Amazon Just Issued a Critical Warning to 3P Sellers — Don’t Ignore This!

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:

📦 FBA Warehouses Are Filling Fast: Prepare for Prime Day Now

💻 Reach and Page Visit Campaigns Now Optimized for Conversions

📃 Amazon Releases 2024 Shareholder Letter: Key Insights for Sellers

🆕 Amazon Sponsored Products: New Setting May Waste Your Budget

⏰️ Amazon Expands AMC Lookback Window to 5 Years

📲 Amazon Introduces the Next Gen Selling Dashboard

⁉️ Amazon Asks Sellers About Tariff Impact—Here’s Why It Matters

📦 FBA Warehouses Are Filling Fast: Prepare for Prime Day Now

Amazon has notified 3P sellers that FBA warehouses are filling up quicker than anticipated, despite increased capacity. To prevent inventory delays like last year, sellers are advised to send inventory to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) earlier than usual.

Key deadline:

• May 15: Target date for inventory check-in to AWD for Prime Day readiness. This deadline is crucial for maintaining your Prime badge during a competitive sales event.

Prime Day 2024 Highlights:

• 300 million products sold

• $14.2 billion in total sales

• 11% growth over 2023

• Average order value: $57.97 (expected to rise in 2025)

With sales volume and customer expectations increasing, timely preparation is essential. Treat May 15 as a deadline, not a goal, to ensure you stay in stock and capitalize on Prime Week opportunities.

💻 Reach and Page Visit Campaigns Now Optimized for Conversions

Amazon has improved its Sponsored Display algorithm to enhance the performance of Reach and Page Visit campaigns by aligning them more closely with conversion-focused goals.

Key Updates:

• Optimization: Reach and Page Visit campaigns now utilize advanced machine learning to achieve better conversion outcomes.

• Impact: Advertisers can anticipate an improved Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and lower Advertising Cost of Sales (ACOS).

• Eligibility: This update is available to all advertisers with active Reach or Page Visit campaigns.

• Availability: The enhancement has been rolled out across major Amazon marketplaces, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

This enhancement especially benefits advertisers using Sponsored Displays to engage audiences throughout the Amazon ecosystem. With the smarter optimization now in place, sellers can expect improved results without needing to change their existing campaign setups.

📃 Amazon Releases 2024 Shareholder Letter: Key Insights for Sellers

Amazon has released its latest shareholder letter, reflecting strong financial performance and a continued push toward AI-driven tools and customer-focused innovation. For sellers, the message is clear: be ready to adapt.

Highlights include:

• Total revenue reached $638 billion, up 11% year-over-year, with North America growing 10% and international sales up 9%. Operating income rose sharply by 86%, hitting $68.6 billion.

• AWS reported $108 billion in revenue, a 19% increase. Amazon also remained the lowest-priced online retailer for the 8th consecutive year.

• New AI tools like Rufus and Amelia, along with expanded customer analytics, signal a shift toward smarterautomation and data-driven selling.

• Amazon’s internal “Why Culture” drives continuous improvement across speed, technology, and service—sellers should expect ongoing changes and rising expectations.

With 2025 approaching, sellers are encouraged to review their pricing, embrace automation, and stay responsive as Amazon reshapes the marketplace around efficiency and innovation.

🆕 Amazon Sponsored Products: New Setting May Waste Your Budget

Amazon has recently introduced a new setting for Sponsored Products called “Ads Served Off Amazon,” which is often enabled by default.

You now have two options:

• Maximize Reach: This setting displays your ads on third-party sites, increasing your visibility but potentially attracting low-quality traffic.

• Minimize Spend: This setting focuses your budget on Amazon-only placements, offering better control over your Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS).

Why It Matters:

Many sellers are experiencing poor performance from off-Amazon placements. Amazon activated this setting without notifying many users, which means you could be spending more than you realize.

