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Latest updates and announcements for Amazon sellers and vendors. Updated daily from verified sources.
On May 21, Amazon raised the minimum delivery-speed thresholds for Seller Fulfilled Prime, effective July 6, 2026. Standard-size items must now show one-day delivery on 40% of Prime page views (up from 30%), two-day on 75% (up from 70%), and five-day on 90%. Oversize moves from 10% to 15% for one-day and adds an 80% five-day requirement; Extra Large jumps from 15% to 25% for two-day with a 60% five-day floor. The existing performance gates (93.5% OTDR, 0.5% pre-fulfillment cancel, 99% VTR) stay the same. In September 2026 Amazon will add a new tool letting SFP sellers publish shipping times, weekend availability, and cut-off times at the individual ZIP-code level — feeding more precise customer-facing delivery promises. Action items: audit carrier coverage by region, tighten weekend operations and cut-off times, or rerun the FBM/FBA-mix math without the Prime badge on slow-moving ASINs.
On May 22, Amazon announced several changes to the Customer Service by Amazon program. Return-less refunds are now restricted to three defined scenarios (undelivered packages, damaged/defective non-returnable items, and items unsafe to return) — cutting unnecessary SAFE-T claim work. SAFE-T claims on 'claims protected' labels via Amazon Buy Shipping or Veeqo are now covered automatically by Amazon, and Goodwill refunds are reimbursed without seller action. On free access, Amazon dropped the 95% valid tracking rate requirement and added automatic free eligibility for low-volume sellers with fewer than 30 orders per quarter; the 90-day free period and the 3% contacts-per-unit threshold remain. Action items: verify shipping label provider enrollment for automatic claims coverage, review the new contacts-per-unit dashboard and AI-categorized contact reasons in the insights dashboard, and watch Buyer-Seller Messages for follow-up notifications instead of email.
Amazon DSP turned on 'Automatic Deal Selection', an ML feature that curates Streaming TV deals throughout a campaign without manual intervention — adding high-performing deals and removing underperforming ones across the entire flight. The launch is U.S.-only for self-service advertisers via the ADSP Self Service console or the Amazon Ads Public API, and only for Streaming TV campaigns configured with an Awareness goal and Reach KPI; curation source type is 'AMAZON_CURATED_AGENT', with performance exposed via the DealPerformance and DealPlanningMetrics entities. For DSP brands the takeaway: Awareness setups get materially leaner — no more manual deal hygiene — with expansion to other goals and formats announced but undated; EU rollout is open, but the U.S. pilot is worth running now to inform Q3 awareness budgets.
A day after sellers reported blocked EUR balances, Amazon issued an official statement: a small subset of EU sellers were not technically migrated to DD+7 as planned, the issue is fixed, and the affected accounts have been moved to the standard policy. Practical detail: Amazon says 95% of sellers are already on the 7-day window, and 'Disburse on Demand' remains active — but only funds whose delivery date is more than seven days back are withdrawable. That corrects yesterday's 'working as designed' framing into a confirmed bug for a subset of accounts. Action items: check inbox for Amazon's mail with the updated migration timeline, verify release dates under 'Deferred Transactions' in Seller Central, and adjust cash-flow planning to the 7-day hold.
Two weeks after Amazon activated DD+7 daily payouts (Payout on Request), sellers report a hidden catch: payout requests routinely return 'EUR 0 available' despite substantial visible balances — in one documented case EUR 38,000 was displayed but nothing could be withdrawn. According to Wortfilter, the basis for the payout is not the displayed balance but only the portion whose delivery date is more than seven days back — a detail Amazon's original seller email omitted. Amazon support has so far framed the behaviour as 'working as designed'. Sellers should recalibrate liquidity planning: recent sales proceeds stay locked for seven days post-delivery, so the first days after migration deliver effectively no cash.
In May 2026 Amazon Ads moved four data infrastructure pieces into production: the Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) API hit general availability on May 1 across 14 markets (incl. DE, FR, IT, ES, UK) with six new brand-group management endpoints; the Geographic Insights & Activation (GIA) API reached GA on May 4 with a simplified workflow (postal-code data inline at creation, no more multi-step process); on May 18 Benchmarks Reporting goes globally GA across 18 marketplaces — adding Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, and Egypt — with eight metrics including CTR, CPC, and new-to-brand purchases. A new NationalAsinEngagement data file (in the MMM feed since May 7) adds daily/weekly add-to-cart signals at the ASIN level by country. For brands and agencies: multi-market reporting, postal-code-level bid adjustments, and retail engagement signals can now be standardized programmatically across all major DSP markets — update media-buying setups and BI dashboards accordingly.
