Effectively Manage Amazon Order Cancellations, Improve Seller Metrics, and Optimize Your Amazon Business Performance
Understanding and effectively managing order cancellations ensures a healthy account and improves customer satisfaction for all Amazon sellers.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the intricacies of Amazon's canceled orders, providing you with the knowledge and strategies to navigate this aspect of e-commerce successfully.
Understanding Amazon Order Cancellations
Order cancellations on Amazon occur when a purchase is terminated before the item is shipped. While cancellations are a normal part of e-commerce, they can impact your inventory management, seller metrics, and overall business performance if not handled properly.
The Buyer’s Perspective: When and How Customers Can Cancel Orders
Amazon provides buyers with a straightforward process for canceling orders, but the options available to them depend on the timing:
Within the first 30 minutes: Buyers can cancel their order directly using the “Cancel Items” option in their Amazon account under “Your Orders.”
After 30 minutes: Direct cancellation is no longer possible. Instead, buyers must submit a cancellation request for the seller to review.
Understanding this timeline is crucial for sellers, as it affects how you interact with cancellation requests and manage your inventory.
Types of Order Cancellations and Their Impact on Sellers
Amazon categorizes cancellations into several types, each with different implications for sellers:
Official buyer-initiated cancellations: These are processed through Amazon’s system and don’t negatively impact your seller metrics.
Unofficial buyer-initiated cancellations: When buyers request cancellations through the Buyer-Seller Messaging tool, these can affect your Cancellation Rate metric if not handled correctly.
Seller-initiated cancellations: Occur when you can’t fulfill an order due to inventory issues, pricing errors, or other reasons. They generally impact your Cancellation Rate.
Amazon-initiated automatic cancellations: Amazon may cancel orders automatically in certain situations, such as when a seller hasn’t confirmed shipment within seven days of the expected shipping date.
The Official Cancellation Process: Step-by-Step Guide
When a buyer submits an official cancellation request, follow these steps to process it:
Log into your Seller Central account and go to “Manage Orders.”
In the “Unshipped” tab, use the “Buyer Requested Cancel” filter to find relevant orders.
Look for orders with a banner stating, “The buyer has requested that this order be canceled. Canceling this order will not affect your Cancellation Rate metric.”
Click “Cancel order” under the Actions column.
On the cancellation page, “Buyer canceled” will be pre-selected as the reason. This cannot be edited for official buyer-requested cancellations.
Click “Submit” to complete the cancellation.
Processing cancellations this way ensures they won’t negatively impact your seller metrics.
Navigating Unofficial Cancellation Requests
When buyers request cancellations through the Buyer-Seller Messaging tool, it’s considered an unofficial request. These messages are typically labeled as “Inquiries from Amazon customers.” If you cancel an order based on these messages, it will count against your Cancellation Rate metric.
To handle these situations:
Respond to the buyer’s message.
Request that they submit an official cancellation through their Amazon account.
Provide instructions: “You can cancel the order in your Amazon account at Your Account > Your Orders > Request Cancellation.”
This approach helps maintain your metrics while still addressing the buyer’s needs.
Impact of Cancellations on Seller Metrics
Amazon uses a Cancellation Rate metric to assess seller performance. Not all cancellations affect this metric equally:
Official buyer-requested cancellations don’t impact your rate.
Unofficial cancellations (via messaging) and seller-initiated cancellations do count against you.
Some Amazon-initiated automatic cancellations may affect your rate, while others (like fraudulent buyer detection) don’t.
Maintaining a low Cancellation Rate is crucial for your account health and selling privileges.
Partial Cancellations and Refunds: What Sellers Need to Know
Amazon doesn’t currently support partial order cancellations. However, you can issue full or partial refunds for individual items in an order using the Refund Calculator in Seller Central. Remember, to initiate a refund, you must have already confirmed the shipment for the order.
Leveraging Technology for Efficient Cancellation Management
Amazon provides several tools to help sellers manage cancellations more effectively:
Order Reports: A field called “is-buyer-requested-cancellation” is in your order reports. This field shows “TRUE” for orders with buyer cancellation requests.
APIs for tracking cancellations: Selling Partner (SP) API includes cancellation information in order item responses, including a “isBuyerRequestedCancel” flag and “buyerCancelReason” string.
Utilizing this data can streamline cancellation management and help you stay on top of order status changes.
Best Practices for Minimizing Cancellations
While some cancellations are inevitable, you can take steps to minimize their occurrence:
1. Maintain accurate inventory levels to avoid stockouts.
2. Provide clear, detailed product descriptions to set accurate expectations.
3. Price your items competitively and accurately.
4. Process and ship orders promptly to reduce the window for cancellations.
5. Use vacation settings when you cannot fulfill orders to prevent unwanted orders and subsequent cancellations.
How to be a Data-Driven Advertiser with Amazon Cancelled Orders
Understanding and analyzing your canceled order data can provide valuable insights for your Amazon business. Here’s how you can leverage this information:
Manual Data Access Process
1. Log into your Amazon Seller Central account.
2. Navigate to the Reports section.
3. Generate order reports, including those with cancellation data.
4. Download these reports as CSV or Excel files for analysis.
While this process provides useful information, it can be time-consuming and may not offer real-time insights for frequent analysis.
Amazon Order Data Automation
To truly harness the power of your Amazon data, including insights from canceled orders, consider leveraging data automation solutions like Openbridge.
No more manual file downloads. Get code-free, fully automated Amazon Selling Partner API data pipelines for orders, inventory, traffic, fulfillment, finance, and more.
Openbridge’s unified data approach can significantly enhance your reporting and analytics capabilities, powering tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Looker, Amazon QuickSight, SAP, Alteryx, dbt, Azure Data Factory, Qlik Sense, and many others.
This integration creates an analytics-ready single source of truth, enabling more effective decision-making across various aspects of your Amazon selling strategy.
Mastering Cancellations for Amazon Selling Success
Managing Amazon's canceled orders effectively is crucial for any successful seller. By understanding the different types of cancellations, following the correct procedures, and leveraging data and technology, you can minimize the negative impact of cancellations on your business.
Remember, while cancellations are a normal part of e-commerce, how you handle them can set you apart as a top-performing Amazon seller.
Getting Started with Amazon Cancelled Orders Automation
Ready to take your Amazon business to the next level? Ditch the messy, manual reporting for Amazon Cancelled Orders.
>>>>
Get a 30-day free trial to tryAmazon Orders automationand see how it can transform your approach to Amazon selling.
Effectively Manage Amazon Order Cancellations, Improve Seller Metrics, and Optimize Your Amazon Business Performance
Understanding and effectively managing order cancellations ensures a healthy account and improves customer satisfaction for all Amazon sellers.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the intricacies of Amazon's canceled orders, providing you with the knowledge and strategies to navigate this aspect of e-commerce successfully.
Understanding Amazon Order Cancellations
Order cancellations on Amazon occur when a purchase is terminated before the item is shipped. While cancellations are a normal part of e-commerce, they can impact your inventory management, seller metrics, and overall business performance if not handled properly.
The Buyer’s Perspective: When and How Customers Can Cancel Orders
Amazon provides buyers with a straightforward process for canceling orders, but the options available to them depend on the timing:
Within the first 30 minutes: Buyers can cancel their order directly using the “Cancel Items” option in their Amazon account under “Your Orders.”
After 30 minutes: Direct cancellation is no longer possible. Instead, buyers must submit a cancellation request for the seller to review.
Understanding this timeline is crucial for sellers, as it affects how you interact with cancellation requests and manage your inventory.
Types of Order Cancellations and Their Impact on Sellers
Amazon categorizes cancellations into several types, each with different implications for sellers:
Official buyer-initiated cancellations: These are processed through Amazon’s system and don’t negatively impact your seller metrics.
Unofficial buyer-initiated cancellations: When buyers request cancellations through the Buyer-Seller Messaging tool, these can affect your Cancellation Rate metric if not handled correctly.
Seller-initiated cancellations: Occur when you can’t fulfill an order due to inventory issues, pricing errors, or other reasons. They generally impact your Cancellation Rate.
Amazon-initiated automatic cancellations: Amazon may cancel orders automatically in certain situations, such as when a seller hasn’t confirmed shipment within seven days of the expected shipping date.
The Official Cancellation Process: Step-by-Step Guide
When a buyer submits an official cancellation request, follow these steps to process it:
Log into your Seller Central account and go to “Manage Orders.”
In the “Unshipped” tab, use the “Buyer Requested Cancel” filter to find relevant orders.
Look for orders with a banner stating, “The buyer has requested that this order be canceled. Canceling this order will not affect your Cancellation Rate metric.”
Click “Cancel order” under the Actions column.
On the cancellation page, “Buyer canceled” will be pre-selected as the reason. This cannot be edited for official buyer-requested cancellations.
