For any third-party seller on Amazon, customer information is a complex system whose internal workings are not easily accessible.

Brands who sell on their owned properties (website, app, etc.), will have access to the crucial data such as email addresses of their shoppers. For many years, Amazon has only offered to sellers a customer’s username and street address. The rest of the information that Amazon collects, keeps for its own eyes only.

The data that Amazon shares with its sellers is diminishing. Amazon used to provide an Amazon-Fulfilled shipment report, which outlined the names and addresses of buyers for tax reasons. Previously, all sellers that fulfil through Amazon could download the report. But beginning in April, sellers will not be able to retrieve the names and addresses of their customers unless they explicitly need that information.

Third-party sellers make up around half of all sales on Amazon, yet these sellers don’t receive data that would allow them to communicate with the customers in the process. This latest change is just another blow for sellers that use these reports to better understand their customer base.

Amazon is not unique in its restrictions on customer data, many other major marketplaces follow similar practices and there has never been an agreement by Amazon that the sellers own the customer.

Amazon drives a huge amount of traffic through its marketplace, and therefore sellers have begrudging accepted this trade-off. However, when you are the one driving traffic to the marketplace foregoing any data is especially painful.

The primary issue for sellers is the lack of an email address. Currently, third-party sellers on Amazon are finding it difficult to build any sort of relationship. For obvious reasons Amazon wants to own this relationship, however, a more engaged relationship between all parties would benefit everyone.

Ryan Dearlove – Chit Chat Founder

To build stronger lasting relationships with its customers, sellers have tried various experiments with the aim to increase reviews and boost sales. Below we feature a few of these approaches and highlight how you can use popular messaging channels to make them even more effective.

Amazon Product Reviews

Product reviews boost credibility and play an important role in how Amazon ranks products on its marketplace. If you’re not obtaining Amazon compliant reviews alongside your sales, you’re missing out on one of the biggest opportunities on Amazon.

A Messenger and Instagram Direct bot can verify your user’s order ID, capture their email and automatically enter them in a giveaway to win a free product and will then send an Amazon friendly product review request – all on a messaging platform they use every day. A slip inserted into the packaging outlining the incentive/offer would include a QR code or a short link that triggers the Messenger bot.

This approach will allow you to take full advantage of every sale and will result in significantly more product reviews as well as repeat customers.

Sellers can also use messaging channels to activate product warranties, this is a great way to build your customer list post-purchase and can capture key details including their email.

Build Your Amazon Store Inside of Messenger & Instagram

Facebook and Instagram Ads can be a game-changer for Amazon sellers. Marketing off-Amazon enables you to take more control over your audience. Using social adverts in conjunction with a Messenger bot allows you to communicate with your target audience before they reach Amazon and opens a dialogue that can be continued along the path to conversion.

Experienced Amazon sellers often create bespoke landing pages whilst this is a better option than sending people directly to Amazon it still isn’t as effective as creating custom product flows directly within Messenger and/or Instagram Direct.

Sellers who create web landing pages often rely on retargeting, however, the latest iOS updates mean that traditional retargeting opportunities that landing pages rely upon will become redundant due to their reliance on third-party data. Messaging apps do not rely on 3rd party and will be unaffected by these changes which makes them even more appealing.

Every action within your conversational experience can be tracked which means you can experiment with A/B testing as well as provide a tailored experience based on the previous actions and behaviors.

Are you looking to scale your Amazon business? Drop us a message today to learn how we’ve helped other businesses like yours achieve their goals using our expertise in chat marketing.