On May 15 Amazon released an independent study on EPR registration under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): registering in 10 EU countries requires 64 distinct data fields (11 in Belgium/Spain, 20+ in Sweden, 16 on average), 55% are country-specific, and 73% exceed what the PPWR Implementation Act actually mandates — with processing times of 2 to 6 weeks per market. Amazon argues for interoperable digital infrastructure: standardized fields, API-enabled national registers, single registration with automated cross-border distribution, and online marketplaces acting as 'EPR intermediaries' (citing its 'Pay on Behalf' program, already live in five countries supporting 300,000+ sellers). Practical takeaway for SME sellers: no relief rollout is in sight short-term, so EPR compliance stays a market-by-market job; medium-term it's worth tracking the lobbying position, since marketplaces are actively pushing Brussels for a unified solution.
On May 14, Phil Christer, Managing Director of Amazon Ads UK, confirmed that advertisers can overlay Amazon Audiences onto Netflix ad inventory bought through Amazon DSP across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain starting May 18 — the EMEA activation of an integration first disclosed in March 2026 and launched in the US on April 13. Buyers apply the shopping-behavior segments (searches, purchases, browsing) at line-item or campaign level via managed or self-service workflows, allowing Netflix to be combined with other CTV inventory in a single data-driven DSP buy for the first time. For Amazon brands running DSP, the takeaway: premium streaming reach plus Amazon retail signals without fragmented media buys — set up pilot learnings now, before Q3 budgets are locked.
On May 13, Amazon retired the standalone Rufus chatbot and merged Rufus with Alexa+ into 'Alexa for Shopping' — an agentic AI assistant embedded directly in Amazon's search bar, available to all U.S. customers (no Prime membership required) on the app, website, and Echo Show devices. New capabilities include side-by-side product comparisons, dynamic shopping guides, a full year of price history, automated price-triggered purchases, and seamless context transfer between app, web, and devices. Implication for sellers: industry research already showed Rufus compressing the traditional 50-result page down to roughly five recommended products — with the US-wide rollout completing within a week, Sponsored Prompts (billable since March 25) and AI-ready listing content (bullets, A+ content, reviews) become essential to stay in the recommendation set. EU rollout not yet announced.
On May 12, Amazon notified solution providers by email that the SP-API fees announced in November 2025 (annual base fee + usage-based charges) are permanently scrapped — after industry pushback and a March postponement. The fee-preview dashboard will be removed and stored payment methods can be deleted via the Solution Provider Portal. For sellers, the upshot: tool vendors (ERPs, repricers, JTL, Helium10, Amalyze, etc.) who justified price hikes by citing SP-API costs now have to defend those increases on the merits — a good moment to renegotiate vendor terms and archive any usage dashboards before they go offline.
At its May 11 Upfront 2026, Amazon Ads launched Dynamic TV Creative for Interactive Video Ads (IVA) on Prime Video. From a single base asset the system auto-personalizes four elements per viewer — product imagery, CTA ('Add to Cart', 'Send to Phone', 'Save to Cart', 'Visit Brand Store'), headline (awareness vs. consideration), and detail layer (rating, Prime benefit, price) — depending on the viewer's funnel stage and prior exposure. Pilot is U.S. only and limited to select advertisers in CPG, fashion, and electronics; broader access plus live sports and Prime Video Channels is slated for Q3 2026. The takeaway for Amazon brands running DSP: one strong master creative is enough — sequencing and funnel logic run on Amazon's authenticated graph (claimed 90% U.S. household reach). EU rollout not yet confirmed, but it's worth banking U.S. pilot learnings now.
German inflation rose to 2.9% in April, with diesel up 6.1% month-on-month and fuel costs +26.2% year-on-year. The big carriers (DHL, DPD, GLS, Hermes) are passing the increase through via fuel surcharges — meaning meaningfully higher per-shipment cost for FBM and Pan-EU sellers. Consumer sentiment stays cautious, so fully passing costs to customers risks conversion drops. Short-term moves: review free-shipping thresholds, rerun the FBA vs FBM math for heavy/bulky ASINs, consolidate restock shipments, and tighten inventory planning to avoid double-shipping cycles.