Click “Submit” to complete the cancellation.
Processing cancellations this way ensures they won’t negatively impact your seller metrics.
Navigating Unofficial Cancellation Requests
When buyers request cancellations through the Buyer-Seller Messaging tool, it’s considered an unofficial request. These messages are typically labeled as “Inquiries from Amazon customers.” If you cancel an order based on these messages, it will count against your Cancellation Rate metric.
To handle these situations:
Respond to the buyer’s message.
Request that they submit an official cancellation through their Amazon account.
Provide instructions: “You can cancel the order in your Amazon account at Your Account > Your Orders > Request Cancellation.”
This approach helps maintain your metrics while still addressing the buyer’s needs.
Impact of Cancellations on Seller Metrics
Amazon uses a Cancellation Rate metric to assess seller performance. Not all cancellations affect this metric equally:
Official buyer-requested cancellations don’t impact your rate.
Unofficial cancellations (via messaging) and seller-initiated cancellations do count against you.
Some Amazon-initiated automatic cancellations may affect your rate, while others (like fraudulent buyer detection) don’t.
Maintaining a low Cancellation Rate is crucial for your account health and selling privileges.
Partial Cancellations and Refunds: What Sellers Need to Know
Amazon doesn’t currently support partial order cancellations. However, you can issue full or partial refunds for individual items in an order using the Refund Calculator in Seller Central. Remember, to initiate a refund, you must have already confirmed the shipment for the order.
Leveraging Technology for Efficient Cancellation Management
Amazon provides several tools to help sellers manage cancellations more effectively:
Order Reports: A field called “is-buyer-requested-cancellation” is in your order reports. This field shows “TRUE” for orders with buyer cancellation requests.
APIs for tracking cancellations: Selling Partner (SP) API includes cancellation information in order item responses, including a “isBuyerRequestedCancel” flag and “buyerCancelReason” string.
Utilizing this data can streamline cancellation management and help you stay on top of order status changes.
Best Practices for Minimizing Cancellations
While some cancellations are inevitable, you can take steps to minimize their occurrence:
1. Maintain accurate inventory levels to avoid stockouts.
2. Provide clear, detailed product descriptions to set accurate expectations.
3. Price your items competitively and accurately.
4. Process and ship orders promptly to reduce the window for cancellations.
5. Use vacation settings when you cannot fulfill orders to prevent unwanted orders and subsequent cancellations.
How to be a Data-Driven Advertiser with Amazon Cancelled Orders
Understanding and analyzing your canceled order data can provide valuable insights for your Amazon business. Here’s how you can leverage this information:
Manual Data Access Process
1. Log into your Amazon Seller Central account.
2. Navigate to the Reports section.
3. Generate order reports, including those with cancellation data.
4. Download these reports as CSV or Excel files for analysis.
While this process provides useful information, it can be time-consuming and may not offer real-time insights for frequent analysis.
Amazon Order Data Automation
To truly harness the power of your Amazon data, including insights from canceled orders, consider leveraging data automation solutions like Openbridge.
No more manual file downloads. Get code-free, fully automated Amazon Selling Partner API data pipelines for orders, inventory, traffic, fulfillment, finance, and more.
Openbridge’s unified data approach can significantly enhance your reporting and analytics capabilities, powering tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Looker, Amazon QuickSight, SAP, Alteryx, dbt, Azure Data Factory, Qlik Sense, and many others.
This integration creates an analytics-ready single source of truth, enabling more effective decision-making across various aspects of your Amazon selling strategy.
Mastering Cancellations for Amazon Selling Success
Managing Amazon's canceled orders effectively is crucial for any successful seller. By understanding the different types of cancellations, following the correct procedures, and leveraging data and technology, you can minimize the negative impact of cancellations on your business.
Remember, while cancellations are a normal part of e-commerce, how you handle them can set you apart as a top-performing Amazon seller.
Getting Started with Amazon Cancelled Orders Automation
Ready to take your Amazon business to the next level? Ditch the messy, manual reporting for Amazon Cancelled Orders.
>>>>
Get a 30-day free trial to tryAmazon Orders automationand see how it can transform your approach to Amazon selling.
Shielding Your Amazon Business from Bots, Backdoors and Breaches
Based on recent revelations about the serious risks of data scraping bots for Amazon and data theft and extortion for Snowflake users, using two-step verification for Amazon seller accounts is critical. As a matter of fact, since March 28, 2024, Amazon added a two-factor authentication (2FA) requirement for all logins.
A two-step verification security measure safeguards against specific, documented threats to your Amazon business operations and financial stability. Leveraging 2FA requires minimal time investment, but its protection is substantial.
The Business Case for Two-Step Verification
Two-step verification, or two-factor authentication (2FA), requires two forms of identification to access your account: your password and a second verification code sent to a designated device.
For Amazon sellers, implementing this security measure is crucial for several reasons:
Financial Protection: Your Amazon seller account is directly linked to your business’s revenue stream. Unauthorized access could lead to financial losses through fraudulent transactions or redirected funds.
Data Breach Prevention: Seller accounts contain sensitive customer information. A breach could result in significant legal and financial liabilities under data protection regulations like GDPR.
Operational Continuity: Account compromise can lead to business disruptions, affecting your ability to process orders and manage inventory.
Brand Reputation: Security incidents can damage your reputation with customers and partners, potentially leading to long-term business impacts.
Specific Threats Mitigated by Two-Step Verification
Recent security research has uncovered several specific threats that Two-Step Verification helps mitigate:
Credential Stuffing Attacks: Cybercriminals use stolen username/password combinations from other breaches to attempt access to Amazon seller accounts. Two-step verification renders these attacks ineffective.
Phishing Campaigns: Sophisticated phishing attempts target Amazon sellers to steal login credentials. Even if credentials are compromised, Two-Step Verification provides an additional layer of defense.
Data Scraping Bots: Some third-party software providers use unauthorized data scraping bots to access seller accounts programmatically. These bots bypass Amazon’s official APIs and security protocols, potentially exposing sellers to:
— Unauthorized access to customer PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
— Increased risk of financial fraud
— Potential compliance violations
Supply Chain Attacks: As recent high-profile incidents have demonstrated, attackers may target software providers or contractors with access to multiple seller accounts. Two-step verification adds a crucial layer of protection against such broad-scale compromises.
Implementation of Two-Step Verification
Enabling Two-Step Verification on your Amazon seller account is a straightforward process:
Log in to Seller Central
Navigate to Account Settings
Select “Login Settings” and click “Edit” next to Two-Step Verification
Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your preferred verification method
Amazon offers multiple options for receiving verification codes:
SMS text message
Voice call
Authenticator app (recommended for enhanced security)
Best Practices for Two-Step Verification
To maximize the effectiveness of Two-Step Verification:
Use Authenticator Apps: These provide superior security compared to SMS or voice calls and don’t require network access.
Never allow bots to access your account for data scraping, as they can provide a backdoor despite 2FA protections.
Implement Multiple Verification Methods: Set up at least two methods to ensure account access if one method becomes unavailable.
Regularly Update Recovery Methods: Maintain current backup phone numbers and email addresses.
Limit Use of Trusted Devices: While Amazon allows marking devices as trusted to skip verification, this should be done judiciously. Regular verification is often safer.
Enforce Company-Wide Adoption: If multiple employees access the seller account, mandate Two-Step Verification use for all users.
Integration with Broader Security Strategy
While Two-Step Verification is crucial, it should be part of a comprehensive security approach:
Implement robust password policies, including regular updates and unique passwords for each system.
Never grant user-level access to your accounts for bots to perform data scraping. You can spot programmatic bot access requests to your Amazon accounts because they will ask you to create user-level credentials like client-[brandname]-[marketplace]@domain.com for bot access.
Conduct regular security awareness training for all staff, focusing on phishing detection and safe browsing practices.
Perform routine security audits of your Amazon seller account and associated systems.
Carefully vet any third-party tools or services before granting access to your seller account. Never allow bots access to your account.
All Amazon sellers should review their two-step verification immediately to ensure it is properly configured. The potential business risks of account compromise far outweigh the minimal inconvenience of this additional security step.
It’s not just about protecting your business — it’s about safeguarding your customers’ data and maintaining the integrity of your operations on the Amazon platform.
Shielding Your Amazon Business from Bots, Backdoors and Breaches
Based on recent revelations about the serious risks of data scraping bots for Amazon and data theft and extortion for Snowflake users, using two-step verification for Amazon seller accounts is critical. As a matter of fact, since March 28, 2024, Amazon added a two-factor authentication (2FA) requirement for all logins.
A two-step verification security measure safeguards against specific, documented threats to your Amazon business operations and financial stability. Leveraging 2FA requires minimal time investment, but its protection is substantial.
