Shein's Counterfeit Crisis: The Cost of Copying Amazon

Today In Digital Marketing is a daily podcast and daily newsletter showcasing the latest in marketing trends and updates.

This week, Tod touches on:

• Shein's influencer marketing misstep triggers industry-wide repercussions.
• FTC's updated endorsement guides for creators and brands emphasize the need for clear and conspicuous disclosures in influencer marketing.
• Pinterest's test of a system that scans users' emails to understand their interests raises privacy concerns.
• MediaMath, one of the oldest ad tech companies, files for bankruptcy protection after unsuccessful negotiations with potential buyers.
• Microsoft's introduction of Predictive Targeting for ads promises to find new audiences more likely to convert.
• A YouTube scammer who stole over $23 million in royalties is sentenced to five years, marking a significant case in digital copyright infringement.

Can the Shein Take On Amazon's Third-Party Marketplace?

Shein is taking on the biggest e-commerce company in the world, Amazon, by expanding its marketplace beyond fast fashion and venturing into categories like:

• Home appliances
• Electronics
• Gardening supplies
• Kitchen utensils

Transition to Third-Party Retailers

Until recently, the Chinese-owned e-commerce company relied on sourcing its own products through its on-demand manufacturing model. But now the company has followed Amazon's lead by opening its marketplace to third-party retailers. Business Insider reports that this move, however, may expose Shein to similar issues faced by Amazon's Marketplace, including counterfeit and copyright infringement problems.

Copyright Woes

As a retailer known for its "dupes," Shein has faced numerous lawsuits from brands like Ralph Lauren, Oakley, and Dr. Martens that claim the e-commerce platform sells products that infringe on their intellectual property.

Quoting the report:

Amazon has faced the same issues as it became an easy place for counterfeit businesses to set up shop. Thousands of customer complaints have detailed purchases they thought were from authentic brands they trusted but turned out to be copy-cat products.
… Last year, the e-commerce giant removed more than six million counterfeit items from its marketplace…
... Shein's problems could get harder to manage as it grows.

Bloomberg data shows while customer spending on Shein is still a fraction of Amazon's, the company has seen substantial growth in other areas. Last year, Shein surpassed Amazon and claimed the title of the most downloaded iOS app in the United States.

Image: Shein

Meta's Advice for the Upcoming Holiday Buying Season

With Christmas just 171 days away, Meta has released a ‘Holiday Planning Guide’ to assist with your seasonal campaigns.

Consumer Behaviour

The guide notes that consumers are starting Christmas shopping earlier and that 3 in 4 shoppers surveyed say they are looking for deals amid current economic conditions. Many shoppers now start their Christmas shopping journey as early as October as planning ahead financially this year is "more important than ever."

Meta also talked up its AI ad tools which they say can improve targeting to active shoppers. It says advertisers using Meta Advantage saw 20% more conversions in Q4 last year versus the previous year.

The guide looks at strategies for optimizing the platform's ad tools, including:

• Tips on audience reach
• Audience segmentation

Meta also provides planners for major shopping campaigns, including guidance on timelines along with examples of effective creative and influencer marketing initiatives.

Images: Meta

Twitter's Dynamic Product Ads Appear to be Broken

Here's your sign to check any campaigns you're running on Twitter today, as there seem to be some technical issues with certain ads on the platform.

Several users are reporting seeing an image of Twitter’s logo instead of the advertisement paid for by Amazon, Sky, and the sportswear company On Running.

These affected ads display the advertiser's name and what appears to be the intended caption. However, instead of directing users to the advertiser's website, these ads link to Twitter.com, and the heading for the link reads "DPA_Placeholder," which stands for "dynamic product ads."

According to screenshots, some of the busted ads from Amazon received more than 15 million views.

Images: Twitter

Instagram Adds Up to Three Collaborators Per Post

You can now partner up with multiple influencers on your Instagram posts.

Previously, users could only collaborate with one account per post, but now users can include up to three collaborators on a feed post or Reel. All contributors will have access to organic insights including view and like counts.

It's worth noting that paid partnerships still need to use the Paid Partnership Label process to comply with evolving laws on influencer marketing disclosure, rather than relying solely on this new multi-tagging feature.

Images: Instagram

Two Small Google Updates

Robots.txt v2.0?

Google announced yesterday it's planning to develop a complementary protocol to the aging robots.txt protocol, which has been in use for 30 years.

Robots.txt is a simple text file in the root directory of a web site, that tells search engines what areas of the site are off-limits. Search engines and bots don't have to honour the restrictions, but most do.

This new version would provide some guidelines for AI bots. While there are no immediate changes, Google says it will hold discussions with the community in the coming months.

Google Calendar Update

Google Calendar now lets users specify where they’re working throughout the day.

The feature is rolling out today, and users can select "Working Location" as an event type in their calendar, then choose a location. From there, you can modify the date, time, or reoccurrence by clicking on the time element.

The geotag update could come in handy for those of you that work from multiple locations and want to keep your coworkers informed about your whereabouts – or not so handy for when you want to work from the beach on a Friday afternoon.

Image: Google / Twitter

Credit to Tod Maffin and the Today In Digital Marketing podcast, Produced by engageQ.com

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