Amazon Digest - 09.21.2025

Well, TikTok is (maybe) here to stay, De Minimis kicks in making Temus of the world a lot less threatening, and tariffs remain in the “nobody really understands what’s happening” zone. But we convinced our kids to take a short trip instead of having a birthday party - so we’re winning on some fronts.

September is always full of announcements from Amazon, thanks to the Accelerate conference that just wrapped up.

Virtual multipacks

Amazon has introduced virtual multipacks, similar to virtual bundles, but for the same SKUs.

The motivation is clear: larger baskets improve average order value, lower pick-and-pack costs (since FBA charges per unit but ships in one box), and align with today’s value-driven shopper behavior.

For CPG brands, the benefits are equally clear: these multipack ASINs can drive incremental sales without the operational burden of physically bundling inventory. Amazon decides which ASINs and multipack formats to offer, but brands retain control: you can delete multipacks, edit titles and content, adjust pricing, and even advertise them.

This may also discourage resellers who cobble together multipacks around established brands. Catalogs will likely be cleaner, and customer experience smoother.

The takeaway: treat virtual multipacks as extensions of your catalog, and leverage them for incremental value.

Amazon AI Seller Assistant

Amazon is betting heavily on what it calls an “agentic” future - AI shopping agents for customers, and now, a major upgrade to its AI Seller Assistant in Seller Central.

Per Amazon’s announcement: “Seller Assistant will be able to handle everything from routine operations to complex business strategy, so sellers can focus on innovation and growth.” That includes inventory optimization, account health monitoring, proactive compliance support, and even recommendations for sales and marketing.

The hint, of course, is that you won’t need strategists and experts like me.

I’ve tested it, and while it’s solid for policy explanations and “how-to” questions, it does not yet analyze your specific data - your SKUs, your numbers, your brand. Which is where a lot bigger value is.

In short: good education, limited application (yet).

That said, I expect it will evolve to replace many tasks handled by Amazon VAs, especially once automation and proactive monitoring roll out more broadly. And I am just as excited about that as you may be.

Profit Analytics Report

Think of this as a major upgrade to the old SKU Economics report. Profit Analytics now gives you a fuller picture of your Amazon P&L: sales, fees, ads, FBA/AWD charges, and other costs.

You can view profitability at the total sales level, per unit, or by product group. There’s also the option to input your COGS and off-Amazon marketing costs for a truer profitability read (though I wouldn’t recommend sharing extra data with Amazon unless necessary).

I am planning to do a full deep dive yet, but spot checks suggest the data is accurate and the interface is much more user-friendly, even for those less familiar with Amazon’s fee maze.

You’ll find it in Reports → Selling Economics and Fees.

 Benchmarking in Subscribe and Save

Subscribe & Save (S&S) is a cornerstone of CPG growth on Amazon - a reliable engine that keeps sales humming. But how much should you expect from it? What percentage of sales from S&S counts as “good”?

Until now, you had to guess, or pay someone like me for benchmarking. Amazon just changed that by rolling out this feature.

For brands with 1,000+ subscribers, Amazon now provides benchmarking data inside S&S analytics.

Another change: you can now offer up to 20% S&S discounts (previously capped at 10%) to help accelerate subscriber growth.

October Prime Days: October 7-8

Amazon has set its October Prime Days for October 7–8, officially opening the holiday season.

I recommend treating this as a dress rehearsal for Q4. Doing promotions from beginning of October through end of December can be taxing on marketing budgets. And in CPG, as opposed to clothing, electronics, higher ticket items, focusing on October Prime Days for sales lifts doesn’t usually make sense.

Some ideas of a Q4 dress rehearsal: seed awareness (discovery focus) in PPC campaigns. Refine variants or multipacks. Allocate more marketing budget to test holiday campaigns. Test promotions for S&S.

Don’t have a FOMO if October Prime Days don’t bring sizable sales lift. Black Friday through mid-December period will matter a lot more.

Saludos,

Irina