The Business Case for Two-Step Verification
Two-step verification, or two-factor authentication (2FA), requires two forms of identification to access your account: your password and a second verification code sent to a designated device.
For Amazon sellers, implementing this security measure is crucial for several reasons:
Financial Protection: Your Amazon seller account is directly linked to your business’s revenue stream. Unauthorized access could lead to financial losses through fraudulent transactions or redirected funds.
Data Breach Prevention: Seller accounts contain sensitive customer information. A breach could result in significant legal and financial liabilities under data protection regulations like GDPR.
Operational Continuity: Account compromise can lead to business disruptions, affecting your ability to process orders and manage inventory.
Brand Reputation: Security incidents can damage your reputation with customers and partners, potentially leading to long-term business impacts.
Specific Threats Mitigated by Two-Step Verification
Recent security research has uncovered several specific threats that Two-Step Verification helps mitigate:
Credential Stuffing Attacks: Cybercriminals use stolen username/password combinations from other breaches to attempt access to Amazon seller accounts. Two-step verification renders these attacks ineffective.
Phishing Campaigns: Sophisticated phishing attempts target Amazon sellers to steal login credentials. Even if credentials are compromised, Two-Step Verification provides an additional layer of defense.
Data Scraping Bots: Some third-party software providers use unauthorized data scraping bots to access seller accounts programmatically. These bots bypass Amazon’s official APIs and security protocols, potentially exposing sellers to:
— Unauthorized access to customer PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
— Increased risk of financial fraud
— Potential compliance violations
Supply Chain Attacks: As recent high-profile incidents have demonstrated, attackers may target software providers or contractors with access to multiple seller accounts. Two-step verification adds a crucial layer of protection against such broad-scale compromises.
Implementation of Two-Step Verification
Enabling Two-Step Verification on your Amazon seller account is a straightforward process:
Log in to Seller Central
Navigate to Account Settings
Select “Login Settings” and click “Edit” next to Two-Step Verification
Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your preferred verification method
Amazon offers multiple options for receiving verification codes:
SMS text message
Voice call
Authenticator app (recommended for enhanced security)
Best Practices for Two-Step Verification
To maximize the effectiveness of Two-Step Verification:
Use Authenticator Apps: These provide superior security compared to SMS or voice calls and don’t require network access.
Never allow bots to access your account for data scraping, as they can provide a backdoor despite 2FA protections.
Implement Multiple Verification Methods: Set up at least two methods to ensure account access if one method becomes unavailable.
Regularly Update Recovery Methods: Maintain current backup phone numbers and email addresses.
Limit Use of Trusted Devices: While Amazon allows marking devices as trusted to skip verification, this should be done judiciously. Regular verification is often safer.
Enforce Company-Wide Adoption: If multiple employees access the seller account, mandate Two-Step Verification use for all users.
Integration with Broader Security Strategy
While Two-Step Verification is crucial, it should be part of a comprehensive security approach:
Implement robust password policies, including regular updates and unique passwords for each system.
Never grant user-level access to your accounts for bots to perform data scraping. You can spot programmatic bot access requests to your Amazon accounts because they will ask you to create user-level credentials like client-[brandname]-[marketplace]@domain.com for bot access.
Conduct regular security awareness training for all staff, focusing on phishing detection and safe browsing practices.
Perform routine security audits of your Amazon seller account and associated systems.
Carefully vet any third-party tools or services before granting access to your seller account. Never allow bots access to your account.
All Amazon sellers should review their two-step verification immediately to ensure it is properly configured. The potential business risks of account compromise far outweigh the minimal inconvenience of this additional security step.
It’s not just about protecting your business — it’s about safeguarding your customers’ data and maintaining the integrity of your operations on the Amazon platform.
Turn Pending Orders into Actionable Insights for Your Business
As an Amazon seller, you’ve likely encountered orders with a “Pending” status in your Seller Central account. These orders can be a source of confusion and concern, especially for new sellers.
While sometimes frustrating, pending orders are an important part of Amazon’s process for ensuring secure and valid transactions.
By following the guidelines outlined in this article and staying patient, you can confidently and professionally navigate the world of pending orders.
What Are Amazon Pending Orders
Pending orders on Amazon are transactions that have been initiated but not yet fully processed or approved. They appear in your Manage Orders page's “Pending” tab in Seller Central. These orders are in limbo — a buyer has placed them, but they haven’t been finalized for shipment for various reasons.
Understanding that pending orders are a normal part of the Amazon selling process is crucial. They don’t necessarily indicate a problem with the order or your account. Instead, they represent a temporary status while Amazon verifies certain aspects of the transaction.
Why Do Orders Go into Pending Status?
Several factors can cause an order to enter pending status. Let’s explore the most common reasons:
Payment Authorization Issues are one of the most frequent causes of pending orders. Amazon may be unable to obtain authorization for the buyer’s credit card. This could be due to insufficient funds, expired card information, or other payment-related problems.
Convenience Store Payment Methods: Amazon offers convenience store payment options in some regions. When a buyer selects this method, the order remains pending until they complete the payment at a physical store.
FBA Order Logistics: For Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) orders, two scenarios can lead to pending status:
— If the buyer qualifies for free shipping, the order may remain pending until all items are gathered.
— In multi-item orders where one item is out of stock, the entire order may show as pending even if Amazon decides to split the shipment.
Subscribe & Save Deliveries: These orders are often placed several days before the scheduled delivery date. This allows Amazon to align subscription sign-ups with weekly or monthly delivery dates and ensure inventory is reserved for upcoming deliveries.
Understanding these reasons can help you better manage your expectations and respond appropriately to pending orders.
How to Identify Pending Orders
Identifying pending orders is straightforward, but it’s important to know where to look:
Log into your Seller Central account.
Navigate to the Manage Orders page.
Click on the “Pending” tab.
For FBA sellers, there’s an additional step:
Check the “View FBA Orders” tab to see pending orders fulfilled by Amazon.
It’s worth noting that pending orders don’t appear in your Orders report or Unshipped Orders Report. This separation helps you focus on actionable orders while Amazon processes the pending ones.
The Impact of Pending Orders on Your Inventory
While pending orders are in a state of flux, they do impact your available inventory. Here’s how:
The quantity available for the listing is subtracted from your quantity in Manage Inventory.
If only one item was available when the order was placed, the listing will be removed from the Amazon offer page.
In Manage Inventory, the item will appear with a quantity of zero while the order is being processed.
This inventory management approach ensures that you don’t oversell items tied up in pending orders. However, it’s important to remember this when managing your stock levels.
What Should You Do with Pending Orders?
The golden rule for pending orders is simple: don’t ship them. Even if a buyer contacts you directly about a pending order, resist the urge to fulfill it. Here’s why:
Payment Uncertainty: Until the order moves out of pending status, the payment cannot be guaranteed to be processed successfully.
Lack of Information: Pending orders don’t include the buyer’s shipping address or complete contact information.
Amazon’s Policies: Shipping a pending order goes against Amazon’s seller policies and could potentially lead to account issues.
If a buyer contacts you about a pending order, the best action is to refer them to Amazon Customer Service. This ensures that any payment or processing issues are handled through the proper channels.
Can You Cancel a Pending Order?
As a seller, you don’t have the option to cancel an order while it’s pending. The “Cancel order” button becomes available only after the order moves to an “Unshipped” status.
If a buyer contacts you wanting to cancel a pending order, advise them to contact Amazon Customer Service directly. Only Amazon can cancel orders in pending status.
The Lifecycle of a Pending Order
Understanding the potential paths a pending order can take helps you manage your expectations and inventory:
Pending to Unshipped: This is the ideal scenario. Once Amazon verifies the payment method, the order status changes to “Unshipped.” The “Confirm shipment” and “Cancel order” buttons become available in Manage Orders.
Pending to Canceled: If there are unresolvable issues with the payment or the buyer cancels through Amazon, the order will be canceled directly from the pending status.
Extended Pending Status: In some cases, Amazon’s verification processes can extend the pending status for up to 21 days. While rare, contacting Seller Support is advisable if an order remains pending beyond this period.
Best Practices for Managing Pending Orders
To effectively handle pending orders and maintain a smooth-running Amazon business, consider these best practices:
Regular Monitoring: Make it a habit to check your pending orders daily. This will help you stay on top of your inventory and be prepared when orders move to “Unshipped” status.
Patience is Key: Remember that pending orders are part of Amazon’s process to protect buyers and sellers. Allow the system time to work through any issues.
Maintain Adequate Inventory: Pending orders tie up your inventory, so ensure you have enough stock to accommodate pending and new orders.
Prompt Action on Status Changes: When an order moves from pending to unshipped, process it quickly to maintain good performance metrics.
Clear Communication: If buyers contact you about pending orders, provide clear, professional responses that direct them to Amazon Customer Service for order-specific queries.
