Amazon Introduces App Updates to Enhance Holiday Shopping Experience

Welcome to Hunter's Insights - your go-to for key Amazon updates and industry insights! In this edition, we break down essential shifts and new developments, helping you stay ahead in the fast-paced world of e-commerce:

⚠️ Optimize Your Listings with Amazon’s New Image Issue Alerts

📱 Amazon Introduces App Updates to Enhance Holiday Shopping Experience

📦 Key FBA Updates for Peak Season Inventory Management

📢 AMC Now Available to Sponsored Ads-Only Advertisers

💵 Amazon Unveils Low-Cost Storefront to Compete with Temu and Shein

🚛 Amazon Discontinues Amazon Today - What’s Next for Fast Delivery Options?

👥 New Audience Targeting Options with Brand Tailored Promotions

⚠️ Optimize Your Listings with Amazon’s New Image Issue Alerts

Amazon has introduced a new feature in its Image Manager called "Issue Alert," aimed at helping sellers identify and resolve product image issues more effectively. This addition streamlines the often monotonous task of managing image quality, saving sellers valuable time and reducing the risk of poor visual representation that could affect sales.

With the Image Manager, any problematic images are flagged with a red alert icon in the bottom left corner. Sellers can easily see the specific issue by hovering over the icon, making it straightforward to understand what needs to be corrected. All flagged images are displayed in one consolidated space, so sellers no longer have to navigate multiple pages to monitor image quality across their product listings, enhancing efficiency and user experience.

For images that require updates, resolving the issue is just a click away. The “Upload” button in the image's top right corner allows for immediate replacement, simplifying the correction process. This feature helps sellers maintain high-quality visuals with just a few steps, contributing to a professional storefront that can positively impact conversion rates.

📱 Amazon Introduces App Updates to Enhance Holiday Shopping Experience

In preparation for the upcoming holiday shopping season, Amazon is introducing significant updates to its app's homepage to create a more personalized and efficient shopping experience. These updates, powered by AI, are currently being tested with millions of users in the U.S. on both iOS and Android platforms.

The main feature of this update is AI-driven personalization, which highlights products based on each user's browsing history and previous purchases. For instance, if a shopper has recently bought kitchenware, they will now see suggestions for complementary items, such as utensils or trending gadgets.

Another notable addition is the new “Window Display” at the top of the homepage. This feature showcases collections tailored to users' interests, including curated deals, new releases, and Prime Video recommendations, all accessible through horizontal scrolling. Additionally, a “Buy Again” hub has been introduced to simplify the reordering of frequent purchases, allowing customers to access household essentials or favorite items with just a single tap.

For Amazon sellers, this focus on personalization may present new opportunities to reach shoppers actively seeking new products. With these changes expected to expand to more users in the coming months, sellers should consider how their products can align with Amazon’s enhanced recommendation features.

📦 Key FBA Updates for Peak Season Inventory Management

In response to record demand, Amazon is making important changes to streamline Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) inventory shipments within the U.S. Sellers using FBA have reported longer receiving times, particularly for shipments sent to West Coast facilities or those containing palletized shipments. To address these delays, Amazon is working to reroute some shipments to other regions, expanding available capacity and reducing bottlenecks.

One of the key changes is the extension of the automatic closure window to 90 days for shipments created between August 7 and October 31, 2024. Sellers are encouraged to cancel any shipments they no longer plan to send during this period to help optimize FBA capacity limits and maintain smoother warehouse operations.

Additionally, Amazon has modified the abandoned shipment policy, extending the window from 30 to 45 days for shipments created within the same timeframe of August 7 to October 31, 2024. These changes give sellers more flexibility to manage their inventory and avoid delays during the busy season. By proactively planning and adjusting their shipments following these updates, Amazon sellers can better support inventory flow and product availability throughout the peak shopping season.

