#155 HTE - Retailers Can Now Use Amazon's "Buy With Prime"😱

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👀 Retail Media Is About To Shake Things Up In 2023

🎧 Best Practices for Effective Ecommerce Customer Service

🎥 Video Bites: FreshDirect

😎 Increase Conversions With Judge.me Widgets

🛍All US Retailers Can Now Use Amazon's "Buy With Prime" Service

🛒 Instagram Will Discontinue Shopping Tab

📕 Top Reads Of The Week

⚙️ Plenty Of Jobs Await You!

So, scroll down to THE VERY END & read up on what’s yet to come your way!

Retail Media Is About To Shake Things Up In 2023

Retailers like CVS and Target are taking the advertising game to a whole new level by turning their websites into ad platforms, trying to catch up to the advertising giant Amazon who's raking in a whopping $30 billion a year!

But the competition is getting fierce as second-tier players like Walmart and Instacart are stepping up their game, adding more exciting ad formats, expanding their friend group (aka partner programs), and making it super easy for brands to join in on the fun. Some experts predict that 2023 could be the year when all these retailers bring their A-game and invest big bucks to make their advertising platform the ultimate destination for brands.

Retailers are finding it harder to sell stuff in-store, so they're looking for new ways to make money and Amazon's huge income has caught their eye.

A bunch of retail media networks have popped up in recent years, but they haven't made big bucks yet. Walmart even revealed last year that its media and advertising biz only brought in 1.4% of its annual revenue. But that could change in 2023! These networks have been around for a few years now and retailers have been working hard to make them better and better.

Walmart, for example, hooked up with some new partners and made some changes to their system that made it even better for ads. Meanwhile, Instacart has been cooking up new ad products and creating more space for ads. And with the Kroger and Albertsons merger, they're looking to create something special with their combined reach and data assets.

Retailers like Walmart, Instacart, and Kroger are in prime position to take a bigger slice of the advertising pie in 2023. They have the goods to compete with Amazon for ad spend and are expected to see some serious growth. In fact, experts predict Walmart and Instacart will grow more than 40% next year.

These retailers have been expanding their ad inventory and increasing their reach, giving them more scale compared to other retail media networks. Last year Walmart even brought social media platforms like TikTok and Snap into its ad tech platform, giving advertisers the opportunity to serve ads on these social media platforms, while utilizing Walmart Connect’s targeting.

They’ve been creating different types of ads, hiring a ton of salespeople and it's paying off - just look at the numbers! Walmart's global advertising business grew over 30% in recent quarter, lead by 40% growth in Walmart Connect in the U.S and strength in Flipkart Ads in India.

Best Practices for Effective Ecommerce Customer Service

So, here's the deal: providing top-notch customer service for your e-commerce biz is basically a non-negotiable. 

I mean, 95% of consumers think it's important for brand loyalty, and even those pesky millennials are willing to fork over extra cash for great service. But, let's be real, just saying you have customer service isn't enough. 

In fact, bad customer service is worse than none at all. Can you believe it? 80% of businesses think they're killing it with their customer service, but only 8% of customers agree. Ouch. The good news is that even though fewer customers may be experiencing problems, more people are willing to speak up about it than ever before.

So, in short, if you want to succeed in the e-commerce world, you better step up your customer service game. 

Are you looking to revamp your customer service department and take it to the next level? Great news - we've got some tips for you!

• Get organized

First and foremost, the organization is key to a successful customer service team. Without it, things can get chaotic and customers may not get the help they need in a timely manner. But don't worry, there are plenty of tools and strategies you can use to keep everything running smoothly.

For starters, consider using a shared inbox so that your team can easily keep track of customer conversations and collaborate on solutions. You might also want to create a library of saved replies for frequently asked questions so that your team can quickly respond to customers without having to start from scratch every time. And finally, implementing collision detection can help ensure that customers aren't left waiting for a response from multiple team members.

• Meeting customers on their own terms

In today's digital age, it's all about meeting customers on their own terms. Gone are the days when one size fits all - now, customers expect a personalized approach that makes them feel special. That's where "Me-commerce" comes in.

Essentially, "Me-commerce" means meeting the ever-changing and increasingly demanding expectations and habits of your customers. Some folks still prefer to call and talk to a customer service representative, while others are all about live chat or email. And let's not forget about those who just want to send a tweet!

According to Forrester, a significant portion of customers are using social media to contact companies - 31% report reaching out to a company via Twitter, 33% have contacted a company using Facebook, and 45% have used online chat. And it's not just limited to one channel - data from Microsoft shows that 66% of consumers have used at least three different communication channels to contact customer service.

Sometimes, customers just want quick answers to basic questions. But other times, they're looking for something more - a personalized approach and expert advice. That's where you come in!

Think about it - as a customer service representative, you have the opportunity to be an expert in your field and help guide customers toward the right purchases for them. For example, let's say you work for a swimwear company. Your customers might come to you looking for recommendations on which styles work best for certain activities, like playing volleyball on the beach. By offering personalized guidance and sharing your own experiences, you can create a memorable customer service experience that helps build your company's reputation.

