What’s new in the world of Amazon? In February, Amazon released its quarterly earnings for the last quarter of 2018 and updated their accreditation model for agencies working with the platform. They have also released a new program, Transparency, for preventing counterfeit goods and continued to expand into the pharmacy market.
Take a look at the most recent updates from February on the world’s biggest marketplace.
#1 – Amazon Advertising increases by 41%
Amazon’s Q4 earnings report showed that their advertising business grew by 41% YoY as it continues to challenge the Google-Facebook duopoly and cement its place as the third largest paid advertising platform.
Amazon Advertising is quickly a growing platform for retailers and is one that should not be overlooked by ecommerce businesses selling on Amazon.
#2 – Updated Amazon Sponsored Ads Accreditation
Amazon’s Sponsored Ads Accreditation program has been updated. While the original accreditation is still valid, the new exam awards the Sponsored Ads Fundamentals Certification. While it seems only a small semantic change, it looks as though additional ‘levels’ will be added for higher competencies and specialisms.
Fluid Digital has this certification and is one of the things you should be looking out for when finding the right Amazon agency.
#3 – Amazon prevents counterfeit products with Transparency
Amazon has rolled out a new program to help prevent counterfeiting. Called Transparency, it allows merchants to apply unique codes to their products for verification by both Amazon warehouses and the customer.
A customer can scan the Transparency code on their product through a Transparency app. Amazon will then be able to authenticate the product by crossmatching this with their database. Amazon will also scan Transparency codes to make sure only authentic products are shipped to customers.
This follows new US legislation that will hold Amazon much more accountable for the sale of counterfeit products.
#4 – Acquisition of PillPack and trademark applications for Amazon Pharmacy
Amazon acquired PillPack, a US prescription home delivery service, in 2018, and in November last year the name was updated to PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy.
In late January, they filed trademark applications for Amazon Pharmacy in numerous countries including the UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Singapore, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, Israel as well as the EU.
This expansion into the pharmacy market is an interesting one for Amazon, and we will wait to see how this affects the UK market specifically.
Selling on Amazon
If you’re exploring selling on Amazon and need an experienced agency to offer insight, advice and support with managing your Amazon campaigns, then get in touch.