Amazon has announced that it is testing a new Product Detail Page layout that will let consumers compare alternative offers from “Buy Box-eligible merchants” without navigating away from the main product detail page (compare this to the existing layout here).
Being an active Amazon shopper I find navigating between the Product Listing Page (”X New and Used”) to view other offers and the “main offer” (how they compare around shipping and feedback) annoying. This first test may show Amazon just how much conversions can improve if you show competing offers right on the main page (and reduce clicks).
New Amazon Listing Loader
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Amazon has introduced a new simpler means to load products to Amazon that already exist in Amazon’s catalog using its ASIN IDs or UPCs. The Listing Loader is essentially a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet on steroids that helps you not only validate your Amazon data but also load it to Amazon with the push of a button (via MS Excel macros). Read more
Techcrunch sighted on Monday that Amazon had launched two Facebook apps to tie the Amazon experience into social networking. Or really features that would introduce some much-needed social networking features to Amazon: the ability to easily friends’ wish for, what they are adding (or removing) from that list, their birthdays, what they are reviewing or discussion. And much more. With over 78M worldwide users chances that your internet-enabled friends are already registered at Amazon are high. Chances that my extended family is on Facebook are pretty much zero (fortunately). Read more
Amazon introduces easy seller phone support
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Today Amazon announced that it has added phone support to its Technical Support feature for Seller Central merchants. Simply click at the bottom of any page on “Get technical support”, pick the area of interest (let’s say “General Policies …”) and then select at the bottom of the page “By Phone”. A pop-up invites you to specify your country, call-back number and when you would like to be called.
Note that this feature is only available Monday - Friday: 7am - 6pm and Saturday, Sunday: 7:30am - 4:30pm PST.
Here’s the announcement: Read more
Amazon.com to sell wine?
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Rumors have sprung up that Amazon will begin selling wine in the US. Via Computerworld comes a new job posting on Amazon’s site for a “senior wine buyer”:
“[...] the senior buyer must have broad experience in the wine industry and will be responsible for the “acquisition of massive new product selection” and “will work to build out our entirely new selection from the ground up.”
Amazon UK adds Shipping Costs to Buy Box formula
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The Amazon UK team announced that starting on February 19 it will include a seller’s shipping costs in its Buy Box formula in addition to the product’s price, quantity, merchant performance (feedback, account age) “among others”. Of course the entire formula and the weighing of the various factors is unknown, but this is great news for consumers expecting a transparent, fast and worry-free shopping experience on this leading online shopping site. Read more
Upgraded Amazon Payment Reporting and ROI Analysis
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Amazon today announced an upcoming upgrade of their settlement reports within the Seller Central dashboard (does not apply for Amazon Marketplaces merchants), including a “completely new interface that makes it easy to examine your financial data, single login, quick filters to quickly refine a list of transactions and easy drill down to transaction details and order information”.
The key for online retailers is of course to view and analyze this information across many channels to determine not only if you’ve received all of your funds (which is important) but the ROI of Amazon compared to the hopefully many other channels you are sending your products to — at the SKU level. Otherwise how do you know that you’re maximizing your margins on that home theater receivers in your warehouse, and ultimately grow your business as efficient (and fast) as possible?
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Changes to “Sold, Ship Now” notifications in effect for Amazon UK and Canada
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Heads-up for Amazon 3P sellers: as of today Amazon no longer provides granular order and buyer information in the “Sold, Ship Now” emails in the UK and Canada. Amazon UK writes: Read more
Amazon offering software downloads
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This is not a surprise following Amazon’s successful launch of their MP3 marketplace and considering it has been offering packaged software for a while. Now Amazon has partnered with Intuit to offer the popular tax package TurboTax for download from Amazon. Available via the new Software Download Center, users must first fetch a small application onto their desktop before they can get started. Read more
Amazon announced this morning that it has invested in payment super star Bill Me Later (formerly known as I4Commerce), in my opinion the leading and easiest-to-use credit payment method. The aim is to offer Amazon buyers in the US Bill Me Later as an option so that they can get 90+ days financing for qualifying orders.
I have used Bill Me Later before and it was very easy and fast. I assume that once the user signs into Amazon I will not have to identify myself again using my birthday speeding up the process even further (after all, Amazon knows me).
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