Amazon Digest - 08.17.25

Today email is another roundup of Amazon announcements that are relevant for CPG brands.

Vine program for heavy and bulky items

Last week I wrote about pre-launch Vine program option, and this week Amazon made Vine bigger. Literally.

Amazon just opened its Vine program (Vine program allows get honest reviews in exchange for free product) to heavy and bulky FBA items - think furniture, appliances, fitness gear, and even large club-size CPG.

FBA, which is required to use Vine, is usually prohibitive cost wise for heavy and bulky items.
But it doesn't mean that enrolling a 24 pack, or a 15 lbs bulk product into Vine can not be a great marketing play get credible, great reviews quickly. Which shortens path to faster growth.

Why is Amazon doing this?
I think to get more products into FBA, where fees are higher.
Also to get more and better reviews in high-consideration categories for the marketplace.

But back to a marketing play for brands. Here are few scenarios:

1. 'Test and exit'. Treat Vine fees + FBA fees as a marketing investment. Get Vine reviews. Switch to FBM. Reviews stay, you get your better margins back. This could work well for seasonal (think Q4) offers.

2. Extension launch. You already use FBA, know how Vine program works. You launch a bulk, club-size offer (bottles, units, etc.) to push AOV up. Stay with FBA or switch to FBM based on unit economics.

3. Retail roadshow or demo validation point. Perhaps? Can heaving social proof with great Amazon reviews support your pitch for Costco or Sam's Club? Angle here is a validation tool, not exact pricing/packaging format.

Prime Exclusive Deals now offered all year

We go from Christmas in July to Christmas every month.

One of the biggest promotion tools during Amazon Prime Days is running a Prime Day Exclusive deals. Those always get the best visibility and sales lift during July and October Prime Days.

Well, now Prime Day type of promotion will become available all year round.

Amazon always does strategic plays, even in tactical moves, like this one. So why is Amazon rolling this out?
1. Economy is softening. Amazon benefits from stimulating conversion by selectively discounting to its most profitable customer segment- Prime shoppers-without devaluing prices for everyone
2. Prime membership stickiness. These micro-Prime Day Deals may keep us glued even more to that 1-click buy button, and more frequently.
3. The Flywheel data. Every Prime Day Exclusive deal is feeding more 1st party data for Amazon. Imagine micro PD like exclusives across all categories, seasonality. Brands would run these strategically, so Amazon gets so much more precise data of when discounting works on a more granular level. Smart.

How should brands approach this, especially CPG?

Best way to think of them is a traffic spike generator, which means it’s important to have a plan after (ex. retargetting with ads, cart abandoners promotion).

Here are some scenarios:
- Launches and newish products velocity build. PD can help ramp up organic growth for less established SKUs.
- Tie in for retail and media events. Aligning with big off-Amazon events can create a nice halo event.
- Product line extensions (ex. new flavor, size, scent, etc.)
- Seasonal products. To give them a boost right before their peak selling season.

BUT, margin discipline above all. While you still have to be eligible for these year round Prime Day, temptation can be to lift sales with one button. It’s important to use these strategically.

Lastly, of course this has to be synched with operations/inventory, pricing policies, retail and off-Amazon partnership harmony (especially on the subject of price discounts). All in all, this adds another tool in sellers’ toolbox for Amazon growth.

Amazon’s Custom Analytics

Amazon’s been rolling out Custom Analytics (housed under Reports section in Seller Central) to sellers worldwide, and it’s an exciting update to get data-driven insights capabilities directly from Amazon.

Think of it as a lightweight Power BI or Tableau, but built right into Seller Central. You can combine sales, traffic, inventory, deals, pricing data into one view. Amazon even gives starter templates (Prime Day Recap, Coupons & Deals Performance, Traffic & Sales Trends) you can copy and tweak. It also offers YoY, QoQ, MoM, Trailing 12 months comparisons.

Why I love this upgrade is because it delivers what many 3rd party analytics software tools now offer: analytics in easy to extract, slice, and analyze form. Now Amazon is offering it natively within the platform.

How to make it useful:

• Start with a template, duplicate it, and strip it down to one main question per board (keeps it fast and actionable).

• Expect some variation in what’s available. Ads tiles aren’t showing in all accounts yet.

• Keep your own “source of truth” if you need deeper P&L or blended ad + off-Amazon views- this isn’t replacing a full BI stack just yet.

Saludos,

Irina