How to be a Data-Driven Advertiser with Amazon Pending Orders
While pending orders seem minor to your Amazon business, they can provide valuable insights when analyzed as part of your overall sales data. Here’s how you can leverage this information:
Manual Data Access Process
Log into your Amazon Seller Central account
Navigate to the Reports section
Generate relevant order reports, including those that show pending order data
Download these reports as CSV or Excel files
This manual process, while informative, can be time-consuming and may not provide real-time insights for frequent analysis.
Leveraging Amazon Order Data Automation
To truly harness the power of your Amazon data, including insights from pending orders, consider leveraging data automation solutions like Openbridge. These tools offer several advantages:
Direct, automated access to Amazon order data, including pending order information
Seamless integration with existing business systems
Elimination of manual report downloads, saving time and reducing errors
Increased data velocity, allowing for more timely decision-making
Unified performance data delivery to leading data lakes and cloud warehouses
No more manual file downloads. Get code-free, fully automated Amazon Selling Partner API data pipelines for orders, inventory, traffic, fulfillment, finance, and more.
Openbridge’s unified data approach can significantly enhance your reporting and analytics capabilities and powering tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and many others.
The Openbridge platform creates an analytics-ready single source of truth, enabling more effective decision-making across various aspects of your Amazon selling strategy.
Getting Started with Amazon Pending Orders Automation
Ready to take your Amazon business to the next level? Ditch the messy, manual reporting for Amazon Pending Orders.
->>> Get a 30-day free trial to tryAmazon Orders automationand see how it can transform your approach to Amazon selling.
Turn Pending Orders into Actionable Insights for Your Business
As an Amazon seller, you’ve likely encountered orders with a “Pending” status in your Seller Central account. These orders can be a source of confusion and concern, especially for new sellers.
While sometimes frustrating, pending orders are an important part of Amazon’s process for ensuring secure and valid transactions.
By following the guidelines outlined in this article and staying patient, you can confidently and professionally navigate the world of pending orders.
What Are Amazon Pending Orders
Pending orders on Amazon are transactions that have been initiated but not yet fully processed or approved. They appear in your Manage Orders page's “Pending” tab in Seller Central. These orders are in limbo — a buyer has placed them, but they haven’t been finalized for shipment for various reasons.
Understanding that pending orders are a normal part of the Amazon selling process is crucial. They don’t necessarily indicate a problem with the order or your account. Instead, they represent a temporary status while Amazon verifies certain aspects of the transaction.
Why Do Orders Go into Pending Status?
Several factors can cause an order to enter pending status. Let’s explore the most common reasons:
Payment Authorization Issues are one of the most frequent causes of pending orders. Amazon may be unable to obtain authorization for the buyer’s credit card. This could be due to insufficient funds, expired card information, or other payment-related problems.
Convenience Store Payment Methods: Amazon offers convenience store payment options in some regions. When a buyer selects this method, the order remains pending until they complete the payment at a physical store.
FBA Order Logistics: For Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) orders, two scenarios can lead to pending status:
— If the buyer qualifies for free shipping, the order may remain pending until all items are gathered.
— In multi-item orders where one item is out of stock, the entire order may show as pending even if Amazon decides to split the shipment.
Subscribe & Save Deliveries: These orders are often placed several days before the scheduled delivery date. This allows Amazon to align subscription sign-ups with weekly or monthly delivery dates and ensure inventory is reserved for upcoming deliveries.
Understanding these reasons can help you better manage your expectations and respond appropriately to pending orders.
How to Identify Pending Orders
Identifying pending orders is straightforward, but it’s important to know where to look:
Log into your Seller Central account.
Navigate to the Manage Orders page.
Click on the “Pending” tab.
For FBA sellers, there’s an additional step:
Check the “View FBA Orders” tab to see pending orders fulfilled by Amazon.
It’s worth noting that pending orders don’t appear in your Orders report or Unshipped Orders Report. This separation helps you focus on actionable orders while Amazon processes the pending ones.
The Impact of Pending Orders on Your Inventory
While pending orders are in a state of flux, they do impact your available inventory. Here’s how:
The quantity available for the listing is subtracted from your quantity in Manage Inventory.
If only one item was available when the order was placed, the listing will be removed from the Amazon offer page.
In Manage Inventory, the item will appear with a quantity of zero while the order is being processed.
This inventory management approach ensures that you don’t oversell items tied up in pending orders. However, it’s important to remember this when managing your stock levels.
What Should You Do with Pending Orders?
The golden rule for pending orders is simple: don’t ship them. Even if a buyer contacts you directly about a pending order, resist the urge to fulfill it. Here’s why:
Payment Uncertainty: Until the order moves out of pending status, the payment cannot be guaranteed to be processed successfully.
Lack of Information: Pending orders don’t include the buyer’s shipping address or complete contact information.
Amazon’s Policies: Shipping a pending order goes against Amazon’s seller policies and could potentially lead to account issues.
If a buyer contacts you about a pending order, the best action is to refer them to Amazon Customer Service. This ensures that any payment or processing issues are handled through the proper channels.
Can You Cancel a Pending Order?
As a seller, you don’t have the option to cancel an order while it’s pending. The “Cancel order” button becomes available only after the order moves to an “Unshipped” status.
If a buyer contacts you wanting to cancel a pending order, advise them to contact Amazon Customer Service directly. Only Amazon can cancel orders in pending status.
The Lifecycle of a Pending Order
Understanding the potential paths a pending order can take helps you manage your expectations and inventory:
Pending to Unshipped: This is the ideal scenario. Once Amazon verifies the payment method, the order status changes to “Unshipped.” The “Confirm shipment” and “Cancel order” buttons become available in Manage Orders.
Pending to Canceled: If there are unresolvable issues with the payment or the buyer cancels through Amazon, the order will be canceled directly from the pending status.
Extended Pending Status: In some cases, Amazon’s verification processes can extend the pending status for up to 21 days. While rare, contacting Seller Support is advisable if an order remains pending beyond this period.
Best Practices for Managing Pending Orders
To effectively handle pending orders and maintain a smooth-running Amazon business, consider these best practices:
Regular Monitoring: Make it a habit to check your pending orders daily. This will help you stay on top of your inventory and be prepared when orders move to “Unshipped” status.
Patience is Key: Remember that pending orders are part of Amazon’s process to protect buyers and sellers. Allow the system time to work through any issues.
Maintain Adequate Inventory: Pending orders tie up your inventory, so ensure you have enough stock to accommodate pending and new orders.
Prompt Action on Status Changes: When an order moves from pending to unshipped, process it quickly to maintain good performance metrics.
Clear Communication: If buyers contact you about pending orders, provide clear, professional responses that direct them to Amazon Customer Service for order-specific queries.
How to be a Data-Driven Advertiser with Amazon Pending Orders
While pending orders seem minor to your Amazon business, they can provide valuable insights when analyzed as part of your overall sales data. Here’s how you can leverage this information:
Manual Data Access Process
Log into your Amazon Seller Central account
Navigate to the Reports section
Generate relevant order reports, including those that show pending order data
Download these reports as CSV or Excel files
This manual process, while informative, can be time-consuming and may not provide real-time insights for frequent analysis.
Leveraging Amazon Order Data Automation
To truly harness the power of your Amazon data, including insights from pending orders, consider leveraging data automation solutions like Openbridge. These tools offer several advantages:
Direct, automated access to Amazon order data, including pending order information
Seamless integration with existing business systems
Elimination of manual report downloads, saving time and reducing errors
Increased data velocity, allowing for more timely decision-making
Unified performance data delivery to leading data lakes and cloud warehouses
No more manual file downloads. Get code-free, fully automated Amazon Selling Partner API data pipelines for orders, inventory, traffic, fulfillment, finance, and more.
Openbridge’s unified data approach can significantly enhance your reporting and analytics capabilities and powering tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and many others.
The Openbridge platform creates an analytics-ready single source of truth, enabling more effective decision-making across various aspects of your Amazon selling strategy.
Getting Started with Amazon Pending Orders Automation
Ready to take your Amazon business to the next level? Ditch the messy, manual reporting for Amazon Pending Orders.
->>> Get a 30-day free trial to tryAmazon Orders automationand see how it can transform your approach to Amazon selling.
Custom Amazon Reports Using SP-API’s Powerful Data Kiosk GraphQL Queries
Data Kiosk is a robust tool designed to assist Amazon selling partners in dynamically generating and managing custom reports through GraphQL queries.
This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth look at how to set up, use, and maximize the benefits of Data Kiosks in their current form.
Now, let’s dive into Data Kiosk!
Key Features and Benefits
GraphQL-Based Reporting
Data Kiosk leverages GraphQL, a powerful query language for APIs that allows for dynamic and efficient querying. Unlike traditional REST APIs, GraphQL enables clients to request the data they need in a single request, reducing the amount of data transferred over the network and improving performance. This makes it a superior choice for complex and detailed reporting needs.
