Amazon Revises Attributes for Product Listings: Over 200 New Mandatory Attributes for Merchants to Consider for the US Marketplace

Providing additional attribute information serves a crucial function in helping customers make informed buying decisions. By making it easier to search for specific product information, customers can gain a clearer understanding of what they are purchasing. This can lead to an increase in sales as customers feel more confident in their buying choices.

Amazon’s decision to add these new attributes is not a random action. They routinely review listing requirements for the most popular product types to make sure that listings contain meaningful attribute information that aligns with customer needs and expectations.

For sellers, these changes mean more than just updating a listing. All new listings for the affected product types must contain valid attribute values, or they will not be added to the catalog. However, it’s important to note that these new attribute requirements will not apply to active listings already on the platform.

The reaction to this announcement has been mixed among sellers. One seller remarked on the announcement post, “Whenever this happens you can be sure a lot of items will become Search Suppressed. They say it’s for NEW items – but once you edit/update an old listing, the validation of fields will occur” (Source). This concern has been echoed by others, with some sellers requesting that Amazon supply them with a detailed list of the changes.

A modern and efficient feed management tool (such as Lengow) can assist sellers in organizing, automating, and optimizing their product feeds, aligning them with the new mandatory attributes. This will enable sellers to more seamlessly integrate the required information without risking suppression or validation errors in their listings.

Amazon’s latest change to its listing requirements represents a significant step in enhancing the way customers interact with products on their platform. While these updates are aimed at bettering the user experience, they also underline the need for sellers to be agile and responsive to changes.