Shopping via Social Media and more Amazon Go

As always, we have compiled below what else has moved the Amazon world in the last two weeks and what changes there are on the platform.

General Updates

More than 50% of online purchases in Europe are made on mobile

More than half of all e-commerce purchases in Europe were made on mobile or tablet in 2020. The UK alone accounts for 43% of “mobile shopping” in Europe, followed by Germany. Overall, a clear development from only researching products online to actually purchasing them on the Internet can be observed over the past years. In the US, 65% of online shoppers already used their smartphones to order products in 2020.

$25 billion in sales at Amazon Business

With Amazon Business, Amazon has been dedicated to targeting business customers since 2015, offering them benefits such as volume discounts. Now, the platform reports that it has reached $25 billion in global sales – representing 6.5% of Amazon’s total 2020 sales. This means that Amazon Business has grown almost twice as fast as the B2C division.

Amazon continues to expand its grocery retail business

After opening its first European “Amazon Go” store in London, Amazon plans to open at least 28 more supermarkets in the US, according to Bloomberg. Among other things, analyses of the company’s own databases will be used to select the locations and assortment. According to the report, Amazon sees well-known supermarket chains such as Walmart and Aldi as its competitors.

New Amazon rules for returns on hygiene products in Germany

From April 2021 on, Amazon is tightening its guidelines for returns of hygiene products in Germany. Sellers will only be allowed to resell the returned items as new if the seal is not broken. The rule applies to hygienic products such as razors and toothbrushes and topical products such as face creams, perfumes or gels.

Twitter tests shopping option in its app

The short messaging service is testing a new shopping feature with a selected group of users: “Shopping Cards” look like sponsored tweets and have a “buy” button. Additionally, the name, store, and price for a product are displayed in the tweet.

Walmart continues to host shopping livestreams on TikTok

Walmart has hosted a second live shopping session with a focus on cosmetics called “Spring Shop-Along: Beauty Edition.” In this session, influencers tried offered products live in front of the camera. Customers can add them directly to their shopping carts and buy them without leaving TikTok. According to Walmart, more similar events are planned.

What online retailers need to watch out for regarding Brexit and a new EU tax reform

The “VAT E-Commerce Package”, as the upcoming tax reform is also called, provides for a simplification of VAT through a digital OSS (one-stop store). Accordingly, merchants no longer have to register and file VAT returns in all of the respective EU countries where they sell their products. However, the reform only applies to direct sales to private customers – sales via online marketplaces are not included.

Applications for Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards are open

The Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards kicked off in early March. The competition honors startups that enrich everyday life with innovative products. Applications are still open until the end of March. The winning startup will be rewarded with a €100,000 prize and free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year.

Changes we observed

By the end of March 2021, Customer Reviews will no longer be visible in Brand Analytics. Amazon has announced the removal of the Customer Reviews Dashboard and cites editing reviews directly in its own store as an alternative.

Amazon is ending its Early Reviewer program in the UK. Since the beginning of March, registrations for the program are no longer possible, and as of April 25, 2021, the service will be discontinued completely. As a reason for this, Amazon cites other innovations such as One Tap Reviews and Global Review Sharing, which it claims work better.

In the US, Amazon is testing a “Follow” button on Brand Stores as a new feature. This will allow customers to receive the latest updates from the brands they follow directly – just as is common on social media platforms. Is Amazon developing into a content platform?

Keeping an eye on reviews with Remdash

Even though the Customer Reviews dashboard in Brand Analytics will be removed: With Remdash, it is still possible to monitor product reviews. A customized dashboard can be created from various widgets to keep an eye on reviews and ratings of all products.

Interested in Remdash? Arrange your personal product demo here!

Comment: Share of 1P and 3P sales on Amazon

On the back of our updated “Amazon Vendor vs. Seller” comparison, we were also very much interested in the performance of these two channels.

In general, the sales on both ends grew a lot over the last years, but one side has clearly out-beaten the other one:

• The share of 3P sales grew from 34% in 2010 to 62% in 2020
• The share of 1P sales declined from 66% in 2010 to 38% in 2020
• In the last years, 3P sales grew more than 1P sales: + 87,5% (3P) vs. 62,4% (1P) from 2018 to 2020

It will be interesting to see whether this trend will continue also in 2021.

Top 5 Amazon Keywords

While all the top search terms in the UK revolve around Mother’s Day, in Italy and Spain terms are focused mainly on Father’s Day gifts. German Amazon users are already preparing for the Easter holidays. As in previous weeks, pandemic-related keywords are only searched for very occasionally – most in Italy, which is once again in a lockdown.