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March is already over and it’s time for another edition of the Retail Roundup.
From Amazon’s revamped fee structure for deals and coupons to a longer Prime Day event and Amazon’s deeper push into TV advertising, these shifts will shape how brands approach pricing, marketing, and overall strategy in the coming months.
Here are the most impactful updates from the past month:
Amazon’s New Fee Structure for Deals & Coupons
Amazon just dropped a major update on how they calculate fees for coupons and deals. The hypothesis? This will register very high on the hype (and frustration) meter.
Coming right before Prime Day deal submissions, these changes are reshaping the cost structure for brands running promotions.
Starting June 2, here’s what’s changing:
- Lightning Deals: Previously a $150 fixed cost, now $70 per day + 1% of sales (capped at $2,000).
- Best Deals: Previously $300 for 7 days, now $70 per day + 1% of sales (capped at $2,000).
- Peak Events (Prime Day, Black Friday, etc.): No change—Best Deals remain at $1,000, and Lightning Deals at $500.
- Coupons: Previously $0.60 per unit redeemed, now $5 per coupon + 2.5% of sales.
- Prime-Exclusive Discounts (PEDs) for Prime Day 2025: The PED has doubled from $50 → $100.
- Prime Day Extended to Four Days: Expect an even longer shopping event.
- New placement opportunities: Prime-Exclusive Best Deals and Lightning Deals with 40%+ discounts may receive additional exposure.
Pros:
- Brands have more control over deal duration, allowing for better testing of promotional strategies.
- Lower upfront deal costs could make running promotions more accessible.
- Increased visibility for brands offering deep discounts could drive volume sales.
Cons:
- Performance-based fees mean profitability takes a hit—especially for brands already operating on thin margins.
- Amazon is essentially creating a race to the bottom—brands will feel pressured to offer deeper discounts just to stay competitive.
- The extended Prime Day means Amazon benefits from prolonged sales events while brands face increased promotional costs.
💡 Tips:
- Strategically select deals: The longer a deal is live, the more you pay. Short, high-impact promotions may be more cost-effective.
- Consider PEDs and price discounts: Since these remain unchanged outside of peak events, they may be a good way to offer discounts without incurring additional fees.
- Test % off discounts: These don’t impact the Buy Box but allow flexibility in pricing.
- Reassess coupon strategies: Evergreen coupons may be less effective for high-priced items, while they may become more popular for lower ASP products.
Prime Day Extended to Four Days
Amazon has announced that Prime Day 2025 will now last four days instead of two.
This gives brands a longer window to capitalize on the massive traffic surge—but it also means more planning is required to sustain visibility and inventory over an extended period.
Pros:
- Longer selling period for brands.
- More opportunity for sustained traffic and conversions.
- Additional placement opportunities for deeply discounted deals.
Cons:
- Greater need for inventory planning.
- Potentially higher ad spend to maintain visibility.
- Deal fatigue among shoppers.
💡 Tips:
- Plan inventory carefully: Ensure stock levels can sustain a four-day event.
- Adjust bidding strategies: Expect increased competition for ads and higher CPCs.
- Leverage retargeting: Keep engaging shoppers throughout the event to maximize conversions.
- Segment offers: Consider structuring discounts across different days to maintain interest.
Amazon Launches Complete TV
A few weeks ago, Amazon introduced Complete TV, generating significant buzz in the advertising space. This new offering aims to simplify TV media buying, particularly for those managing both linear and streaming TV.
Amazon’s Complete TV is designed to help TV buyers maximize cost per reach while maintaining a dynamic audience strategy. The key value? It prevents audience overlap and centralizes both linear and streaming TV buys.
It’s important to contrast this with Brand+, Amazon’s other TV-related solution, which is focused on digital buyers engaging audiences across streaming, online video, and display. Complete TV, on the other hand, is aimed at traditional media buyers, particularly those handling linear TV ad placements. This move signals Amazon’s ambition to capture more of the linear TV ad market, positioning itself as a dominant force in the broader advertising ecosystem.
Pros:
- Centralized Buying – Marketers can manage linear and streaming TV buys in one place, reducing fragmentation.
- Improved Audience Strategy – Helps brands avoid audience overlap and inefficiencies in targeting.
- Brings Traditional Buyers Into the Fold – Makes Amazon’s ad stack more accessible to non-endemic brands who are used to traditional TV buys.
- More Competitive Cost Per Reach – Optimizes spend efficiency for advertisers looking to scale reach across different TV formats.
Cons:
- Unclear Brand Adoption – It remains to be seen whether brands will quickly embrace this tool as a must-have.
- Limited Awareness Among TV Buyers – Many traditional media buyers may still not be familiar with Amazon’s advertising ecosystem, requiring education and onboarding.
💡 Tips:
- Evaluate Your TV Mix – If you’re heavily invested in both linear and streaming TV, Complete TV could help streamline your buys.
- Test Before Going All In – Given this is a newer offering, start with a pilot campaign to see how it compares to your existing strategy.
- Leverage Amazon’s Data – Use Amazon’s robust audience insights to refine your targeting and optimize performance.
- Stay Updated – Amazon is likely to iterate and enhance Complete TV, so keep an eye on new features and improvements.
Search Query Performance (SQP) API Launch
Amazon just made a big move—search query reports from Brand Analytics are now accessible via API. This is something we've had in Seller Central for years, but now Amazon is opening the door for tech providers to fetch this data programmatically.
Pros:
- More Efficiency, Less Manual Work – No more downloading and pivoting spreadsheets. With API access, automation can take over, allowing teams to focus on insights and action rather than data wrangling.
- Better Insights at Scale – The ability to integrate search query data into third-party tools means more robust analysis, easier trend tracking, and a clearer understanding of search performance.
