June 2023 - Marketplace News

Amazon Is Summarizing Reviews With AI

Amazon is summarizing reviews using AI, turning all reviews for each product into a few sentences that best describe consumer feedback. The feature is a building block of Amazon’s AI ambitions.

Amazon is testing a feature that adds a text block above individual reviews with a subline “Al-generated from the text of customer reviews.” Presumably, it ingests all reviews and identifies each product’s most important features and criticisms. Amazon had previous experiments before this, providing star ratings by product feature, but this latest iteration is the most user-friendly yet. Mark Wieczorek, CTO at Fortress Brand, first discovered this new feature.

Marketplace Pulse, June 12, 2023

Amazon uses AI to detect damaged items

Ecommerce giant Amazon is implementing artificial intelligence in twelve warehouses. The technology will screen items for damage before being shipped. This will reduce the amount of damaged items sent out and speed up picking and packing.

Currently, the?online marketplace’s?warehouse workers are responsible for checking items for signs of wear and tear during the order picking process. “Checking for damage can be time consuming given that most items are in fine condition”,?said?Jeremy Wyatt, director of applied science at Amazon Robotics. “That’s cognitively demanding because obviously you are looking for something that is rare and it is not your primary job.”

Ecommerce News, June 5, 2023

40% of Belgians return to the same 3 online stores

Nine out of ten Belgians between the ages of 18 and 70 bought something online at least once last year. At least 33 percent of Belgian consumers say that they have one online store they always use to purchase a certain product online. Another 40 percent return to the same three online stores.

These data come from a newly published?research?commissioned by Comeos, a Belgian ecommerce trade association. In total, 2,000 Belgians were asked about their online purchasing behavior.

Ecommerce News, June 2, 2023

Amazon: ‘Digital euro accelerates innovation’

Amazon is convinced of the added value of the digital euro, which the European Central Bank (ECB) aims to introduce. The company has built a prototype for its application in ecommerce payments.

The central bank for the eurozone is exploring the possibilities for a digital currency. It is intended to serve as a stable alternative to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ensure that central bank money remains accessible in the digital age. Last spring, the ECB called on front-end providers in the European payment market to contribute ideas and build concrete applications.

Ecommerce News, May 30, 2023

Amazon raises investment in India to $26 billion by 2030

NEW DELHI, June 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc?(AMZN.O)?said on Friday it will take its investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, adding $6.5 billion in new planned investments in an announcement made after CEO Andy Jassy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States.

Though Jassy gave no breakdown, the announcement follows Amazon's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) saying last month it will?invest?1.06 trillion rupees ($12.9 billion) in the country by the end of 2030.

REUTERS, June 24, 2023

When Is Amazon Prime Day 2023?

Amazon Prime Day 2023 will?launch on Tuesday, July 11, less than a year since the last?Amazon-specific deals event. And that can be a good thing for shoppers who face inflation-induced price hikes.

Finding real and meaningful discounts on quality, expert-vetted items is even more important amid the marketing hyperbole surrounding sales events like Prime Day. In fact, some discounts this July simply won’t be worth the spend. Wirecutter’s deep research, price tracking, and deals expertise will help you separate the real deals from the duds, whether you’re shopping at Amazon or at a competing sale from Target, Best Buy, and others.

Wirecutter, June 27, 2023

Amazon launches flexible financing in the UK

Amazon has launched a flexible financing solution for small and medium-sized businesses in the United Kingdom. Amazon sellers in the country can apply for a cash advance, which will be repaid based on their sales. Loans can range up to two million euros.

The online marketplace already offered?ecommerce business funding?to its merchants with Amazon Lending, but it has now added a new flexible financing option in the United Kingdom. In order to do so, it has partnered with financing provider YouLend.

Ecommerce News, June 22, 2023

Amazon to hire 5,000 refugees in Europe

Over the next three years, ecommerce giant Amazon will hire more than 5,000 refugees in Europe. It pledged to do that, together with over 40 companies. Together, they will hire, train or connect to work a total of 250,000 refugees. At least 13,680 of them will get jobs directly in the 40 companies.

Other companies that are making the pledge are Marriott and Hilton. The announcement comes a day before World Refugee Day. The hiring push was organized by the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a nonprofit that connects businesses and refugees. The group’s first summit in the US last year led to commitments to hire 22,725 refugees.

Ecommerce News, June 19, 2023

Germany: Amazon unpackaged returns possible in parcel lockers

German consumers will soon be able to place unpackaged returns for Amazon in DHL parcel lockers. Amazon and DHL have been working together on unpackaged returns since October 2022. Now, the service is being expanded.

As of October last year, consumers in Germany are able to return their Amazon products in the original factory packaging at DHL points. The DHL points have specific paper bags, in which the product will be packed. Customers need to show a QR code created by Amazon, after which the DHL point can print a label and ship the product to Amazon.

Ecommerce News, June 5, 2023?

Working together to enable a circular economy in Italy

Amazon has been working with the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, as well as with industry associations, on proper waste management of electrical and electronic items.

Amazon touches the lives of millions of customers, employees, and partners around the world, and we are well aware of the responsibilities that come with this position. Taking a responsible approach for us also means working with other entities, both public and private, to adopt simplified and streamlined policies in the area of sustainability, while supporting small businesses with limited resources.

Amazon, June 28, 2023

15,000 Sellers Drive Half of Amazon's 3P GMV

Fifteen thousand sellers get more than 100,000 orders a year on the Amazon.com marketplace in the U.S. Those few sellers are responsible for nearly half of the marketplace’s hundreds of billions of dollars in sales.

According to Marketplace Pulse research, 15,000 sellers had at least 100,000 orders in 2022, and 30,000 sellers had 50,000 or more (this includes sellers with 100,000 or more orders). These statistics do not include sellers from Amazon’s international marketplaces.

Marketplace Pulse, June 8, 2023