If you're an Amazon seller, you already know how impactful reviews are toward your sales. But what happens when someone leaves a negative comment that could significantly affect your business? Naturally, you'd want to defend yourself, explain what went wrong, and protect your brand's reputation.
If you're an Amazon Brand owner, you can now reach out to customers who have left critical reviews with a courtesy refund or provide support directly.
You can access it on the Seller Central page under the Brands tab. Keep in mind that this will only be available for the primary account holder. If you're a secondary account user, you can reach out to the primary account holder to request permissions through Settings > User Permissions > Manage Permissions > Advertising > Customer Reviews.
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Amazon announced through Seller Forums that customers could use UPS as a new option to send their seller-filled returns from September 5 to October 2, 2022. This is in addition to the current option, USPS.
According to Amazon, this is part of a short-term experiment to understand consumer behavior regarding product returns better. Because more shipping options will be available for customers, people might become more inclined to shop on this platform.
Limitations to this return option will exist: Only items using Amazon's Prepaid Return label program that weigh less than 15 oz and measure less than 130 inches in girth will be accepted.
Additionally, corresponding USPS and UPS shipping rates will still apply. Because it might affect the label cost for sellers, you can file for a refund for the price difference between UPS and USPS shipping through a refund form. But it remains unclear whether this solution will continue or how Amazon will calculate the difference for reimbursement once the policy becomes permanent.
Because this move is more customer-centric, some Amazon sellers are displeased and skeptical, noting that UPS return fees can exceed the item's value, which turns the transaction into a loss.
Pharmapacks, a known top Amazon seller, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. The brand was a reseller dealing in health, personal care, and beauty products. Although they've made annual sales exceeding $500 million, the business was deemed unprofitable and failed to secure additional financing.
Being a top seller didn't guarantee security in their future with selling on Amazon. Over the past five years, it was the #1 top seller for 1,730 days out of 1,825. In addition, to selling on other marketplaces within the U.S., they were also the largest seller on the Walmart marketplace.
What led to their ultimate downfall, however, was unprofitability. The financials released in September 2021 had a 45% gross margin, with expenses becoming way overboard. As a result, there was an estimated loss of $112 million in 2021.
Although the company hoped to be profitable in 2024 by increasing sales by 192% from last year, only their expenses have grown by 85% this year.
Pharmapacks relied on institutional capital for them to grow while remaining highly unprofitable. As a result, they raised a Series A round in 2018 and Series B in 2020. They even announced to go public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in September 2021, but this merger agreement was terminated.
According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is almost 70%. Nearly 7 out of 10 customers who add items to their cart will leave without completing a purchase. As an online seller, this is critical as reducing your cart abandonment can make the difference in sales and profits.
Obviously, people have various reasons for abandoning their carts; that said, you'll need to develop strategies accordingly. The common reasons for high cart abandonment include shipping costs, delivery times, and poor checkout flow. Moreover, they might also be hesitant to purchase due to trust issues and pricing.
Here are some ways to reduce your cart abandonment rate:
Read the full article here to learn How to Reduce Cart Abandonment on Amazon