- Potential for AI-Powered Optimization – As software providers layer AI insights on top of SQP data, we can expect smarter recommendations for keyword optimization, organic rank tracking, and strategic decision-making.
Cons:
- Implementation Takes Time – While the potential is huge, software providers need time to integrate the API. If adoption is slow, brands might be waiting months (or longer) before seeing the benefits.
- Attribution Complexity – SQP uses different attribution windows compared to other Amazon metrics. Sales are attributed only within 24 hours of a click, which may create discrepancies when compared with other performance data.
- Timing is… interesting – Just as AI is reshaping search experiences, Amazon finally rolls this out. Is this a sign they still see traditional search as a key part of the journey, or is it just late timing?
💡 Tips:
- Work with Tech Providers Early – If you rely on tools for analytics, check with your providers to see how and when they’ll support this API.
- Combine SQP Data with Organic Ranking – Understanding how search queries align with your organic rank can unlock new insights into performance and optimization opportunities.
- Stay Agile with AI Developments – AI-driven search could shift the landscape, so be ready to adjust strategies based on how search behavior evolves.
Amazon's New Partnerships with Adobe & Google
Amazon has been making strategic moves this month, announcing partnerships with both Adobe and Google. These collaborations offer key insights into Amazon’s advertising ambitions and where its ecosystem is heading.
Google Partnership: Amazon is integrating Chrome's Privacy Sandbox into its DSP to improve conversion tracking for Chrome users. This suggests a growing need for Amazon to comply with broader data privacy regulations as it expands beyond its walled garden.
Adobe Partnership: Amazon is integrating creative workflows for ad creation, making it easier for brands to build and launch ads within the Amazon ecosystem. This follows a similar partnership with Canva, signaling a shift toward more robust, enterprise-level ad solutions.
Pros:
- Enhanced Compliance: The Google partnership allows Amazon to stay ahead of privacy regulations (e.g., CCPA) without developing compliance tools from scratch.
- Better Conversion Tracking: Integrating with Chrome's Privacy Sandbox helps Amazon gain a clearer picture of user journeys, improving attribution and measurement.
- More Accessible Creative Tools: The Adobe partnership empowers advertisers with advanced creative solutions, streamlining ad production for brands at scale.
- Non-Endemic Focus: These moves reinforce Amazon’s focus on attracting non-endemic advertisers, positioning its DSP as a serious player beyond retail.
Cons:
- More Reliance on External Partners: While leveraging Google’s compliance tech is efficient, it also means Amazon is partially dependent on an external platform for key privacy solutions.
- Potential Complexity for Advertisers: While integrations can improve workflows, they may also add new layers of complexity for brands managing campaigns across multiple platforms.
- Mid-Market vs. Enterprise Divide: While Canva’s integration was more mid-market, Adobe’s signals a push toward enterprise clients, potentially leaving smaller advertisers behind.
💡Tips:
- Adapt to New Tracking Methods: With privacy changes shaping the ad landscape, brands should familiarize themselves with Chrome's Privacy Sandbox and how it impacts attribution.
- Leverage Creative Integrations: The Adobe partnership could make ad creation within Amazon's DSP easier—brands should explore how it enhances their creative workflows.
- Monitor Amazon’s Non-Endemic Growth: As Amazon expands beyond traditional retail advertisers, brands in other verticals should consider how its evolving ad stack could benefit them.
Updates in Seller and Vendor Consoles
Amazon has been rolling out a wave of updates across Seller and Vendor Central, particularly within vendor analytics, retail analytics, and the Voice of the Customer (VoC) dashboard. While many of these changes are incremental, one update stands out as a significant improvement for brands: the enhanced VoC dashboard.
Approximately two years ago, Amazon introduced the “Frequently Returned” badge on product pages to warn customers about items with high return rates. Now, with the latest update, brands can access backend insights showing if their ASINs are flagged as frequently returned products.
Even more valuable, brands receive a warning if they are on track to receive the badge and a suggested return rate to avoid it. This new level of visibility gives sellers and vendors actionable data to manage returns proactively.
Pros:
- Early Warnings: Brands get notified before their product receives the “Frequently Returned” badge, allowing them to address issues preemptively.
- Actionable Insights: Amazon now provides a suggested return rate, helping brands set realistic targets to mitigate return risks.
- Greater Transparency: Brands gain access to detailed return metrics, making it easier to identify problem areas and improve product quality or listings.
Cons:
- Limited Control: Even with insights, reducing return rates isn’t always straightforward—external factors like customer expectations and fulfillment issues still play a role.
- Potential for Misinterpretation: Without proper context, brands might overcorrect and make unnecessary changes, negatively impacting operations.
- Additional Monitoring Required: Brands need to keep a closer eye on return metrics, adding to the complexity of account management.
💡Tips:
- Investigate Return Reasons – Dive into return reports and customer feedback to understand the root cause of returns.
- Optimize Listings – Ensure product descriptions, images, and sizing details are accurate to set clear customer expectations.
- Enhance Product Quality – If certain SKUs consistently trigger returns, assess whether packaging, materials, or manufacturing processes need improvement.
- Monitor Trends – Use the new VoC dashboard insights to spot return patterns early and make data-driven adjustments.
- Leverage Customer Support – Proactive outreach and support can reduce unnecessary returns by addressing customer concerns before they escalate.
Looking Ahead
These updates reflect Amazon’s evolving approach to retail media, offering brands new opportunities—but also requiring more strategic execution.
Brands that adapt quickly and refine their strategies will gain a competitive edge.
Now is the time to rethink promotional tactics, leverage new data tools, and experiment with emerging ad formats to stay ahead.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on how these developments unfold in the coming months. Subscribe to stay tuned for the next roundup!
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