This holiday shopping season, online shoppers have a variety of brands to choose from, including within the Amazon marketplace. The real challenge is how emerging brands stand apart from the competition, including fake brands. The Amazon Prime Badge is one “seal” of authenticity, which can also improve the online retailer’s bottom line.
With over 200 million subscribers to Amazon Prime, consumer spending on Amazon Prime Day touched $14.2 billion in 2024. This exclusive badge has now become synonymous with benefits like:
- Genuine products
- Faster deliveries
- Higher product visibility
- Higher sales and customer conversions
How do Amazon sellers acquire this coveted badge and improve their brand recognition? Let’s look at the details.
Prerequisites for the Amazon Prime Badge
As is expected, Amazon has a strict list of prerequisites for its sellers to qualify for the Amazon Prime Badge. Here are the prerequisites:
- FBA seller
Firstly, sellers must be eligible for Amazon’s Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service, which allows them to store their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. By becoming an FBA member, sellers can delegate their product packaging and shipping to Amazon’s order fulfillment centers.
- Eligible products
Additionally, sellers must ensure that their products are eligible for Amazon Prime. For example, selling hazardous products or live animals is not permissible for sellers seeking the Amazon Prime badge. The company has a list of policies and guidelines for eligible products on its website.
- Product listing and competitive pricing
Next, sellers must list each product on Amazon Seller Central and comply with the company’s requirements for product details. Additionally, sellers must offer their products at a competitive market price.
- Performance metrics
Amazon also set performance metrics for eligible sellers, which include:
- Consistent customer service
- Low rate of defective products and order cancellation
- Consistent shipment and order delivery performance
For example, the cancellation rate is the percentage of canceled orders before shipping. Sellers are also expected to deliver their orders in the expected timeframe.
- Product Inventory
Lastly, Amazon sellers must maintain a sufficient inventory of eligible products in their fulfillment centers to meet customer demands. Frequent inventory shortages can negatively impact their Prime membership.
4 Obstacles to the Amazon Prime Badge
Even Amazon Prime sellers need to put in continuous efforts to retain their prestigious badge. This requires them to focus on the efficiency of their operations including:
- Order fulfillment
- Warehouse operations
- Inventory control
Here are 4 elements that could prove to be obstacles to Amazon Prime sellers if ignored:
- Low inventory levels
Insufficient inventory levels can be a serious obstacle to the Amazon Prime Badge – leading to a temporary loss of eligibility. Delayed shipments can directly impact customer satisfaction levels and repeat orders.
Through automation, Amazon sellers can monitor their inventory levels and send notifications when the available stock goes below a threshold level. With warehouse automation solutions, Prime sellers can minimize the costs of human errors in:
- Recording the physical stock.
- Updating the inventory numbers.
With improved inventory visibility, Amazon sellers can avoid obstacles like stockouts or overstocking.
- Performance issues
Amazon’s stringent performance standards like faster order fulfillment and deliveries are challenging for most sellers. This requires them to increase their workforce in customer-centric functions such as:
- Product picking and packaging
- Customer service
- Order deliveries
Automation solutions can help sellers improve their performance – without increasing their headcount or the number of working shifts for the existing workforce. For instance, a robot-based automation solution in warehouses can deliver benefits like:
- Reduced physical stress for existing workers
- Order picking and packing efficiency
- Elevated workforce safety
- Poor customer service
Below-par customer service has a direct impact on sellers retaining their Amazon Prime badge. This means Amazon sellers must respond immediately to customer issues – including product returns.
Customer demands are powering the role of automation in warehouses and distribution centers. For instance, more customers now expect same-day (or next-day) deliveries. Retailers also need an efficient reverse logistics system to manage their product returns without damaging the customer’s brand perception.
Adding to the complexities, customer orders keep fluctuating due to seasonal demands or sudden interest in a selected product line. Warehouse automation can equip sellers to accommodate these “spikes” without compromising operational efficiency.
- Lack of warehouse scalability
A scalable and flexible warehouse is essential for Amazon sellers dealing with seasonal products. Lack of scalability can impact the seller’s order fulfillment efficiency, thus also impacting customer satisfaction. During non-peak season, sellers need less warehouse space and human resources to meet their demands.
With automation, sellers can meet their customer demands by scaling up (or down) their warehouse space. This ensures that sellers are not stuck with “unutilized” warehouse spaces and additional costs. Besides, they can also retrofit their automation with existing warehouses – instead of investing in new facilities.
Conclusion
With growing competition, experienced sellers on the Amazon platform are challenged to acquire and retain their Prime membership. To maintain this privilege, sellers need to automate their warehouse operations and order fulfillment process.
Easy to install in any facility, our Carte+ automation solution can help you:
- Improve your order fulfillment throughput and efficiency.
- Manage your peak season demands with its flexibility.
- Retrofit into existing warehouse spaces, thus saving time and money.
- Improve operational efficiency without increasing your workforce.
Is your existing warehouse slowing down order fulfillment? Cartesian Kinetics can help you with its automation solution. Reach out to us today!