Interactive Documentation
One of the standout features of Data Kiosk is its interactive documentation. Detailed schemas, data field definitions, and a user-friendly Schema Explorer are readily available. This tool simplifies the process of understanding data structures and building queries, making it accessible even for users who are new to GraphQL. The Schema Explorer enhances user experience and efficiency by providing real-time feedback and detailed descriptions.
Custom Report Generation
Data Kiosk simplifies the creation of custom reports tailored to specific business needs. Instead of calling multiple reports and manually combining data, users can generate comprehensive reports with a single query. This not only saves time but also reduces the complexity of data processing. Users can leverage advanced filtering and sorting options to create highly specific and useful reports.
Security and Role-Based Access
Ensuring data security is a top priority for Data Kiosk. It employs role-based access control, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive data. Each field available through Data Kiosk requires specific roles, and queries are visible only to the requester, enhancing security. This level of control ensures that sensitive business data is protected and accessed appropriately.
JSONL Format
Data Kiosk provides results in JSON Lines (JSONL) format, simplifying the processing and parsing of large datasets. Each line in a JSONL file represents a separate JSON object, making it easier to handle streaming data and process records individually. This format is particularly useful for handling large volumes of data efficiently.
Pagination and Throttling
Data Kiosk supports pagination with the next tokens, allowing users to navigate large datasets efficiently. Additionally, it includes mechanisms to handle rate limits and prevent query backlogs, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted data access. These features are critical for maintaining performance and reliability, especially when dealing with extensive data sets.
Setting Up Data Kiosk
Initial Setup and Configuration
Setting up Data Kiosk involves subscribing to notifications using the Notifications API and Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS). This allows users to receive updates when a query has finished processing. To subscribe, users need to configure a destination for the notifications and establish subscriptions as per the Notifications API v1 Use Case Guide. Assigning appropriate roles to users for accessing different datasets is crucial for maintaining data security.
Using the Schema Explorer
The Schema Explorer is a key tool for navigating Data Kiosk. It provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing data schemas and building queries. Users can utilize the dropdown selector to choose the schema they want to explore, use the search bar to find specific fields, and click on fields and data types to view detailed information. The Query Builder assists in constructing and testing queries, and schemas can be downloaded for offline use.
Creating and Managing Queries
Creating Queries
Creating queries in Data Kiosk involves understanding the structure of GraphQL queries and ensuring they are valid. A GraphQL query consists of fields, arguments, and return types. Users must ensure the query adheres to the schema and includes necessary fields. Handling quotation marks properly is essential to prevent syntax errors. For example, the following query fetches sales data by date:
POST https://sellingpartnerapi-na.amazon.com/dataKiosk/2023-11-15/queries { “query”: “{analytics_salesAndTraffic_2023_11_15{salesAndTrafficByDate(startDate:\”2023–11–15\”)}}” }
Processing and Monitoring Queries
After submitting a query, it is essential to monitor its progress and handle any errors that may occur. Users can submit queries using the `createQuery` operation, which will return a `queryId` if the request is successful. The progress of the query can be monitored using the `getQuery` operation, which will indicate when the query status is marked as `DONE`, `CANCELLED`, or `FATAL`. Handling errors involves differentiating between synchronous errors (occurring during query creation due to syntax issues) and asynchronous errors (occurring during processing and returned as error documents).
Retrieving and Using Data
Downloading Query Results
Once a query has been processed, the results can be retrieved using the `getDocument` operation. Users must provide the `dataDocumentId` or `errorDocumentId` to retrieve the document. The response includes a pre-signed URL for downloading the document, which expires after five minutes. Handling compressed data documents appropriately is crucial, as the `Content-Encoding` header will specify the compression method used.
Data Formats and Best Practices
Data Kiosk uses the JSONL format for its results, which offers several benefits for processing and streaming data. Each line in a JSONL file represents a separate JSON object, making it ideal for handling large datasets. JSONL simplifies streaming data processing, as each record can be processed individually. Optimizing data retrieval involves requesting only the necessary fields to minimize data transfer and improve performance and using filtering capabilities to narrow down query results based on specific criteria.
Advanced Features and Use Cases
Custom Reports and Analytics
Data Kiosk enables users to generate custom reports and perform detailed analytics. Users can tailor reports to specific business needs by selecting relevant fields and applying filters. Advanced GraphQL features can be utilized for complex data manipulations, such as sorting data based on specific criteria to gain valuable insights.
Real-World Use Cases
Data Kiosk can be used in various scenarios to optimize business operations. For sales and traffic analysis, users can generate reports to analyze sales trends and traffic metrics. An example query to fetch sales data by date or ASIN can provide detailed insights. Data Kiosk helps monitor inventory levels and manage stock efficiently for inventory management. Custom queries for performance metrics allow businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and other initiatives.
Troubleshooting and Support
Common Issues and Solutions
Addressing common issues in Data Kiosk involves understanding error messages and implementing solutions. Syntax errors can be identified and fixed by reviewing the query structure and parameters. Managing query concurrency limits is essential to avoid throttling errors, which can be achieved by implementing a request queue for handling sequential processing of requests.
Accessing Support
For additional help, users can access various developer resources and contact support teams. Comprehensive guides and tutorials are available in the documentation, and community forums provide a platform for discussing issues and sharing solutions. GitHub repositories offer sample applications and code examples. Users can also contact Amazon support teams for specific issues, providing detailed information about the problem to receive accurate assistance.
Security and Compliance
Data Security Measures Data Kiosk prioritizes data security through various measures. Role-based access control ensures only authorized users can access sensitive data, with specific roles required for different datasets. Maintaining encryption at rest for all query result documents is crucial, and unencrypted query result document content should never be stored on disk.
Compliance with Policies Adhering to Amazon’s API usage policies and data protection regulations is crucial for Data Kiosk users. Understanding and following Amazon’s API usage policies helps avoid potential issues, and regular reviews of these policies ensure compliance. Implementing the best data security and privacy practices is essential for safeguarding sensitive information.
Limitations of Data Kiosk
Despite its robust features and potential, Data Kiosk has several limitations that users should know. Understanding these limitations is crucial for setting the right expectations and planning accordingly.
Lack of Parity with Current Reporting API One of the most significant limitations of Data Kiosk is that it does not yet offer full parity with the existing Reporting API. While Data Kiosk introduces a powerful new reporting framework, it does not yet support all the functionalities and data points available in the current Reporting API. Users relying heavily on the Reporting API's comprehensive capabilities may find the Data Kiosk lacking in some areas.
Primary Use Case: Exposure to a New Reporting Framework Data Kiosk is primarily intended to expose users to a new reporting framework. It aims to glimpse the future of dynamic and flexible reporting via GraphQL, but it has not yet been designed to replace the existing reporting API. This transitional phase is essential for gathering user feedback and iterating on the features before achieving full parity and production readiness.
Limited Data Sets and Features
Currently, Data Kiosk supports a limited set of data types and features compared to the comprehensive offerings of the Reporting API. Users might encounter constraints in the types of data they can query and the complexity of the reports they generate. This limitation is expected to diminish over time as Amazon expands the capabilities of Data Kiosks.
Evolving Schema and API Changes
As Data Kiosk evolves, users should anticipate schema and API structure changes. These changes are part of the iterative improvement process but can lead to disruptions if users are not prepared to adapt their queries and integrations accordingly. Staying updated with the latest documentation and release notes is essential for minimizing potential issues.
No Support for Legacy Data Structures
Data Kiosk does not support some legacy data structures and formats that are available in the current Reporting API. This limitation can be a barrier for users who need access to historical data or specific report formats that have not yet been integrated into the Data Kiosk.
Not Production Ready
Given its current state, Data Kiosk should not be considered production-ready for critical business operations. While it can be used for testing, learning, and exploring new reporting capabilities, relying on it for production-level reporting might lead to gaps and inefficiencies. Users are advised to continue using the existing Reporting API for production needs until the Data Kiosk matures and achieves full feature parity.
While Data Kiosk is an exciting new option, it’s important to note that you can also access Amazon data through Openbridge’s automated connectors and integrations, as detailed in these articles:
While Data Kiosk presents an exciting opportunity to explore a new and dynamic reporting framework, it is important to recognize its current limitations.
The lack of full parity with the existing Reporting API and its status as not production-ready are critical user considerations. By understanding these constraints and planning accordingly, users can effectively leverage Data Kiosk for testing and learning while continuing to rely on the existing Reporting API for critical business operations.
As the Data Kiosk evolves, it is expected to overcome these limitations and offer a comprehensive, production-ready reporting solution.
Get Amazon Data Today!
