BIG IDEA
Attention, Sellers!
There are On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) policy updates you need to know about. Amazon has announced an Ask Amazon event on October 1 for all your questions or clarifications. You are free to post your questions directly on the forum thread. Community Managers and the OTDR team will answer them from 8 am to 5 pm PT.
🚚 What’s new?
- New minimum. Sellers are now required to have a 90% OTDR before they can list seller-fulfilled products on Amazon. This is effective as of September 24, 2024. OTDR below 90% may result in a seller’s inability to list seller-fulfilled products.
- New standard. Amazon has changed its recommended standard to 95% OTDR.
- New metric. On-Time Delivery Rate is now calculated based on the tracked seller-fulfilled units delivered on or before the seller-promised ‘Deliver-by’ date prior to extensions. BEFORE, the OTDR was measured after promise extensions were added.
- New time options. The transit time settings for shipping from China to the continental US have been updated. Options now range from 2-4 days to 14-20 days. The maximum transit time is down from 28 days to 20 days. If you currently have 14-28 days as your manually set transit time, it will automatically be updated to 14-20 days as a part of this change. This is effective on October 25, 2024.
What to do?
Amazon has tools to help sellers set accurate delivery dates, reduce late deliveries, and meet or exceed the minimum OTDR requirement. According to the announcement, “You will get OTDR protection from late deliveries on items shipped through standard shipping if you use all three tools.”
FBA inventory won’t be affected. But, this update is important for those who choose multiple fulfillment methods.
TOGETHER WITH WALMART MARKETPLACE
Looking to stand out in the market? Join Walmart Marketplace’s Collectibles Experience program
Do you sell in the Trading Cards, Sports Memorabilia, Toys, Comic Books & Books, Media & Music, and/or Coins categories? Then, you could be a great fit for our Collectibles Experience!
Through our limited-time referral fee offer, sellers specializing in collectors’ items will have the chance to enjoy 0% referral fees until October 31, 2024, plus additional perks!
Additional perks for sellers in the Collectibles Experience include:
- Select a return policy that works best for your business. Choose between accepting: no returns, a 15-day return with sealed policy, or our standard 30-day Walmart return policy.
- Offer preorders*. Build anticipation around a new drop by offering pre-orders for your products.
- List trading cards and comic books with new, graded condition options. Our new grading system displays your collectibles in mint and other great conditions.
- Mark items as pre-owned*. Collectibles come in all conditions. Let your customers know that your products are vintage and pre-loved, making them one-of-a-kind.
Learn more and sign up to sell on Walmart Marketplace today.
BITES OF THE WEEK
- Accelerate On Demand: If you missed the live, register to access Amazon Accelerate on-demand content.
- Global Access: Seller Assistant has announced a new VPN Amazon Seller tool.
- Fulfilled by Maersk: Amazon will be outsourcing fulfillment services to Maersk from a French warehouse.
- Allies in Amazon: It's time to register for a free Amazon Seller community - Seller Alliance.
AMAZON NEWS
Amazon announcements
- Update to listing policies: You must submit product compliance documents required by Amazon BEFORE the product can be listed. This is effective September 30, 2024. Existing product listings will not be impacted.
- Social channel, FBA inventory: Amazon Multi-Channel fulfillment (MCF) can now automatically fulfill orders placed on social commerce channels like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest using your FBA inventory. You can use any MCF integrations to connect social media stores with your selling account.
- Additional authentication: Two Factor Authentication (2FA) is an added requirement for all logins. According to Amazon, this additional step will help secure your account and private information.
- More coupon options: You may now offer both “Subscribe and Save” as well as “Reorder” coupons for the same ASIN. Customers can choose between a 10% off Reorder coupon (to a one-time purchase) OR a 20% off Subscribe & Save coupon (to an ASIN subscription).
TACTIC TALKS
Amazon DSP introduces goal-based bidding
ICYMI, Amazon DSP has just launched goal-based bidding, making it easier for you to hit your brand awareness targets! Amazon Ads shared that this new tool optimizes your bids automatically to help you reach more customers and stay on top of their minds.
⚙️ How does it work?
- Set your goal to Awareness.
- Choose your goal KPI: Reach or Frequency.
- For frequency campaigns, select a weekly Target Frequency.
- Set your optimization strategy to Prioritize spending full budget (default).
- Save & watch Amazon handle the rest!
🎯 Where is this feature available?
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Middle East
- Asia Pacific
👤 Who can use it?
- Amazon DSP advertisers worldwide—managed (Reach & Frequency) and self-service (Frequency only), running display, and video non-guaranteed
⭐ Why is this tool important for you?
- More reach. Get your ads seen by more customers without extra work!
- Smart frequency. Set specific frequency targets to control how often people see your ads and avoid ad overload.
- Better budget use. Spend your full budget while maximizing performance and get the most out of every dollar spent.
- Real-time adjustments. Amazon DSP adjusts bids in real-time, so your campaigns are always fine-tuned for the best possible results.
- No wasted ads. Prevent under- or over-delivering ads so your campaigns are more cost-effective and impactful.
Ready to take your campaigns to the next level? Try it out on Amazon DSP and see the difference! 🚀
