Amazon's page is going to be changed today, sellers: It's a disaster

In recent days, the news that Amazon is going to adjust the pictures on its product pages has attracted much attention. Many sellers have expressed dissatisfaction with the notice. Today, the change will be implemented. Sellers find it difficult to accept the mixing of pictures of other merchants in product pictures . One seller bluntly said, " This is simply a disaster ," and believed that the new policy will aggravate the situation of listing hijacking.

In addition, Amazon has also launched a new feature " Consult -a-Friend" in the hope of boosting sellers' business growth. The feature was launched yesterday in multiple sites including the United States and Europe. Clothing sellers have found that the platform is still testing new ways to attract traffic within the site. If promoted, the products are expected to receive more exposure.

As platforms such as Temu are catching up, Amazon is also rapidly iterating its platform shopping experience, hoping to continue to stay far ahead.

Amazon has 5 new actions, involving pages, traffic diversion and other aspects

Recently, Amazon has launched a series of combined punches, starting to adjust product pages, add new shopping functions, and test new traffic diversion channels. Some of these actions have a greater impact on sellers and are being hotly discussed in the industry.

1. Amazon changes its detail page, and many sellers object

A few days ago, Amazon issued a product page change notice. Starting from January 31, the product detail pages of hard department store products may display images provided by multiple sales partners to help buyers make informed purchasing decisions.

Each product detail page should include at least three required images: one image of the product with a white background, one image showing the product in a real-life setting, and one image showing size and fit information.

Previously, product detail pages displayed images provided by a single selling partner. After this change, if a product detail page is missing a required image, images from multiple selling partners or Amazon will be added. If the seller wants to remove the wrong image, they must contact selling partner support.

As soon as this news came out, it caused even louder boos than the shortened FBA shipment warehousing time, with more than 40 sellers clicking on the news.

Sellers' dissatisfaction mainly comes from two aspects: first, displaying pictures of competitors on the detail page will affect their own sales or be spoofed. If their own product pictures are insufficient, the main picture may be changed or even malicious pictures may be added; second, the notification is vague about the affected categories and specific operations.

Sellers cannot accept that product images may be changed by others. Among the many complaints, one seller's question received the most likes:

“Amazon should only allow brand owners to provide images. Are you saying that now any seller can submit images that may violate licensing/authorization agreements that govern how products are displayed, how logos are used? Any seller can submit images that may be inaccurate or misleading? Only brand owners have the right to upload images, Amazon should reconsider this decision. ”

In response, Jim, an Amazon staff member , said that Amazon will review whether the images comply with the platform's policies and consider brand ownership and licensing rights when selecting images.

Sellers are worried. " This is simply a disaster. It will further exacerbate the situation where listings and brands are preempted by other sellers , and will make other sellers ' counterfeit goods look legitimate . " One seller strongly objected, " When Amazon may accept pictures of counterfeit products as original pictures on listings, how can they crack down on counterfeit products? I think this is a serious flaw that the platform has not taken into account. "

Rich product images make it easier for consumers to choose, but Amazon's "multiple contributors" policy has always been the cause of ASIN hijacking, and the new image policy may add fuel to the fire. One seller believes that hijackers will just upload a bunch of junk pictures to kill sales, and then change the pictures after the listing is abandoned.

Sellers pointed out that if there are insufficient product images, Amazon can at least notify the sellers related to the ASIN to add pictures before considering displaying other product images.

“If Amazon wanted every brand owner to have these 3 types of images on their listings, they just needed to tell us that and penalize those who don’t comply. Accepting images from multiple sellers is a big blow to Project Transparency and Project Zero brands, and allows hijackers to change images on brand-owned listings without consent.”

What sellers want to see is that it is easier to fix product pages, rather than Amazon providing new ways for pages to be broken, as it is now. And when you want to remove an image, sellers need to contact selling partner support, which may not be deleted, but will waste a lot of time.

However, the policy has been released, and sellers can only try to adapt. If you upload your product pictures, including the main picture, scene picture, and size picture, or even fill all 7 picture slots, other product pictures will not be added. Sellers with insufficient pictures should prepare as soon as possible, especially foreign sellers. Many listings only have one or two pictures, so this wave of impact is inevitable.

There is another question: does the "hardlines product" mentioned in the notice refer to the broad category of hard goods in the retail industry, that is, durable consumer goods, such as furniture, electrical appliances, tools, electronic products, jewelry, and sporting goods, or does it only refer to the products on the platform with hardlines attributes? Customer service has different opinions on this.

After adjusting the details page, the seller can pay attention to whether there are any abnormalities in the product pictures, and make timely adjustments if there are any problems.

2. Amazon launches “Consult-a-Friend” feature on multiple sites

Last October, Amazon began testing a new feature called "Consult-a-Friend" in the hope of helping sellers grow their business. Through this feature, consumers can ask friends for advice when shopping and get the most authentic product feedback and suggestions.