At its May 11 Upfront at the Beacon Theatre, Amazon Ads shifted its pitch from inventory to AI-driven, outcomes-led full-funnel advertising. Headline items for advertisers and sellers: Full-Funnel Campaigns (launched Q1 2026) with natural-language setup and AI-assisted creative, audience strategy, and continuous optimization across streaming TV, audio, display, online video, and sponsored ads in a single buy; Prime Video Insights (beta) as a measurement layer linking first-party data with viewing behavior to identify which genres, shows, or audiences drove sales; and interactive ad formats expanding to a third-party streaming environment for the first time (Samsung TV Plus). Alan Moss: 'Agentic shopping is not a new frontier — it's happening now.' Amazon's Authenticated Graph claims 90% US household reach. For Amazon brands the takeaway: pilot full-funnel campaign workflows now and start treating AI agents as the next checkout layer.
On May 8, the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG NRW) dismissed IDO's appeal and permanently blocked its registration as a qualified business association under the German UWG (Case 4 A 3451/25). The court found that the association failed to prove it does not primarily pursue profit through cease-and-desist activity. For Amazon, eBay, and webshop sellers, this is meaningful relief: one of Germany's most active warning-letter operators is now permanently barred from sending UWG-based cease-and-desist notices or collecting contractual penalties. IDO may file a constitutional complaint, but that only delays the outcome. Sellers with open IDO cases should have counsel review whether outstanding claims remain enforceable.
On May 7, Amazon launched Alexa+ in Germany and Austria via a free Early Access program; invitations roll out over the coming weeks. Alexa+ is now live in nine markets (U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Ireland). The assistant can complete tasks end-to-end ('order a present for mom', reservations, smart-home actions) and was tuned for German language nuance and humor. Voice shopping is not explicitly confirmed at the Germany launch and the named integrations (OpenTable, Spotify, Philips, Bosch/Siemens, Ring) are non-commerce — but the agentic architecture and proximity to Rufus point clearly in that direction. For Amazon.de sellers: listings, bullets, A+ content, and reviews become the knowledge base AI assistants draw on — clear, benefit-led copy without keyword stuffing matters more than ever in 2026. Post-Early-Access pricing: included with Prime, otherwise €22.99/month.
Amazon Seller Central staff clarified compliance guidance in late April: sellers must check approval requirements before listing, obtain a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the brand owner when reselling branded products, and source exclusively from manufacturers or authorized distributors with invoices dated within the last 180 days. The post effectively codifies existing practice, but the enforcement signal is clear — liquidators, retail arbitrage, and gray-market sources become high-risk. Resellers without direct manufacturer or distributor relationships should audit sourcing documents now, secure LOA templates, and rethink sourcing strategy; the pressure follows the end of FBA commingling and the UPC barcode tightening (both March 31).
Amazon Ads and LinkedIn announced on May 7 that advertisers can now buy LinkedIn CTV Ads directly through Amazon DSP — initially only in the U.S. The deal-based integration brings LinkedIn first-party signals from 1B+ member profiles (job title, industry, seniority) onto streaming-TV inventory (via Microsoft Monetize) and lets buyers combine them with Amazon audiences in a single DSP campaign, eliminating fragmented media buys. For B2B brands selling on Amazon (office, pro, industrial), this is a meaningful upper-funnel upgrade for decision-maker targeting; the launch lands four days before Amazon's Upfront 2026 (May 11). EU rollout not yet announced — brands should pilot in the U.S. now to bank learnings before a likely EU expansion.
Amazon activated 'Payout on Request' for all sellers already migrated to the DD+7 payout schedule, enabling daily withdrawals instead of waiting for the standard billing cycle. Three conditions apply: a positive available balance, an active bank account in Seller Central, and a 24-hour gap between requests. The move noticeably eases the liquidity squeeze from the DD+7 transition — sellers still facing forced migration should prepare proactively to avoid being stuck in an extended payout backlog during peak season.
On May 5, Amazon announced its largest-ever investment in France: over €15B between 2026 and 2028 and 7,000+ permanent jobs across four new fulfillment centers in Illiers-Combray, Beauvais, Colombier-Saugnieu (all 2026), and Ensisheim (late 2027). The build-out densifies Amazon's logistics footprint in southeast and northern France, bringing FBA inventory closer to shoppers — expect faster delivery promise times and potentially better Pan-EU routing over time. EU sellers should monitor the impact on FBA and Pan-EU placement strategy starting Q3 2026.
