Amazon has made the following major moves recently, cross-border sellers need to pay special attention to_cross-border e-commerce

　　The inventory storage fee has been significantly increased, buyer data has been released, discount code promotion functions have been updated, and FBA has been launched in Australia. These recent measures by Amazon will surely have a certain impact on e-commerce sellers.

　　FBA inventory storage fee increase

　　Amazon is preparing to change the assessment of long-term storage fees from once a year to once a month, and raise the cost by an average of 6%.

　　Although a large number of new logistics centers have been introduced over the past few years, Amazon is still working to strengthen the operational capabilities of these warehouses. They don't want Amazon sellers to use the FBA Center as a permanent warehouse. Therefore, raising inventory storage fees and strengthening frequency increases have become a savings measure against excessive inventory.

　　What do sellers need to know?

　　Grading your inventory accurately to ensure you stay at the best level – not too much or too little, keeping your storage fees to a minimum. If you don’t have your own warehouse, cooperate with a third-party logistics company.

　　Amazon announces external traffic metrics for Store pages

　　Amazon Store now has new metrics available, including daily viewing (visited) users, web views and advertising sales. Store pages (available to both vendors and sellers registered with Brand Registry) have always provided tracking analysis of total traffic and basic traffic sources. But now, Amazon's report explains in more detail which resources drive the most page views and sales, including traffic from Amazon, headline search ads, or external sources such as Facebook, Google and YouTube, all traceable using source tags.

　　What do sellers need to know?

　　Amazon’s approach to publishing this data to sellers is exciting because it means sellers and advertisers can finally figure out a clear ROI that will drive external traffic to Amazon. For example, a brand can run several Facebook ads that lead visitors to their pages, understand how each ad is converted independently, and ultimately compare it to other marketing channels inside and outside Amazon.

　　This further confirms that Amazon will continue to reward brands that bring external traffic to their brands and product pages. Publishing these data to sellers not only shows that this strategy has become increasingly important to Amazon, but also opens up a path for more mature brands to gain a foothold in an increasingly competitive market.

　　New promotional code features provided to suppliers

　　Sellers of the Vendor Central platform can use some new promotional code functions.

　　Now, the supplier can:

　　1. Share with influencers – Share discount codes with Amazon Associates and Amazon influencers, and they will help you promote your promotions.

　　2. Provide multiple discount code usage options - allowing consumers to use discount codes for multiple products that meet the requirements in one order, or use them in multiple orders.

　　3. Extend the promotion time - the discount code can now last for 120 days.

　　What do suppliers need to know?

　　These new features are very beneficial for vendors who want to get more traffic and promote promotions. The choice of sharing discount codes with influencers is particularly interesting - do any sellers want to have more exposure? Amazon is leveraging its own resources, including affiliate partners and influencers who are already actively promoting their products for Amazon, a practice that deserves praise.

　　Amazon FBA is available in Australia

　　Three months after Amazon went live in Australia, they finally opened their Melbourne logistics centre to third-party platform sellers recently. This means that brands can start using Amazon's convenient and fast logistics services without having to arrange delivery tasks to third-party logistics companies.

　　The message "prime delivery will be launched in Australia soon" is still on Amazon's Australian website. This is a well-known flaw when the service was launched in December 2017, and this is also a big reason why Australian consumers are currently receiving mediocre responses. However, Amazon recently announced that its Prime subscription service will be launched in Australia in mid-2018.

　　Australia's land area is only 33% smaller than that of the United States, but its population is only 24 million (the United States has a population of 325 million). Most critics believe it is impossible for Amazon to offer a free 2-day trial in Australia.

　　While it remains to be seen what Prime's delivery service will eventually develop, the fees charged by the FBA to sellers are still quite competitive. Because Amazon discounts commissions and FBA fees for a limited time, logistics is actually cheaper than in the United States.

　　For example, a product that is now sold at Amazon Australia on 18.33 AUD ($14.17 off).

　　Commission at Australia Station: AUD 1.65 ($1.28 off)

　　US site handling fee: US$2.13

　　Australian FBA fee: AUD 1.37 ($1.06 off)

　　US FBA fee: $3.21

　　Amazon is also conducting a promotional campaign to allow Australian sellers to use free storage and inventory removal services until August 31, 2018.

　　What brands need to know:

　　Australia is Amazon's strategic new market. Although it has a small population, it is very wealthy and has a relatively mature e-commerce market and logistics infrastructure, which provides Amazon with an excellent geographical location for development. Brands in North America and Europe are often asked by Australian consumers where to find their products, but they chose to give up on this market due to related fees and small market opportunities. And now is the perfect time to gain a foothold in the Australian market using FBA infrastructure and promotional fees.