Amazon launched a New Seller Incentives program today to attract new sellers and get them on a path to success using a variety of its programs that help create “the perfect launch.” Eligibility in a nutshell: new Professional sellers who list their first product on or after January 1, 2022.
While the program is targeted at new sellers, existing sellers can receive the incentives if they launch in a new region. The program is open in the US, Japan, and Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain).
Amazon Vice President of North America Marketplaces Ben Hartman told EcommerceBytes the program was a win-win: customers like selection and quality products, and sellers benefit through growth (it’s hard to build a business from scratch) – creating a flywheel effect.
Is Amazon going after mega-brands with this program? Hartman said it was targeting small and medium-sized businesses all over the world who are building and designing new products. Amazon gives them the opportunity to reach hundreds of millions of customers, who gain access to new products and new brands. He said in 2021, over 100,000 brands started selling in Amazon’s US store, and brands selling in Amazon’s US store grew their sales by almost 60% year-over-year for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2021.
In an accompanying Perfect Launch Playbook, Amazon stated that the first 90 days are especially critical for new Amazon sellers in order to accelerate performance beyond launch: “Amazon data scientists refer to the use of five selling programs – Brand Registry, A+ Content, Fulfillment by Amazon, Automated Pricing, and Advertising – within those first 90 days as “Perfect Launch.”
Amazon described the benefits of the New Seller Incentives program on its help page as follows:
Through New Seller Incentives, new sellers on Amazon’s Professional selling plan can qualify for a suite of benefits designed to help them launch and grow on Amazon.
For new sellers who are identified as brand owners with Amazon Brand Registry, benefits include:
– A 5% bonus on up to $1 million in eligible branded sales (up to $50,000 in bonus value) or for 1 year after eligibility is determined, whichever comes first.
– $200 in credits for Amazon Vine. Vine invites the most trusted reviewers in the Amazon store to post opinions about new products to help their fellow customers make informed purchase decisions. Participating sellers can provide free units of their products to these reviewers.
– $100 in credits for Transparency. Transparency helps you proactively protect your brand, including helping you engage with customers, improve customer experience, and identify supply chain defects.
For new sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), benefits include:
– $100 in credits in inventory shipping fees for using the Amazon Partnered Carrier program or $200 in credits in fulfillment fees for using Amazon Global Logistics.
– Auto-enrollment in FBA New Selection, providing free monthly storage, liquidations, and return processing for your eligible new-to-FBA ASINs.
– $200 in promotional clicks for using Sponsored Products. Help customers find your products by quickly creating ads that appear in related search results and product pages.
For new sellers who use Amazon Coupons, benefits include:
$50 in coupon credits. Coupons help you create compelling promotions for your customers in the Amazon store.
You can find Amazon’s Perfect Launch playbook on this page, as well as a help page about the new seller incentives on this page.
