Amazon is the world’s largest online marketplace and most popular place for consumers to start their purchasing journey. However, most brands take little interest in how their products are presented on Amazon, both in the UK and internationally.
Amazon collects product data from a number of sources and uses this to build its product listings. By understanding how Amazon works, brands can curate their product listing on Amazon, improving their search results and providing consumers with better information with which to make their purchasing decision.
Who controls Amazon listings?
Amazon has a hierarchy for who controls the content of their products listings. If a brand sells directly to Amazon through its Vendor Central or Vendor Express platforms, then the content they create will have the highest priority. If a product is not sold to Amazon via a vendor, then the product content can be controlled by registering with Amazon Brand Registry. Finally, if the product is not controlled by a Vendor or Brand Registry account, then sellers can submit data via Seller Central and Amazon will pool this data together to create the product listing.
Vendor Central
Vendor central is the platform through which brands and distributors (also know as ‘first party’ sellers) manage their sales directly to Amazon. Amazon takes control of storage and fulfilment with purchases being remitted on a 60 to 90 day basis. The benefits of selling directly to Amazon as opposed to as a marketplace merchant though Seller Central are the potential of higher volumes, however on the flip side you will lose control of pricing and receive less frequent payments.
Features include:
- Products sold by Amazon, a highly trusted brand
- Enhanced product listings, known as Amazon A+ content
- Amazon’s product review collection service – Amazon Vine
- Promote your brand through Amazon display advertising
Brand Registry
Brands that do not sell to Amazon directly, but wish to influence the content of their products can register for the Amazon Brand Registry program. This program is only open to brand owners, or their representatives, and makes it easier for sellers to manage their brands and product listings on Amazon. Features include:
- Influence the product detail for products
- Create new products with or without a barcode (UPC or EAN)
- Report counterfeit products
Seller Central
Seller Central is the platform though which marketplace or ‘third party’ sellers manage their inventory and sales through on Amazon both in the UK and internationally. Seller central is open to individuals (free) as well as professional sellers (£25/month). Seller central allows sellers to:
- Manage their inventory
- Create new products (professional sellers only)
- Manage sales
- Run promotions and advertising campaigns
Amazon EU accounts (UK, FR, DE, IT, ES) and Amazon North America (CA, USA, MX) can each be accessed through a single login and data such as stock levels is shared between countries under the same login.
If you need assistance creating or curating your amazon catalog, please drop us a line.