On May 4, Amazon launched Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), unifying freight (ocean, air, ground, rail), distribution & fulfillment, parcel shipping (2–5 day), and AI forecasting under one portal at supplychain.amazon.com — available to any business, not just Amazon sellers. Initial enterprise customers include Procter & Gamble, 3M, Lands' End, and American Eagle. For FBA and MCF sellers, the move signals Amazon stepping into direct UPS/FedEx competition — expect broader MCF-style options for off-Amazon channels over time, but note the optical contrast with the 3.5% fuel surcharge that just took effect for existing marketplace sellers (FBA April 17, MCF/Buy with Prime May 2).
Amazon made Rufus significantly more agentic: the AI shopping assistant now shows 365 days of price history (up from 30/90) for 50M+ shoppers in the U.S., UK, and India, and customers can set auto-buy and price-alert tasks like 'buy this sweater when it drops under $30' — orders stay active for six months and save shoppers ~20% on average. Amazon also launched Scheduled Actions for recurring purchases and a cross-merchant 'Shop Direct' capability. Implication for sellers: those who inflate list prices before promotions and then 'discount' will be exposed by the longer reference window — stable pricing and honest promo cadence become a competitive edge, and ad and listing strategy should increasingly optimize for Rufus conversations rather than keyword search alone.
Amazon launched Canvas inside Seller Central — an AI-powered visual workspace where sellers ask a question (or pick a suggested prompt) and get personalized dashboards with performance insights, trends, and recommended actions. Built on Amazon Bedrock and Claude, Canvas combines seller data with Amazon's 25 years of marketplace expertise; use cases span inventory decisions, marketing optimization, and product launch planning. The feature is live today at no cost for all sellers in the U.S. and U.K., with more countries and languages planned for 2026 — EU sellers should track the rollout and start auditing data hygiene so they can act on AI insights when Canvas arrives in their market.
Amazon Ads booked $17.2B in Q1 2026, up 22% year-over-year, with trailing 12-month revenue topping $70B. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted three growth drivers: Creative Agent — Amazon's AI ad-creation tool — is now available in seven additional countries, Rufus brand integrations are keeping over 20% of shoppers in continued brand conversations, and new partnerships with Netflix and Comcast expand the premium streaming inventory. Jassy framed agentic commerce as a structural ad opportunity: multi-turn shopping conversations create multiple surfaces for organic and sponsored product placements — brands should pilot Creative Agent now and optimize listings for AI conversations.
Amazon released its 2025 Small Business Empowerment Report: more than 75,000 independent sellers surpassed $1M in sales in 2025, a 36% increase year-over-year, while U.S. sellers averaged over $375K in annual sales. Generative AI tools produced 12 million sales-ready listings, and the agentic Seller Assistant reached 230,000 monthly users with sellers accepting over 90% of its recommendations. Sellers not yet using AI for listing optimization and account management should evaluate the tooling now — adoption is mainstream and Amazon is investing heavily in agentic seller workflows.
Amazon officially confirmed that Prime Day 2026 will run in June, pulling the event forward from its traditional July window. The simultaneous launch covers 26 markets including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, UK, US, and Canada, with Australia, Brazil, India, and Japan participating later in the summer. EU and US sellers should rebudget ad spend and FBA inventory for June rather than July, hit the April 30 early-bird deal submission deadline, and prepare listings for traffic spikes four to six weeks earlier than prior planning.
Amazon expanded its "Hear the highlights" AI audio feature with "Join the chat": U.S. shoppers can interrupt the audio summary on product detail pages to ask text or voice questions and get real-time answers. The AI draws on listing content, customer reviews, and publicly available web information. For sellers, this means bullets, A+ content, and reviews are now the knowledge base behind purchase decisions — listings should read clearly, lead with benefits, and avoid keyword stuffing so the AI surfaces the right answers. Rolling out today on iOS and Android in the U.S.
Amazon reports that 100,000+ EU SMEs surpassed €40B in sales on Amazon in 2025, with cross-border exports reaching €17B (up €2B year-over-year). On the policy side, Amazon is calling on the EU to extend the Deemed Supplier rule to all marketplace sales, so the platform collects VAT regardless of where the seller is based. The change would cut compliance burden across 27 national VAT regimes for EU sellers and close the gap with non-EU sellers who already benefit from simplified collection. Relevant for EU seller planning; actual implementation depends on EU legislation.
Amazon Prime Day 2026 is expected in late June. Sellers submitting Best Deals or Lightning Deals by April 30 save $50 on the $100 upfront fee per promotion. The final deal submission window closes May 26, with FBA inventory cutoffs of May 27 (minimal shipment splits) and June 5 (Amazon-optimized splits). Missing the early bird date means paying the full fee.