Yesterday, Amazon officially launched this feature. From January 30, 2024, all users in the United States, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom can use the Ask a Friend feature , which will make Amazon shopping more social and collaborative .

When people make purchasing decisions, they get information from various channels and listen to the advice of others, but it is difficult to track feedback from multiple people from different messaging apps when shopping online. Amazon's latest mobile shopping feature "Ask a Friend" solves this problem. It can be collaborative shopping, allowing users to quickly request, view and manage all feedback from friends on products in the Amazon shopping app.

Among various feedback information, recommendations from friends and family are often one of the most trusted sources of information. Amazon 's data shows that users often share products with others . So far this year, users have used the " Share " button in the Amazon shopping app billions of times to share products through messaging services, social media apps and emails .

Amazon's early tests have shown that customers are particularly interested in getting feedback on clothing, shoes, electronics, and furniture. " Ask a Friend " can save everyone's feedback in one convenient location, simplifying the process of buying or group buying gifts . For example, when users don't know what gift to give to their notoriously difficult-to-buy father , or want to ask their siblings about the latest model of smart TV , this feature can aggregate their responses.

So how do you use Consult-a-Friend?

1) Select the product you want to ask friends for, and then tap the Share button . First-time users will need to toggle the Ask Friends for Votes button from the default off position to the on position. Select your preferred messaging app and designated recipients.

2) Those friends receive a message directing them to click on a “ Ask a Friend ” link to enter the Amazon shopping app , where they can view product details and select a quick emoji reaction ( happy, frustrated or thinking ) . They also have the option to add a review.

3) Once friends respond, customers can easily view their collective sentiment within Amazon and scroll through all text reviews , making purchasing decisions with confidence at home or on the go .

It’s still early days for this feature, and it’s not the only new feature Amazon is rolling out to make shopping more collaborative .

Earlier, Amazon also launched the in-app shopping experience Inspire , so that customers have a new way to discover creativity, explore products, and seamlessly shop. These contents are created by influential people and brands, and consumers can explore products based on customer reviews and share their favorite products with other shoppers on Inspire . However, this application did not make much splash.

3. New functions are tested in the clothing category, and new ways of attracting traffic emerge

Amazon has been trying new pages, such as using AI to summarize product reviews so that consumers can quickly understand the product situation, and using artificial intelligence tools this month to answer consumers' questions about products, so that customers can get product features and selling points without browsing the review page or product details. This can improve the shopping experience on the platform.

Clothing accessories require matching, and displaying a hot-selling product together with matching clothing items has the opportunity to facilitate multiple transactions and achieve multiple goals at one stroke. Amazon is currently conducting this test.

Recently, some sellers have discovered that a "Styling ideas" section has appeared on some listing pages of clothing categories. For example, on the left side of the page of the pleated clutch bag in the picture below, below the five-point description is a very obvious styling creative area. Amazon provides 5 sets of outfits for this bag in different scenarios such as banquets and leisure, showing the matching clothing, shoes, watches, and jewelry products. Click to jump.

The matching products provided by the platform have the opportunity to gain extra exposure, which makes sellers very interested. If they can take advantage of the hot-selling products, their sales will inevitably increase. So how can they get these slots and enter the display area?

According to an informed seller, the three products that go with the original product are captured by the system, and the simplest way to trigger it is to increase the BSR. "At present, Styling ideas are unique to the clothing category, and related purchases will be helpful. They are available in both natural and advertising positions. SP ads can also be displayed here if they are placed in other positions, but there is no precise delivery channel for the time being."

Judging from the current display area, most of the recommendations are products with hundreds or even thousands of reviews, with scores around 4.5 or 4 points. There are relatively few products with only a few reviews.

In mid-January, Amazon officially reduced the commission for clothing. For clothing products priced below $15, the sales commission will be reduced from 17% to 5%; for clothing products priced between $15 and $20, the sales commission will be reduced from 17% to 10% . Clothing sellers are overjoyed, but the part of the platform's concessions is difficult to convert into sellers' profits, and it only provides a lower price reduction space for clothing products.

As a result, the clothing category has seen a wave of price cuts, and one seller was caught in a price war: " We and another competitor are the only ones at the top of the small category, with similar prices . Two days ago, the competitor suddenly dropped its price significantly, directly below $20. Our orders and rankings have dropped significantly. "

It seems that the platform has provided benefits, but the results may not be satisfactory.

The first few changes occurred in the product purchase process, and the other one was the platform's adjustment of shipping operations.

4. The delivery window is extended to more sites

Last year, Amazon proposed the concept of a delivery window. Starting from the end of April, third-party sellers in the US need to fill in the estimated delivery time when sending FBA shipments so that Amazon can complete the warehousing of the goods as soon as possible. According to the latest news, the "delivery window" will also be launched in the UK and other sites.

