Month: February 2024
For some people, going to Target to buy a loaf of bread and returning with $300 worth of clothes and home decor is a familiar scenario. The addiction to Target is real and might become more intense for some. Bloomberg reports that the company is considering offering a paid membership program as early as this year. Should they launch it, this program would be another competitor for Amazon Prime, Walmart Plus, and Costco memberships. However, Target is late to the party, many years after its competitors. Would proceeding with the project make sense for the company, or would it be doomed to fail? Ultimately, should e-commerce entrepreneurs keep an eye on this program?
Continue readingYes, I know, another lawsuit involving Amazon. But unlike many others’ past lawsuits, I struggle to see what Amazon is doing wrong. The complaint accuses Amazon of setting up the “Buy Now” button so users pay more than they should. Let’s see what this lawsuit is about, and why Amazon may be acting in most customers’ best interest.
Continue readingEvery company claims to be “Customer-centric”, and claims to make customer satisfaction their priority. Of course, everyone wants to keep their customers happy and maintain a good relationship with them. And in these brands-customers relationships, companies would rather see the power balance shifting towards them. It is easier said than done, even in the case of multi billion dollar businesses: customers as a whole sometimes have a lot of power over these massive companies. Some of us may remember Peloton, which was a massive success during Covid but faced customer backslash when they increased their prices and when alternatives became available again once the pandemic improved.
Continue readingWhen I first heard about Temu, my knee-jerk reaction was to think it would be a Shein for random items, from kitchenware to toys. I also thought the target audience would be similar, Gen Z, especially after I saw some young influencers showing off their “Temu hauls” on TikTok.
Recent reports proved me wrong: Boomers placed on average 5.6 orders last year on Temu, while Gen Z only ordered 2.6 times.
Continue readingIn the last couple of months, we’ve been hearing about AI all day, every day. Everyone and everything claims to be using AI these days. Marketing tools, dating assistants, deep fake scams, you name it. I think no one was surprised to hear about Rufus, the latest generative AI-powered shopping assistant, recently introduced by Amazon.
My first reaction to this announcement wasn’t how this would help me as a consumer, but how this would impact my work as a marketer. We are still in the very early stages of this adventure, but we can already do some guesswork. Let’s quickly review the announcement, then try to imagine what the implications are for the millions of businesses selling on Amazon.
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