• Improve your response time

One of the most important aspects of e-commerce is speed and convenience. Customers who choose to shop online expect quick responses and prompt answers to their questions. In fact, according to Statista, 12% of Americans rank the lack of speed as their number one frustration with customer service.

So, how can you improve your response time and keep your customers happy? It's all about finding the right balance between speed and convenience. By allowing customers to reach your customer service team using different channels, you can ensure that they get the help they need in a timely manner.

And when you're able to consistently provide a high level of quality service across all of those channels, you'll be well on your way to providing a fully functional, multichannel customer service strategy.

Video Bites: FreshDirect

FreshDirect wants you to experience the ultimate food delivery, so they promise to deliver not just food, but a whole new level of taste sensation.

Since 2002, FreshDirect has provided the highest-quality fresh foods; we can proudly claim to have invented online grocery shopping. Get your favorite brands, locally sourced products, chef-prepared meals, and the greatest in-season items delivered to your home or place of business.

They deliver groceries throughout the broader New York City metropolitan area from our cutting-edge Bronx facility, and we also offer seasonal service to eastern Long Island and the Jersey Shore.

FreshDirect delivers the highest-quality, freshest food because innovation drives them. They design culinary experiences. They promote easy, healthy solutions that improve life on a daily basis.

Their team and the companies they collaborate with are dedicated to giving you the greatest possible experience because they believe that you deserve to live a happy and delicious life.

Increase Conversions With Judge.me Widgets

The SaaS firm Judge.me is profitable, growing quickly, and bootstrapped. Their most well-known software, Judge.me Product Reviews, aids online shops in gathering and displaying customer reviews of goods and services as well as other user-generated material.

They offer two other apps: AliExpress Review Importer for simple review imports on AliExpress and Checkout Comments for collecting consumer input throughout the checkout process.

Judge.me widgets are compatible with Shopify Online Store 2.0. You can install the Judge.me widgets with Shopify's theme editor.

All US Retailers Can Now Use Amazon's "Buy With Prime" Service

Amazon is searching outside for ways to expand while it dials back its retail activities to some extent.

The list of benefits and conveniences accessible to Prime members potentially grows when they click a button that says "Buy with Prime."

However, the online retailer is promoting the initiative to American retailers, including those who may not always sell through the Amazon marketplace.

The Buy with Prime initiative, according to a statement from Amazon on Tuesday, "has been demonstrated to enhance shopper conversion by an average of 25%."

In a statement, Peter Larsen, Amazon's vice president of Buy with Prime, said, "We've been working closely with merchants since the launch of Buy with Prime and have been happy to hear the results it's helped drive for them thus far."

"We'll keep inventing and putting money into new products, like Reviews from Amazon, to support small and large businesses alike and provide Prime members with the shopping benefits they love, whether they shop on Amazon or elsewhere."

Despite the expansion announced on Tuesday, Rick Watson, founder and CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, believes that Amazon is aware that it may take a few years to determine whether it will grow.

Since this is such a modest initiative, Watson remarked over the phone that it won't be meaningful for some time. "Over a thousand new merchants entered the Amazon marketplace last year, on average. How many people will sign up for Buy with Prime each day this year? hardly many at all."

The Buy with Prime button saves customers some time because their payment and shipping information are automatically available, similar to Amazon Pay, which has appeared as a payment option on some websites for more than a decade, but Watson says it's "not really innovative."

Even some of the shops mentioned in Amazon's press releases from Tuesday don't always offer the Buy with Prime option, according to him. Customers who want to see shipping alternatives and prices quickly will have pain points as a result.

Instagram Will Discontinue Shopping Tab

The business is formally acting upon The Information's story from months ago that Instagram had informed internal staff that its commerce page would soon be removed. In a September memo, the business reportedly informed staff that objectives had changed and that a less individualized purchasing page would be tested.

A Meta representative responded via email to Retail Dive's inquiry about the reporting at the time by saying that "commerce remains important for Instagram as we continue to make it easier for people to discover and shop for products throughout the app from feed, stories, reels and innovations like live shopping and drops."

The new navigation, according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, is intended to make using the app simpler. He also added that "we're aiming to connect people together around what they love."

Instagram made a ton of social commerce-related announcements in 2022. In April, the social media firm made product tagging available to all users, and in May, it hosted a physical pop-up event to commemorate Shop's anniversary. In addition, Instagram introduced a pay-in-chat function in July with the goal of assisting small companies in concluding transactions through direct messaging.

But Meta's Facebook network discontinued its live shopping function in August, citing a shift in customer behavior toward short-form videos like Reels.

In light of the past experiences with direct e-commerce, he asserted, "I don't think it's going to work at scale and I think that will restrict the success of the program." "So, what proportion of retailers will permit Buy with Prime to control the site? They must provide an answer to that question.

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Macy’s to shutter 4 full-line stores

IN NEED OF A JOB?  WE'VE GOT PLENTY AWAITING YOU!

E-Commerce Specialist - Altice

Director of Amazon E-Commerce - Toniiq

 Head of E-Commerce - Harnham

E-Commerce Intern - Campbells

Ecommerce Manager - Hoffmann

CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great weekend! Get that DTC business runnin’.