Amazon’s New AI Lets You Shop With Prompts 🛍️

It’s no secret that most shopping journeys start with a search. But now, it starts with a prompt, while AI does the search.

Happy New Month, Ecom Fam! 🎉 Welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️! 

Today, we're covering Amazon’s latest release—a new AI tool that lets you shop with prompts. Plus, TikTok Shop is shaking things up in Europe even as its U.S. future hangs in the balance. And if you’re looking to level up your ad game, Reddit Ads just dropped some tools that could make campaign management a breeze for SMBs.

Without further ado, let’s get into it! 

In a rush? Here's the juice 🤭:

🛍️ Amazon’s new AI lets you shop with prompts.

🚀 TikTok Shop expands to Europe as U.S. uncertainty looms.

⚙️ Reddit Ads rolls out new tools for SMBs.

🚀 Ecom Strategies: How to Sell on TikTok Shop

⚡️Worthy Mentions

🛍️ Amazon’s new AI lets you shop with prompts.

Amazon has just launched a new AI-driven feature called Interests, designed to enhance personalized shopping by automatically finding new products that match your hobbies and passions. Currently available to a limited number of U.S. users on the Amazon app and mobile website, Interests represents Amazon’s continued push into generative AI to improve customer experience.

Here are the deets ⬇️:

🧐 How it works: Interests leverages large language models (LLMs) to convert casual, everyday language into precise product searches. Whether you're into photography gear, golf equipment, or coffee gadgets, Interests will continuously scan Amazon’s vast inventory and notify you about new, relevant products, restocks, and deals.

💻 ​​Personalized prompts: You can create tailored prompts by simply describing what you're looking for. The tool allows for both broad and detailed queries, such as “Model building kits for hobbyist engineers” or even more specific ones like “Industrial-style wall art made of black metal, under $100.”

🆕 Ongoing updates: Once set up, Interests works behind the scenes, constantly updating you on products that match your preferences. You can view notifications through the “Me” tab in the app or via a dedicated widget.

👌 Easy to edit: If your preferences change, you can easily update your Interests prompt. For example, you might start with a simple search for “feminine home décor” and later refine it to “romantic, cottage-style pieces under $100.”

✅ Availability: Right now, only a small group of users in the U.S. can access the feature, but Amazon plans to roll it out more widely soon.

Why it matters 🤔

With this feature, the burden of search shifts from the user to the AI, simplifying product discovery while keeping shoppers engaged with tailored recommendations. What this means for ecommerce businesses is an increased focus on how products are described and tagged. As such, it’s highly essential to optimize your listings with precise and descriptive keywords that match prompts, considering how AI is becoming more involved in suggesting products.

🚀 TikTok Shop expands to Europe as U.S. uncertainty looms.

TikTok Shop is making a bold move into Europe by launching its ecommerce platform in France, Germany, and Italy. The expansion, which went live on Monday, comes as TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain due to potential government intervention requiring ByteDance to find an American buyer.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🌐 Strategic expansion: TikTok Shop, which has been active in the UK since 2021 and the U.S. since September 2023, is now targeting three major European markets. According to Jan Wilk, head of operations at TikTok Shop UK, the European rollout will be faster than the UK’s initial launch, as the ecommerce model has gained traction and familiarity since then.

🛒 Building a local seller base: One of TikTok Shop’s key goals in Europe is to increase local seller representation. Currently, many products on the platform come directly from China. To make the platform more appealing to European consumers, TikTok is actively partnering with well-known brands. In France, Carrefour will debut on TikTok Shop, while AboutYou and Cosnova will join in Germany.

👜 Expanding product range: While TikTok Shop is primarily known for offering discounted items through livestream sales, the platform is aiming to broaden its product and price range. For example, in the UK, a luxury goods store has successfully sold second-hand Birkin bags, signaling an effort to cater to higher-end shoppers as well.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

TikTok is clearly hedging against potential losses in the U.S. by gaining a strong foothold in Europe. Ultimately, this expansion means increased opportunities for local sellers to reach TikTok’s massive user base, amid Chinese imports currently dominating the platform. 

⚙️ Reddit Ads rolls out new tools for SMBs.

Reddit Ads has introduced a series of new tools designed to make advertising on the platform more accessible and efficient for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These updates focus on simplifying campaign setup, improving performance tracking, and helping advertisers reach niche communities effectively.

