Post Amazon Accelerate 2024: Key Highlights

Amazon Accelerate 2024 has brought a wealth of exciting updates and innovations designed to empower sellers, streamline logistics, and improve customer experience. Below are some of the top takeaways that will impact Amazon sellers and businesses using the platform.?

Independent Seller Growth?

• Independent sellers now make up 60% of Amazon's total sales.?

• Over 4.5 billion items sold by U.S. based sellers last year alone.?

• Customer reach has expanded to 130 countries, making it easier for sellers to go global.?

• Prime deliveries exceeded 2.5 billion, enhancing speed and customer satisfaction.?

Supply Chain & Logistics Innovations?

• Amazon Managed Placement: Ship to one location and distribute to multiple regions for faster delivery times. It now accounts for 80% of global logistics volume.?

• Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD): Expanded support for more product types, including expiration-dated items, while optimising stock replenishment. This has resulted in 15% fewer stock-outs and 15-20% lower inventory in fulfilment centres.?

• Amazon Managed Ship: A game-changer for inventory management, allowing sellers to optimise cash flow while taking advantage of 25% off AWD storage fees and 15% off transportation costs. ?

• Domestic Transportation: The Partner Carrier Programme has reduced shipping costs by 25% and operates in 19 countries, sending over 2 billion units into the U.S. network.?

• New Multi-Channel Distribution Capabilities: MCD recently introduced custom labelling & preparation capabilities, allowing sellers to distribute products across multiple sales channels, including other marketplace platforms, wholesalers, distributors, and their own physical stores.?

Learn more on Amazon’s Supply Chain here and see how it can help businesses drive higher sales for conversion: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/small-business/supply-chain-by-amazon-service-drives-higher-sales-conversion-for-independent-sellers??

Reimbursements?

• Proactive Reimbursements: Sellers no longer need to submit reimbursement claims for lost items. Amazon will now automatically issue reimbursements when items are lost.?

• Inventory Defect and Reimbursement (IDR) Portal: This portal provides sellers with centralised visibility into defects, their status, and resolutions, consolidating everything in one place for the first time on Seller Central.?

E-Commerce and Marketing Tools?

• AI-Driven Personalisation: Amazon’s new tools personalise product titles for search queries. This means titles will be rearranged to match what the customer is searching for, increasing visibility.?

• AI-Generated Images & Videos: Sellers can now create dynamic images and videos with animations, like adding steam to a coffee cup, transforming static product shots into lifestyle content. Learn more here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/amazon-ads-generative-ai-video-generator-advertisers?linkId=595386926??

• Customer Journey Analytics: Sellers can target buyers with personalised promotions based on their purchasing behaviour, such as offering coffee products to customers who’ve recently bought a high-end espresso machine.?

• Project Amelia: An AI co-pilot that simplifies navigating Seller Central, handling complex seller issues, and enhancing overall seller experience. Learn more here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/amazon-project-amelia???

• Customer Return Analytics & Insights: This tool integrates key business metrics like sales, traffic, inventory, and ad performance. It offers customisable templates and allows you to build your own interactive dashboard for deeper insights.?

• Business Planner: This is a new tool designed to help you set, track, and achieve your goals.?

• Next Gen Seller Central: ?Amazon is rethinking Seller Central and seeing how they would build it fresh in 2024. You can test this experience here: Nextgenselling.amazon.com?

• A+ Content: ?Amazon will be building upon last year's update and introducing new features for A+.?

• Launch of Amazon Shopping App: Amazon’s new shopping app enables sellers to schedule pickups directly from their warehouses, manage inventory across locations, track delivery vehicles in real time, and get support, all from the convenience of their mobile device.?

Integration with Popular Platforms?

• Buy with Prime can now be integrated directly into TikTok ads, allowing sellers to leverage TikTok's massive audience for seamless shopping.?

• PayPal Integration with Buy with Prime: Next year, Prime members will be able to link their Amazon and PayPal accounts for fast, free shipping.?

• Shopify + Prime: Sellers can offer both Prime and non-Prime items in a single order, boosting average order value.?

Faster Deliveries and Drone Innovations?

• Same-Day and 1-Hour Drone Deliveries: Amazon is expanding its drone delivery service, aiming for deliveries in under 60 minutes in select locations.?

• Next-Gen Drones will be launched in Tolleson, Arizona, and internationally in Italy.?

• Multi-Channel Fulfilment Delivery: Amazon has increased the speed for Standard Delivery by 40% at no extra cost to merchants. Sellers can now enjoy a reduced Standard Delivery option from 5 business days to 3 business days, with deliveries made seven days a week.?

• Delivery Estimates: Buy with Prime merchants can now display real-time Prime delivery estimates directly in their TikTok ads. Later this year, merchants using Amazon MCF will also be able to showcase dynamic delivery dates on their websites, Google Shopping ads, search results, and TikTok ads.?

Financial & Compliance Updates?

• Amazon Lending: Expanded loan offerings with a maximum of $5 million, helping sellers scale their businesses.?

• Counterfeit Protection: Amazon has intensified efforts to combat counterfeits, with over 7 million products seized in 2023.?

Enhanced Seller Support?

Amazon is enhancing seller support with 100% live chat coverage and AI-enabled assistance for quick issue resolution. The new Connect with a Specialist feature will further improve support for complex issues.?

What This Means For You?

These updates from Amazon Accelerate highlight the ongoing innovation within Amazon’s ecosystem, providing sellers with the tools and strategies to grow their businesses and improve operational efficiency. It is good to know that these events allow Amazon to announce a lot of updates that they are working on, to improve and make it easier for sellers and brands, but we should know that some of these are in the early stages and will be continuously getting developed over the course of the year so if you are testing new features, these will be constantly being improved and changed.?

The introduction of new AI tools,?is going to make it easier for brands to stand out on the platform, optimise their listings, and attract the right customers, ultimately driving higher conversion rates. AI really helps with speed and getting information 75% there however it is extremely important to consistently review and ensure it has a human touch such as optimising your listing descriptions or titles. Toucan recommend that if you want your Amazon business to be fully optimised, it is necessary to use professionals whether that be an Amazon Agency or your own in-house team.

The introduction of partnerships with new platforms such as TikTok and Shopify gives brands a chance to diversify their audience and tap into new markets without the need to manage new shipping and logistics. It is important for brands to diversify and tap into new audiences and as Toucan are a certified TikTok Shop Partner, we have launched multiple brands on TikTok and can see first-hand why it is important to diversify and what all the hype is about surrounding TikTok Shop.?

Altogether, these updates represent Amazon's push to make it easier and more cost-effective for sellers and brands to operate, grow, and compete, not just on Amazon, but across multiple channels in a global marketplace.?