Now that 2022 has come to an official close, we welcome 2023 with open arms.
The world around us is changing rapidly, with shifting economies, industries, and societies. These changes also have an impact on e-commerce and logistics. Trends affecting advertising and content, competition and pricing analysis, and distribution network management will have a profound impact on how businesses attract and serve customers. These trends demand more and more from the professionals who are behind the delivery of these services on a 24/7 basis.
Continuous adaptation therefore remains relevant, as the need for knowledge and competencies continues to increase. Provider capabilities must grow and expand with the ever-increasing demand in logistical volume, complexity, and flexibility requirements. ZQUARED has a number of exciting plans lined up for 2023 to meet these demands. We have every intent to remain a leader within the e-commerce and logistics world. Though doing so is challenging, imagination, vision, and determination will make it happen.
I would personally like to thank our valued ZQUARED Brand Partners for their support and dedication. You continue to redefine the e-commerce management relationship, working together with our team to develop the best solutions possible. I also would like to thank the team at ZQUARED for the hard work and incredible levels of enthusiasm to ensure our brands benefit from our best work.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and successful new year.
Cheers to 2023,
Zach Cornett Co-Founder & CEO, ZQUARED
For the months of January and February, we’re highlighting Pedi-Derm Bum Paste, Eidon, Havalon, and The Stick. We’re honored to be a part of the journey alongside these incredible brands.
Year Founded: 1926
Category: Baby
Year Founded: 1996
Category: Supplements
Pedi-Derm Bum Paste has been made in Letourneau’s Pharmacy in Andover, Massachusetts since 1926.
Eidon is passionately invested in educating the public about the functions, requirements, and benefits of minerals, and has spent decades researching the subject.
Year Founded: 1991
Category: Health & Wellness
Year Founded: 2005
Category: Sports & Outdoors
The Stick has won numerous awards both nationally and internationally, including three consecutive years of Best in Show, Massage Therapy from the National Athletic Trainers Association, the Bronze award for Sweatshop Awards for the Running Industry, and Top 50 Award from Rehab and Therapy Products Review.
Long before the founding of Havalon hunting knives, its parent company, Havels, had been providing medical professionals around the world with quality cutting tools and surgical scalpels.
The e-commerce market shows no signs of slowing following the rapid growth of online shopping at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It broke $1 trillion in value at the end of 2022, constituting 70% of the total retail market.
These booming sales accompany a high rate of return on purchased goods. In 2022, 20% of online purchases were returned (approximately $218 billion in value), a figure which has doubled since 2020. Returns average between 15% to 30% of purchases across retail categories, though auto parts, apparel, and home improvement experience the highest rate of return.
Providing a competitive return policy is now seen as an essential aspect of e-commerce business and building trust with customers who expect a seamless, free return option.
Returns quickly become a headache for companies who must decide whether to resell items, be written off from the manufacturer, or accept the loss.
E-commerce giants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Zappos are continually innovating seamless online shopping experiences that rival brick-and-mortar stores. Meanwhile, rising expectations for return policies are proving to be yet another entry barrier for small online sellers with limited e-commerce infrastructure.
Online apparel shoppers are known to purchase multiple pairs of the same article, knowing they can return what doesn’t fit or is not preferred. In response, Walmart purchased virtual fitting room start-up, Zeekit, in the hopes of limiting the number of apparel returns.
Online shoe retailer Zappos encourages purchasing multiple pairs and offers a one-year free return policy for any merchandise purchased online.
Amazon has historically utilized their own Whole Foods stores and partnered with major brick-and-mortar stores such as Kohl’s and Staples to widen their return infrastructure capabilities at reduced cost.
Handling returns is costly and time consuming. As a result, Amazon, Walmart and Target sometimes allow customers to keep certain items they wish to return or exchange rather than deal with the expense of processing the return, given that the item is unlikely to be resold or doing so is costprohibitive.
Though e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart have the financial strength to innovate their return policies, the onus they have helped create on companies to handle cost-free returns is yet another barrier to entry for small businesses looking to break into the rapidly-growing e-commerce market.
As a result, many small online sellers look to offset substantial e-commerce infrastructure costs by selling on Amazon and Walmart, who offer third-party sellers the option of overseeing the logistics of delivery, storage and returns at a cost.
At ZQUARED, we process all returns and work with each of our brand partners to create a customized plan for managing the process in a manner that works best for them. We ensure that each returned item is thoroughly inspected and evaluated, and inform our partners of any recurring issues we may observe.
