The e-commerce giant is rediscovering email marketing

At Amazon Accelerate, its annual seller conference, Amazon announced that US sellers will soon be able to send free marketing emails to reach their existing customers on the platform.

For the many sellers who rely on Amazon, the move offers a chance to build a more direct relationship with their customers and potentially persuade them to buy again and again. Amazon also shared that it has more than 1.9 million selling partners and over 300 million active customer accounts worldwide.

Benjamin Hartman, Vice President of Amazon North America Selling Partner Services, said brands can quickly win new customers in the Amazon store, but have told the company they need better tools to increase customer lifetime value.

In response, Amazon has started testing a programme called Tailored Audiences. The e-commerce giant said it plans to roll the programme out to all US sellers in early 2023. The tool will be free for sellers and will be improved regularly with new templates and email designs.

Customers, for their part, will be able to opt out of marketing emails from Amazon and brands if they wish.

Amazon spokesperson Patrick Graham told CNN Business that customers can always control which promotional and marketing emails they receive and always have the right to opt out.

Source: CNN Business

What does it mean for brands?

• As advertising costs rise, bringing existing customers back matters as much as winning new ones. Email remains one of the strongest channels you own rather than rent.
• Successful email marketing starts with permission: you need a setup where people know what they signed up for, can leave easily and receive content that is genuinely useful to them.