What to Do:

1. Go to your Sponsored Products campaign settings.

2. Locate the “Ads Served Off Amazon” option.

3. If off-Amazon placements are not working for you, switch to the Minimize Spend option.

4. Check Placement reports to evaluate performance.

Take control of your advertising budget by reviewing this setting today!

⏰️ Amazon Expands AMC Lookback Window to 5 Years

Amazon has launched a powerful new dataset—Amazon Retail Purchases—granting access to five years of customer purchase history in the AMC. This upgrade from the previous 13-month window provides advertisers with deeper insights into long-term customer behavior.

Currently part of AMC's Paid Features (typically around $500), this dataset includes product-level order events for each customer, although audience creation from it is not yet available. 

Why this matters:

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Develop more accurate CLV models using extensive purchase data.

• New-to-Brand Analysis: Gain a better understanding of brand acquisition patterns over time, rather than just year-to-year.

• Lapsed Shoppers: Identify when and why customers disengage, and explore reactivation opportunities.

• Seasonality Insights: Analyze how seasonal trends affect purchases across multiple years.

• Gateway Products: Discover which products lead to ongoing brand loyalty.

This advancement is especially significant for durable and seasonal products, as it enhances strategy optimization and allows for better measurement of long-term impact.

📲 Amazon Introduces the Next Gen Selling Dashboard

Amazon has officially launched its Next Gen Selling dashboard, providing a significant upgrade to the Seller Central experience. This new interface is designed to reduce friction and centralize insights, helping sellers operate more efficiently.

Key features:

• Streamlined Navigation: The simplified layout minimizes time spent switching between tabs and tools.

• Customizable Workspace: Sellers can personalize their dashboards with widgets and key metrics relevant to their business.

• Action Center: This section highlights priority tasks, allowing sellers to focus on what matters most each day.

• Integrated Tools: A/B testing, return insights and advertising data are now built directly into the platform.

Additionally, this update introduces "Manage Performance," which consolidates Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) data into a more user-friendly format. Users also have the option to temporarily switch back to the classic view.

Despite initial concerns regarding changes in Seller Central, this release signifies Amazon's commitment to creating a more intuitive and centralized workspace, bringing it closer to becoming a true control center for sellers.

⁉️ Amazon Asks Sellers About Tariff Impact—Here’s Why It Matters

Amazon started to reaching out to sellers with detailed questions on how tariffs are affecting their business. Topics range from sourcing and pricing to logistics and FBA strategy. While these messages may look like surveys, they are better understood as a strategic listening effort.

What’s behind this?

• The U.S. is planning significant tariff increases on Chinese imports, with possible rates of 34%, 125%, or even 350%.

• China has already responded with its own tariffs, targeting the same categories—electronics, apparel, and home goods—core to Amazon’s catalog.

With up to 70% of Amazon’s product base imported (much of it from China), sellers are likely to experience rising costs, tighter margins, and changes in consumer demand.

Why is Amazon asking now?

Amazon is collecting seller data to guide future decisions, potentially affecting fees, category management, and new tools. Analysts believe Amazon's speed and flexibility may allow it to adapt better than competitors. 

Sellers should stay alert, as these communications are part of Amazon’s strategy. Sharing experiences can influence platform policies, and it's a good opportunity to review sourcing, pricing, and fulfillment plans.

Crushing it with $20K+ monthly sales on Amazon?

Let’s help you break through to the next level – guaranteed! 🚀

Our team of Amazon growth experts specializes in scaling successful businesses like yours. We’ll perform a deep-dive audit of your operations, from optimizing product listings to fine-tuning your ad campaigns.

Here’s what we offer:

• Comprehensive Analysis: Pinpoint the bottlenecks holding back your growth.

• Actionable Recommendations: Uncover high-impact opportunities to boost sales.

•  Proven Results: We don’t just advise – we deliver guaranteed results.

👉 Ready to scale?

Click below to claim your free audit and unlock your business’s potential!