Amazon’s Price Transparency Plan Vanishes Overnight — What Are They Hiding?

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:

💲 Amazon Backtracks on Plan to Display Tariff Costs at Checkout

💡 Amazon Business Reports Now Offer Deep ASIN-Level Insights

📃 New Amazon Image Policy Shifts Seller Focus to Branded Packaging

🔍 Amazon Ads Rolls Out Suggested Bid Adjustments for Top-of-Search

🖥 Amazon Now Allows Live Screen Sharing with Seller Support

👥 Amazon Unlocks Free Audience Creation from Insights Data

🚛 Amazon Now Allows Sellers to Link Multiple Carrier Accounts to Buy Shipping

💲 Amazon Backtracks on Plan to Display Tariff Costs at Checkout

In a surprising move, Amazon considered displaying tariff costs directly on product pages, aiming to provide buyers with full transparency regarding price increases due to import taxes.

Why This Matters:

• Customer Clarity: With prices rising significantly—from $40 to $100—shoppers must understand the reasons, especially with tariffs involved.

• Buy Box Strategy: Transparency can help sellers justify higher prices, enabling them to retain the Buy Box even against tariff-free competitors.

• Industry Trend: Competitors like Temu and SHEIN are already displaying tariff fees, and major U.S. retailers may follow suit.

The Pushback:

The White House viewed Amazon's potential move as “hostile and political.” Amazon denied plans for this change, saying it was only considered for its “Amazon Haul” store, with reports of political pressure, including President Trump's call to Jeff Bezos.

• The Bigger Picture: Since April 9, over 900 Amazon listings have seen an average price increase of 29%. 

• Impact on Sellers: Small sellers face tighter margins due to tariffs, struggling with pricing pressures.

• Impact on Consumers: Many consumers are unaware of the reasons behind rising prices without clear cost labeling.

Whether or not Amazon proceeds, the pressure for tariff transparency is mounting. For both consumers and sellers, showing the full cost builds trust—and hiding it raises more questions than it answers.

💡 Amazon Business Reports Now Offer Deep ASIN-Level Insights

Amazon has enhanced the Seller Central Business Report by adding detailed ASIN-level insights. This update provides sellers with improved tools to analyze product performance and identify new opportunities.

• Introduction of PPC and ASIN-Level Metrics: Sellers can now view detailed Pay-Per-Click (PPC) performance at the Child ASIN level. This feature enables more precise tracking and strategic optimization for individual products.

• Competitive Benchmarking Capabilities: The new benchmarking tools allow you to compare your ASIN’s performance against top-performing products. You can now measure key metrics such as Conversion Rate (Unit Session Percentage) against the Top 10 ASINs, the Top 25th Percentile, and other performance groups.

• Accessing the New Features: To utilize these new metrics, navigate to Business Reports, select "Detail Page Sales and Traffic by Child Item," and click on any Child ASIN to access the detailed data.

• Rollout Status: This update is being rolled out gradually, so availability may vary across accounts.

Overall, this development significantly enhances your ability to assess product competitiveness and improve sales performance at the ASIN level.

📃 New Amazon Image Policy Shifts Seller Focus to Branded Packaging

Amazon has started enforcing stricter rules regarding compliance for main product images, which limits sellers' ability to stand out visually in search results. Common practices such as adding badges, extra props, or text overlays are now being flagged and removed more aggressively.

However, one key aspect remains unchanged: Amazon does not impose restrictions on what can appear on product packaging. This provides a strategic opportunity for brands. Since packaging can still be showcased in main images, creative packaging design can serve as a powerful differentiator without violating any rules.

Key Takeaways:

• Amazon is reducing the use of visual "hacks" in main product images to ensure consistency across the platform.

• Product packaging shown in images is not subject to the same restrictions.

• Sellers are encouraged to invest in standout packaging design.

While manipulation of images is being phased out, packaging is emerging as a new avenue for visual innovation on Amazon.

🔍 Amazon Ads Rolls Out Suggested Bid Adjustments for Top-of-Search

Amazon now offers performance-based recommendations for bid adjustments in top-of-search placements, making it easier and more efficient to optimize your ads.

Key updates:

• Data-Driven Suggestions in Console: You will now find suggested bid modifiers based on your campaign's actual performance. This feature enables you to make informed decisions about how much to invest in top-of-search placements.

• More Control, Less Guesswork: This update reduces guesswork and can improve visibility, click-through rates (CTR), and conversions, especially if top-of-search placements perform well in your niche.

• Don’t Auto-Apply—Test and Monitor: Avoid automatically applying Amazon’s recommendations. Instead, start with small adjustments, test them gradually, and track your campaign’s performance before scaling up.

When used wisely, this subtle yet powerful update can significantly enhance your campaign results.

🖥 Amazon Now Allows Live Screen Sharing with Seller Support

Amazon has introduced a significant enhancement to Seller Support: sellers can now share their screens live during support calls.

Key Insights:

• Improved Communication and Faster Resolution: This new feature eliminates the need to explain complex issues verbally. Sellers can now demonstrate the problem in real time, which reduces miscommunication and speeds up the resolution process.

• How It Works: To use this feature, you must be on an active call with Amazon Support. Once connected, you’ll see a “Share Screen” option in your case log. Click on it to start sharing your screen with the support representative.

• Use Case: This feature is particularly valuable for addressing technical issues in Seller Central or complex account problems that are difficult to describe.

Overall, this update represents a significant improvement in the seller support experience and could greatly reduce the time spent resolving common issues.

👥 Amazon Unlocks Free Audience Creation from Insights Data

Amazon has recently made a significant change that empowers sellers to build high-quality audiences at no cost.

Key Updates:

• Free Access to Amazon Insights for Audience Creation: Starting June 2, sellers can utilize Amazon Insights data to build audiences without full reporting access. This functionality will also be available for Your Garage and Brand Store Insights.

• Audience Targeting Without Full Reporting: Although complete insight reports still require payment, this update allows for audience segmentation, greatly improving ad targeting strategies.

• Targeting Subscribe & Save Customers: Brands can now create lookalike audiences and remarketing segments by targeting high-value customers, such as those who have placed three or more Subscribe & Save orders. 

• Valuable for CPG Brands: This change is especially advantageous for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, enabling more effective retention-oriented campaigns based on actual purchasing behavior.

This is a significant advancement for data-driven advertising on Amazon. Take advantage of these updates before your competitors do!

🚛 Amazon Now Allows Sellers to Link Multiple Carrier Accounts to Buy Shipping

Amazon has made a significant update to its Buy Shipping tool, allowing sellers to link one or more accounts for each shipping carrier, such as FedEx and UPS. This enhancement provides sellers with greater control over shipping rates and streamlines fulfillment for both Seller Fulfilled Prime and standard orders.

What’s New: Sellers can now connect their negotiated carrier rates directly to Amazon Buy Shipping, enabling them to purchase and track shipments using their own pricing agreements.

How to Link Your Carrier Accounts:

1. Go to the Buy Shipping Preferences in Seller Central.

2. Select Manage your carrier accounts.

3. Choose your carrier (e.g., FedEx, UPS) and click Link Account.

4. Fill in the required fields and select Submit.

Key Benefits:

• Utilize your own negotiated shipping rates instead of Amazon's.

• Improve account health and reduce claims related to “Packages not arriving.”

• Assign different carriers to specific warehouses for streamlined logistics.

• Support for various channels, including Seller Central, API integrations, and multichannel tools.

This update represents a significant step forward in providing sellers with more flexibility and cost-efficiency in their fulfillment operations.

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!