Hey there, great people of the D2C community who are building fantastic things! This is your host Berkay writing. 

Take a 5-minute break and dive into D2C Digest for a quick overview of what’s happening in the D2C market worldwide!

🤖 The entire Google search experience is changing

Google is revolutionizing search with AI Overviews, set to debut in the U.S. for select queries and expand globally soon, aiming to reach a billion users by year-end.

What are AI Overviews?

Part of Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), AI Overviews provide concise, AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, simplifying complex queries. Google Lens now also supports video uploads with text prompts for better search results.

Check out how AI Overviews will work with this video:

Initial Hiccups

Users have raised concerns about AI Overview's accuracy, pointing out issues like misinformation and low-quality sources.

Business Impact

Expect a potential drop in organic traffic as AI Overviews may satisfy user queries without further clicks. Google claims increased clicks for links in AI Overviews but lacks supporting data. Click metrics for these links aren't yet available in Search Console.

How to Prepare

First of all, don’t panic! Instead, keep focusing on high-quality, engaging, and credible content. This is still the most important.

To prepare for AI-driven changes in Google search, focus on creating high-quality, engaging, and credible content. Ensure it’s relevant and valuable to increase chances of appearing in AI Overviews, boosting visibility. Analyze why your content gets featured and refine it accordingly. Stay updated on AI developments, experiment with new formats like video with text prompts, and adapt your strategy to maintain and improve search visibility in this AI-enhanced era.

📈 The Shopify App Store now offers over 10,000 apps

Fabrikatör, a Shopify app for inventory optimization, recently published a report that provides an in-depth analysis of Shopify's ecosystem. The report highlights significant growth in revenue and market share across key regions including the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany.

Here are a few highlights from the report:

• Shopify's global market share is 16.36%, with $7.06B in revenue in 2023.

• The USA leads with a 28% market share, followed by the UK (21%), and Canada (30%).

• Over 2.4 million active Shopify stores exist, with 44% in the USA.

• The most popular categories are apparel, home & garden, and beauty & fitness.

• The Shopify App Store now offers over 10,000 apps, with high adoption rates for Klarna, Klaviyo, and Gorgias.

For more details, visit the full report here!

💼 TikTok creators sued the U.S. Government

Yes yes yes, the TikTok ban again!

Recently, eight TikTok creators have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging a new law that could force the sale or ban of the popular app. They argue that the law violates their First Amendment rights by restricting a medium of communication that hosts a vast amount of protected speech.

The creators involved in the lawsuit come from diverse backgrounds and rely heavily on TikTok for their livelihoods. For instance, Chloe Joy Sexton, a baker from Tennessee, has built a significant following on the platform and launched a successful business. They argue that the ban would not only impact their income but also their primary means of connecting with their audience​.

The U.S. government defends the law as a necessary measure for national security, but TikTok and its supporters contest that the national security threat claims are unsubstantiated and infringe on constitutional rights.

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