More than ever, delivering an online shopping experience that customers expect on Amazon requires close, ongoing, direct collaboration between Amazon and their sellers.
Amazon has long been an industry leader in delivering technology that enables your collaboration at scale to drive best-in-class experiences for consumers and deliver business results.
Their latest innovation in supplier collaboration is a unified Selling Partner API that all sellers can use worldwide to syndicate and optimize their product content on Amazon.
Learn about how the Amazon Selling Partner API changes will affect your brand, and, most importantly, how to become or remain an agile retailer on Amazon.
How Amazon API Changes Can Affect Your Brand
For brand manufacturers to be successful on the Amazon digital shelf, having efficient and repeatable syndication services that can be easily scaled across products and categories is critical.
But, starting February 28, 2022, as Amazon transitions to its next-generation suite of API-based automation functionality, they will be deprecating their existing Amazon Feed Specifications (AFS) API that durables customers rely on for syndicating content.
The recently launched Amazon Selling Partner API will replace the Amazon Feed Specifications (AFS) API and support sellers in all categories, regions, and selling models.
It’s important for all sellers currently using the Amazon Feed Specifications API to develop a strategy for moving to the new API, so that you can avoid the consequences of partnering with Amazon without an API connection.
Without an API connection, your brand will experience:
- Increased time to market due to manual process of filling out item setup sheets;
- Inability or limited ability to scale your business on Amazon;
- No content validations to ensure you are meeting Amazon’s content requirements;
- Content matching errors; and
- Reversion to manual error mediation processes.
Conversely, there are significant benefits to prioritizing the work required to establish a direct connection to the new API, especially for brands in the consumables category because there has never been an API connection for these sellers on Amazon before.
How Amazon API Changes Can Benefit Brands
The intent of Amazon’s API changes is to make it easier than ever to succeed on the platform and create the best consumer experiences possible.
The Amazon Developer Council has been listening closely to both sellers and their Content Service Provider partners like Salsify and invested heavily in streamlining how sellers can meet requirements for consistent, accurate product content that’s always up-to-date.
As part of our ongoing commitment to being the best partner to help sellers maximize performance on Amazon on a global scale and achieve long-term success, Salsify is providing customers with a comprehensive solution to Amazon’s evolution: a direct connection to the Amazon Selling Partner API.
What Are the Benefits of the Amazon Selling Partner API?
Salsify is launching a new direct connection to the new Amazon Selling Partner API.
The Salsify Amazon Selling Partner API connection allows you to:
- Experience faster publishing time to Amazon;
- Receive real-time data requirement feedback;
- Get support for syndicating Supplier Pack Hierarchy (SPH) attributes; and
- Publish full and partial content refreshes and submit images in-app with feedback.
Amazon Seller Central accounts (for 3P selling) and global availability will be supported next year.
If you’re not yet selling on Amazon, the simplicity and power of this unified connection mean there has never been a better (or more important) time to leverage the opportunities of becoming an Amazon seller.
Become (or Remain) an Agile Retailer on Amazon
To achieve either of these goals and continue to win on Amazon’s digital shelf, connecting to the Amazon Selling Partner API is crucial, no matter how you're getting product content to Amazon today. You need a clear project plan in place to continue your product content collaboration with Amazon by the time the new API replaces your existing methods.
At Salsify, we recognize each product category’s needs may differ, just as how no two companies' needs are alike. We understand these nuances and are collaborating with Amazon to offer varied solutions that meet the needs of each brand wherever they are in their digital journey.
If you are a Salsify customer, your Customer Success Manager can help you develop your individualized project plan for success with the new API.
With new capabilities under your brand’s belt, you can continue to create engaging and consistent experiences for your customers, increase publishing rates, streamline updates, and, overall, rack up your conversions to start 2022 off strong.
Charge forward through Amazon API changes with confidence.
Connect with your Salsify customer success manager to discuss the next steps for mapping to this new channel or learn how to increase sales on Amazon with Salsify.
