OpenAI Might Be Teaming Up With Shopify 🛒

While: Amazon announces new Coupon fee structure 🏷️, plus what happened this week in the Trump tariff saga 🚢.

April 23, 2025

AI keeps shaking hands with ecommerce to reshape how we shop. From simplifying product discovery to completing checkouts in a single prompt, the buyer’s journey is drastically changing.

Hey there 👋! Welcome to this week’s issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

Whether it’s Gen AI or Agentic AI, tech giants like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft are actively rewriting the ecommerce playbook. And at this pace, it’s only a matter of time before this new shopping experience becomes the standard.

Meanwhile, Amazon is cranking up its coupon fees 🧾, and the tariff war? Yep—it’s already hitting home with real consequences.

Enough talk! Let’s begin, shall we 🚕💨?

In a rush? Here's the juice 🤭:

🛒 OpenAI might be teaming up with Shopify.

🏷️ Amazon announces new Coupon fee structure.

🚢 What happened this week in the Trump tariff saga

🧰 Tool Spotlight: 5 Must-Have Elements for Every Ecommerce Website

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Source: TheTechOutlook

OpenAI is likely on the brink of announcing a formal partnership with Shopify. Based on new backend code leaks, it appears to be integrating Shopify into ChatGPT, enabling users to browse, select, and checkout right inside the chat. With Microsoft and Perplexity already rolling out similar features, this could be OpenAI’s next big ecommerce leap.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🫣 Clues Hidden in Code: Developers analyzing ChatGPT’s public web bundle recently found some intriguing additions: identifiers like buy_now, product_offer_rating, price, shipping_fields, and shopify_checkout_url. These aren’t passive metadata tags because they suggest a fully embedded Shopify checkout system within ChatGPT itself. If accurate, this would mark a major upgrade from simple affiliate linking to a full ecommerce flow.

🛍️ How It Might Work: If this rolls out, users won’t need to jump to Shopify’s site to buy something. Instead, ChatGPT could handle the full transaction, including discovery, product details, shipping info, and checkout, all without leaving the interface.

⚙️ Not Just Hype; It’s Already in Production: The code snippets are not sitting in a sandbox. They’re live in production assets, meaning OpenAI is actively staging for rollout. Some users might already be seeing hints of these features, or they may go live quietly before a formal announcement.

🏃 Part of a Bigger Race: OpenAI isn’t alone here. Microsoft just launched its Copilot Merchant Program on April 18, allowing businesses to embed product catalogs directly into its AI assistant with seamless checkout, personalized suggestions, and real-time updates. Meanwhile, Perplexity’s “Buy With Pro” gives users a shopping experience that blends search with instant transactions.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

We’re entering an era where the storefront is the chatbox. If ChatGPT becomes a one-stop shop for discovery and checkout, ecommerce success may hinge less on Google rankings and more on being integrated into the right AI assistant. As such, it’s great to start thinking how your product data and story show up in these AI-native platforms.

Source: Amazon

Amazon has officially updated how it charges sellers for Coupons and Lightning Deals, and these new rules kick in starting June 2, 2025. From flat fees to percentage-based charges, your promo budget and pricing strategy might need a rethink. Let's walk through what’s changing and what it could mean for your bottom line.

Here’s the scoop 🍨:

1. Coupon Fees: Then vs. Now

Until June 1, sellers pay a simple $0.60 per unit redeemed through a coupon. But from June 2 onward, it gets more nuanced:

  • A $5 upfront fee per coupon

  • Plus 2.5% of total sales made via coupon redemptions

➡️ Example: 

  • $20 product, 1,000 redemptions = $505 in new fees

  • Old fee = $600 (1,000 × $0.60)

✅ You save slightly with lower-priced products.

But...

  • $100 product, 1,000 redemptions = $2,505 ($2,500 + $5)

  • Old fee = $600

❌ That’s a massive fee hike.

2. Lightning Deals Get Pricier Too

Previously a flat fee depending on the day. New model (non-peak days) includes:

  • $70 per day

  • Plus 1% of deal revenue (capped at $2,000)

➡️ Selling for 3 days at $18,000 revenue? 

You now pay $390, up from $150 — a 160% increase.

3. High-Volume Wins, Low-Volume Risks

If you’re moving large quantities, percentage fees may still offer solid ROI. But low-volume, high-ticket promotions? You’ll need to tread carefully or risk losing money.

4. Subscribe & Save Impact

The 2.5% fee applies even if customers cancel later. This affects customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) calculations for repeat-purchase brands.

Why it matters 🤨

With this shifted risk from Amazon, sellers now absorb more cost, regardless of how successful a promo is. These new structures favor volume, not experimentation. For ecommerce brands, it’s time to stop running "just because" discounts. Instead, make every promo deliberate. Test in small batches, analyze your margins, and ensure your offers actually pay off.

