Ecommerce News
Weekly eCommerce News Round-Up: 13-19 April 2019
Today in the round-up: Probe into Online Reviews Google Launches ‘Cloud for Retail’ Amazon Out of China Amazon Cuts Promotion for Own Brands Changes in ‘Refund Culture’; PayPal Change Terms In-App Shopping Comes to Instagram Probe into Online Reviews Continues Which? magazine is continuing its investigation into fake reviews on Amazon. We looked in detail…
Read MoreFake Amazon Reviews Continue: A Closer Look
Fake Amazon reviews. Just how big a problem are they for Amazon sellers? Earlier this month we looked at Amazon’s practice of review bundling and how it’s unfortunately allowed low-value products to benefit from reviews of high-quality equivalents. A lot of the information we used came from Which? magazine’s investigation. Which? has released a new…
Read MoreWeekly eCommerce News Round-Up: 6-12 April 2019
Welcome to the first in a new series of weekly news blogs looking at recent developments in the eCommerce world. Today: Microsoft & Squarespace move into the eCommerce CMS Market “Shipping with Amazon” begins trials in the USA Amazon Sellers gain more control over how they add and market products Amazon Seller Central reduces referral…
Read MoreAmazon Review Bundling Leads to Outcry
The Amazon Which? Hunt UK consumer rights magazine Which? has turned its attention to customer reviews on Amazon and how they affect sales. We recently looked at how the retail giant is taking on counterfeit products, but reporting from multiple sources indicates that review manipulation may be just as big a problem – and some…
Read MoreThe Full Story: Amazon’s “Vendor Purge”
Two weeks ago, Amazon stopped buying from its Vendors. The change was abrupt and had no warning – one day, the weekly purchase order just wasn’t there for tens of thousands of Vendors. A week later, many of these Vendors were reinstated. However, not only did some not return, but Amazon has pushed those who…
Read MoreAmazonWatch: CRaP Product Policy Changes
Over the past week, Amazon has been addressing everything from Amazon Vendors to Fulfilment by Amazon. There seems to be a common thread, though – CRaP products. CRaP is internal Amazon jargon. It stands for Can’t Realise a Profit. CRaP products are items they recognise the demand for, but which they can’t produce a good…
Read MoreNew Report Recommends Higher Taxes for Online Retailers
Could higher taxes for online retailers be the solution to the woes of the British high street? Looking to the Future A new government report addresses the future of the British high street retail sector. It makes sweeping recommendations to support high street retailers against the perceived threat of online retail outlets. Among its recommendations:…
Read MoreWhat Are HS Codes (and Why Do They Matter)?
In one of our recent updates, we added HS code support. We’re well ahead of the April 2019 deadline when they will be required for international shipping. But isn’t it a little surprising for a system introduced in 1988 to make headlines three decades later? The Harmonized System The ‘HS’ in HS codes stands for…
Read MoreParcelhub Expands Supply Chain Outsourcing Options
It’s easy to see now that Parcelhub’s New Year Resolution was to make it easier for their customers to use them. Integrated Labels In early January they rolled out an integrated label system – now picking sheets, packing slips, and shipping labels are produced on a single sheet of paper. This kind of integrated, streamlined…
Read MoreAmazonWatch: Slow Growth Forecasted
Months after Amazon’s market value broke the trillion-dollar barrier, immediately after a record performance for the holiday period, the firm has forecast reduced growth this quarter. Investor concerns have led to Amazon’s share price dropping by almost 5% during after-hours trading on the 31st. The price dropped from 1750 to a low of 1623.90 over…
Read MoreeBay Watermarks Policy Change: Update
We reported back in September, eBay’s new ‘Picture Policy’ update, and their intention to begin enforcing the removal of listings that contained images with watermarks from the 1st March 2018. Since then, eBay have received a lot of negative criticism from individual sellers and focus groups, which they seemed to have listen to. And have…
Read MoreeBay Policy Update – Sellers Must Remove Watermarks from Images
In eBay’s recent Autumn 2017 Sellers News release, they have announced further policy updates – including what is bound to be a highly disliked change to product images. ** Please read our updated article here ** So what is the update? From March 2018, eBay will no longer allow the use of watermarks in product…
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