Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…
Is Buy with Prime a Bust?
It’s been a year since Amazon introduced Buy with Prime, and so far, only a few hundred brands have adopted the fulfillment and checkout service. Despite Amazon’s aggressive push for onboarding and addressing initial limitations, the service faces challenges in achieving prominence.
One major obstacle is Shopify’s resistance to integration, as the two companies’ views on the service’s functionality and placement are incompatible. Additionally, brands are hesitant to send inventory to Amazon for an unproven service, making widespread adoption difficult.
Amazon Adapts a Regional Fulfillment Model to Reduce Costs and Boost Delivery Speeds
In a letter to its shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy announced that Amazon recently completed its shift from a national fulfillment network to a regionalized model. The shift to the regional fulfillment model addresses the costly inefficiencies brought about by its previous national fulfillment network, which was necessitated by pandemic-driven demand.
(Image from Supply Chain Dive)
The regional fulfillment model, which comprises eight interconnected regions in smaller geographic areas, has positioned goods closer to end-customers, and promises to ramp up Amazon’s next-day and same-day delivery activity. Jassy believes that Amazon is on pace to have its fastest ever delivery speeds for Prime members in 2023.
Read the full story here.
Sexy Walmart?
The redesigned Walmart website is lean, clean, and kind of sexy…
(Image from The Verge)
It features a social style scroll that showcases products relevant to upcoming events, holidays, or the current season.
It also provides suppliers and third-party sellers with fresh chances to display related products and more effectively convey their brands to customers.
Sound a little like Amazon?
Amazon Now Charging $1 for UPS Returns
This move is believed to be part of Amazon’s efforts to cut down costs and reduce the number of returns for processing. Free returns are a huge expense for Amazon, and last year, it processed around $108 billion worth of returnable items.
The change in policy isn’t sitting well with customers, who took to social media to vent. Some have even declared that they are canceling their Prime membership.
As of now, return drop-offs are still free at Kohl’s, Whole Foods, and Amazon Fresh stores.
Is this Amazon’s way of trying to ease their customers towards the end of free returns completely?
Read more here.
Pay Up: FTC Orders The Bountiful Company to Fork Over $600K for Hijacking Reviews
The FTC recently laid a $600k smackdown on The Bountiful Company for deceiving Amazon customers by merging old product reviews with newer ones in an attempt to improve the appearance of ratings.
Read the full story here.
Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self
Updated Dimension Attributes for 532 Product Types
Starting April 24, 2023, Amazon will be providing new product-specific dimension attributes for 532 product types. The said attributes will be optional for at least 30 days, after which they will become mandatory. Once said attributes become mandatory, you must provide new dimension attributes to create or update ASINs through the one-by-one and bulk listing templates for the mentioned 532 product types. For more information, click here.
New Delivery Window Requirements for FBA Shipments
Starting April 24, 2023, sellers who use a non-partnered carrier will be required to provide a delivery window for inbound FBA shipments. The “delivery window” is an estimated date range of when you expect your shipment to arrive at an Amazon fulfillment center. Click here to view the full announcement and here to learn more about the Send to Amazon Delivery Window requirement.
New Tracking Feature for Subscribe and Save
Amazon has just launched a new Subscribe and Save feature which allows you to:
- Track SKU enrollment status or subscriptions
- Update seller-funded discounts
- Check status of SKUs at risk of missing deliveries due to low stock.
You can access Subscribe & Save today through the Amazon Seller Central desktop application for all SKUs.
To view the tool, go to Manage Inventory, click the SKU number for a listing, then click Subscribe & Save on the left side of the SKU page.
This Week in Seller School…
Here is a roundup of learning resources for this week:
Blog Posts
- Amazon Prime Day 2023 Cheat Sheet by We Are Growth Hack
- Amazon Flips: How to Find Flipping Opportunities in 2023 by Chris Grant
- Unlocking the Power of Amazon: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Multiple Seller Accounts Like a Pro by Seller App
Podcasts
- The Bad Habits of Unsuccessful Amazon Sellers by Full-Time FBA
- Amazon Titans Share Their Top Secrets and Powerful Strategies – Part 1 and Part 2 by AM/PM Podcast
Upcoming Seller Events ????
Here are a few upcoming industry events that you might be interested in. Slick that hair back and start mingling, playa!
White Label World Expo (May 3-4, 2023) – Las Vegas, NV
Master being an entrepreneur.
Amazon Webinar: How to Meet Your Goals with Seller Financing (May 4, 2023, 1300 EST)
Learn how financing can help you achieve your business goals and prepare for growth in 2023.
Seller Sessions Live 2023 (May 13, 2023) – London, United Kingdom
“The UK’s premiere conference for Amazon sellers.”
Sellers Summit (May 23-25, 2023) – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
“The ultimate learning conference for e-commerce brands.
Internet Retailing Expo (May 24-25, 2023) – Birmingham, United Kingdom
Find new suppliers, new tech, and inspiration from retailers and brands at the IRE.
Growth Labs (May 30-31, 2023) – Austin, TX
“Keep your finger on the pulse of retail media.”
SellerCon (June 1-3, 2023) – Austin, TX
“The most powerful tool to elevate your business.”
European Seller Conference (June 6 – 10, 2023) – Prague, Czech Republic
“Meet Amazon sellers from across the globe.”
Amazon PowWow (July 12-13, 2023) – Palm Beach, FL
“Serious networking. Serious Learning. Serious Fun, A new standard in Amazon events.”
Midwest e-Com Conference 2023 (July 19 -21, 2023) – Minneapolis, MN
“Created by fellow sellers for our fellow sellers.
Other Quick Clicks
- Amazon rolls out Dash Cart, Palm Payments to Colorado Whole Foods stores
- Amazon offers free access to its AI coding assistant to undercut Microsoft
- Andy Jassy touts Amazon’s Amazon’s advertising potential
- Amazon requests first HQ2 incentives from Virginia: Nearly 153 million
- Bitcoin thesis becomes Amazon best seller
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, let us know below!
If bong rips were an Amazon seller….
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