As the new year approaches, Amazon is lowering the Inventory Performance Index (IPI) threshold to 450.
If your IPI is 450 or above in week 51 of 2020, starting January 1st, 2021, then you will not be subject to storage volume limits.
If your IPI is below 450 in week 51 of 2020, you will continue to be subject to storage volume limits.
Amazon will notify you of your next period limits which will go into effect on February 1, 2021.
“Update to FBA shipment closure timelines” (Source: Amazon News)
In order for Amazon to receive your inventory more efficiently and minimize delays, shipments created beginning 12/16/2020 will be automatically updated to Closed status if they become more than 90 days old.
Amazon strongly recommends that you ship the full quantity entered in the shipment as soon as it is created.
Closed shipments will display a status of CLOSED in your Shipping Queue. You can navigate to your Shipping Queue in Seller Central by going to the Inventory menu and selecting Manage FBA shipments
Amazon will continue to receive shipments that are already in transit. You cannot ship additional units for a closed shipment.
“New Search Terms report feature available for Brand Analytics” (Source: Amazon News)
There is a new feature available for brand owners who use the Amazon Search Terms report. You can now see your ASINs that have dropped from the top three clicked products for a given search term.
The Amazon Search Terms report in Brand Analytics shows you how customers (in aggregate) find yours and your competitors’ products in the Amazon stores.
This includes the relative search popularity, click share, and conversion share for each of the top three clicked products for a given search term.
With the ability to see the ASINs that have dropped from the top three clicked products, you can better understand which of your products might be losing search relevancy and adjust your product’s main image, title, and advertising campaigns to generate more traffic.
Brand owners enrolled in Brand Registry can access this info in Brand Analytics.
“Reminder: Action required for listings on Amazon classified as pesticides” (Source: Amazon News )
As of October 6, 2020, all listings of pesticides and pesticide devices require the Pesticide Marking attribute to be filled in with evidence of an EPA Registration number and/or EPA Establishment number, or a certification that the product is exempt from EPA regulations.
Beginning January 11, 2021, listings of pesticides and pesticide devices without this information may be subject to removal. Proactively providing the required EPA information on the product detail page will minimize disruption to your product offerings.
Approval from Amazon is required to sell these products. As per Amazon policy, only U.S. residents are eligible to list pesticide products on Amazon.com.
If you haven’t received approval, log in to Seller Central to start the application process on the Selling Application 9 page.
The EPA classifies pesticides or pesticide devices as products that are marketed to disinfect, repel insects, remove allergens, or prevent bacteria, or that make any other antiviral, antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, or other pesticidal claims.
You may not be aware you are selling products the EPA considers pesticides or pesticide devices, as it can be hard to identify which products qualify and why. If any of your products have been identified as a pesticide or pesticide device, you will receive an email from Amazon with a list of the affected ASINs.
For more information, see Amazon’s Pesticides and Pesticide Devices policy 9.
“3 emerging trends in video advertising” (Source: Amazon Advertising)
Amazon’s first-party insights can help advertisers in their understanding of consumer behaviors and how they change over time. For video advertisers, Amazon has three key recent shifts.
1. Customers prefer video ads vs. ads in other formats. 66% of consumers said they prefer watching a video compared to reading about a product. Aggregated Amazon DSP campaign metrics show that adding video ads to display-only campaigns dramatically improves results.
Campaigns that combine both display and video ad formats, on average, record a 320% increase in detail page views, and a 150% increase in purchase rate compared to display-only campaigns.
2. Screen-agnostic video consumption is on the rise. Shopping journeys have followed the trend of seamlessly switching between a variety of channels to consume content, with 64% of customers claiming to use multiple devices to start and complete transactions.
Video marketers have realized that to reach audiences at the right time with the right message, they need an omnichannel marketing strategy that captivates audiences across screens.
3. Customers expect tailored communication from brands. 73% of customers expect companies to understand their expectations, while nearly two-thirds of customers expect companies to adapt messaging based on their actions and behavior.
Advertisers have acknowledged this shift in customer expectations and are using more sophisticated insights to guide how they reach their audiences.
Brands that leverage Amazon Advertising’s behavioral signals see a 44% increase in consideration compared to those that reach audiences based on demographic attributes alone.
Amazon first-party insights based on behavioral signals can help you navigate the changes in customer preferences and unlock new opportunities for your brand.
“Amazon Review the Review comment feature to go” (Source: Tamebay)
Amazon loves user-generated content like feedback and reviews, but they have decided to ditch the Amazon Review the Review comment feature as of Wednesday, December 16th, 2020.
The reason for scrapping the comments feature on reviews is that while reviews and feedback are important to Amazon’s customers and sellers, the comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used.
Customers can still click the helpful button to show appreciation. If they have something to say about the product they can still submit their own review and still ask questions as well.
Every product on Amazon comes with the ability to add ‘Customer questions & answers’. Rather than commenting on reviews.
Amazon still encourages people to share opinions, both favorable and unfavorable on products used. And still do not allow reviews by someone who has a direct or indirect financial interest in the product, close personal relationship with the product’s owner, author or artist, in exchange for monetary reward, or from a seller on a competitor’s product.
