New Amazon Features Across Multiple Selling Programs

Deep dive into the latest feature updates that could change the way you sell on Amazon. 

First, we explore the launch of Subscribe & Save for seller-fulfilled orders on June 27th, which promises to streamline recurring purchases and boost sales. Next, we discuss how increasing sell-through rates with Amazon-recommended Outlet Deals via the FBA Inventory Tool can help you reduce total storage fees.

Additionally, we’ll cover the new Amazon Business features announced at Amazon Business Exchange (ABX), aimed at enhancing B2B interactions and efficiencies.

Finally, we’ll look at Amazon’s expansion of generative AI listing tools to sellers across Europe, marking a significant step in optimizing product listings.

These announcements can be impactful to your business, offering new opportunities and strategies to enhance your operations and stay competitive in the market.

1. Amazon Adds Subscribe & Save Option to Seller-Fulfilled Orders

Amazon has announced that its popular Subscribe & Save (SNS) program will expand to include eligible seller-fulfilled products starting June 27, 2024. Previously available only to FBA sellers, this move aims to provide Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) sellers with the same opportunities to “boost conversions, drive repeat purchases, and grow brands.”

How SNS for Seller-Fulfilled Orders Works

The Subscribe & Save program offers customers discounts on frequently used products along with the convenience of auto-delivery.

For non-FBA sellers, this means that eligible, replenishable products will be automatically enrolled in the program at the default discount set in the SNS settings. If you previously set a default discount for FBA Subscribe & Save, this same discount will now apply to your seller-fulfilled products.

Amazon will also fund an additional 5% discount for customers who have five or more subscriptions scheduled to arrive on the same delivery day. If you don’t have a default discount set, your eligible products will be added at a 0% seller-funded base discount.

Benefits for Non-FBA Sellers

1. Increased Conversions: By offering discounts and the convenience of auto-delivery, sellers can attract more customers and boost sales.
2. Repeat Purchases: The auto-delivery feature encourages customers to make repeat purchases, fostering customer loyalty.
3. Brand Growth: Being part of the Subscribe & Save program can help small and medium-sized brands gain more visibility and grow their customer base.

Steps to Set Your Default Enrollment Discount

To ensure your products are enrolled at the desired discount, go to Growth > Explore programs > Increase conversion > Subscribe & Save > Learn more.

From this page, you can also:

• Opt out of automatic enrollment
• Update your discount funding for each product after the June 27 launch
• Review your Performance dashboard

For detailed information about product eligibility, refer to the Subscribe & Save for sellers guide on Amazon.

Seller Insights and Reactions

The announcement has been met with positive feedback from sellers.

One seller commented, “This is great. Nice to see some of the benefits previously limited to FBA becoming available to MFN Sellers. Fingers crossed that BUNDLES gets a similar treatment.”

This sentiment highlights the potential for even more inclusive benefits for non-FBA sellers in the future.

An Amazon representative clarified a key point, “Just to confirm and clarify, opting out from automatic enrollment will not impact existing Subscribe & Save selection. It only prevents the enrollment of additional selection.” This reassurance helps sellers understand that their current Subscribe & Save products will remain unaffected by changes in automatic enrollment settings.

In sum, the expansion of Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program to include seller-fulfilled orders presents a big opportunity for non-FBA sellers. By leveraging this program, sellers can enhance customer experience, increase sales, and build stronger brand loyalty. And with the ability to set and manage discounts, sellers have more control and flexibility to optimize their strategies and succeed on Amazon.

2. Increase Sell-Through To Reduce Total Storage Fees With Amazon UK Outlet Deals Via FBA Inventory Tool

You can now review Amazon UK Outlet deal recommendations in the FBA Inventory tool and create deals to be featured on the Amazon Outlet page once approved by Amazon.

This powerful tool may help enhance sell-through rates, improve cash flow, optimize inventory levels, and reduce total storage fees, making it an essential strategy for efficiently managing excess inventory in Amazon warehouses.

Increasing Sell-Through

By participating in Amazon Outlet deals, you can increase the sell-through rate of your products. Faster-moving inventory means products spend less time in storage, which can lead to higher overall sales and customer satisfaction. This is particularly crucial in a competitive market where quick turnover can give you an edge.

Improving Cash Flow

Outlet deals can help improve cash flow by converting slow-moving or excess inventory into revenue more quickly. This immediate infusion of cash can be reinvested into purchasing new stock, marketing efforts, or other business needs, providing you with the financial flexibility needed to navigate rising Amazon costs and maintain a competitive edge.

Optimizing Inventory Levels

Efficient inventory management is critical for any seller, and Outlet deals provide a way to optimize stock levels. By clearing out excess inventory, you can make room for new products, ensuring that warehouse space is used effectively and that they are always ready to meet customer demand.

Reducing Total Storage Fees

Excess inventory can lead to high storage fees, especially if products remain in Amazon’s fulfillment centers for extended periods. Participating in Outlet deals helps reduce these fees by moving products out of storage more quickly. This not only lowers costs but also prevents long-term storage fees that can erode profit margins.

