Amazon's heavyweight new regulation: Seller's internal message permissions tighten, compliance era arrives

As Prime Day approaches, Amazon has once again adjusted its platform rules, with the update to the messaging policy being particularly noteworthy. The new regulations not only change sellers' previous operating habits but also further restrict the scope of messaging usage. This change undoubtedly brings challenges to sellers who rely on messaging for customer communication and marketing, and also marks Amazon's determination to regulate seller behavior and improve the shopping experience.  

Image source: Google

Core Changes in the New Regulations: Seller Permissions Significantly Tightened

In the past, many sellers were accustomed to manually adding "important" tags to the subject line of messages to bypass buyers' message filtering settings and ensure delivery. However, after the implementation of the new regulations, this practice is completely prohibited. Amazon has revoked sellers' manual tagging rights and switched to automatic system determination.

From now on, only messages involving key order information (such as delivery exceptions, address corrections, etc.) will be automatically marked as "important" by the system and forcibly pushed to buyers. Marketing messages, review requests, or after-sales service communications sent proactively by sellers, if not recognized by the system as necessary content, may be blocked by buyers.

This adjustment means that sellers can no longer artificially increase their presence and must fully rely on the platform's automated judgment.  

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Expansion of Messaging Prohibited Areas, Increased Risk of Violations

In addition to adjusting tagging permissions, Amazon has further clarified the prohibited content for messaging.

Sellers are not allowed to induce buyers to leave reviews in any form, including offering cashbacks, gift cards, free products, or other benefits in exchange for positive reviews, or asking buyers to delete negative reviews.

Additionally, Amazon has listed a series of sensitive words such as "review," "feedback," "gift," etc. If a message contains these words, it will trigger the platform's review mechanism, potentially resulting in account restrictions or even suspension.

Image source: Google

How Should Sellers Respond?

Faced with the new regulations, sellers need to adjust their strategies and look for alternatives under the premise of compliance.

Amazon's official templates now include order ID, automatic translation, and can automatically mark messages as "important" based on content, reducing the risk of manual intervention. Sellers should ensure that order information (such as tracking numbers, delivery exception notifications) is clear and accurate to reduce buyer inquiries, and divert customer issues through self-service channels such as brand flagship stores and FAQ pages.

For marketing, sellers can shift to official promotional tools such as Amazon ads, Coupons, Prime member exclusive discounts, or guide traffic to Amazon stores through external channels like social media and EDM (email marketing).  

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Positive Impact on Platform Development

Amazon's latest adjustment aims to curb the abuse of messaging and reduce the harassment of buyers by spam, thereby improving the shopping experience.

In the long run, this policy helps maintain the authenticity of reviews, reduces fake orders and induced positive reviews, and ensures the fairness of the review system. At the same time, it can optimize platform trust, reduce excessive seller marketing, and allow buyers to focus more on the products themselves.

Image source: Amazon

Conclusion: Compliance Is the Key to Long-Term Success

The introduction of Amazon's new messaging regulations marks a stricter phase of platform supervision over seller behavior. In the short term, some sellers may face growing pains, but in the long run, this change will drive the industry toward a more regulated and healthier direction.

For sellers, only by timely adjusting strategies, strictly complying with the rules, and exploring new ways of customer communication and marketing, can they move forward steadily in the fiercely competitive market.