Amazon Launches Multichannel Selling Tools for Independent Sellers

Amazon has unveiled new tools that allow independent sellers to manage their sales on eBay, Shopify, TikTok, and Walmart from Seller Central, the same dashboard used to run their Amazon businesses.

These multichannel selling tools were announced at Amazon’s Accelerate seller conference in Seattle and will be gradually rolled out to U.S. sellers in the coming months at no extra cost. Sellers will be able to connect their accounts on other platforms, import and link listings, view all orders in one place, and fulfill orders across channels.

Addressing Data Concerns: With the introduction of these tools, questions have been raised about Amazon’s use of seller data from rival platforms. Mary Beth Westmoreland, Amazon’s VP of Worldwide Selling Partner Experience, emphasized that the data will only be used to benefit the specific seller and will not be utilized for any other purposes.

Westmoreland further assured that the data would not impact a seller’s standing on Amazon, emphasizing that it will solely be displayed to the seller without any other use.

Amazon’s move comes amidst previous reports of employees using seller data to develop competing house-brand products and an agreement with European regulators to refrain from using sellers’ non-public data in its retail business.

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Amazon also alleges punitive actions against sellers offering lower prices on other platforms, a claim denied by Amazon.

Reasons Behind the Initiative: Westmoreland explained that sellers expressed the need for tools to manage sales across multiple platforms more efficiently. Amazon aims to support sellers who succeed on other platforms, believing it will enhance the variety of products on Amazon and attract more shoppers.

Over 95% of Amazon’s independent sellers already sell through multiple channels, highlighting the demand for such multichannel selling tools.

Existing and New Offerings: In addition to the multichannel tools, Amazon now allows merchants using Multi-Channel Fulfillment in the U.S. to offer Prime delivery on their websites at no extra cost. A new pricing program has also been introduced to reduce fulfillment fees for the first six months.

Functionality of the Tools: Sellers can connect their accounts through a multichannel settings page in Seller Central. The Manage Orders page displays unshipped orders from all connected channels on one screen, enabling easy order fulfillment across platforms.

Connections to other platforms primarily utilize standard APIs and agreements through Veeqo, a multichannel shipping software acquired by Amazon in 2021. Sellers are not obligated to use Amazon’s fulfillment services to utilize these tools.

Amazon has promised more features in the pipeline, such as the ability to edit product descriptions across all channels, AI-generated listings, and a comprehensive dashboard displaying earnings per product across channels.

Competition and Differentiation: Amazon’s entry into multichannel selling tools puts it in competition with existing software providers like Rithum, ChannelAdvisor, CommerceHub, and Linnworks. Shopify also offers a similar tool, Marketplace Connect, allowing merchants to manage sales on various platforms through Shopify.

Westmoreland emphasized that Amazon’s tools are an additional option for sellers and were developed based on feedback from sellers who found existing software challenging to use.