Hey there!

Well, look who decided to finally whip up another issue of the newsletter!

I've collected some non-breaking news, memes, quotes, and updates for you in the most inconsistently published newsletter you'll find.

**Not interested in this newsletter? Scroll to the bottom and adjust your preferences to only receive lead-related content.

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💬 Quote of the Week

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Man, there are a lot of sellers around social media that need to hear this:

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Now let's see what we might have missed on the back pages of e-commerce news:

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What's the Matter?

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📰 It's Still Prime Time

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A recent survey shows that US Amazon Prime membership is still growing, reaching 196 million members by March 2025.

This is a 9% increase from the previous year, despite predictions that growth might slow down.

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Why it matters:

Prime members are what butters our bread. A big part of why selling on Amazon is great is due to the staggering amount of traffic consistently on the marketplace.

Traffic = purchases.

And Prime members place more than twice the amount of orders than non-Prime members and spend more than twice as much.

Every Amazon seller should have a keen interest in Prime membership growth.

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📰 Beauty is in the Eye of the Mouse-Holder

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The U.S. beauty market is expected to grow to $115 billion by 2030, with Amazon's share increasing from 10% to 15%.

The clear trend in the article displays brick & mortar dollars moving online, as Amazon and TikTok projections are up and department & drug store shares are projected to decline.

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Why it matters:

Love the Beauty category still? Congrats, the category is expanding at a strong pace.

Salty about the perception of having less Beauty brands to sell? Congrats, the category with many other brands you can still sell is expanding at a strong pace.

For the record: I am firmly in the love Beauty camp. But we can argue about that another time.

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📰 Inflation Doesn't Make Cents

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A recent quiz on financial literacy showed that many Americans struggle with basic concepts like inflation and interest rates.

Only 27% of participants answered at least five out of seven questions correctly, highlighting a significant gap in financial education.

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Why it matters:

This is brutal. 😲

I think the biggest reason this matters is because it serves as a reminder to not sell out of our own pocket, to borrow a phrase from Chris Grant's Grandfather.

Meaning we have to put our personal consumer tendencies aside when we source inventory.

It's a reminder to trust the data. Phrases like "I would never pay that much" and "Why would anyone pay that for a two-pack when two singles is so much cheaper" can creep into our head. If we give in to our consumer thoughts when evidence that customers are, in fact, paying that much is right in front of our faces, it costs us profit.

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🎧 What's the Latest on the Clear The Shelf with Chris & Chris Podcast?

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The latest episode of the pod was our 81st, so we took a look at the previous 80 episodes and pulled out what we thought were the 17 most important tips that sellers should know.

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​ Listen to Clear the Shelf with Chris & Chris on your favorite podcast player: ​YouTube​ ​Apple​ ​Spotify​

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💰 Alpha Weekend Lead List

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As I write this, there are spots available on the Weekend list. It's a great option as a budget list or a supplement to your weekday list subscriptions.

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📚 All of the Most Successful People I Know Are Readers

If you've heard everyone talking about it, but haven't read it yet, the Kindle version of Profit First is on sale for $2 currently.

It only goes on sale a couple of times a year at most, and this is the lowest price since January '23.

​The Introvert's Edge is on sale for $3.

I just picked this up, so I can't give you a personal review. Outside of cohosting the podcast, I am quiet and shy most of the time. I also recognize that much of our lives is sales. More than we realize.

Not only was it the subject matter that interested me, but also the reviews & awards this book has received.

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🤣 Sometimes I Think I'm Funny

I'm not bearish on either marketplace. Quite the opposite, actually.

I'm just asking that we remain objective.

Have a great week! Talk to you soon.

Chris