Amazon Introduces Retail Ad Service for U.S. Sellers

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, Hunter's Insights!

In this special edition, we bring you essential Amazon updates and industry insights to keep you ahead in the fast-paced world of e-commerce:

🔜 New Amazon Ads Beta: Cross-Retailer Sponsored Products

💻 Amazon Rolls Out Game-Changing No-Code Tools for Sellers

🆕 Boost Campaign Efficiency with AMC's New SQL Generator

📊 Vendor Central Introduces Enhanced Performance Tracking Features

📢 Amazon Introduces Retail Ad Service for U.S. Sellers

❎ Amazon Ends "Try Before You Buy," Shifting Focus to Profitability

🕓 Amazon Extends Data Access Window from 13 Months to 5 Years

🔜 New Amazon Ads Beta: Cross-Retailer Sponsored Products

Amazon has launched an innovative beta feature that allows sellers to advertise their products not only on Amazon but also across other retail platforms. This initiative aims to enhance brand awareness by increasing visibility beyond Amazon's marketplace while allowing sellers to maintain control over their advertising campaigns.

Key Highlights:

• Wider Reach: Advertisers can now showcase their products on multiple retail sites, potentially reaching new audiences and boosting brand awareness.

• Strategic Opportunity: This beta feature could significantly impact advertising strategies, allowing sellers to target shoppers outside of Amazon's ecosystem.

Key Unknowns:

It is unclear whether product listings will appear on partner sites, how attribution will be handled, or how many retail partners will participate. Amazon has not confirmed whether sales will be categorized as Amazon or retailer transactions or if additional fees will apply.

💻 Amazon Rolls Out Game-Changing No-Code Tools for Sellers

Amazon has introduced no-code tools to help sellers optimize their advertising strategies and gain insights into customer behavior. These updates simplify campaign creation and performance analysis, making them accessible to everyone.

Key Features:

1. Audience Targeting Made Easy

New pre-made templates help sellers connect with specific customer segments:

• Engaged Non-Buyers: Target users who browsed but didn’t purchase.

• Cart Abandoners: Reconnect with shoppers who left items in their carts.

• Cross-Device Shoppers: Ensure consistent messaging across devices.

2. Improved Analytics for Smarter Decisions

Actionable insights make campaign optimization more effective:

• ASIN Purchase Patterns: See which products are often bought together.

• Campaign Insights: Measure the impact of sponsored TV ads.

• Conversion Tracking: Follow the customer journey from ad to purchase.

Why It Matters

These updates simplify campaign management and help sellers refine their strategies to maximize returns—all without needing technical expertise.

🆕 Boost Campaign Efficiency with AMC's New SQL Generator

Amazon Ads has introduced an innovative tool designed to transform advertisers' use of Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). This new AI-powered SQL generator allows sellers to gain insights and build custom audiences with remarkable ease and speed.

Key Highlights:

• Natural Language Interface: The tool simplifies the process of generating SQL queries by enabling users to describe their needs in plain language.

• Significant Time Savings: It reduces the time required to develop queries from hours to just minutes.

• Supports Full-Funnel Advertising: The tool allows for seamless integration across streaming TV, audio, and digital channels.

For example, users can pose questions like, “How do I create an audience of customers who have heard our audio ads but haven’t made a purchase?” The tool instantly generates the necessary SQL query, removing the need for manual coding expertise.

This feature will be available to all AMC customers in early 2025, reinforcing Amazon Ads' commitment to streamlining advertising workflows and improving campaign results.

📊 Vendor Central Introduces Enhanced Performance Tracking Features

Amazon Vendor Central has introduced a powerful update that equips sellers with enhanced tools for analyzing performance across multiple dimensions. These updates aim to help sellers identify top-performing products, optimize their strategies, and easily discover new growth opportunities.

Key Features of the New Tracking Tools

Sellers can now access detailed performance data across the following dimensions:

• ASIN: Evaluate the performance of individual products.