For more information about how partnering with ZQUARED can help with managing returns, request an assessment of your Amazon channel or send an email to partners@zquared.com
E-commerce is a nearly $1 trillion market in the U.S. and is projected to grow to $2 trillion by 2030, making online sales an essential revenue stream for many companies. For newcomers to the e-commerce market, selling on Amazon is an obvious choice. Amazon alone is responsible for 40% of total retail e-commerce sales, and is home to over 300 million customer accounts globally.
Anyone can register as a seller on Amazon. However, the exclusive benefits that come with brand ownership can elevate your product to stand out on the world’s largest marketplace.
Registering as an Amazon seller is easy; all you need is a bank account and routing number, credit card information, governmentissued ID, tax information, and a phone number. Registering gives you access to the Seller Central portal.
There are two selling plans: Individual and Professional. Individual costs $0.99 per sale, while Professional costs $39.99 per month, no matter how many items you sell. Amazon takes a referral fee from each sale, which scales according to product, but typically lands between 8% and 15%.
If you are a brand owner, you qualify for the Brand Registry program, which establishes and protects your intellectual property (IP). In addition, Brand Registry grants exclusive access to key features like Sponsored Brands, advertising campaigns, and A+ Content that can play an important role in your brand’s ability to compete in its category.
Optimizing your product listings is essential to a successful brand launch. More than 60% of product searches start on Amazon, and customers typically do not look past the first page of results. Conducting and integrating Amazon keyword research into your listings’ copy can improve your product’s search ranking. This practice is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Cutting-edge Amazon SEO keyword research software like Jungle Scout and Helium 10 allow users to research important keywords for their product category. Long-tail keywords will typically have low search volume and low competition (the buyer knows what they want). Broad keywords will have high search volume and high competition (the buyer is browsing). Integrating a combination of both long-tail and broad keywords will improve the chances of your product appearing on the first page of a relevant search
Beyond SEO, below are tips for optimizing your product listings:
Title: The most critical SEO real estate on your listing is the title. Make sure all of the most relevant and highly searched keywords for your product are present here.
Images: Capture the browser’s attention with well thought-out, high quality images. Include a mixture of infographics and lifestyle images that highlight your product’s best differentiators and benefits. Make sure the primary image is high resolution and on a pure white background.
Copy: Highlight key selling points and your product’s most compelling benefits in a clear, concise, and professional way. Include keywords throughout your copy to improve SEO value, but avoid keyword “stuffing”.
Price: Conduct thorough market research to name a competitive price without sacrificing your profit margins.
There are two ways to handle shipments on Amazon: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).
FBA gives Amazon primary control over customer support, warehousing, and delivery. For those without the infrastructure means, this is an ideal option for lightweight products with rapid turnover. FBA qualifies products for Amazon-Prime, guaranteeing 2-day delivery, a major selling point for buyers.
However, FBA includes monthly service and inventory fees. Additionally, handing over control to Amazon can be a risk. If Amazon cuts storage space, it can bottleneck supply and cut into your profit margins.
For sellers who want greater control over their product and customer service, consider shipping yourself via Fulfilled by Merchant or “FBM”. This option is ideal for sellers with logistical infrastructure. Self-storage avoids ongoing Amazon warehouse fees associated with FBA and lets you react to demand spikes.
FBA and FBM are not mutually exclusive choices, as you can sell some products through an FBA arrangement and others through FBM.
After you finalize your product listing and shipment strategy, it’s time to market. Brand owners gain access to a variety of beneficial marketing tools available only to those with Brand Registry.
Amazon Sponsored Ads can be an easy and cost-effective way to advertise your products. Creating Sponsored Ads requires no graphic design skill; the toolkit pulls information from your relevant listing and creates streamlined, professional ads that link directly to your listing. These ads target customers who have searched for similar items. Ads will appear at the top of Amazon search results and on third-party websites. These ads operate on a pay-per-click scheme (PPC), which charges you every time someone clicks your ad, even if they don’t make a purchase.
Brand Registry also allows enrolled users to create A+ Content for their listing, which displays product features with enhanced images, giving your listing an extra professional edge to earn customer trust.
If you have a Professional selling plan and are enrolled under Brand Registry, you gain access to Amazon Storefronts, which displays your brand’s products, videos, and marketing assets through a landing page. The Amazon Storefront metrics also provide improved customer and conversion rate analytics.
Handling complex delivery logistics and optimizing listings requires time, resources, and expertise. By working with an e-commerce expert like ZQUARED, you can focus on product quality and relax knowing that the Amazon side of your business is in the hands of industry experts. ZQUARED provides cutting edge SEO, A+ content, customized advertisement campaigns, and manages e-commerce logistics for brands selling at least $25k monthly via Amazon and Walmart.
