[ BDSN ] 🔎 Amazon Sellers: Meet Billy

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🚀 Example BDS webinar hack! 🚀

In this tip from last November’s Billion Dollar Seller Summit hack contest, learn how to create stunning images effortlessly with a simple copy-paste trick.

Check out the magic in action in this quick demo by Ritu Java. No more need for models or fancy setups. Just let Chat GPT work its charm!

Don't miss more all-new tips and hacks like this in the brand new BDS hack contest March 28 at 1pm ET. There's no charge to attend live if you register!

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KaraVideo, powered by OpenAI Sora, transforms text into dynamic videos.  Be the first to experience Sora. Join the waitlist for KaraVideo.AI, an amazing video generator powered by OpenAI Sora.

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Drive traffic to your Amazon store with influencer partnerships and 5X revenue. Boost your sales with our unique approach to influencers and UGC. Carefully selected micro influencers purchase your product and get reimbursed for their expenses only if they complete a social promotion.

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🏷️ Is TEMU a SERIOUS THREAT?

Temu, a subsidiary of the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD), has swiftly carved a niche in the U.S. market, challenging established retail behemoths with its aggressive pricing and expansive product range.

However, Temu's rapid ascent is not without controversy, involving aggressive marketing tactics, a complex corporate structure, and strategies that have raised regulatory eyebrows.

Temu's Market Impact and Growth

Since its U.S. launch, Temu has seen remarkable growth, leveraging a model that offers consumers a wide array of products at significantly lower prices than traditional retailers. In 2023, Temu's estimated sales in the U.S. market were projected to reach around $17 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV).

Since its launch a couple years ago, the U.S. has accounted for 60% of its merchandise sales. But TEMU hopes to de-risk that and lower it to 30% by expanding to Europe, the Middle East, Japan and South Korea this year.

Strategic Marketing Investments

Temu has spent over $2 billion on advertising with Meta and emerged as Google's largest advertiser in the U.S. This aggressive digital marketing approach, complemented by high-profile campaigns such as a $30 million expenditure on Super Bowl ads last month, underscores Temu's commitment to capturing a significant share of the U.S. e-commerce market.

Operational Tactics and Competitive Edge

Temu's competitive edge is largely attributed to its ability to offer products at lower prices, a strategy facilitated by its direct sourcing from manufacturers and a streamlined logistics model.

Temu originally only allowed Chinese-based suppliers (estimated at 150,000) to sell on its platform and fulfilled from China. It recently announced it opened up its marketplace to sellers with inventory in the USA, but the vast majority of those (1,000) are Chinese companies with US warehouses and 3PLs, not western sellers. Temu does not allow drop shipping.

Impact on Dollar Stores vs. Amazon and Walmart

While Temu competes across the board with major U.S. retailers, its impact is disproportionately felt among dollar stores rather than giants like Amazon or Walmart.

The estimated sales growth and consumer shift towards Temu suggest that dollar stores are experiencing a more significant disruption due to Temu's entry into the market.

In contrast, Amazon and Walmart, with their diversified product ranges and established brand loyalty, face a less immediate threat from Temu's growth.

Regulatory Scrutiny and Future Challenges

Adding to the complexity of Temu's rapid rise are the concerns highlighted by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB's warning, issued after receiving over 900 complaints about Temu in just 14 months, sheds light on significant issues including product quality, delayed shipping, non-delivery of items, and extensive data collection practices.

Temu's rapid expansion and operational strategies have not gone unnoticed by regulators. The company's use of tax exemptions, coupled with its complex corporate structure involving entities in the UK, the Caribbean, and China, poses potential regulatory challenges, especially amidst growing U.S.-China tensions.

Furthermore, Temu's aggressive data practices and the ethical implications of its supply chain operations could attract further scrutiny.

Typical Income Levels of TEMU Customers

• TEMU's US customer base surprisingly skews towards middle to high income, with sales among customers earning over $190K being the fastest growing income bracket.

• About 44% of TEMU sales come from earners making over $130K. This indicates that TEMU resonates mostly with customers who have more disposable income and can afford to take a gamble on items that might not meet expectations.

• The fact that TEMU's average customer lifetime value tracks higher than Walmart and customers are becoming more loyal suggests that despite initial risks, the platform is succeeding in retaining customers through its offerings and possibly its gamification strategies.

What Shoppers Have Tried TEMU?

• Only 19% of Walmart and Amazon’s customers have even tried TEMU, which is about the same as the total percent of US households that have tried it.

• TEMU shares about a quarter of its customers with Dollar General, and those customers' spending at TEMU is up over 800% year-to-year, indicates that TEMU is drawing customers from other discount and value-oriented retailers.

🔎 MEET BILLY

Cabilly & Co. invites you to meet Billy, a smart and friendly AI system designed to simplify Amazon's Terms of Service.

It actively scans over 1,800 TOS pages on Amazon's website and provides clear, understandable answers to any question about Amazon's rules.

Can you include inserts? Can you own multiple seller accounts?

Ask Billy!

💻 DID YOU KNOW AUTO-COMPLETE is SESSION AWARE?

Jake Martin of the Levo.agency says Amazon’s search auto-complete can affect you a lot as an Amazon seller by causing huge swings in keyword search volume.

Try typing 'ni' into Amazon's search bar. You'll see that 'Nikon camera' won't show in the suggested search. 

But if you type in 'digital camera' first, search, and then type in 'ni' you’ll see suggested search changes completely. 

Prior queries give Amazon contextual info to improve the shopping experience, making future auto-complete suggestions more relevant.

On Amazon, all search term reformulations and click paths are mapped with AI machine learning.

WHAT TO DO:

As a seller, it's useful to understand the contextual relationship between the keywords that you want to rank for.

Optimize your listings for as much of that 'contextual tree' as possible.

Start a browsing session, type in your main keyword into search, and then experiment with auto-complete to see what Amazon associates.

Be sure to use incognito, as there's evidence that Amazon factors your user profile/history into auto-completion.

✍🏼 WRITE BETTER BULLET POINTS with CHATGPT

John Aspinall says he has figured out how to get ChatGPT to write better bullet points that can 10X their sales impact and get you better SEO.

Click one of the photos below to see his exact process.

🇯🇵 AMAZON JAPAN is a MAJOR OPPORTUNITY

Japan is Amazon’s fourth biggest marketplace with 126 million people (2x that of the UK). But sellers are intimidated by selling in Japan.

Many also don't realize Amazon has a Chinese language version of its Japanese marketplace that ships to mainland China to cash in on the billions Chinese consumers spend each year on Japanese e-commerce.

Amazon closed its Chinese marketplace in 2019, but Amazon Japan's shopping portal offers listings in simplified Chinese and promises authentic brands and quality products.

Want to sell into the 4th largest Amazon marketplace nobody is talking about?  Learn everything you need to know and meet the experts on selling in Japan at Gary Huang’s 7-Figure Seller Japan Mastermind in Okinawa, Japan on April 8-10 (Okinawa is called the Hawaii of Japan).

✌🏼 Enjoy March Madness this weekend! Holler back at you Monday.

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