Amazon Labels Frequently Returned Products

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Retail Media vs. Marketplaces: Definitions, Origins and Benefits

Published by Filip Egert, on March 02, 2023
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Updates: Amazon

Amazon Flags “Frequently Returned” Products

To alert consumers to products on its platform that are regularly returned, Amazon is testing a “frequently returned” label on the U.S. marketplace. This is intended to encourage consumers to check item details and reviews before purchasing to help reduce returns. Currently, new and unused items can be returned for free up to 30 days after purchase. This new label could help Amazon reduce costs associated with returns without making them chargeable. However, it is not known if or when this label will officially be introduced.

Amazon Makes Sales Data Public

On the website and in the app, Amazon will in future display rounded sales figures for all products. The new label is in its testing phase so far, and therefore only visible to some users,  however it seems to show the sales figures of the past week or month and is intended to encourage the purchase of more popular products from unknown brands. However, the data is not yet available via Seller Central or an API, and it remains to be seen whether the innovation will remain in place beyond the test phase.

Another Wave of Layoffs: Amazon and Walmart

Amazon has announced plans to cut another 9,000 jobs worldwide. This is already the second major job cut this year. The company said the wave of layoffs will primarily affect its cloud services, advertising and Twitch livestreaming divisions. Walmart also announced it was cutting hundreds of jobs at its fulfillment centers, but offered those affected alternative positions at other locations. In their announcements, both groups cited the uncertain economic situation in the U.S. in the coming year as a reason behind the cuts.

Amazon’s New Web Browser

Amazon seems to be considering launching its own web browser. The company has sent out a survey to its users to find out which features might convince them to “download and try out a new desktop browser from Amazon”. The goal of this project could be to expand the advertising business through additional advertising space and insights outside of Amazon. If successful, this move could have a significant impact on the advertising industry, particularly in light of Google’s impending removal of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.

Amazon Raises Fees for Multichannel-Fulfillment (MCF)

After the fee increase for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), announced at the beginning of the year, Multichannel Fulfillment (MCF) is now following a similar path. The price increase for the service, which enables processing for sales outside of Amazon, will take effect across Europe as early as April 7, 2023. Parcels and oversized shipments are amongst those most noteably affected. According to Amazon, this step is necessary in order to cover rising operating expenses.

Amazon in Legal Dispute with U.S. and Europe

The U.S. government plans to take action in at least three of its investigations against Amazon for, among other things, data security breaches. In addition, Amazon is already facing a back tax payment to Luxembourg of approximately €250 million. The legal basis is a ruling by the EU Commission relating to a tax scheme favoring Amazon, which constitutes illegal state aid under EU law.

Updates: E-Commerce

Retail Media Updates: ASOS & Walmart

Online fashion retailer ASOS announced plans to expand its retail media activities to include sponsored ads. This is to be made possible through the new partnership with advertising technology service provider Criteo. Fashion brands will be able to display paid advertising content on the platform and in the app. In addition, ASOS plans to improve the reach and monitoring of its existing display ad option. Walmart is also catching up and integrating a personalization and optimization platform for Connected TV (CTV) into the demand-side platform (DSP) of its Retail Media Network.

What Caught Our Attention

Amazon’s Brand Analytics tool is now called “Top Search Terms”. Brands can leverage many of the same features that enable sellers to analyze the top search terms, search frequency rank, ASIN, and product title of the top three products.  “Top Search Terms” now additionally offers the following:

• Top Clicked Brands: Provides insights into which brands are attracting the most clicks in search results. 
• Top Clicked Categories: Shows the most in-demand product categories on Amazon.
• Brand Name Search: Helps analyze search data and identify top-performing keywords.

The “download reports” option is currently unavailable.

Fact of the Week

On average, 66% of all shoppers in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the U.S. use Amazon instead of Google when searching for products (Source: International Amazon Shopper Report 2022, Remazing & Appinio).

Remdash: Open Platform

Enhance Remdash with seamless integrations. By connecting various tools, you can automate recurring workflows beyond Amazon and gain a new level of efficiency.

• Connect Remdash with your PIM system, Power BI, or Custom API
• Publish content on other eCommerce marketplaces
• Explore the pricing dynamics of your products beyond Amazon

Interested in Remdash? 
Just click here to schedule a personal product demo with our team.

Top 5 Amazon Keywords

These are the top 5 most searched keywords by country from March 19 to 25, 2023.

While Amazon shoppers in the U.S. were already looking for gifts to fill Easter baskets, in Germany consumers increasingly searched for Ramadan decorations. In the UK, the top keywords were dominated by movies and series, while the focus in France, Italy, and Spain was mainly on electronic devices.