To learn how ZQUARED can help you stay ahead in the Amazon game, request a comprehensive assessment of your Amazon channel. Your audit results will focus on your listings, category, competitors, reseller landscape and more with an individually-tailored strategic plan for capitalizing on opportunities.
For sellers looking to stand out on the crowded Amazon marketplace, optimizing their products’ listings is essential. 75% percent of Amazon sales are generated through Amazon’s internal search engine alone.
But what about that other 25%? This “external traffic” represents customers guided to Amazon listings through outside sources, such as social media, blogs, Google search, and seller websites. Driving external traffic is crucial to giving your marketing an extra competitive touch, especially when launching a brand on Amazon
Healthy external traffic not only expands your customer base, but also improves your listing rank within Amazon’s marketplace. Amazon promotes products that do well on external channels, making these listings more likely to become top sellers in their category.
Sellers registered under Brand Registry can benefit from the Brand Referral Bonus program, which offers payment bonuses (averaging around 10% of the sale) for purchases driven by external traffic. It also provides advertisement tools and data to understand which sources are most effective.
Creating marketing assets that showcase your product - such as blogs, videos, or websites – can be a logical first step in external outreach, as once you have a portfolio you can easily share it across networks.
If you don’t have a product website, consider creating one. Websites are a convenient information hub that can feature your marketing assets, link to social media handles, and “warm up” potential customers to your product – all of which makes them more likely to make a purchase.
Your website can also collect data, including emails, which lays the groundwork for a newsletter – an essential aspect of growing a business and capitalizing on potential and repeat customers. Newsletters can offer special discounts, advertise new products, and share your business development. Software like MailChimp and Constant Contact provide easy newsletter management tools for your website.
Remember to never collect emails without consent – which is illegal and will damage your reputation. Website viewers should be given the opportunity to join your newsletter clearly and voluntarily. Amazon doesn’t allow email collection on purchases, so it is crucial to gather this information through a website.
Search engines, like Google, rank search results based on the prevalence of keywords embedded in the copy of web content. Researching relevant keywords to your product and integrating these words and phrases into the copy of your content is a practice known as “search engine optimization” (SEO), which is critical for improving the search rank of your content and finding new customers.
If you are on a budget, Google provides free SEO tools through Google Analytics that can help you identify and integrate keywords into your web content. Or, if you are looking for an extra edge, there are a variety of subscription-based tools, such as Semrush or Growthbar, that can take your SEO to the next level
21% of all consumers start their search for products on social media, making it an essential avenue for businesses. Facebook Advertising is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to target special interests and demographic groups more likely to be customers. Many companies looking to advertise on social media collaborate with relevant social media influencers and leverage their pre-existing followings. The same concept applies to prominent bloggers and YouTube channels.
Exploring ways your product can be featured on their channels can be a powerful way to get your product or brand in front of a large audience quickly. Depending on the influencer, they may have access to several thousands or even millions of followers.
Utilizing Amazon Sponsored Display Ads is another effective way to reach new customers through external traffic. Sponsored Display Ads are available for brand owners enrolled in Brand Registry and allow you to create display ads on and off of Amazon.
These ads target customers based on interest and shopping behaviors. Essentially, Amazon notes your product (and relevant competitor’s products) viewer history and displays Sponsored Display Ads again to these customers across Amazon pages, competitor listings, and third-party website and apps.
Managing a holistic external marketing strategy can be a daunting prospect for many business owners, leading many to search for a partner to help with the demands of staying competitive on Amazon.
Although driving external traffic is important, it is crucial that businesses don’t forget that 75% of customers start their search on Amazon, and the majority of these customers don’t look past the first page of results on their search, making optimizing your Amazon listing paramount.
Working with ZQUARED ensures that your product is optimized for conversion. ZQUARED supports fully search engine optimized listings, customized brand content for advertising, and helps you keep MAP pricing in check.
Collaborating with ZQUARED allows you to spend more time on your brand, while ZQUARED ensures your Amazon presence is professional, competitive, and easy.
For more information about how partnering with ZQUARED can help with your external marketing, request an assessment of your Amazon channel or send an email to partners@zquared.com
Founded in 2010, ZQUARED is ranked as a top 125 AMAZON SELLER with over 75k reviews, 100% of which are positive over the last 12 months.
ZQUARED invests in brands who sell on online marketplaces and are poised and ready for growth.
Putting the “we” in e-commerce.
At ZQUARED, we are a team of professionals who understand the opportunities, risks, and challenges of selling online. With nearly 40 years combined experience of e-commerce sales, our primary goal is helping you multiply your success by serving as an extension of your team to maximize results. From distribution to advertising strategies, we have solutions proven to grow your brand.
