Amazon gets caught setting up a company to spy on its rivals

Amazon has another scandal after reports surfaced about its secret operation called "Project Curiosity."

• Apparently, Amazon set up a shell company named Big River Services International to spy on its competitors for almost decade.

Big River (the company created to spy) had warehouses in 5 different countries across the globe. Stealthily, it sold products on different ecommerce platforms like Walmart, Shopify and eBay.

Originally, Project Curiosity started in 2015 and its goal was to analyze the experiences of third-party sellers on Amazon compared to those on other ecommerce platforms, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• However, it quickly transformed into a full-fledged spying mission on these competitors

Since Big River's tactics involved buying merchandise and then reselling it on competitor platforms:

• This allowed them to collect data including pricing strategies, product catalogs, and advertising systems used by their rivals.

• Employees even took screenshots and pictures and attended competitor conferences in disguise.

Amazon defended itself claiming that Project Curiosity was merely a "benchmarking" exercise, a standard practice of comparing products and services.

However, the lengths to which they went to conceal their identities paint a different picture.

• Big River employees were instructed to use non-Amazon email addresses, minimize digital footprints, and even received special training to deflect suspicion.

TikTok Shop hits 500,000 US seller milestone

TikTok Shop, despite risking a total ban in the United States, has exploded its growth in the latter half of 2023, especially in the country.

In its TikTok Shop Safety Report, TikTok revealed that it now has more than 500,000 US-based sellers, more than doubling the number from just three months prior.

TikTok has been expanding its ecommerce reach globally too, with the worldwide seller base surpassing 15 million in December 2023.

Along this growth, TikTok Shop has been prioritizing safety measures for buyers and sellers. The Edge Malaysia reported that TikTok invested $400 million in automated systems to detect and prevent the sale of fraudulent or unsafe products.

• This includes using machine learning to judge product listings before they go live, making sure they comply with regulations.

For instance, in the second half of 2023 alone, TikTok Shop prevented 37 million products from being listed due to policy violations and removed an additional 133,000 products after listing.

Its future in the US will still face uncertainty as the US government is considering a bill that could force TikTok to be sold or face a ban. 

• TikTok Shop originally planned to invest $17.5 billion in a US expansion, which would give its customers more free shipping benefits and influencer partnerships.

The numbers of how much AI is disrupting ecommerce

A new Adobe research blog revealed more info about the disruptive possibilities of AI in ecommerce.

• Nearly 2/3 of shoppers want brands to use their purchase history and other data to create a shopping recommendations based on their unique tastes.

The research also found more popular ways generative AI is moving into ecommerce

• Research and Brainstorming: AI can help you generate creative product ideas, with 64% of consumers using it for this purpose.

• Creating Written Content: AI can draft blog posts, product descriptions, and even marketing materials, where 44% of consumers use this feature.

• Generating Visuals: Want to see how that new furniture would look in your living room? AI can create realistic images for you with 36% of consumers using this.

Consumers are excited about the potential of AI in their shopping experience with 40% looking forward to websites that automatically filter products based on their needs.

• These include customized items just for you (37% want this), having product reviews summarized by AI (37% want it), or even having virtual personal shoppers to guide you (36% anticipate this service).

• 71% of people say that using generative AI to virtually try on clothes would boost their confidence in making a purchase.