Amazon announced yesterday that it will be suspending new fulfillment orders of non-essential products into it’s warehouses.
The decision was made in an effort to give priority to household staples, medical supplies, and other high demand products, making sure these products are received in a timely manner in fulfillment centers so they can be restocked and shipped faster to consumers. You can read the full announcement to sellers for yourself.
Let’s break down what it could mean for advertisers.
Understanding the Amazon Inbound Shipment Announcement
- If you created your shipment before March 17, 2020, it will be received at fulfillment, regardless of your product type.
- If you try to create new shipment outside of the essentials category, you may find that your shipment creation option has been temporarily disabled.
- It’s estimated that the suspension of non-essential inbound shipment will be released on April 5, 2020, but it could be longer, so watch for a notification of when regular operations will be resumed.
- Sales for non-essential products on Amazon will not cease.
What This Means for Non-Essential Businesses
- Many sellers and small businesses may need to shift to self-fulfillment as the best possible option to continue selling on Amazon.
- If your Amazon inventory is low or runs out, you may need to focus all your efforts to sales directly from your own site.
What This Means for Your Non-Essential Product Ads
- You’ll have to carefully watch your inventory and be sure you don’t have any campaigns running where ad spend would be wasted. This is very important for your headline search ads.
- Watch your Amazon bids. Competition may increase or decrease during this turbulent and unpredictable time.
- Especially if your competition isn’t able to replenish its product supply, consider expanding your Competitor strategy.
- Look for unique keyword opportunities for those who might be seeking alternatives for products they want but are out of stock.
What This Means for Your Other Advertising Efforts
If you find yourself out of stock right now on Amazon with no hopes to replenish until April 5, then you might need to utilize other paid advertising efforts to keep your business afloat. Just be mindful that every platform is experiencing overload right now. People are home from work and are shopping like crazy, so it really is your time to capitalize on every effort you can. You might want to even focus on your remarketing efforts to make sure you retain your loyal, repeat customers.
This blog is a wealth of information to help along the way as you decide your next steps. If you need additional paid advertising help, we have limited opportunities for new clients during this time of crisis. Reach out and let’s talk to see how we can help you.
