Here is your midweek jetpack of Amazon seller news, updates, and other useful clicks for your e-commerce business…
Online Prices Hit 41-month Low
According to the Adobe Digital Price Index, online prices in September went down by 4.6% year-over-year, which marks a 41-month low. The sharpest declines in online prices came from categories such as appliances and computers:
The decline in online prices may also be attributed to the accommodation of inflation-battered shoppers out looking for the best deals to make the most bang for their buck.
Read the full story here.
13% surge in Q3 Net Sales for Amazon
Amazon announced their Q3 results and saw a 13% surge in net sales to $143.1 billion, compared to $127.1 billion last year.
Some other report highlights:
- Net income increased to $9.9 billion, up from $2.9 billion last year.
- Operating income soared to $11.2 billion from $2.5 billion in Q3 2022.
- North America segment sales increased 11% year-over-year to $87.9 billion.
- International segment sales increased 16% year-over-year to $32.1 billion.
- Worldwide paid units grew 9% in Q3, and third-party sellers accounted for 60% of worldwide paid units in Q3, as they had had in Q2.
Amazon Ads Revenue Surpasses $12 Billion in Q3
Amazon’s ad revenue experienced a remarkable 25% year-over-year increase in Q3 2023, exceeding $12 billion, largely thanks to the performance of its sponsored products.
The collaboration with notable media companies like BuzzFeed, Hearst Newspapers, and Pinterest extends the reach of these ads, opening up new avenues for you to engage with potential customers.
CFO Brian Ovlasky points to generative AI and machine learning as growth drivers to the Amazon Ads platform, as these have greatly improved the relevancy of the ads and targeting.
Click here to read the full highlights from the earnings call.
Three Key Advertising Trends from “Prime Big Deal Days 2023”
Yes, all these different prime day names and events are starting to get confusing. Prime ‘big deal days’ and ‘prime early access sale’ and the OG ‘prime day’ which is actually two days, but ya know…
Here are three key advertising trends for the recent ‘big deal days’ event:
- Prime ‘big deal days’ was bigger than the ‘early access sale’ of 2022 but smaller than the regular ‘prime day’ this past July.
Image from Tinuiti
2. New-to-brand customer share increases, but not as high as prime day.
Image from Tinuiti
3. Day 1 of Prime Member Events Continue to be Bigger than Day 2.
Image from Tinuiti
Read Tinuiti’s full report here.
AI Caramba! This Week in AI + Ecomm
- Firefox to Have Built-in Fake Reviews Detector: Fakespot’s Review Checker will be a built-in feature of Firefox Version 120, which is due for release on November 21, 2023. It will be used to spot fake reviews on Amazon, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Walmart, and eBay.
- AI-Powered Image Generation for Amazon Advertisers: Amazon recently announced that Amazon Ads users can now start beta testing the use of AI-generated images in promoting products on its sales platform.
- Amazon and Walmart Locked in an AI Race: Amazon and Walmart are utilizing AI to improve the selling experience to woo third-party sellers to their respective platforms.
- Amazon’s Holiday Playbook: Generative AI will be an important part of Amazon’s holiday playbook, as one of its utilizations will be to leverage data from Amazon’s 160 million Prime subscribers.
Important Amazon Updates for Yo’ Bad Seller Self
FBA Capacity Limits Temporarily Reduced in November
Amazon will be temporarily reducing FBA capacity limits in November to focus on delivery operations. Amazon says that on average, November capacity limits will be enough to accommodate five months of inventory. To ensure you stay within your November capacity limits, Amazon recommends that inventory intended for 2024 events such as the Lunar New Year be sent after December 31, 2023.
If you need additional capacity, you can request a limit increase with Capacity Manager.
View the full announcement here.
Default Handling Time for Seller-Fulfilled Orders Update
Amazon will be auto-updating the default handling time for seller-fulfilled orders from two days to one day for SKUs already being handled in a day or less.
According to Amazon, updates made to handling time will be based on a seller’s historical handling time over a three-month time period, as well as any of these SKU-specific settings:
- SKUs that take one day or less to handle and don’t have an SKU-specific handling time will default to one-day handling
- SKUs that take more than one day to handle and don’t have an SKU-specific handling time will default to two-day handling
- SKUs that have a specific handling time will not change.
- SKUs that have a Premium Shipping option will remain as same-day delivery
These handling time updates also apply to Amazon Canada stores.
Learn more about managing your handling times here.
View the full announcement here.
New Small Business Search Filter
Amazon recently launched the Small Business Search Filter which will make small-business brands and artisans on Amazon more easily discoverable by shoppers.
Save on Barcode Labeling Costs with Growth Opportunities
Amazon has added the “Eliminate Amazon barcode labeling” recommendation in the Growth Opportunities tool.
The new recommendation tells you when you can use the manufacturer’s barcode, instead of having to add a separate Amazon barcode label when you send FBA-eligible products to Amazon. Not having to add the separate Amazon means time and money savings.
View the full announcement here.
This Week in Seller School
Blog Posts
- How Amazon Sellers Use the Amazon Wishlist to Boost Sales by Gorilla ROI
- Amazon Black Friday Selling Strategy for Sellers by m19
- Amazon Dupes: What They Are and How to Sell You Own in 2023 by Jungle Scout
- ACoS vs TACoS vs ROAS: Which Amazon KPI Matters Most? by Seller Interactive
- Amazon Advertising Certification: A guide for Amazon Sellers and Advertisers by sellerapp
Podcasts
- Overcoming Failure in Your Amazon FBA Business by Full-Time FBA
- 6 Myths of Facts about the Amazon Buybox by The Next Amazon Top Seller
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 Webinar: Amazon Bulk Services (November 7 and November 8, 2023)
Learn about the Amazon Bulk Services (ABS) program and find out how you can accelerate the sales of larger quantities and save on referral fees.
Southern Seller Fest (November 10-12, 2023) – Sydney, Australia
“Australia’s biggest Amazon seller conference is back!”
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.”
Titan Holiday Party (December 13 – Austin TX; December 15 – Clearwater, FL; December 21- Los Angeles, CA)
“Connect with other sellers, learn from each other, and form real relationships with people who share your goals.”
Other Quick Clicks
- Rite Aid’s bankruptcy and Amazon: Unpacking implications for drugstore beauty brands and more
- Amazon, Prada, and other luxury brands partner on counterfeit case
- Holiday beauty sales extravaganza returns to Amazon
- Amazon brings drone delivery to Texas neighborhood
- Amazon’s “Explore with Alexa” reinvents kid-friendly conversational AI
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, comments or violent reactions, let us know below!
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