Starting February 9, 2024, Amazon will launch the Send to Amazon requirement to speed up the receipt and processing of goods. When sellers create a shipment, they will be asked to provide a "delivery window", which is the estimated date range for the shipment to arrive at the fulfillment center. Domestic goods must specify a 7-day delivery window, such as August 1 to 7; cross-border goods with longer cycles must specify a 14-day delivery window, such as August 1 to 14.

Starting from the 9th, if sellers use non-cooperative carriers to deliver small packages or LTL goods, they will be required to provide a delivery window in "Send to Amazon". If you use Amazon's cooperative carrier or Amazon Global Logistics Service, you do not need to take any action and the carrier will provide the arrival information of the goods.

This is a gradual rollout process, and it will be fully implemented on February 15. However, Amazon has not officially announced this news yet. Sellers can pay attention to it in the next two days and fill it out when shipping.

From the implementation of the US site, if the shipment arrives earlier or later than the provided window period, Amazon will notify the seller so that a more accurate estimated time can be provided later, and there is no penalty. Therefore, this operation has little impact on sellers, and it mainly adds an extra step in the delivery process.

5. Brand customized coupons are launched

Coupons are a common sales conversion tool used by sellers. Recently, Amazon launched a new feature called " Brand Customized Coupons ".

Brand customized coupons are now available in five European countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain) and Japan, and will be available in North America (US, Canada, Mexico) from February 24. The usage rate is the same as that of regular coupons, but compared to the latter, brand customized coupons are only applicable to branded products and can be used by brand sellers who have completed Amazon brand registration. They need to be created at least 2 days before going online and will take effect 48 hours later.

Most importantly, there are new discount marks for using this type of coupon. At present, brand-customized coupons appear as green coupon marks in the search results page of the selected audience; in February, this mark will also have an "exclusive identity", and the selected audience will be able to see the "Brand Promotion" mark on the search results page and product details page of the Amazon store, which will have a better traffic-driving effect.

So who are the brand customized coupons suitable for?

In North America, five European countries and Japan, the target audience includes repeat customers (who have purchased twice or more in the past 12 months), non-paying customers, high-spending customers (the top 5% of buyers of the seller's brand in the past 12 months), and customers who have purchased recently.

In addition, the audience classification of the US site also includes potential new customers, brand fans, top customers, high-potential customers, and customers at risk of churn. Brand sellers can use customized coupons to target their efforts.

Amazon sits firmly on the Iron Throne, while platforms like Temu are trying to take over

Amazon's recent actions focus on several aspects. One is to review platform accounts and clear out non-compliant ones; the other is to test and add various new features in the hope of retaining customers and increasing conversion rates.

As an e-commerce giant, Amazon has a huge market share and a large number of users, and its basic market is extremely stable, but this does not prevent other platforms from breaking through and taking a piece of the pie. The impact of these emerging platforms is very effective, and has accelerated the pace and attempts of Amazon's shopping upgrades in the past year.

In 2023, the transaction volume of cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Temu, TikTok Shop, and SHEIN increased by more than 100 times month-on-month. The export declaration volume of Temu, SHEIN, and TikTok at the Shanghai Airport Port increased by more than 10 times year-on-year. The declared export volume has accounted for more than 30% of the total cross-border e-commerce export declarations at the Shanghai Airport Port, which is an explosive growth.

The three platforms each have their own advantages. The SHEIN brand is deeply rooted in people's hearts and once again won the global shopping app download championship in 2023; the number of TikTok users in the United States increased by 14.1% year-on-year, and its penetration rate in the US market reached 26.2%. Generation Z is even using TikTok for daily searches, and its user stickiness is amazing.

Temu's growth has been particularly strong. As of December 2023, Temu had 467 million unique visitors, second only to Amazon.

This is thanks to Temu's low-price card played at the right time. Temu recently commissioned Propeller Insights to conduct an online survey, and nearly 64% of respondents said that price is the primary factor affecting their shopping. In addition to price, product quality and delivery speed are also important factors affecting consumers' purchasing decisions. As for brand reputation, online security and sustainable development, their impact on purchases is relatively low.

Temu has become famous overseas for its low prices, but low prices are not the entire strategy.

Temu recently announced the launch of the semi-hosting model. Semi-hosting was launched on the US site on March 15 and will be expanded to the European site at the end of the month. Sellers participating in semi-hosting not only need to upload products, fill in basic information, and maintain inventory, but also complete delivery fulfillment. This is suitable for sellers whose goods are in overseas warehouses or who can meet the conditions of shipping to overseas warehouses in advance. Price comparison is still handled by the platform.

According to analysis by sellers in the industry, international logistics and delivery is the part of Temu that is most likely to receive negative reviews since its launch, and is also the part that consumes the most funds besides advertising and promotion. After the semi-hosting model was launched, the platform got rid of this burden, which not only reduced capital consumption but also ensured delivery timeliness, and it may run faster in the future.

The cross-border e-commerce industry has been stable for a long time. The impact of new platforms has broken the original pattern and brought new opportunities. Both new and old platforms need to concentrate their efforts to make further progress in the running river, or even to maintain their existing market.