sale vs. $7.5 billion in July. The average spend per order during the Prime Early Access Sale was $46.68, down from $60.29 on Prime Day, according to market research firm Numerator. Discount events such as the Prime Early Access sale are a relatively low cost way to goose sales, Kaziukenas said. WATCH: Amazon gets in front of holiday shopping with second Prime Day of the year

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