Our direct, code-free data integration provides reliable, integrated data automation solutions for Seller Central And Vendor Central that allow you to;
Take control, and put your data to work with your favorite analytics tools. Explore, analyze, and visualize data to deliver faster innovation while avoiding vendor lock-in using tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Looker, Amazon QuickSight, SAP, Alteryx, dbt, Azure Data Factory, Qlik Sense, and many others.
Custom Amazon Reports Using SP-API’s Powerful Data Kiosk GraphQL Queries
Data Kiosk is a robust tool designed to assist Amazon selling partners in dynamically generating and managing custom reports through GraphQL queries.
This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth look at how to set up, use, and maximize the benefits of Data Kiosks in their current form.
Now, let’s dive into Data Kiosk!
Key Features and Benefits
GraphQL-Based Reporting
Data Kiosk leverages GraphQL, a powerful query language for APIs that allows for dynamic and efficient querying. Unlike traditional REST APIs, GraphQL enables clients to request the data they need in a single request, reducing the amount of data transferred over the network and improving performance. This makes it a superior choice for complex and detailed reporting needs.
Interactive Documentation
One of the standout features of Data Kiosk is its interactive documentation. Detailed schemas, data field definitions, and a user-friendly Schema Explorer are readily available. This tool simplifies the process of understanding data structures and building queries, making it accessible even for users who are new to GraphQL. The Schema Explorer enhances user experience and efficiency by providing real-time feedback and detailed descriptions.
Custom Report Generation
Data Kiosk simplifies the creation of custom reports tailored to specific business needs. Instead of calling multiple reports and manually combining data, users can generate comprehensive reports with a single query. This not only saves time but also reduces the complexity of data processing. Users can leverage advanced filtering and sorting options to create highly specific and useful reports.
Security and Role-Based Access
Ensuring data security is a top priority for Data Kiosk. It employs role-based access control, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive data. Each field available through Data Kiosk requires specific roles, and queries are visible only to the requester, enhancing security. This level of control ensures that sensitive business data is protected and accessed appropriately.
JSONL Format
Data Kiosk provides results in JSON Lines (JSONL) format, simplifying the processing and parsing of large datasets. Each line in a JSONL file represents a separate JSON object, making it easier to handle streaming data and process records individually. This format is particularly useful for handling large volumes of data efficiently.
Pagination and Throttling
Data Kiosk supports pagination with the next tokens, allowing users to navigate large datasets efficiently. Additionally, it includes mechanisms to handle rate limits and prevent query backlogs, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted data access. These features are critical for maintaining performance and reliability, especially when dealing with extensive data sets.
Setting Up Data Kiosk
Initial Setup and Configuration
Setting up Data Kiosk involves subscribing to notifications using the Notifications API and Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS). This allows users to receive updates when a query has finished processing. To subscribe, users need to configure a destination for the notifications and establish subscriptions as per the Notifications API v1 Use Case Guide. Assigning appropriate roles to users for accessing different datasets is crucial for maintaining data security.
Using the Schema Explorer
The Schema Explorer is a key tool for navigating Data Kiosk. It provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing data schemas and building queries. Users can utilize the dropdown selector to choose the schema they want to explore, use the search bar to find specific fields, and click on fields and data types to view detailed information. The Query Builder assists in constructing and testing queries, and schemas can be downloaded for offline use.
Creating and Managing Queries
Creating Queries
Creating queries in Data Kiosk involves understanding the structure of GraphQL queries and ensuring they are valid. A GraphQL query consists of fields, arguments, and return types. Users must ensure the query adheres to the schema and includes necessary fields. Handling quotation marks properly is essential to prevent syntax errors. For example, the following query fetches sales data by date:
POST https://sellingpartnerapi-na.amazon.com/dataKiosk/2023-11-15/queries { “query”: “{analytics_salesAndTraffic_2023_11_15{salesAndTrafficByDate(startDate:\”2023–11–15\”)}}” }
Processing and Monitoring Queries
After submitting a query, it is essential to monitor its progress and handle any errors that may occur. Users can submit queries using the `createQuery` operation, which will return a `queryId` if the request is successful. The progress of the query can be monitored using the `getQuery` operation, which will indicate when the query status is marked as `DONE`, `CANCELLED`, or `FATAL`. Handling errors involves differentiating between synchronous errors (occurring during query creation due to syntax issues) and asynchronous errors (occurring during processing and returned as error documents).
Retrieving and Using Data
Downloading Query Results
Once a query has been processed, the results can be retrieved using the `getDocument` operation. Users must provide the `dataDocumentId` or `errorDocumentId` to retrieve the document. The response includes a pre-signed URL for downloading the document, which expires after five minutes. Handling compressed data documents appropriately is crucial, as the `Content-Encoding` header will specify the compression method used.
Data Formats and Best Practices
Data Kiosk uses the JSONL format for its results, which offers several benefits for processing and streaming data. Each line in a JSONL file represents a separate JSON object, making it ideal for handling large datasets. JSONL simplifies streaming data processing, as each record can be processed individually. Optimizing data retrieval involves requesting only the necessary fields to minimize data transfer and improve performance and using filtering capabilities to narrow down query results based on specific criteria.
Advanced Features and Use Cases
Custom Reports and Analytics
Data Kiosk enables users to generate custom reports and perform detailed analytics. Users can tailor reports to specific business needs by selecting relevant fields and applying filters. Advanced GraphQL features can be utilized for complex data manipulations, such as sorting data based on specific criteria to gain valuable insights.
Real-World Use Cases
Data Kiosk can be used in various scenarios to optimize business operations. For sales and traffic analysis, users can generate reports to analyze sales trends and traffic metrics. An example query to fetch sales data by date or ASIN can provide detailed insights. Data Kiosk helps monitor inventory levels and manage stock efficiently for inventory management. Custom queries for performance metrics allow businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and other initiatives.
Troubleshooting and Support
Common Issues and Solutions
Addressing common issues in Data Kiosk involves understanding error messages and implementing solutions. Syntax errors can be identified and fixed by reviewing the query structure and parameters. Managing query concurrency limits is essential to avoid throttling errors, which can be achieved by implementing a request queue for handling sequential processing of requests.
Accessing Support
For additional help, users can access various developer resources and contact support teams. Comprehensive guides and tutorials are available in the documentation, and community forums provide a platform for discussing issues and sharing solutions. GitHub repositories offer sample applications and code examples. Users can also contact Amazon support teams for specific issues, providing detailed information about the problem to receive accurate assistance.
Security and Compliance
Data Security Measures Data Kiosk prioritizes data security through various measures. Role-based access control ensures only authorized users can access sensitive data, with specific roles required for different datasets. Maintaining encryption at rest for all query result documents is crucial, and unencrypted query result document content should never be stored on disk.
Compliance with Policies Adhering to Amazon’s API usage policies and data protection regulations is crucial for Data Kiosk users. Understanding and following Amazon’s API usage policies helps avoid potential issues, and regular reviews of these policies ensure compliance. Implementing the best data security and privacy practices is essential for safeguarding sensitive information.
Limitations of Data Kiosk
Despite its robust features and potential, Data Kiosk has several limitations that users should know. Understanding these limitations is crucial for setting the right expectations and planning accordingly.
Lack of Parity with Current Reporting API One of the most significant limitations of Data Kiosk is that it does not yet offer full parity with the existing Reporting API. While Data Kiosk introduces a powerful new reporting framework, it does not yet support all the functionalities and data points available in the current Reporting API. Users relying heavily on the Reporting API's comprehensive capabilities may find the Data Kiosk lacking in some areas.
Primary Use Case: Exposure to a New Reporting Framework Data Kiosk is primarily intended to expose users to a new reporting framework. It aims to glimpse the future of dynamic and flexible reporting via GraphQL, but it has not yet been designed to replace the existing reporting API. This transitional phase is essential for gathering user feedback and iterating on the features before achieving full parity and production readiness.
Limited Data Sets and Features
Currently, Data Kiosk supports a limited set of data types and features compared to the comprehensive offerings of the Reporting API. Users might encounter constraints in the types of data they can query and the complexity of the reports they generate. This limitation is expected to diminish over time as Amazon expands the capabilities of Data Kiosks.
Evolving Schema and API Changes
As Data Kiosk evolves, users should anticipate schema and API structure changes. These changes are part of the iterative improvement process but can lead to disruptions if users are not prepared to adapt their queries and integrations accordingly. Staying updated with the latest documentation and release notes is essential for minimizing potential issues.
No Support for Legacy Data Structures
Data Kiosk does not support some legacy data structures and formats that are available in the current Reporting API. This limitation can be a barrier for users who need access to historical data or specific report formats that have not yet been integrated into the Data Kiosk.