Amazon launched the Summer Beauty Event 2026 running April 27 through May 10, featuring deals on makeup, skincare, sunscreen, and lip care. Sellers with beauty and personal-care products should quickly set up coupons, Lightning Deals, and Brand Promotions in Seller Central to capture the elevated traffic and promotional visibility during the 14-day window. Adjust inventory and ad budgets accordingly.
Effective April 26, 2026, USPS imposes a temporary 8% surcharge on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select — running through January 17, 2027. First-Class stamps are unchanged. Amazon FBM sellers shipping via USPS should review shipping templates in Seller Central, recalculate Buy Shipping pricing, and factor the increase on top of the 3.5% FBA fuel surcharge when modeling Q2 promotional margins.
Starting April 23, 2026, a submitted List Price must be substantiated by real transactions — either actual Featured Offer purchases on Amazon at that price, or recent pricing at another retailer. Without valid proof, the strike-through display and savings percentage disappear entirely from the listing. Sellers should audit all ASINs now and ensure their List Prices reflect genuine, verifiable market prices before the change takes effect.
Amazon has announced Pet Days 2026 running May 11–15, expanding the event to five full days for the first time (previously two days). Sellers with pet products should create deals, coupons, and promotions in Seller Central now to capture the increased buyer traffic. The event targets Prime members during National Pet Month and covers pet food, toys, grooming, apparel, and health care products.
Amazon has expanded several FBA programs specifically for sellers with products priced above $50: automatic reimbursements for missing inbound units without manual claims, Amazon Product Support allowing up to 50% partial refunds to cut costly returns, and FBA Grade & Resell for professional inspection and relisting of returned items. Sellers in this segment should also leverage FBA New Selection benefits — a 10% sales rebate and three months of free storage — to reduce launch risk.
Hundreds of high-revenue Amazon sellers paused their ad campaigns for 24 hours on April 15. Organized by Million Dollar Sellers (700+ members, ~$14B collective revenue), the boycott targeted three simultaneous changes: the DD+7 payout rule, automatic ad cost deductions from proceeds, and the 3.5% fuel surcharge. Amazon responded immediately by deferring the ad billing change to August 1, 2026 — a rare public concession.
Amazon has paused its planned switch to automatic deduction of advertising costs from seller account balances, pushing the change to August 1, 2026. The decision followed significant seller backlash — many cited the concurrent FBA fuel surcharge and fee increases as making the timing especially burdensome, with some organizing a one-day ad boycott on April 15. Sellers now have additional time to set up their payment method via account balance or Pay by Invoice.
Starting April 15, 2026, Amazon automatically deducts advertising costs from retail proceeds for a subset of advertisers instead of charging credit cards. Affected sellers are those still paying via credit card — the majority are already on this model. 'Pay by Invoice' with Net 30 payment terms is available as an alternative; credit cards remain a backup option.
Amazon announced the acquisition of Globalstar to expand its Project Kuiper satellite network. Relevant for sellers: Kuiper aims to improve logistics and delivery to remote areas long-term.
Amazon published an updated guide on how sellers can maximize their chances of winning the Featured Offer (formerly Buy Box). Key factors remain price, availability, and seller performance.
Amazon is adding a 3.5% surcharge on FBA fulfillment fees in the US and Canada starting April 17, 2026. On average, this adds $0.17 per unit. Reason: elevated fuel and logistics costs. Starting May 2, the surcharge also applies to Multi-Channel Fulfillment and Buy with Prime.
From May 1, 2026, Amazon charges FBA remission and disposal fees per unit at the time of remission instead of as a lump sum after completion. Sellers should adapt their accounting systems as more individual transactions will occur.
From June 1, 2026, Amazon calculates VAT at shipment level instead of per unit to comply with EU e-invoicing requirements. Invoice amounts may differ slightly for multi-unit purchases. Sellers with custom accounting systems should review the transition.
Since March 26, 2026, qualifying sellers in the EU receive credits up to EUR 47,250 within one week instead of the previous month-long timeline. EU stores (DE, FR, IT, ES) are now treated separately from the UK store, allowing independent bonus qualification.
Amazon testified before the New York City Council on the proposed Delivery Protection Act. The legislation could introduce new regulations for delivery services and last-mile logistics that would also affect FBA deliveries in NYC.
Heat-sensitive FBA products (chocolate, candles, etc.) must be removed from Amazon warehouses by April 20, 2026. Starting May 1, Amazon will dispose of remaining units at a fee. Sellers with seasonal meltable products should create removal orders immediately.
