News from Amazon 2 02/2026

Digital Tax Newly Regulated: What March 20th Means for Your Margin

Starting March 20, 2026, Amazon is changing the logic behind the so-called Digital Services Fee (DSF), i.e., the fee for digital services. Background: Several EU countries (France, Italy, Spain) as well as the UK levy a state digital tax of 2–3% on revenues of large tech platforms. Amazon pays this tax – and passes it on directly to sellers as a percentage surcharge on sales commissions and FBA fees.

New from March: The fee will no longer be calculated as a flat rate, but consistently according to the DST rate of the country where you sell.

Specifically, this means:

Those who only sell on amazon.de – no change.
Those who sell on amazon.fr via FBA – will pay 3% on commission and FBA fees going forward.
For amazon.es and amazon.it, the 3% now applies uniformly to the commission.

Assessment: Individually, the DSF seems small – at 15% commission, that's ~0.45% on the selling price. But those who are active pan-European on multiple marketplaces must factor this in store by store in their calculations. The Amazon Revenue Calculator already reflects the DSF – but sellers should check whether their repricing and calculation tools correctly account for the new rates. Those who don't adjust this now will unknowingly sell below margin on the Southern European marketplaces from March 20.

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Amazon Forces All Automation Tools to Compliance – Kill Switch Included

Starting March 4, 2026, a new chapter in the Business Solutions Agreement (BSA) applies: Amazon is introducing a formal Agent Policy that mandatorily regulates all automated systems and AI agents. Three core obligations will apply from then on for every tool that automatically accesses Seller Central:

Identification Requirement – The system must identify itself as automated

Compliance Requirement – Ongoing adherence to the Agent Policy

Shutdown Requirement – Immediate stop upon Amazon's request ("Kill Switch")

Practically all common tools are affected: repricing software, inventory management, listing optimization, customer service automation, and analytics dashboards. Additionally new: Amazon explicitly prohibits the use of Amazon data to train your own AI models as well as reverse engineering of Amazon services.

What to Do Now?

Stay calm. Fundamentally, this is initially only a US BSA adjustment, but it will certainly find its way to Europe as well.

Amazon is ending the era of tolerated gray zones in automation. Sellers who work with third-party tools should now check whether their tools in use are BSA-compliant – because those who use non-compliant tools bear the risk themselves. Providers who don't meet the new requirements could lose platform access in the medium term.

Vendor Analytics Now Available in the USA

We all know it: Vendors have always been at a disadvantage compared to Sellers when it comes to analyzing and accessing data. But as Martin Heubel reports on LinkedIn, Vendors in the USA now have access to Vendor Analytics.

Vendors in the USA now have the ability to visualize the following metrics:

Product sales and margins
Inventory and returns
Traffic metrics

Additionally, these metrics can also be filtered by brand, order volume, Net PPM, and traffic.

Until now, Vendors always had to pay heavily for these metrics or create elaborate Power BI dashboards.

It seems like a turning point for Vendors at Amazon as well.

For 2026, we're focusing on new marketing channels to keep you updated with current Amazon updates: Our REVOIC Podcast comes out every Friday and our YouTube channel has been completely revamped and will now regularly deliver fresh content.

We look forward to your feedback!

Amazon Gets Serious About Product Image Compliance: 7 Images, Higher Standards

Amazon officially summarized the existing product photo guidelines again in February. The message is clear: The basic rules aren't new, but enforcement is becoming more consistent. Specifically: Starting January 15, 2026, Amazon shows a maximum of 7 images on desktop and mobile (previously up to 9). The main image must have a white background, no text, and no logos – those who violate this risk listing suppression. Amazon officially recommends at least 6 images + 1 video per listing as well as a target size of 1,600px+.

The communication was directly questioned in the Seller Forum – are these really new guidelines or just a reminder? Community criticism was sharp: Amazon's own brands like Echo or Amazon Basics violate these rules themselves. It remains open whether Amazon will make real photos mandatory instead of 3D renderings for dietary supplements starting March 2026 – no official answer yet.

Assessment: For sellers, this is a good occasion to review their own main images – especially listings with logos, text, or colored backgrounds in the main image. The connection with AI systems like Rufus makes compliant images not only compliance-relevant but directly revenue-relevant: Those who are poorly positioned lose visibility in AI-supported search.

FBA Packaging Dimensions: Action Required by April 30

Amazon updated on February 17 how packaging dimensions for FBA products on amazon.de are recorded. Affected are all sellers registered outside Germany. From now on, only certified dimensions will be used to calculate FBA fees – for local FBA, Pan-EU, the European Shipping Network, and remote shipping. Dimensions are considered "certified" if they were determined with EU-compliant measuring devices (e.g., a measuring tape according to EU Measuring Instruments Directive).

The concrete action requirement: Sellers based outside Germany must confirm by April 30, 2026 in the "Inventory with Fulfillment by Amazon" section that their current dimensions are correct and certified – or submit updated dimensions individually or in bulk. If Amazon finds deviating dimensions in its own review, Amazon's own dimensions will be used for fee calculation. A counter-measurement can be requested.

Assessment: This sounds like a bureaucratic detail, but has a direct impact on FBA costs. Those who have previously recorded inaccurate or estimated dimensions risk Amazon calculating with its own (possibly less favorable) values going forward. Sellers should now systematically check their product dimensions and update them if necessary – especially for products where the size class is close to a fee threshold.