Top 5 Amazon News for October 2022
Each month, we monitor Amazon news and updates to seize opportunities as well as to avoid potential problems before they become an issue for us and our clients.
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Here we share the top updates and news for October 2022:
1. Brands: New Premium A+ content promotion (USA & Canada)
Amazon announcement:
“Premium A+ content offers new and larger module types in the product description section on the product detail page such as video, image carousels, and interactive hotspots. Implementing Premium A+ content can increase your sales by 20%.
If you have published A+ brand story across your ASIN catalog and have had at least 15 A+ content projects approved in the past 12 months, for each Amazon store, you are eligible for Premium A+ content.
Access for Premium A+ is granted at the end of each month. If you meet the criteria, you will see a banner in the A+ content manager for access.”
ProMerit Tip: Premium A+ content is a feature everyone should try, as it can replace the A+ page as we know it. Developing this feature now can give you a competitive advantage in the future, just as A+ content did when it first came out.
Keep in mind that A+ content has already been shown to increase a brand’s sales by 5-10%, so now is a great opportunity to take advantage of it if you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Solve product matching issues with Products Reconciliation (USA & Canada)
Amazon announcement:
“List your products in the Amazon store using Products Reconciliation, a new tool that helps you compare your product listing with existing products in the Amazon catalog for the same product identifier and solve matching issues in attributes with just one click.
For the list of products affected by conflicting information, go to Seller Central > Catalog > Complete your Drafts. On the Fix your Products page, select Incomplete listings, and click Matching Reconciliation conflicts.
For more information, go to Error 8541.”
ProMerit Tip: When creating a new listing on an existing ASIN, sellers commonly encounter the “single matching error”. This new tool provides a shortcut to clearly spot the differences that usually take a while to find. Accurately classifying your products in the inventory files you upload, is key to getting the most out of this tool.
3. Now brand owners can address critical reviews (USA & Canada)
Amazon announcement:
“Drive brand loyalty and customer engagement by responding to customer reviews with three or less stars. Brand owners can reach out to customers who have left critical reviews on their products with courtesy refunds or provide support directly through the Customer Reviews feature in Seller Central. Customer Reviews is available to brand owners under Brands tab on Seller Central.
Only a primary account holder can access Customer Reviews. If you are a secondary account user, reach out to the primary account holder to request permissions though Settings > User Permissions > Manage Permissions > Advertising > Customer Reviews.”
ProMerit Tip: Brand owners have had access to this new feature since August 23, allowing them to address dissatisfied customers by resolving unmet expectations. With this tool, only the customer can see your answer and it will not be made public, allowing you to catch and resolve issues, such as recurring product defects, that may not have otherwise been drawn to your attention.
4. 2022 Holiday Peak Fulfillment Fee (USA & Canada)
Amazon announcement:
“For many years, we have continued to evolve how we charge fulfillment fees to better reflect the underlying operational costs, while ensuring that we provide a great value for sellers. As we look ahead and prepare for the busy holiday shopping season, we expect greater utilization of our fulfillment network. Across the supply chain, this creates increased operating costs during this holiday peak period.
As a result, similar to other major carriers, we will introduce a holiday peak fulfillment fee from October 15, 2022, to January 14, 2023. The fee will be an average of USD 0.35 per item sold using US and Canada FBA.”
ProMerit Tip: As mentioned above, this increase will impact the 3 months from Oct. to Jan., so each brand should evaluate the impact on their own profits. There is a detailed table of rates on Seller Central, where each seller can find their specific business and estimate the impact. For example, on ‘standard-size product tiers’ within Canada, the rate increase ranges from $0.51 CAD to $1.97 CAD, depending on shipping weight.
5. Changes to Return Authorization Program for seller-fulfilled returns (USA)
Amazon announcement:
“Effective August 31, 2022, Amazon will automatically authorize US return requests and provide buyers with a prepaid return shipping label for items belonging to the following categories:
- Sexual wellness
- Business, industrial & scientific supplies > Professional medical supplies
- Business, industrial & scientific supplies > Professional dental supplies
Returns for the following product categories will continue to be sent for manual authorization:
- Amazon custom
- Certified preowned watches
- Non-physical items (for example, warranties, digital software, or digital coupons)
- Items that are non-returnable by law and dangerous goods.
The policy change will only be applicable apply to returnable items. Items marked as non-returnable will not be impacted by this policy change.”
ProMerit Tip: This news is sure to accelerate the return process for the three categories mentioned above. If your brand is among them, just keep in mind it also needs to be a “returnable item”. For the remaining categories, everything will continue to work the same way, with manual authorization. Remember that most items purchased on Amazon.com can be returned for a refund or replacement within 30 days of the estimated delivery date, and that you must respond to return requests requiring manual authorization within 24 hours.
We hope this article is helpful for your businesses. Please note that the above announcements have been sourced from Amazon’s official channels as well as from some well-known business blogs.
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