📦 The Order : Weekly Roundup - Merama, Evenflow & Amazon Buy for Me Agent
Issue #210
Happy Sunday,
Here’s a quick roundup of last week’s news:
Chart of the Week:
It’s been an eventful week. The US administration detailed it’s previously announced intended shift in its tariff policy on April 2 impacting likely every brand. OpenTariffs helps tracks current US-tariffs rates. Expect this to remain dynamic.
Announcement of the Week:
AI Agents give the everything store a new meaning: Amazon announced it’s Buy for Me feature this week to:
Reflect any brand product (that’s not listed on Amazon) in their store 🫠
”When customers tap on an item that says Buy for Me in search results listed under 'Shop brand sites directly,' they are taken to a product detail page within the Amazon Shopping app. This page provides relevant product information, similar to product detail pages for items Amazon sells, so customers can learn more about the product to help them decide if they want to buy it from the brand retailer’s website.”Through a ‘Buy for me’ button have Amazon purchase the product on the shopper’s behalf 🤤
”If a customer decides to proceed with a Buy for Me purchase, they tap on the Buy for Me button on the product detail page to request Amazon make the purchase from the brand retailer’s website on their behalf. Customers are taken to an Amazon checkout page where they confirm order details, including preferred delivery address, applicable taxes and shipping fees, and payment method.” The agent then completes the purchase.
Movers & Shakers 🙌
Merama adds new investors as it secures a $215 Million Funding Round [Bloomberg]
Evenflow ads $5M in funding [Entracker]
AnyMind Group completes acquisition of Japanese e-gifting company, AnyReach [AnyMind]
Strategy ♟
Amazon Taps More Chinese Sellers to Fuel Haul's Global Expansion [Chinasellers Substack]
Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. [The New York Times]
Japan the Last Amazon Marketplace Where Local Sellers Dominate [Marketplace Pulse]
Shoptalk 2025: Goldman Sachs Analyst Unveils Insights On AI, Video, Retail And Stock Picks [Bezinga]
U.S. revokes duty-free status for cheap China goods used by Shein, Temu [Nikkei]
U.S. brands eye global expansion on TikTok Shop amid nationwide ban [Modern Retail]
Jon Derkits on how the TikTok Deal is currently evolving [Linkedin]
As tariffs take effect, more brands weigh the value of tapping U.S. manufacturers [Modern Retail]
The story of Kirkland, an $80B brand - that’s bigger than P&G, Nike, or Unilever: “Why Costco Went All in on Kirkland — and How It Paid Off” [WSJ Case Study]
How TikTok Shop is beating Amazon and Temu in the social shopping space [CNBC]
How TikTok Shop Became The Fastest Growing Social Media Shopping Platform [CNBC]
Events 🎤
Salsify’s Digital Shelf Summit, New Orleans April 7-9
Amazing Days, Sofia Apr 28
Amazon Accelerate, Seattle Sep 16-18
Make this week count 🙌
Christian