Your Ecommerce Coffee Break Newsletter ⭐ (Issue 104)

Hey, Claus here. Happy Thursday to the 7,585 online sellers, marketers, and founders reading this newsletter!

2025 is kicking off strong! From the buzz about a potential TikTok ban to wrapping up some great podcast interviews here in sunny Buenos Aires, there’s lots to share. Stay tuned.

In Today’s Edition:

• Podcast: (Ep 363) Why Gifting Is the Biggest Opportunity for Ecommerce Brands in 2025, (Ep 364) The Rise of Try Before You Buy

• The Latest Ecommerce News: Handpicked Finds of the Week

• Boost Instagram Reach: Pro Tips

As always, send me your feedback at [email protected].

Grab your favorite drink and dive into this week’s ecommerce updates. 👇

🎙️ ECOMMERCE COFFEE BREAK PODCAST

On Monday, Liz Lorge, Marketing Lead at Zest.co, shared why online gifting represents the biggest opportunity for ecommerce brands in 2025. 🎧 Listen on [Website] [Apple Podcasts] [Spotify] [YouTube]

On Wednesday, Benjamin Davis, founder and CEO of TryNow.com, talked about how "Try Before You Buy" transforms Shopify stores by boosting acquisition, order value, and loyalty. 🎧 Listen on [Website] [Apple Podcasts] [Spotify] [YouTube]

Listen in your favorite podcast app just search for 'Ecommerce Coffee Break'.
Check out our playlist with over 390 episodes on ecommerce and marketing.

⭐ TOGETHER WITH Krown Themes*

Elevate Your Shopify Store with the Combine Theme

Looking for a theme that doesn’t just look great but actively boosts your sales? Discover Combine, a Shopify theme designed to simplify and supercharge stores with large inventories.

➡️ Explore Combine now. 

Why Choose Combine? 🔗 Boost Conversions with Bundles
Increase average order value with product sets, BOGOs, and a seamless bundle builder, all built directly into the theme—no extra apps needed.

🎨 Unmatched Customization
Create a store that stands out with rich design options: typography, section colors, and layouts. With 30+ sections, showcase products, promotions, and testimonials in a creative way.

🛑 Conversion-Boosting Features

Quick Buy on Collection Pages: Let shoppers select product options and purchase directly from the collection grid, skipping the product page.

Sticky Add-to-Cart: Keep the cart accessible as customers scroll, encouraging quick decisions.

Cross-Selling Built-In: Automated suggestions, user-selected recommendations, and in-cart prompts make it easy to increase sales, all included for free.

🎥 Dynamic Product Displays
Engage visitors with a parallax vertical slider that ensures nothing is missed. This creative feature captures attention, boosts engagement, and increases time spent on your site.

🔧 Built by Shopify Experts
Since 2015, Krown Themes has delivered top-quality themes trusted by 42,000+ merchants worldwide. Built for performance and reliability, Combine includes ongoing updates to keep your store ahead of the curve.

🚀 Discover Combine and start transforming your Shopify store today!

📰 ECOMMERCE NEWS (Handpicked Finds of the Week)

General Ecommerce News

• Is TikTok ‘going dark’ in the US on January 19? [read more]

• 5 New Marketing Trends To Watch in 2025 [read more]

• The E.U. formally accuses Meta of violating the Digital Markets Act [read more]

• Meta to cut roughly 5% of its workforce based on performance [read more]

Platforms & Marketplaces

• Marketplaces Dominate Product Discovery [read more]

• Chinese Sellers Dominate Amazon [read more]

• Your brand name on Amazon can now match your product name [read more]

• AI is becoming transformative to Amazon [read more]

• Shopify acquired the domains shop.ca and shop.us from Emerge Commerce [read more]

• Best Buy is planning to launch a new third-party marketplace in the US [read more]

Social Media & Advertising

• Influencer Pricing: The Cost of Influencers in 2025 [read more]

• Microsoft strengthens retail media with new tools [read more]

• Meta is testing adding eBay listings to Facebook Marketplace [read more]

• Sellers are optimistic about Meta showing eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace [read more]

• Instagram Surveys Users on Paying for Engagement [read more]

• Instagram Shares Key Areas of Focus in 2025 [read more]

• TikTok shop rival raises funds at US$5 billion valuation [read more]

• Threads is testing the ability to add a display name & a profile cover photo [read more]

• X Rolls Out In-Stream Labels for Parody and Fan Accounts [read more]

The Ecommerce Coffee Break Newsletter is free and always will be, but joining our MerchantHub community gives you access to extra content, perks and features. 

This week’s content in our MerchantHub membership community:

• Ecommerce Benefits of Dynamic Pricing [read more]

• 10 Types of Emails Every Ecommerce Business Can Use [read more]

• 10 Proven Strategies for Boosting Ecommerce ROI [read more]

• How to create birthday email flows [read more]

• How to Promote Products on X [read more]

Access our Premium MerchantHub here: [Sign In | Join]

🚀 BOOST INSTAGRAM REACH: PRO TIPS

Want to grow your Instagram reach? Instagram just shared insider tips to help creators avoid common mistakes and boost their content’s visibility. Here are the highlights:

1️⃣ No Watermarks: Skip reposting third-party watermarked content—it limits your reach.
2️⃣ Stay Original: Reposting? Add your own twist, or Instagram will favor the original creator.
3️⃣ Perfect Reels: Keep videos between 30–60 seconds to engage new audiences.
4️⃣ Follow the Rules: Stick to content guidelines, and avoid anything that violates policies.
5️⃣ Avoid Red Flags: Don’t promote regulated products or content tied to restricted accounts.
6️⃣ Say No to Engagement Bait: Instagram demotes posts asking for tags or comments.

For the full scoop and more tips straight from Instagram, check out the original post here.

📰 ADVERTISE WITH US

Want to put out your message in front of over 7,500 online sellers, merchants, marketers, founders, and direct-to-customer (DTC) brands? Find our Partner Kit here.

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