The Meta & Amazon Alliance: A New Era for E-commerce?

The e-commerce landscape is always throwing out new changes — and it looks like it won’t be slowing down any time soon.

Not only is a brand new advertising conversion process being introduced by Meta, but they have also partnered with Amazon too in some pretty amazing news for Amazon sellers. In today’s blog, we explore what we know so far about this brand-new conversion process partnership between these two industry giants.

Let’s get started with the basics, shall we?

What is the new Meta & Amazon partnership?

Having previously partnered with an array of social media platforms like Pinterest, Amazon – the leading E-commerce platform – announced their plan to join forces with Meta. This could revolutionise social commerce as we know it.

Previously, Instagram and Facebook ads would lead users to the Amazon app. However, with this new advertising change, Amazon sellers can look into selling directly through Meta. This will essentially cut out that annoying loading time between apps (we love a buffer-free life).

A partnership like this between such big market leaders means that there is the potential for shared information between them and a much more simplified e-commerce system. This will benefit both Meta and E-commerce Amazon sellers hugely.

What will this new E-commerce model look like?

We won’t lie… it is still very early days for this new debut.

However, we believe it is set to work similarly to third-party apps like Shopify, where you will need to connect your Amazon account with Meta. This will, of course, be optional. Clicking on an Amazon ad on Facebook or Instagram will then hopefully reveal a stripped-down version of the Amazon product page. Therefore, it allows users to buy straight through whichever Meta app they are using, buying products they see within a matter of seconds.

Not only is this a big step toward enhancing the E-commerce landscape, which is great news for Amazon, but it means that targeting capabilities within Meta Ads are about to get a whole lot better.

How will this affect Meta ads setup & management?

Another wonderfully tricky question to answer in these early stages.

When setting up Meta Ads that link through to Shopify at the moment, we use a pixel that collects data and feeds back browsing tendencies to us. As well as this, the pixel also feeds back site behaviour which can then be used to retarget users later down the line, allowing us to tailor ads accordingly.

For a new big conversion process like this, it is hard to tell exactly how Meta will look into implementing it. That being said, one thing is for sure: reporting on conversions should become a lot simpler. With users no longer leaving the site and being able to buy directly through the app, it may be a dream come true for us as marketers.

How will Meta’s changes benefit you & your audience?

For users

The primary advantage of this new update is a far more seamless shopping experience directly through social media apps. Things like real-time pricing updates, prime eligibility, and product information will all become available without users even having to leave the Facebook or Instagram app.

For sellers

And for sellers? Well, not only will this allow them to showcase multiple products at the same time, but it may also mean that sellers have a whole new way of tracking and reporting on the conversions their businesses gain from running Meta ads.

Unfortunately, the current iOS restrictions have impacted our ability to understand performance, properly engage with our audience, and make informed decisions about advertising budgets. As such, our tracking of users as they leave the Facebook app and the conversions we see from that has been greatly affected.

However, this new conversion process launch will:

• Help track conversions within the app (rather than if they were to head to the website)
• Allow sellers to get information straight from Amazon to understand their audience’s needs and wants better.

Although of course, this is something that audiences will get to decide whether they want to share or not, making it an altogether more streamlined user experience.

If you are an E-commerce business that already sells on Amazon, then this may be a walk in the park — allowing you to sell your products directly through Meta’s apps. Not only will this help many businesses, but it will give Amazon another incentive to get more people selling on their app as it allows linking to Meta.

What’s the catch?

There is no ‘catch’, so to speak. However, one slight downfall is how competitive Meta’s integration may make the Amazon E-commerce market.

Also, as with every marketing activity (especially those still in the early stages), the right research needs to be conducted before jumping straight into a process like this. Let’s run you through a couple of things to consider for this update.

Website traffic issues

There is the potential that, by linking your Amazon storefront straight to Meta, your website’s performance may suffer as a result. As Amazon themselves may not even be benefitting from the traffic coming through due to all purchases being within another app, it is fair to assume that your site’s traffic may alter when implementing these types of conversion ads.

Visibility on Amazon Shopfront

Similarly, with all items and products being listed within Meta, the chance of gaining extra visibility on Amazon’s storefront gets much more difficult — something most sellers have worked to try and rank highly on.

The competitive landscape

This collaboration has come at a time when TikTok shop advertising is on the rise as a competitor to Amazon E-commerce. By leveraging its high user count and popularity amongst the younger generations, it is definitely challenging Amazon’s dominance.

However, Meta and Amazon’s collaboration is definitely a move in the right direction to catch up with TikTok’s booming E-commerce strategies.

How can we prepare for a new feature like this?

Although we don’t have a definitive timeline of when this is going to be available, we believe it will be a priority in the new year. So, first things first, if you haven’t already got an established presence on Amazon as an E-commerce seller, now is the best time to get started!

Although selling through platforms like this may not be for everyone, certain products will do very well with this new feature. When it comes to B2B selling, however, realistically this may not be the route to go down since this is a product-focused update.

For B2B sellers, we would recommend ‘Instant Experience Ads’ – a tried and tested ad type that we often use to help our clients sell services.

Need help navigating the social media advertising landscape?

With Meta and online advertising always changing, it can be hard to know what will work for your business, how to properly implement ads, and how to find the time to manage these campaigns.

Why not get in touch with our specialist social media team and let them work their magic? Recognising the value of social media and the advertising opportunities available is an integral part of your wider marketing and sales funnel. And we can manage and optimise both your organic and paid social media activity.

Similarly to our SEO and PPC services, our social media marketing services aim to cultivate genuine, relevant, and involved audiences for your brand through the use of content, paid advertising, engagement, and technical optimisation.