Store on “Vacation Mode”: Good or Bad Idea?

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• Is setting your store to 'Vacation Mode' a good or bad idea?

• Multi-Channel Fulfillment program fees increase for 2023

• Increase your Amazon profit margins this year

• Drive more sales with updated product images

ECOMMERCE NEWSIs setting your store to 'Vacation Mode' a good or bad idea?

Everyone deserves a break - but how do you put an Amazon store on pause during the Holiday season? Sellers debate on whether Vacation Mode is a good move or not.

⛱️ According to an article by Ecommercebytes, setting your store to Vacation Mode can do more harm than good. Why? Doing so runs the risk of having your products dropped from search engines. These setting changes factor into the Amazon search algorithm and can even affect rankings on Google.

✈️ What's a seller to do?

One comment suggested "adding the appropriate amount of handling days and turning off all of their expedited shipping methods (which generally ignores handling time). This will help their store and product pages avoid being dropped from the search engines."

With this, Vacation Mode is a strategy best used as a last resort, so if you can get away with it, update your setting and rest without the stresses of e-commerce during your time away!

HOT TOPICMulti-Channel Fulfillment program fees increase for 2023

Starting January 19, 2023, Amazon will raise its fees for sellers using the Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) program, as originally reported in this article.

MCF is Amazon's third-party logistics program that allows sellers on other ecommerce sites, such as Wix, Magneto, and BigCommerce, to integrate stocks in Amazon warehouses to be delivered in unbranded boxes.

📬 Here are Amazon's MCF plans for 2023:

• They'll still have their 3-speed tiers: 5-day delivery, 3-day delivery, and 2-day delivery.

• Next-day delivery option still doesn't exist.

• Lightweight pricing for items weighing under 2 ounces won't be available. Instead, they'll fall into the same group of items weighing 6 ounces or less.

• 4+ unit orders for larger shipments will replace the current 5+ unit order pricing.

These are on top of shopping rate adjustments of 5.5% by USPS and 6.9% by UPS and FedEx. It'll be an additional cost for sellers, but Amazon justifies the fee adjustments by assuring that they will improve their standard delivery speed from 7 to 5 days and continue investing in its 3PL service.

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MONEY CORNERIncrease your Amazon profit margins this year

2023 just started, but Amazon's already announcing their fee increases left and right. Happy new year, I guess? Unfortunately, sellers are required to bite the bullet with the bulk of these fees because the last thing anyone wants is to drive customers away with outrageous prices.

Adjust your profit margins

Here's how you can do it, according to RepricerExpress:

• Bundle products together. Low risk, high reward. Everyone loves saving with bundled items. Package your slow-moving items with high-demand products. You'll see its reward in the end!

• Capitalize on out-of-stock items. If you're still looking for products to sell, seek out-of-stock high-demand products. If you can be the first to ship those items to fulfillment centers, you gain the advantage of making the sale first.

• Reduce operating costs. Cutting back on costs is the quickest way to increase your margins, but it's not always easy. Identify areas with wiggle room and cut and eliminate unnecessary spending.

Raising your prices isn't the only way to increase your profits- a thorough audit of your operations can reveal more than you think!

SELLER REFRESHERHave your product images drive more sales

A listing isn't complete without product photos, and poor-quality images won't cut it. Success on Amazon requires going the extra mile with how your present your products through multimedia.

📸 Here are some tips on how to make your product images more engaging, as written in this Forbes article:

• Tell a story. Product images are meant to sell, not just to show what the products look like. Engage your customers with these images by taking them on a visual journey. You can incorporate models, props, real-life settings, and demonstrations.

• Take note of the photo composition. Positioning is important in creating high-quality images. Consider the rule of thirds and the rule of odds, which professional photographers know best. If you have the budget, consider going pro.

• You're selling a lifestyle. Customers don't just buy products; they're buying the lifestyle the product sells. Keep this in mind as you style the photos that evoke potential customers' emotions.

Of course, skillful copywriting and optimization make a great listing but don't underestimate the power of images. Remember, a picture says a thousand words that can help you find success on Amazon.