What are these tools 🤷?

🔩 Campaign Import from Meta: You can now import ad campaigns from Meta directly into Reddit Ads Manager. It’s as simple as signing in to your Meta account from within Reddit Ads, selecting the campaign you want to bring over, and tweaking it to fit Reddit’s format. This means you can quickly repurpose successful Meta ads on Reddit without starting from scratch.

🪧 Streamlined Campaign QA: To make quality assurance easier, Reddit has introduced a new review page within the Ads Manager. It consolidates all campaign details in one place, allowing advertisers to spot any errors or inconsistencies before hitting publish. If something looks off, you can easily navigate back to the specific campaign or ad group to make adjustments.

🔌 1-Click GTM Integration for the Reddit Pixel: Setting up conversion tracking is now much simpler, as you can link the pixel via Google Tag Manager with just a few clicks. This makes it easier to monitor customer journeys and refine lower-funnel strategies.

📈 Event Manager QA:  This offers a detailed breakdown of conversion events, whether they come from the Reddit Pixel or the Conversions API (CAPI). This helps businesses verify data accuracy and resolve any tracking issues efficiently, making their lower-funnel campaigns more effective.

Why it matters 🤨

The ability to import Meta campaigns means that businesses already familiar with social media advertising can easily expand to Reddit without having to reinvent their strategy. Also, knowing exactly how your ads are performing and where potential issues lie allows for more strategic adjustments. In the end, it all boils down to making the most of these tools while balancing ad spend.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Ecom Fact: In 2023, U.S. social commerce sales nearly hit $64.8 billion. By 2025, they’re projected to surpass $90 billion, and could reach $150 billion by 2028. Plus, 85.6% of consumers reported making an online purchase in the past month (Source: Hostinger).

Social media is woven into our daily lives, and shopping directly on these platforms is becoming the norm. To stay ahead, make sure your social presence is shoppable—it's the key to capturing this rapidly growing market 📈.

🚀 Ecom Strategies: How to Sell on TikTok Shop

With TikTok Shop expanding into more markets, there’s no better time to get your store up and running! Whether you’re just getting started or looking to boost your existing presence, we’ve got you covered. Luckily, we have a tutorial video that breaks it all down. Below are the five essential steps to set up your TikTok Shop and start selling.

1. Register Your Business: 📝

Start by creating a TikTok Shop account via TikTok’s Seller Center. Whether you’re a sole proprietor or a registered LLC, enter your business details and verification information. You’ll need your EIN or Social Security number, depending on your business type.

2. Set Up Your Store: 🛒

Once registered, create your shop name and select your primary product category. Connect your TikTok Shop to an existing online store like Shopify to streamline your inventory management and multi-channel sales.

3. Add Your Products: 📦

Sync your online store to your TikTok Shop or manually upload products. If you’re using Shopify, it’s a smooth integration—just add your products and categorize them appropriately. Make sure your product descriptions are clear and engaging.

4. Configure Shipping and Payments: 💳

Set up your shipping options and payment methods within TikTok Shop. You can choose flat-rate shipping or calculate rates automatically through linked services. Configure your payment gateway to ensure seamless transactions.

5. Tag Products in Your TikToks: 📲

Create engaging TikTok content and use the "Add Product" feature to tag items directly in your videos. This makes your content instantly shoppable, letting viewers buy without leaving the app.

Want the full breakdown and some insider tips? Watch the full video on YouTube for all the details.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

• Petco partners with Uber Eats to expand pet supply delivery nationwide.

• Crocs and Barbour launch stylish collaboration with wax Jackets and clogs.

• Instagram rolls out Repost Feature to maximize video reach in Feeds.

• Trump signals confidence in TikTok sale ahead of April 5 deadline.

• Steph Curry teams up with Michelle Obama to launch healthy sports drink.

Wrapping up…

We’re just a quarter into the year, and it’s already been a whirlwind of updates, AI breakthroughs, and game-changing innovations disrupting ecommerce for the better 🌪️. 

So, what does the second quarter hold 🤔? Are you planning to embrace new strategies or double down on what’s working? Whatever your game plan, we’ll be right here to keep you in the loop 💡. 

As always, stay curious, stay ahead, and hit that subscribe button, if you haven’t already 😉.