Amazon.com Inc. will let brands and merchants send marketing emails to shoppers, a dangerous move that might clog inboxes with spam. At the Amazon Accelerate conference in Seattle, where it showcases new features to the independent companies that sell more than half of the items on Amazon.com, the company unveiled the initiative on Wednesday. Through a “Tailored Audiences” tool, retailers will be able to send cost-free emails to recent buyers, loyal consumers, and their biggest spenders while also keeping track of the outcomes. This year, it has been tested, and in early 2023, it will be accessible to all US merchants.
The decision breaks from Amazon’s historical reluctance to allow independent merchants to interact directly with customers out of concern for alienating them. However, since their all-time highs, online sales have been declining, and antitrust regulators are looking into Amazon’s influence over millions of independent suppliers. Additionally, several business owners claim Amazon makes it difficult to build relationships with even their most devoted customers.
If users do not want to receive the emails, they will have to unsubscribe. “The downside is this could lead to a lot of spam, and I wonder how they’re going to manage that,” said Kirthi Kalyanam, director of the Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University. “Retailers send so many emails, and shopper in-boxes get inundated.” Merchants will presumably support the project despite the risks. According to Insider Intelligence, US internet sales will expand just 9.4% this year to $1 trillion, marking the first-time growth will fall below 10%.
As consumers cut back on their spending and prioritize basics like food and fuel due to inflation, some Amazon sellers are already preparing for a dismal holiday shopping season. In New York, Amazon stock increased 1.36% to $128.55. According to Insider Intelligence, the corporation controls 37.8% of all online spending in the United States, which is six times greater than Walmart Inc., its nearest rival. The online behemoth is continually releasing new tools to assist merchants and brands boost sales to keep that edge as competitors enhance their e-commerce operations.
Additionally, Amazon is launching a new question-and-answer tool that will enable businesses to interact with customers using the voice-activated Alexa platform. Customers can view and hear answers from merchants along with links to their products when they ask queries like, “How can I remove pet hair from my carpet?” Select businesses will have access to the functionality starting in October, and it will be made available to everyone early the following year.
According to Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of worldwide selling services at Amazon, “Many brand owners have spent years becoming experts in their product area and this is an opportunity to connect customers with their brand.” The email marketing initiative forces Amazon further into advertising, which the company’s founder Jeff Bezos first resisted but which has since developed into a quickly expanding and lucrative industry. Amazon’s second-quarter revenue from advertising services increased by 18% to $8.8 billion from the same period the previous year.
Customers can already follow their favourite businesses on Amazon, which enables those brands to send them messages as a forerunner to the email marketing technique. The main distinction is that customers have to choose to receive those messages. Now they’ll have to opt out. Kalyanam believes that Amazon is promoting increased contact because it wants to support retailers in learning more about their customers. He said, “These retailers can’t see any information on clients, and that must be causing them trouble.
If Amazon accounts for 90% of your sales, you are essentially operating in the dark, and Amazon doesn’t like stupid sellers.” Customers can already follow their favourite businesses on Amazon, which enables those brands to send those messages as a forerunner to the email marketing technique. The main distinction is that customers have to choose to receive those messages. Now they’ll have to opt out.
Kalyanam believes that Amazon is promoting increased contact because it wants to support retailers in learning more about their customers. He said, “These retailers can’t see any information on clients, and that must be causing them trouble. If Amazon accounts for 90% of your sales, you are essentially operating in the dark, and Amazon doesn’t like stupid sellers.”