🚢 What happened this week in the Trump tariff saga

Source: Knowledge at Wharton

Another week, another wave of tariff drama. From clarifications on jaw-dropping numbers to viral TikToks exposing global supply chain secrets, here’s a quick roundup of the latest on the tariff saga 👇.

April 17 – The 245% Confusion, Explained ✳️

  • The White House clarified that the much-talked-about 245% tariff isn’t a new blanket rate.

  • It only applies to Chinese EVs and syringes, stacking Trump’s 145% tariff with earlier Biden and Trump-era levies.

  • Most Chinese imports still face hefty, but not that hefty, tariffs.

April 18 – China Courts Southeast Asia 🇨🇳

President Xi Jinping wrapped up a strategic Southeast Asia tour, locking in economic deals with Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The highlight?

  • Rare earth mineral deals with Vietnam

  • A digital trade pact with Malaysia to sidestep U.S. payment rails

  • Belt and Road expansions through Cambodia

It’s a direct play to offset U.S. tariffs (Vietnam: 46%, Malaysia: 24%, Cambodia: 49%).

April 21 – Temu & Shein Raise Prices 🚨

  • Temu and Shein confirmed price hikes from April 25 due to rising tariffs and the death of the de minimis exemption.

  • Temu warned of up to 40% increases on some categories.

  • Both say they’ll absorb part of the cost, but discounts will shrink and shipping may slow.

April 22 – Manufacturers Expose ‘Luxury’ Supply Chains 💸

  • Viral clips revealed that up to 80% of luxury goods are made in Chinese factories, then relabeled “Made in Italy” or “France.”

  • The #luxurydupe trend ignited backlash and forced U.S. Customs to launch new investigations into potential tariff-dodging via transshipment.

April 23 – Trump Signals Possible Relief 😮‍💨

  • Trump hinted that tariffs could “come down substantially” if China strikes a deal.

  • Treasury Secretary Bessent called the standoff “unsustainable,” suggesting that backchannel talks may already be happening.

Why it matters 🤔

As tariffs ripple through the system, global supply chains are under a microscope, especially luxury labels and DTC brands relying on overseas factories. Also, rising costs aren’t theoretical anymore; they’re showing up in shipping times, price tags, and consumer behavior. Also, transparency, agility, and supply chain diversity are important, now more than ever before.

So, whether you sell basics or luxury, now’s the time to evaluate how tariffs could quietly affect your positioning, pricing, and long-term trust with customers.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Source: ChatGPT Image Generator 

Ecom Fact: Did you know that a 1% bump in conversion, from 2% to 3%, on just 10,000 monthly visitors (with a $50 average order value) can bring in an extra $5,000 in revenue, all without increasing your traffic (Source: admetrics).

Before chasing more clicks, fix your funnel. Small tweaks in conversion can unlock big wins 💰.

🧰 Tool Spotlight: 5 Must-Have Elements for Every Ecommerce Website

Building a high-converting ecommerce site isn’t about flashy features but about getting the essentials right. Here are five must-have elements every store needs to turn visitors into buyers:

1. 🗂️ Collections & Collection Lists: Group similar items into collections, like skincare, shoes, or bestsellers, so your customers can quickly find what they’re looking for. Also consider adding a collection list page to show all categories at a glance. This helps guide shoppers and reduces browsing friction.

2. 🛍️ Product Pages & Variants: Your product page should give customers everything they need to make a decision: clear photos, sizes, materials, reviews, and shipping info. Don’t forget to include variant selectors like size or color, and use swatches or dropdowns depending on the product type.

3. 📦 The Shopping Cart: Make the cart easy to edit, update in real-time, and show a summary of charges. Consider using the space to upsell complementary products or remind customers how close they are to getting free shipping. It’s also a good place to let users add gift options or leave a note.

4. 💳 Checkout Experience: Use a secure, fast, and mobile-friendly checkout. Let customers choose from multiple payment methods and clearly display fields like shipping, discount codes, and delivery options. Keep the steps minimal to reduce drop-offs at the final stage.

5. 💬 Customer Support & FAQs: Have an FAQ section for quick answers and offer live chat or chatbots for more complex questions. If possible, add contact options like email, WhatsApp, or even a callback request. This reassures buyers they can reach you if something goes wrong.

Overall, each element above plays a specific role in guiding the customer from interest to checkout with confidence and ease. By putting them in place, you’ll create a store that’s easy to navigate, trustworthy to shop from, and built for repeat business. Just start with what’s most relevant for your current setup and build from there 😎.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Wrapping up…

Another week, another whirlwind: AI teaming up with ecommerce, coupon fee hikes, and the ever-evolving tariff standoff. Just the kind of chaos that keeps the ecommerce world spinning 🔄.

Wild week, right 😅?

There’s plenty more where that came from, and you know we’ll be right here breaking it down for you. So don’t miss a beat: hit that subscribe button and we’ll catch you next week with more sizzling updates 🔥!