Juphy’s Weekly E-Commerce News Express – 4-8 December 2023
Ceyda Duz
Buckle up for this week’s journey through the latest and most compelling e-commerce updates! Our focus this time? Remarkable partnerships and product launches, delving into the influence of ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ on Cyber 5, and witnessing an innovation attempt by none other than Amazon. Here is what you shouldn’t miss about this week’s highlights!
Amazon’s Attempt Entering Generative AI with Assistant Q: Triumph or Setback?
In recent weeks, Amazon has unfolded a series of groundbreaking and innovative announcements that have the power to reshape the e-commerce landscape. Among this innovation spree, Amazon launched its latest creation, the generative AI assistant called “Q“. It was introduced at “Amazon’s re: Invent 2023 Conference“. However, the timing of this entrance into a competitive field raises questions about its potential success, especially with major rivals already dominating the space.
Q distinguishes itself as an AI-powered assistant tailored for business applications, offering a set of features to enhance workplace efficiency. From generating reports and summarizing documents to addressing company-specific queries and identifying software code errors, Q integrates seamlessly into the Amazon Web Services Bedrock AI platform. This platform emphasizes Amazon’s commitment to delivering advanced AI solutions for businesses, using a unique blend of Amazon’s Titan, Anthropic, and Meta AI systems rather than relying on a particular model like Bard or ChatGPT.
While positioning itself as a corporate solution and competing with established chatbots like Copilot and ChatGPT, Q aims to offer extensive and profound capabilities, streamlining processes across departments and prioritizing data security and privacy. Amazon has outlined a cost structure involving a $20 payment per user, allowing businesses to choose their preferred language model.
Despite these promising features, the first week of Q’s launch was not without challenges. In the face of critiques questioning the timing of entry and the need for deeper testing, Q encountered issues such as inaccuracies and privacy concerns, including hallucinations and data leaks, in a way, not holding its key promises. Document leaks started doubts about the suitability of Q’s generative AI capabilities for corporate decision-making.
While Amazon has quickly responded, emphasizing the nature of AI development and the need for feedback-driven optimization, the incident highlights the importance of thorough internal testing. The verdict remains open-ended; Q might need time to mature, progress, and fulfill its intended role as a new player in the world of generative AI – as expected from Amazon. With Q continuing or maybe even starting its growth journey, we extend our best wishes, expecting its readiness to face competitors, including Microsoft and Google, in the future.
Cyber 5: The Deep Impact of Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL)
As highlighted in our previous week’s update, U.S. shoppers showed a great online shopping adventure, spending an astonishing $38 billion between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, commonly referred to as Cyber 5. An essential player in this high purchase phenomenon was the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) option, creating attention with its record-breaking contribution of $940 million out of the total $12.4 billion spent.
BNPL, a short-term financing option easily integrated into the checkout process, offers consumers the flexibility to spread their purchase payments over a set period without additional interest. This alternative to traditional credit cards and hard credit checks proves particularly appealing, enabling shoppers to manage their expenses with smaller payments over extended periods.
Noteworthy is the shift in Buy-Now-Pay-Later usage habits and its predominant focus on jewelry, automotive parts, and apparel rather than food and beverage purchases. Users showed a changed payment behavior, reflected in an average 11% increase in items purchased compared to the previous year. November 2023 emerged as a standing-out month for BNPL, witnessing a significant $8.3 billion in online orders, becoming its biggest month of the year.
Recognizing the growing influence of BNPL, 54% of the Top 1000 online retailers, including industry giants like Apple, Walmart, and Amazon, have adapted their platforms to include BNPL options. Leading Buy-Now-Pay-Later vendors such as Klarna, Zip, and Similarweb reported an impressive average increase of 30% in orders during Cyber 5.
Amazon Web Services Introduces New Supply Chain Enhancements
AWS has introduced four advanced features to enhance its supply chain capabilities. These include forecasting, planning, and replenishment functionalities, N-Tier Visibility, Supply Chain Sustainability, and Amazon Q, a generative AI assistant to improve operational efficiency.
Upgrading Website Creation: Web.com Launches New AI Tool
Web.com, a website-building platform, has introduced a new AI Builder, helping small businesses effortlessly bring their dream websites to life. With a user-friendly approach, the AI Builder encourages users to answer just three questions and crafts a fully designed website with relevant images and content according to the answers – all in under a minute. The tool extends its capabilities to offer AI assistance for social media posts, email marketing campaigns, and blog creation.
Contactless Payments: Square Introduces Tap-to-Pay Services for iPhones in the U.K
Square, a payment provider, has unveiled its latest feature – tap-to-pay functionality, which is now available on iPhones throughout the United Kingdom. This feature readily integrates with Square Point of Sale, Square for Retail, and Square Appointments, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments directly from their iPhones. Notably, this advancement comes with the added comfort of no extra hardware requirements or additional costs, simplifying the payment process for businesses.
Last Words
In this week’s e-commerce updates, Amazon’s Assistant Q enters the AI arena, raising excitement and skepticism. ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ (BNPL) flexes its muscles during Cyber 5, reshaping shopping behaviors. Amazon Web Services and Web.com improved supply chains and simplified website creation. Square transformed U.K. payments with tap-to-pay on iPhones. Stay tuned for our next dive into the dynamic world of e-commerce!