Not Production Ready
Given its current state, Data Kiosk should not be considered production-ready for critical business operations. While it can be used for testing, learning, and exploring new reporting capabilities, relying on it for production-level reporting might lead to gaps and inefficiencies. Users are advised to continue using the existing Reporting API for production needs until the Data Kiosk matures and achieves full feature parity.
While Data Kiosk is an exciting new option, it’s important to note that you can also access Amazon data through Openbridge’s automated connectors and integrations, as detailed in these articles:
While Data Kiosk presents an exciting opportunity to explore a new and dynamic reporting framework, it is important to recognize its current limitations.
The lack of full parity with the existing Reporting API and its status as not production-ready are critical user considerations. By understanding these constraints and planning accordingly, users can effectively leverage Data Kiosk for testing and learning while continuing to rely on the existing Reporting API for critical business operations.
As the Data Kiosk evolves, it is expected to overcome these limitations and offer a comprehensive, production-ready reporting solution.
Get Amazon Data Today!
Our direct, code-free data integration provides reliable, integrated data automation solutions for Seller Central And Vendor Central that allow you to;
Take control, and put your data to work with your favorite analytics tools. Explore, analyze, and visualize data to deliver faster innovation while avoiding vendor lock-in using tools like Google Data Studio, Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Looker, Amazon QuickSight, SAP, Alteryx, dbt, Azure Data Factory, Qlik Sense, and many others.
Discover how to use Amazon’s ad platform effectively to grow your brand.
Growing your Brand on Amazon requires a multi-pronged advertising approach that engages shoppers at each stage of their non-linear journey.
Leveraging a strategic mix of Amazon Advertising Sponsored Ad solutions can drive your products' awareness, consideration, purchase, and loyalty. This guide explains how to choose the right tactics and measure success.
1. Setting the Stage: Defining Goals for Amazon Ad Success
A strong advertising strategy starts with well-defined goals. On Amazon, your objectives will likely include:
Capturing Attention: Initiating Brand Awareness
Awareness campaigns aim to generate interest in your Brand and products among new audiences. Success metrics include:
Key Awareness Campaign Metrics
Impressions: How many times your ad was displayed
Viewable Impressions: Impressions displayed on screen for over one second
Key Awareness Brand Metrics
Branded Searches: Searches for your brand terms that didn’t lead to engagement. See Brand Analytics provides powerful insights to optimize your advertising strategy.
Example:A dog food brand runs a Sponsored Display to engage relevant lifestyle audiences and then measures impressions to gauge brand exposure.
Consideration campaigns entice browsers to explore your offerings more deeply.
Key Consideration Campaign Metrics
Clicks: Number of ad clicks
Click-Thru Rate: Ratio of clicks to impressions
Detail Page Views: Product page views, including organic traffic
Key Consideration Brand Metrics
From your Brand Metrics, measure changes in:
Detail Page View Only
Brand Searches and Detail Page Views
Add to Cart
Example: Snack brand runs Sponsored Brand keyword-targeted campaigns promoting products to category browsers. They measure clicks and detail page views.
Sealing the Deal: Driving Purchases on Amazon
Purchase campaigns aim to convert interested shoppers. Focus on:
Key Purchase Campaign Metrics
Total Sales: Revenue generated
ROAS: Total sales divided by ad spend
Key Purchase Brand Metrics
Brand Customers: Unique purchasers
Top 10% Customers: Your most loyal buyers
Example:A hair care brand runs Sponsored Products, retargeting shoppers who view products but don’t buy. They optimize based on sales and ROAS. See Data-Driven Amazon TACoS Insights.
Cultivating Brand Loyalty Through Targeted Ads
Loyalty campaigns nurture repeat purchases and brand advocacy via:
Key Loyalty Metrics
Subscribe & Save signups
Brand Follows
Example:A CPG brand runs posts with brand-follow prompts that offer deals and exclusive content. They measure engagement and follower growth.
Decoding the Shopper’s Path: A Guide to Non-Linear Journeys
Shoppers interact with brands in various sequences as they move between stages.
Reaching shoppers across this complex flow requires showing up where they are with relevant messaging. Awareness and consideration touchpoints are especially crucial to growing your audience.
Selecting Optimal Ad Solutions for Maximum Impact
Amazon’s suite of ad solutions supports your objectives:
Stores: A dedicated brand destination to immerse shoppers in your story and products
Sponsored Brands: Keyword-targeted ads promoting your Brand and products in search results
Sponsored Display: Product and interest-targeted display ads on and off Amazon
Sponsored Products: Keyword and product-targeted ads in shopping results
Posts: Shoppable brand-building content that appears in feeds and product pages
Brand Follow: Lets shoppers follow your Brand and get notifications about deals, products, and Posts
Brand Metrics: Measurement tool showing how your Brand stacks up in your category
How to select and optimize keywords for your ad campaigns
Keyword targeting matches your ads to shopping queries shoppers use when searching on Amazon.
Automatic vs Manual Targeting
Automatic targeting for Sponsored Products allows Amazon to select keywords for you based on product information. Manual targeting for sponsored products and brands lets you choose keywords and bids.
When to Use Automatic Targeting
Launching a new campaign
Wanting to leverage Amazon algorithms to find new opportunities
When to Use Manual Targeting
Have proven keywords to allocate more aggressive bids
Want control over keyword-level optimizations
Keyword Mastery: Targeting the Right Terms in Amazon Sponsored Ads
Match types refine how shopping queries can trigger your keyword-targeted ads:
Broad Match: Queries can contain keywords in any order with other terms. Use for discovering opportunities.
Phrase Match: Queries must contain the exact keyword or close variants in the same order but can include other terms before/after. Use for more relevant traffic.
Exact Match: Queries must match the keyword exactly or very closely with no additional terms. Use for most relevant traffic.
Negative Match: Queries matching the negative keyword exactly or closely will not show an ad. Use this to avoid irrelevant traffic and wasted spending.
Choosing Keywords
Broad Match Example: A beverage brand used a broad match for the “healthy drink” keyword in a new product campaign, uncovering relevant longtail variations like “fruit drink healthy” and “fizzy drink healthy.” This drove sales and revealed new marketing angles.
Negative Match Example: An eyeglass brand selling only 50 TVs added “60-inch TV” as a negative phrase match to avoid impressions and clicks from shoppers wanting larger sizes it doesn’t carry.
Targeting Tactics: How to Promote Your Products Effectively on Amazon
Product targeting lets you promote your products on related product detail pages and category-level shopping results.
Targeting by Category: Choose relevant categories to show your ads. Then, further refined by Brand, price range, star rating, or other criteria shoppers use. Ex: A running shoes brand could target the “men’s running shoes” category, then refine it to similar brands and price points.
Targeting by ASIN: Select individual products to show your ad by searching for or uploading ASINs. Choose complementary or competitive products to engage high-potential audiences. Ex: The shoe brand could target product pages of competing or accessory product ASINs.
Using Negative Product Targeting: Keep your ads from showing on specific product pages or categories that need to meet performance goals. Ex: The shoe brand could exclude unrelated products in targeted categories, like shoe horns.
Implementing Product Targeting: A Step-by-Step Guide for Amazon Sellers
When creating your campaign, select “Product Targeting” rather than “Keyword Targeting.” Then, follow the prompts to choose categories and ASINs.
Here is an example of an electronics brand selling a new digital camera;
1. Target broad “Electronics” and “Camera & Photo” categories to reach engaged shoppers
2. Narrow targeting to the “Digital Cameras” sub-category
3. Exclude irrelevant products like camera cases with negative ASIN targeting
Strategic Bidding: Optimizing Your Amazon Ad Spend for Best Results
Fine-tuning your keyword and product targeting is just one piece of the puzzle. To get the most out of your sponsored ads, you also need to dial in your bidding and budgeting approach.
Combining Keyword and Product Targeting
We recommend using keyword and product targeting together for Sponsored Products to maximize your reach and relevance. Sellers can use both in the same campaign but in different ad groups. Vendors are limited to one targeting type per campaign. Don’t worry about bidding against yourself — the system accounts for this.
Precision Bidding: How to Adjust Your Bids for Optimal Ad Placement
The “Adjust Bids by Placement” feature for Sponsored Products lets you bid more aggressively for specific ad placements:
Top of Search (First Page): The premium placement at the top of the first search results page. Use a higher bid adjustment (e.g., +50–100%) to win this spot.
Product Pages: Your ads on product detail pages and add-to-cart pages. Modest bid adjustment (e.g., +25%) can help you stay competitive.
Rest of Search: All other search result placements. Your base bid applies here.
Your bid adjustments stack on top of your base bid and bidding strategy. For example, a $1.00 base bid with 50% top-of-search adjustment and dynamic bidding down would only have a $1.50 max bid for top-of-search but may reduce bids for other placements based on conversion likelihood.
