📦 The Order : Weekly Roundup - New Amazon AI Features & NRF Recap

Issue #146

Happy Sunday,

Here’s a quick roundup of last week’s news :

News of the Week 🤩

Marketplace Pulse this week digs into Amazon’s latest AI features in “Amazon Adds an AI Shopping Assistant”.

2024 will be the year of automation, as Amazon is rolling out more AI-powered user experiences, brands can add full automation around key processes such as listing automation — check out 🤖 autopilotbrand.com for more info on that & how autonomous listing updates are generating a 20%+ organic lift.

Chart of the Week 📈

NRF Says Census Data Shows 2023 Holiday Sales Grew 3.8% to Record $964.4 Billion:

Movers & Shakers 🙌

• Struggling Logistics Firm Flexport Raises $260 Million from Shopify [The Information]

• SuperOrdinary: Why an $800 million social-commerce startup is betting live shopping in the US will take off — and what it learned from its business in China [Business Insider]

Strategy 🦈

• Amazon Sellers Lack Control over Buyer-Facing AI Features [eCommerce Bytes]

• Amazon SEO expansion: Amazon expand to 500 characters for backend search terms [Linkedin via Malte Karstan]

• Amazon confirms more layoffs, impacting its Buy with Prime unit [Techcrunch]

• Why Shopify Has Payments Power Over Amazon [The Information]

• FedEx is launching a new e-commerce platform as it competes with Amazon [The Verge]

• National Retail Federations news roundup:

  • Generative AI dominates the NRF conversation [Modern Retail]

  • Software vendors offer AI sales boost for retail at NRF show [CIO Magazine]

  • Outlooks on AI, Scalability at NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show [Information Week]

  • NRF review – no escaping AI [The Retail Bulletin]

  • Amazon Briefing: At NRF, Amazon pitches itself as an invisible retail partner [Modern Retail]

  • Celebrities promote brand strategies at NRF’s Big Show [Modern Retail]

  • At NRF, tech vendors try to catch the eyes — and budgets — of retailers [Modern Retail]

Events 🎤

• Prosper Show, Mar 4-6, Las Vegas, US

• ShopTalk, Mar 14-16, Las Vegas, US — Exhibitor opportunities

Make this week count 🙌

Christian