• Brand: Measure overall brand success.

• Category and Subcategory: Identify high-performing categories and areas for growth.

• Location: Analyze sales trends by postcode, city, and country.

Benefits for Sellers

With these in-depth insights, sellers can:

• Determine which products and categories drive sales.

• Target marketing efforts in regions with high demand.

• Allocate resources more effectively to maximize ROI.

This update marks a significant advancement in Vendor Central’s analytics capabilities, providing sellers with the tools they need to make data-driven decisions. With access to more detailed and actionable insights, sellers are in a better position to succeed in a competitive marketplace.

📢 Amazon Introduces Retail Ad Service for U.S. Sellers

Amazon has launched the Amazon Retail Ad Service, a new tool that enables U.S. retailers to utilize Amazon's advertising technology directly on their websites. This update aims to help sellers create more effective and targeted ad campaigns, offering features that were previously exclusive to Amazon's platform.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Customizable Ads: Sellers can adjust ad design, placement, and quantity to align with their brand and website layout. 

• Enhanced Targeting: To improve user engagement, ads can be displayed in contextually relevant areas, such as search results and product pages.

• Data-Driven Insights: Retailers can leverage Amazon’s measurement and reporting tools to track ad performance and refine their results.

• AWS Integration: Ad data can be managed securely and efficiently through Amazon Web Services accounts.

Currently available in beta, this service allows sellers to enhance ad effectiveness while benefiting from Amazon’s reliable infrastructure. It operates on a usage-based pricing model, making it accessible to various retailers.

❎ Amazon Ends "Try Before You Buy," Shifting Focus to Profitability

Amazon has officially discontinued its "Try Before You Buy" service, which allowed Prime members to try on clothing before making a purchase. This decision marks a significant shift in Amazon’s focus, prioritizing profitability and shareholder value over customer-centric initiatives.

Key Details of the Decision:

• Service Overview: "Try Before You Buy" was created to enhance convenience and reduce hesitation in fashion purchases. However, its high return rates, which ranged from 20% to 30%, made it expensive for the company to sustain.

• Reason for Discontinuation: By eliminating this service, Amazon aims to improve its operating margins, with a reported focus on short-term profit gains.

Implications for Sellers:

• Increased Costs: Third-party sellers will face higher fees and reduced reimbursements. First-party vendors will also contend with more challenging trade negotiations.

• Strategic Shift: Amazon is now prioritizing investments in advertising technology and generative AI, indicating a reduced focus on retail programs that previously distinguished it from competitors.

What This Means for Amazon Sellers:

The discontinuation of the service reflects a broader trend in which Amazon’s retail operations are increasingly expected to generate profits, rather than just focusing on customer satisfaction. Sellers should prepare for tighter profit margins and adapt to a more competitive marketplace as Amazon redirects resources toward higher-margin technologies.

🕓 Amazon Extends Data Access Window from 13 Months to 5 Years

Amazon has made a significant improvement for sellers by extending access to customer data from 13 months to a full 5 years. This expanded time frame provides a comprehensive view of the customer lifecycle, enabling sellers to better understand long-term buying behaviors and refine their strategies accordingly.

Key Benefits of the Five-Year Data Window:

• Gain insights into the complete customer journey, from the first purchase to ongoing customer retention.

• Understand natural upgrade patterns, such as when customers transition from basic to premium products.

• Identify long-term buying habits, which helps improve the timing and targeting of seasonal campaigns.

Practical Applications for Sellers:

With this expanded access to data, sellers can:

• Target customers earlier in their purchasing journey, fostering brand loyalty from the outset.

• Optimize promotions for premium products at key moments when upgrades are most likely.

• Create Lookalike Audiences based on long-term customer behaviors for more precise targeting.

• Adjust campaigns to align with multi-year buying patterns, ensuring relevance throughout the year.

With these enhanced insights, Amazon sellers can develop more informed strategies, improve customer retention, and maximize customer lifetime value.

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