THIS WEEK SUMMED UP
It’s all about lawsuits for Elon Musk, TikTok shopping, expensive events, and a brilliant short film on LinkedIn.
THREE PARTS THAT MATTER
Marketing
Many big-name brands on Amazon are experiencing year-over-year sales decreases, some more than 10%. That’s according to a new report from Jungle Scout that reviewed keywords driving lift of top products as well as total units sold. Blame the usual: inflation, social media’s influence on shopping, and increased competition.
Our take: Amazon has become a flattened ecosystem filled with unknown brands that eat into established brands’ market share. But while brand is becoming less important on Amazon, it’s more important than ever on places like TikTok. Download the full report here.
Very related, *almost half of Gen Z respondents* in Mintel’s latest survey say they’re reducing their Amazon shopping. And TikTok’s ecomm reach shows no sign of slowing down—TikTok Shop listings are now appearing in Google Shopping results.
Culture
Two big-budget blockbusters went head-to-head this week: Dune 2 ($190 million) and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s pre-wedding party for his son Anant ($150 million). The Ambanis got Rihanna, but Dune 2 has Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, so we’re calling it a draw.
Technology
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, claiming they’ve betrayed the nonprofit’s original mission of building AI tools to benefit humanity. Musk, who poured $44 million into OpenAI, alleges that its partnership with Microsoft has turned the org into a for-profit operation. The world’s top Tweeter (sorry, X’er) is, of course, very familiar with not-for-profit business models. OpenAI made their first counter move yesterday releasing emails from Musk on their blog.
On the flip side, Musk is facing yet another lawsuit himself: four former Twitter executives, including booted CEO Parag Agrawal, are *suing him for $128 million* in severance pay.
WHAT ELSE WE ARE READING