📢 AMC Now Available to Sponsored Ads-Only Advertisers

Amazon’s recent update now makes Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) accessible to advertisers using only Sponsored Ads, removing the previous requirement of Amazon DSP. This expansion allows brands to leverage AMC’s advanced insights and analytics without the added DSP investment, making AMC’s powerful tools available to a wider range of advertisers regardless of category or budget constraints.

Through AMC, advertisers gain access to detailed reporting and insights beyond the standard capabilities of Sponsored Ads. By partnering with an Amazon Partner, brands can unlock valuable data on customer behavior and campaign performance, enabling them to optimize strategies effectively. For those not ready or suited for Amazon DSP, AMC now provides a flexible and robust alternative to enhance ad performance and maximize ROI.

This update also presents new opportunities for agencies supporting Sponsored Ads-only clients, allowing for deeper strategy development with AMC. For Amazon sellers, this shift means access to previously restricted insights, enabling them to better target their efforts, improve efficiency, and achieve stronger returns on ad spend.

💵 Amazon Unveils Low-Cost Storefront to Compete with Temu and Shein

Amazon has recently announced plans to launch a new ultra-low-cost storefront aimed at competing with platforms like Temu and Shein. This initiative will feature goods shipped directly from China, targeting price-sensitive consumers. The storefront will have strict price caps across various categories: jewelry at $8, bedding sets at $9, guitars at $13, and sofas for just $20.

Products available through this storefront will have expected shipping times of nine to eleven days, making it an appealing option for consumers who are willing to wait a bit longer for significant savings. This strategic expansion allows Amazon to diversify its offerings and directly compete with ultra-affordable platforms, giving shoppers more options for cost-effective purchases.

While a launch date has not yet been announced, Amazon's rapid development suggests that this storefront could debut soon. Sellers on Amazon should monitor this space closely, as it may affect competition across various categories and influence pricing strategies, especially for those targeting budget-conscious customers. 

🚛 Amazon Discontinues Amazon Today - What’s Next for Fast Delivery Options?

Amazon will officially conclude its Amazon Today same-day delivery service on January 24, 2024. Launched in 2022, this service allowed Prime members to receive products from local retail partners such as PacSun, GNC, and SuperDry, giving customers quick access to in-store inventories. However, the program encountered logistical challenges, requiring participating stores to prepare orders within strict time constraints to meet Amazon’s fast delivery standards.

This change is part of Amazon’s strategy to streamline its fast shipping services by consolidating offerings, reducing redundancy, and focusing on more scalable solutions. Although Amazon Today will be discontinued, most product categories will still be available through Amazon’s same-day or next-day delivery programs. 

Sellers that previously partnered with Amazon Today may find it beneficial to explore alternatives like Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, which offers a broader reach and integrates seamlessly into Amazon’s logistics model. For customers, the impact will be minimal, as they will continue to enjoy fast delivery through Amazon’s same-day and next-day services.

👥 New Audience Targeting Options with Brand Tailored Promotions

Amazon's Brand Tailored Promotions now offers expanded tools for brand owners to engage both new and returning customers with targeted discounts. These updates enable brands to create promotions tailored to specific audiences, with discount options ranging from 10% to 50%.

One of the key improvements is the introduction of goal-based audience creation. This feature prompts sellers to select a specific campaign goal when setting up a new promotion. Options include New Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, Re-engagement, and Cross-sell. This helps brands align their promotions with clear business objectives and target audiences accordingly.

Brand owners can also run promotions at the ASIN level, allowing them to focus on individual products or specific product sets instead of the entire catalog. New audience categories at the ASIN level include Views Remarketing, Cart Remarketing, One-time Customers, and Lapsed Customers. 

Additionally, Amazon introduces the ability to reach audiences outside the brand with In-market Customer and Complementary Product Remarketing groups. These features allow sellers to target shoppers who haven't engaged with their brand yet but are likely to be interested. This presents a valuable opportunity to attract new customer segments. 

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