Selecting Effective Bidding Strategies for Amazon Ads
Sponsored Products offers dynamic bidding and fixed bidding options:
Dynamic Bids — Down Only: Amazon may reduce your bid for placements less likely to convert, never exceeding your base bid.
Dynamic Bids — Up and Down: Amazon may increase your bid to 100% for top-converting placements and reduce it for low-converting placements.
Fixed Bids: Your exact bid is used regardless of placement.
If your goal is to drive volume efficiently, dynamic bidding can help stretch your budget further. To focus on specific placements, use fixed bids with bid adjustments.
Sponsored brand ads have two bidding choices:
Automated Bidding: Allows Amazon to automatically adjust bids below your max bid to optimize for your target ACoS.
Custom Bid Adjustments: You can increase or decrease bids up to 99% for placements below the top of the search. Your base bid is used to top the search.
Budgeting for Success: Managing Your Amazon Ad Budget
Set your campaign budgets high enough to keep your ads showing throughout the day. If you’re consistently hitting your daily budget early, raise it by 10–20% until you’re no longer limited by budget to maximize visibility.
By combining keyword and product targeting, choosing the right bidding strategies, and setting competitive bids and budgets, you can ensure your sponsored ads work as hard as possible to grow your Brand on Amazon. Monitor performance and adjust as needed to hit your brand and efficiency goals.
Preparing Your Products for the Spotlight: Retail Readiness
Ensuring your products are retail-ready before launching any Amazon advertising campaign is critical. Retail readiness means your product detail pages include all the information a customer needs to make a purchase, such as:
Clear, high-quality images
Descriptive title and bullet points
Relevant keywords in the listing copy
Competitive price
Ample inventory
Product reviews
The Importance of Retail Readiness: Ensuring Your Products Stand Out
Understanding the non-linear shopper journey is key to effective advertising. Reaching shoppers across this complex flow requires showing up where they are with relevant messaging. Awareness and consideration touchpoints are especially crucial to growing your audience.
Driving shoppers to an incomplete or uncompelling product page is a fast way to save ad spend. Retail-ready pages ensure potential customers can easily find the information they need to convert.
Amazon customers rely heavily on product content when making purchase decisions online. A detail page is the digital equivalent of your in-store packaging and salesperson. It must answer critical questions, overcome objections, and convince shoppers yours is the best product for them.
Additionally, retail readiness impacts your ad performance. Amazon’s algorithms consider your click-through rates, detail page views, and conversion rates in determining your ad placements. Relevant, engaging pages with strong sales history get more impression share.
Deciphering Amazon’s Retail Terms: A Quick Guide
Let’s review a few key terms related to retail readiness on Amazon:
Product Detail Page: This is the page on Amazon where customers land after clicking your ad. It contains all product information, including titles, images, bullet points, descriptions, prices, and reviews.
ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number, Amazon’s unique SKU for each product variation. Each ASIN has its detail page. Variations of a product like size and color are called “child ASINs” and roll up to a “parent ASIN.”
Featured Offer: The purchase offer featured on a product detail page is determined by price, shipping speed, and seller rating. Customers who click “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” purchase from the featured offer by default.
The Power of Product Detail Pages: Why They Matter
Mastering the art of product detail page optimization is essential for any online retailer. By focusing on clarity, interactivity, and customer engagement, brands can significantly enhance their online presence and sales potential.
A well-optimized product detail page enhances user experience and serves as crucial virtual shelf space for your Brand. See Amazon Sellers and Vendors: Building Brand Loyalty for more on creating compelling product pages.
Here’s how to optimize your product pages for visibility and conversion.
The Significance of Product Detail Pages
A product detail page is where your customers decide to purchase. It acts as the point of sale online, much like a physical checkout counter. This page must provide essential product information and facilitate a smooth and convincing purchase process. It is a brand’s opportunity to differentiate itself by clearly and attractively presenting its products.
Key Components of a Product Detail Page
To mimic the effectiveness of in-store merchandising, every detail on the page should be thoughtfully curated. Here are the main elements to focus on:
Title and Description: These should be clear and concise, providing all necessary details, such as size, color, and compatibility.
Images and Videos: Using high-quality images and videos that accurately represent the product is crucial. Include multiple views and a ‘what’s in the box’ image to reassure customers of their purchase.
Customer Reviews and Ratings: To build trust and encourage sales, aim for a high number of reviews and a rating of at least 3.5 stars.
Inventory and Pricing: Ensure your products are competitively priced in stock to prevent cart abandonment.
Assessing Your Retail Readiness
To check if your products are retail-ready, evaluate your detail pages:
Do your titles, bullets, and descriptions include relevant search keywords?
Are your images clear, informative, and high quality?
Have you filled out all attributes completely with accurate, helpful information?
Are you priced competitively after considering shipping?
Do you have enough inventory in stock?
Are you winning the featured offer regularly?
Do you have product reviews and a star rating?
Optimizing for Retail Readiness
If your pages don’t meet retail readiness criteria, prioritize the following actions:
Upgrade your image quality and add more relevant photos/videos
Revise your product title and bullets to include top keywords
Expand your product description, answering key customer questions
Review pricing — can you offer a more competitive price or shipping options?
Increase your available inventory
Encourage reviews via product inserts or follow-up emails
Remember, your product detail page is your best sales tool on Amazon. Optimizing it will result in higher conversion rates, better ad performance, and, ultimately, more sales. By ensuring retail readiness, you set your sponsored ads campaigns up for success before they even begin.
Optimizing Product Pages for Better Performance
Ensure high-resolution images that meet platform guidelines, such as a pure white background and product filling 80–100% of the image frame.
Include detailed, concise product descriptions that highlight key features.
Enhancing Product Visibility
Use A+ content for a richer presentation, including videos and comparison charts.
For sellers enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry, utilize Enhanced Brand Content (EBC) for added customization and branding.
Leveraging Promotions
Implement promotional strategies such as Lightning Deals or Subscribe & Save to boost visibility and encourage purchases.
Combine promotions with Amazon PPC campaigns to drive significant traffic to your product pages.
Each element — from compelling visuals to strategic promotions — is crucial in converting potential buyers into loyal customers. Creating and optimizing each product page meticulously is essential for success in digital retail environments.
Leveraging Brand Metrics to Uncover Growth Opportunities
Ads and Brand Metrics help you benchmark your performance against competitors and identify areas for improvement.
Assessing Performance vs. Competitors
See how your Brand compares in key metrics like awareness, consideration, and conversion. Look for areas where you lag to focus on.
Measuring Return on Engagement
Brand Metrics shows the estimated ROI from shoppers engaging with your Brand over the past 12 months. Use this to gauge the quality of your audiences.
Making Strategic Campaign Decisions
Based on your goals and insights, craft campaigns to move shoppers down the funnel:
Awareness Strategies: Introduce your Brand using Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display. Lifestyle imagery and category keywords help attract relevant new audiences.
Consideration Strategies: In sponsored products and store content, feature specific product benefits and unique selling points. Use detailed page traffic and purchase rate to see what resonates.
Purchase Strategies: With sponsored displays, retarget high-intent audiences like past brand shoppers, product viewers, and competitors’ customers. Promote seasonal deals and best sellers.
Becoming a Data-Driven Advertiser on Amazon
Sponsored ads are essential tools for growing your business on Amazon. By aligning your tactics with your objectives, engaging shoppers across the journey, and leveraging data, you can craft campaigns that build your Brand and bottom line.
Maximizing your campaigns requires timely, unified reporting to surface trends and optimization opportunities, especially when looking at off-Amazon performance. For example, using Amazon Attribution to understand how your non-Amazon marketing tactics contribute to shopping engagement and sales. Attribution insights can help you optimize campaigns to drive more efficient growth. See Why Amazon Attribution reporting data supercharges insights.
Challenges of Manual Reporting: Navigating the Data Jungle
Accessing your campaign and brand data often requires logging in to Seller Central or Vendor Central to manually download spreadsheets and stitch them together. This is tedious and delays insights.
Advantages of Automated Reporting: Streamlining Your Amazon Ad Insights
Connecting your Amazon data with an automated solution like Openbridge enables you to automate the metrics flow to a dashboard or data warehouse. Unifying data speeds up time to insight and eases reporting.
Additional Amazon Advertising Resources
To dive deeper into Amazon advertising strategies, reporting, and optimization best practices, check out these additional resources:
Whether you’re just starting with Amazon advertising or looking to take your sponsored ads strategy to the next level, it’s key to have a solid foundation in the available solutions, targeting options, retail readiness best practices, and reporting capabilities.
Combining the right advertising tactics with an in-depth understanding of your shoppers and a data-driven optimization approach can unlock the full potential of Amazon’s powerful sponsored ads platform to grow awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty for your brand. Explore the linked resources to expand your Amazon advertising expertise.
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