How Outlet Deal Recommendations Work

To get started with Amazon Outlet deals, you can review the recommendations provided in the FBA Inventory tool. ASINs must meet the following criteria to be eligible for listing on Amazon Outlet:

• Have inventory in Amazon fulfillment centers for at least 90 days
• Have at least 1 unit of inventory on-hand
• Be in New condition
• Have a product rating of at least 3 stars or no reviews
• Are not currently enrolled in another deal promotion such as Lightning Deals
• Have not appeared as an Outlet deal in the past 60 days
• Is not restricted for sale in your store

For more detailed information and to manage Outlet deals effectively, refer to the Amazon Outlet guide, which covers:

• Create And Manage An Amazon Outlet Deal
• How To Check The Status Of An Outlet Deal
• Cancel An Amazon Outlet Deal Submission
• Combined Amazon Outlet Deal And Voucher Discount
• Amazon Outlet Best Practices
• Frequently Asked Questions

By leveraging these Outlet deal opportunities, you can maintain a lean, efficient inventory while boosting sales and improving your overall business performance amid the ever-increasing costs and competition on the Amazon marketplace.

3. Streamlining Procurement: Amazon Business Introduces New Tools and Enhancements

At the 2024 Amazon Business Exchange (ABX) event, Amazon Business rolled out a series of new features and improvements aimed at simplifying and modernizing the procurement process for large business customers.

These enhancements include the Amazon Business App Center, Cross-domain Identity Management, and updates to Budget Management and Guided Buying solutions.

Designed to address the complex needs of multinational enterprises, universities, government agencies, education organizations, and healthcare networks, these tools promise to transform how businesses shop for supplies.

Addressing Procurement Challenges

Recent study by Amazon Business revealed that UK procurement teams face significant challenges in driving efficiencies within their organizations. The research found that 49% of respondents cited the complexity of systems and multistep processes as primary obstacles.  

Consequently, 70% of UK procurement leaders acknowledged the need to optimize their procurement functions. Business buying was described as cumbersome and time-consuming, with teams spending excessive time on tasks related to processing orders. Improved procurement tools were seen as a crucial solution to these issues.

New Amazon Business Features

Amazon Business App Center

The Amazon Business App Center is a new one-stop shop where business customers can discover, quickly set up, and connect their Amazon Business account with more than 25 third-party apps.

These apps cover integrated shopping, accounting management, expense management, inventory management, rewards and recognition, and business analytics. This centralized hub saves time and money by eliminating the need for custom solutions, streamlining the discovery and integration process.

Cross-Domain Identity Management

This feature addresses the challenge of managing purchasing powers within large organizations. Cross-Domain Identity Management automatically syncs users and group data from an organization’s identity provider with their Amazon Business account. This automation helps admins maintain and update accounts more efficiently, ensuring that only active employees retain purchasing capabilities.

Budget Management Feature Upgrade

The enhanced Budget Management tool simplifies setting and reviewing time-bound budgets across an organization. Business customers can set spend thresholds, make budget amounts visible to buyers, and receive notifications when a budget is about to expire.

This feature also includes real-time tracking, usage reports, pre-purchase approvals, and the ability to create a single purchase order (PO) instead of multiple manual orders. These updates enable procurement buyers to make informed purchasing decisions while reducing the time leaders spend auditing purchases.

Improved Guided Buying

Guided Buying helps leaders manage employee spending by guiding buyers towards decisions that align with organizational preferences and goals.

A new toolbar allows account administrators to prefer products with sustainability certifications in the Climate Pledge Friendly program with a single click. Leaders can also restrict, block, and require approvals for certain product categories. This feature helps procurement leaders save time educating employees on appropriate purchases through easy-to-follow visuals.

Implications for B2B Businesses

Amazon Business aims to revolutionize how companies shop for supplies through unmatched selection, deep discounts, and smart capabilities. These new features are designed to address the most significant challenges faced by procurement teams, allowing businesses to use their resources more effectively and navigate unexpected challenges.

As Shelley Salomon, Worldwide VP of Amazon Business, stated, “We don’t just react to the biggest challenges our customers have shared with us; we get ahead of them with new technologies so our customers can use their resources to navigate the unexpected and continue expanding their business.”

By implementing these new tools, Amazon B2B empowers organizations to streamline their procurement processes, improve efficiency, and drive growth.

Related: Understanding the UK Procurement Act, Euro B2B Opportunities Expand on Amazon, Amazon Continues to Dominate B2B While Shopify Plays Catch Up

4. Amazon Expands Generative AI Listing Tools to Sellers Across Europe

Amazon has unveiled a significant expansion of its generative AI listing tools, now available to sellers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. These innovations aim to simplify product listing creation and enhance existing listings, thereby resonating more effectively with customers and boosting sales.

Amazon has a history of leveraging AI to support sellers, from personalized product recommendations and demand forecasting to dynamic pricing strategies and premium content generation.

The recent rollout of generative AI tools across Europe marks a strategic move to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by streamlining the listing process. Sellers can now quickly generate high-quality product titles, descriptions, and other details by inputting a few descriptive words or uploading a product image, significantly reducing the time spent on these tasks.

For instance, sellers can use one of the following options in the “List Your Products” feature to:

• Enter a few keywords describing their product.
• Upload a product image from their device.
• Directly enter keywords or upload an image in a blank form.

The tool then generates the product title, bullet points, and description attributes, which you can review and edit before publishing. This not only saves time but also enhances the customer experience by providing richer, more comprehensive product information.

Research conducted in May 2024 among 2,500 SMEs across the mentioned EU countries revealed that AI significantly benefits businesses by saving time, improving content quality, and enhancing profitability.

For example, SME owners reported that using AI reduced the time spent writing product descriptions from eight hours to one hour. Additionally, 33% of SMEs felt that AI-generated content increased a product’s discoverability.

Amazon’s gen AI tools are continuously learning and evolving, promising further enhancements in the future. 
Go to List Your Products and Add one product at a time to get started.

Related: AI Trends Redefining Shopping Experiences, Generative AI Showdown: Amazon vs Walmart, AI and Automation