Built on the belief that all boats rise with the tide, our services are based on this principle. ZQUARED invests time, money, effort, and energy into brands poised for success with the expectation of a worthwhile result— because we go all-in, growing together and winning when you win.
Our mission is to invest in brands who sell online and are poised and ready for growth by forming partnerships built on trust and rooted in relationship to maximize value and achieve results.
ZQUARED’s motto is “we—not me”, and we strive to build an unparalleled culture by incorporating this attitude into every aspect of our workplace, empowering a team built on communication and trust with a service-based mindset to get the job done.
We strive to provide unmatched quality when servicing each of our Brand Partners. By intentionally being proactive, prepared, and in constant pursuit of improvement, our promise hinges on delivering top-quality results in all aspects of our work.
Our partnerships are more than transactions—we invest in people and brands who share our drive and enthusiasm, deepening partner relations while collaborating to execute expert-level growth strategies.
With more than a decade of experience, we’ve learned what it takes to win on Amazon: ultimately, people matter more than products, and investing in people first leads to growth and profitable Amazon brands.
Originally named Advantage Nutrition, ZQUARED brothers and Co-Founders Chad and Zach Cornett set out to establish a brick-and-mortar retail company with an emphasis on health and wellness. They pivoted when they realized e-tail, particularly Amazon, was taking off, recognizing brands needed help navigating the everchanging e-commerce landscape.
Charlie Meyer was ZQUARED’s first official hire, and he’s been with us ever since. Our people are our foundation.
ZQUARED three times its original basement, footprint with and growing 50+.
ZQUARED has moved times since leaving original spot in Chad’s basement, doubling its with each move growing to a staff of
Inc. recognizes ZQUARED as one of the fastest-growing privatelyheld companies in the United States, while the St. Louis Business Journal names ZQUARED on its “Fast 50” list.
ZQUARED hires Jeff Bush as President, positioning the company for continued growth
As an Advertising Specialist here at ZQUARED, Sarah works to improve ranking and conversion rates for our Amazon listings. Focusing on advertising optimization and strategy implementation, her goal is streamlining our advertising and marketing efforts so that we can achieve increased sales for our clients.
Sarah’s most recent projects have been centered around creating listing variations for multiple brands, as well as researching and testing other ways ZQ can reach customers through different types of ads both on and off Amazon.
Sarah was recently married in December of 2022 to her husband, Brandon. They are enjoying newlywed life in Lake St. Louis, MO and love going to sporting events and concerts.
Founded by brothers, ZQUARED’s roots as a family-oriented company run deep. Our “we—not me” team works together to achieve common goals while supporting one another individually, both professionally and personally. We intentionally invest in what matters most, and people are our greatest investment.
A united team is always behind something big. We work hard, laugh a lot, push the brainstorming boundaries, and have the best holiday parties in town.
Meet the people at ZQUARED and share the vision and values of our community. We’re driven by the idea that results are driven by relationships, diligence and enthusiasm.
Know Us!
At ZQUARED, Lean has become a way of life. It’s not something we simply do at work anymore. As a team, we have adopted the mindset of getting “two percent better” every day –which over time, has added up to profound changes!
Director of Business Development Charlie Meyer joined ZQUARED as the founders’ first full-time hire in 2010. Charlie shines brightest when making investments in ZQUARED’s most valuable asset - its people. Charlie’s Corner offers a glimpse into his world, sharing his favorite Lean Improvement insights while offering a peek behind ZQUARED’s curtains.
In 2016, Joe Byers joined our team from General Motors Automotive facility. He and I took a tour of GM to learn from their fine-tuned efficiencies and productivity workflows. Around the same time, a workplace neighbor shared “2 Second Lean” with me – a book about one piece flow, fixing what bugs you, and eliminating waste. These two events propelled our team into a new mindset, as we began to implement daily “Lean Improvements”. Making daily two-second improvements continuously add up, and over time can have exponential results.
Setting up your daily processes so that each step connects to the previous one can save time and energy. Begin making efforts to avoid any form of backtracking, and focus on a continual workflow without interruptions. Step 1 should seamlessly lead into step 2, which flows into step 3, and so on.
A critical component of the Lean mentality is addressing the little things that irritate you and potentially slow you down. For example, at home, where do you keep your favorite coffee mug? Is it conveniently stowed in the cabinet by the coffee pot, or do you have to walk to the other side of the kitchen to find your cup? Fix what bugs you!
Are you spending your time, energy, or money on things that boil down to a waste of time in the long run? Are there things you can outsource, reconfigure, or eliminate altogether to improve your efficiency? Look for ways to “cut the fat” and eliminate the tasks and items that are wasting your resources.
