Amazon Extending Prime Shipping Benefits to 3rd-Party Merchants

Amazon is extending Prime shipping benefits to members for merchants using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), allowing Prime members to buy directly from third-party merchants’ online stores with free shipping and other Prime perks, said the company Thursday. Buy with Prime will initially be available by invitation only for FBA merchants and will roll out over 2022, including to merchants not selling on Amazon or using FBA, it said. Participating merchants’ websites will show the Prime logo and delivery promise on eligible products in their stores, indicating the item is available for free delivery, “as fast as next day,” with free returns, shipping and delivery notifications; Prime members will use the payment and shipping information stored in their Amazon account. For merchants already using FBA, Buy with Prime can be added to their online store “within minutes because their inventory is already stored in Amazon fulfillment centers,” Amazon said. Merchants signing up for Buy with Prime, will link their Amazon Seller Central account, use Multi-Channel Fulfillment to offer one pool of inventory for multiple channels, and link an Amazon Pay account to offer a “seamless checkout experience” for Prime members, it said. They can add Buy with Prime to one or more products by installing a JavaScript widget in their online store, Amazon said. Buy with Prime merchants will receive shopper order information, including email addresses for customer orders, which they can use to provide customer service and build direct relationships with shoppers, it said. Pricing for merchants is based on a service fee, a payment processing fee, and fulfillment and storage fees calculated per unit, Amazon said. Merchants can expand their selection or cancel at any time with no long-term contract required, it said. Separately, Amazon will begin assessing a 5% FBA fulfillment fee surcharge on April 28 to cover fuel and inflation costs, the company said.