News from Amazon 1 03/2026

Amazon Clamps Down on Data – Why Reviews Are Disappearing

Amazon has significantly restricted the visibility and scraping of customer reviews in the US. What looks like a UX update at first glance is in reality a strategic move.

Sellers and tool providers have been pulling review data at scale for years – to find product gaps, sharpen positioning, and analyze buyer behavior. With the rise of AI tools like Rufus, Amazon’s own shopping assistant, the language from reviews has even become a direct signal for search queries.

Amazon has recognized that external players have built full-blown intelligence systems on this data – price histories, ranking patterns, catalog structures – all outside Amazon’s control. Limiting visible reviews is the first visible step to stem this data flow.

Our take

For sellers and vendors this means: Anyone who has relied heavily on external review analysis tools needs to rethink. Amazon’s own tools like Brand Analytics and the Opportunity Explorer are more important than ever. Invest in your own first-party data and use the insights Amazon provides within the platform – because access from the outside will be increasingly restricted.

You can find our popular Roundtable and other news formats on our new landing page.

New Price Badges: Amazon Tightens Price Control

Amazon is now cracking down even harder on price differences on other platforms. Until now, if your product was cheaper elsewhere, you lost the Buy Box – until the price on the other platform was adjusted again.

What’s changing now

Amazon is going a step further: Even after the price on the other platform is raised again, a badge remains on your product indicating that the price was lower elsewhere before. So the badge no longer disappears automatically when price parity is restored.

Our take

This is a clear signal: Amazon wants price supremacy and won’t tolerate cheaper offers on other channels – not even in hindsight. For multichannel sellers, pricing is becoming even more complex. Review your pricing strategy across all channels and make sure Amazon is at least on par.

Especially in combination with the current German competition authority proceedings we covered in the last newsletter, this topic will get interesting: Amazon is tightening price control internally while being regulated externally. It remains to be seen how these two developments will influence each other.

New EU Label Requirement for Warranty and Guarantee from September 2026

From 27 September 2026, sellers must display standardized EU labels for statutory warranty and – where applicable – manufacturer guarantee. Similar to the well-known energy efficiency labels, standardized labels will become mandatory to inform buyers of their rights.

What exactly is coming for sellers

The German Federal Ministry of Justice has already published a draft for transposition into German law. Important: These are additional information obligations – liability itself is not being tightened. The labels must cover both statutory warranty and any voluntary manufacturer guarantee.

Things get interesting for used goods: Here, sellers can still contractually shorten the warranty period to one year under German law – even after the deadline.

Our take

Even though September 2026 is still a way off – start preparing now. On Amazon in particular, it will be interesting to see how the label requirement is implemented technically. We expect Amazon to provide a platform-side solution, but proactive sellers should already prepare their listings and product information.

Also pay attention to wording: The current draft sometimes uses the term "Guarantee", which consumers can easily confuse with "Garantie" (manufacturer guarantee) – even though it refers to statutory warranty.

In 2026 we're focusing on new marketing channels to keep you updated on Amazon: Our REVOIC Podcast is out every Friday and our YouTube channel has been fully revamped and now delivers fresh content on a regular basis.

We look forward to your feedback!

Evolution Not Revolution: Why the Broker Business Is the Logical Complement to Vendor

We wrote an article for OMR on the evolution in vendor and seller business and why a broker business should be a logical complement to your vendor business.

Stephan writes not only about current challenges and limits for vendors, but also about solutions through a hybrid distribution structure.