Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…
BOLO: Rite Aid to Close 154 Stores across the U.S.
Rite Aid plans to close 154 stores next week as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The closures would mark the latest decrease in store count for Rite Aid, which currently stands at 2,100.
Store closures mean arbitrage opportunities; click here to view the locations closing down in your area.
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days: A Quick Recap
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event marked a strong start to the holiday shopping season. Key highlights include:
- Amazon Prime members saved more than $1 billion across millions of deals during the event.
- On day one, U.S. Prime members purchased more than 25 million products with same-day or next-day delivery.
- Amazon set a record by delivering an order within 54 minutes of the product being ordered.
- Apparel, beauty, home, and toys were among the best-selling categories.
- Prime members ordered more than 150 million items from independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses.
- Amazon saved 2 million boxes as US prime members used Amazon Day as a delivery option.
- Typical shopper: High-income suburban females, aged 35-44
Read the full story here.
How to Make Amazon More Favorable for Third-Party Sellers?
In the midst of Amazon’s legal battle with the FTC, a panel including Amazon agency leaders, beauty entrepreneurs, and brand executives were asked to share ideas on how to make the Amazon marketplace more favorable for third-party sellers and market competition.
Here’s a quick summary of their answers:
- Eliminate buy box suppression.
- Address the “Favored Nation” rule, which requires the lowest market price, suppresses the buy box, limits advertising, and negatively impacts brands.
- Regulate Chinese sellers who use Amazon data to compete with U.S. sellers.
- Allow brands to transfer genuine DTC site reviews to their Amazon page instead of solely relying on Amazon-generated reviews.
- Implement pricing parameters based on MSRP and MAP.
- Offer better terms/fees for startup sellers.
- **Enhance seller support, fee transparency, and policy clarity.**
Seems things are moving in the right direction…
Will You Embrace Supply Chain by Amazon?
Supply Chain by Amazon, an all-in-one logistics solution, holds promise for third-party sellers, particularly small and mid-sized businesses. This suite of services simplifies logistics, offering features such as inventory pickup, cross-border shipping, storage, and inventory replenishment.
However, concerns persist regarding data protection and Amazon’s data handling practices. To expand its user base and potentially serve businesses beyond its platform, Amazon must earn sellers’ trust in managing their supply chains.
AI Caramba! This Week in AI + Ecomm
- AI is the New Third-Party Seller Swiss Knife: Amazon, eBay, and Shopify are all rolling out generative AI tools to write product listings for third-party sellers.
- Klarna’s New AI Recognition Tool for Shopping: The Klarna app has a new feature that will enable users to point their phone at an item of clothing or gadget and find results for similar products.
- AI is Redefining the Online Shopping Experience: Click here to read how the top ecommerce platforms are developing their own AI solutions
- AI in Email Marketing: 57% of enterprise marketers now use AI in email campaigns mainly to personalize content and retarget emails.
- AI is Transforming Ecommerce: In this episode of the AM/PM podcast, Amazon expert Jon Derkits talks about the power of AI in transforming brands and ecommerce as a whole.
- The Top 25 AI Marketing Tools: Click here to view the top 25 AI-powered marketing tools used to promote brands or businesses.
Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self
Extended Holiday Return Policy Effective in Two Weeks
Amazon issued a reminder that its extended holiday return policy, which requires that items purchased between November 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, be returnable until January 15, 2024, will be in effect in two weeks.
This policy applies to seller-fulfilled, FBA, and Amazon retail orders.
View the full announcement here.
Updates to Required Attributes for Product Listings
Amazon is updating the Add Products and Add Products via Upload, so over the coming weeks, you may notice some of these changes when creating or editing a product listing:
- Some optional attributes will become required
- Some required attributes will become optional
- Some attributes will be removed
New listings and listings being edited won’t be added to the Amazon catalog until all required attributes are provided in the Add Products and Add Products via Upload tools. Existing listings won’t be affected unless you edit them.
Click here to learn more.
New Sustainability Certifications Added to Climate Pledge Friendly
Amazon has recently partnered with the world’s most credible and recognized sustainability certifications and has added three new certifications that recognize materials innovation:
- International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Plus (SCC Plus)
- Recycled Content Standard for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
- Plant-Based Fiber Blended
Products that have earned any of these certifications are eligible for the Climate Friendly badge.
Click here to learn how to enroll products in the Climate Pledge Friendly program.
New Amazon Ads Courses
Amazon has just released three new Amazon Ads courses that will help you learn how to inform your advertising strategy through retail optimization:
- Optimize product detail pages for retail readiness
- Identify brand growth opportunities
- Campaign optimization solutions matrix
Access the courses by signing in to the learning console with your Amazon Business credentials.
Also, opting for the entire retail certification will earn you a digital badge you can display on LinkedIn.
This Week in Seller School
Here is a roundup of learning resources for this week:
Blog Posts
- Navigating Amazon Shipping Delays: A Step-by-Step Guide by Amazon-ASIN
- Amazon Fulfilled Inventory Report: An In-Depth Guide by Medium
- What You Need to Know about the Amazon Transparency Program by Seller Interactive
- Sales Soar: Strategies from Amazon Selling Experts You Should Know by VServe
- Dealing with Returns and Refunds: Best Practices for Amazon FBA Sellers by AMZ Tracker
Podcasts
- How to Succeed in Competitive Categories by The Smartest Amazon Seller
- Navigating Amazon Misinformation & Understanding Policy Compliance by ecommerceChris
- FTC Lawsuit: Good for Sellers Or Not? by The Amazon Seller Podcast Private Label Show
- How to Use Psychology to Master Amazon PPC by AdBadger
Upcoming Seller Events📍
Here are a few upcoming industry events that you might be interested in. Slick that hair back and start mingling, playa!
Amazon Ads Unboxed (October 24-26, 2023) – New York City, NY
Learn about Amazon’s newest solutions and innovations to help brands connect with their customers, expand their business, and prepare for the future.
Seller Alliance Summit (October 27-28, 2023) – Toronto, Canada
Get the latest growth strategies from world-class experts to turbo charge your Amazon sales.
Amazon Ads Webinar: How to Optimize Your Stores to Captivate Shoppers (November 1, 2023,12:00 AM) – CST, Virtual
Go beyond the basics of store creation and explore how to maximize the impact of your Amazon store.
Eclimb Summit (November 2, 2023) – Austin, TX
“Bridge the gap between Amazon and Ecomm for D2C.”
AMZ Innovate (November 13-14, 2023) – New York City, NY
Nashville eCommerce Summit (December 12, 2023) – Nashville, TN
“A one-day gathering of local eCommerce experts and decision-makers across retailers, brands, merchants, and solutions providers.
Other Quick Clicks
- GroupM and Amazon Ads team up to deliver creator content directly in the online shopping experience
- AliExpress, Etsy, Amazon lead European cross-border e-marketplace ranking
- Amazon opens two delivery stations in Connecticut ahead of busy holiday season
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, let us know below!
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