Amazon Backend Now Manages Walmart and Other Platform Businesses, Data Usage Raises Concerns

[Ebrun Original] October 18 news - Recently, Amazon launched Multichannel Selling Tools in its Seller Central backend, allowing sellers to connect external sales channels such as Walmart, Shopify, eBay, and TikTok to Amazon's backend, enabling centralized viewing and management of products, orders, and sales data across different platforms. This feature was announced during Amazon's Accelerate seller conference and is currently being gradually rolled out to US-based sellers at no additional fee. According to Amazon's official introduction, sellers can connect other e-commerce platform accounts through the multichannel settings page in Seller Central, link off-platform product listings with Amazon products, and view orders from different channels on the same page. Sellers can also choose to fulfill off-platform orders through Amazon's Multichannel Fulfillment service, with logistics tracking information automatically synced to the corresponding platform. Amazon also plans to further expand related features, including using AI to generate product titles and detail page content tailored to different e-commerce platforms' requirements, enabling one-click modifications synced across multiple platforms, as well as integrating sales, traffic, advertising spend, and other data from various channels to help sellers analyze profitability per channel. Some of these features are still in the process of gradual rollout. Amazon stated that over 95% of independent sellers on Amazon currently operate across multiple sales channels. Previously, sellers had to log into different platform backends separately to manage products, orders, and operational data. This update aims to reduce the redundant operations associated with multi-platform management. However, the integration of competing platforms' operational data into Amazon's backend has also raised external concerns about data usage boundaries. According to tech media GeekWire, Amazon's Vice President of Global Seller Experience, Mary Beth Westmoreland, specifically addressed related questions in an interview. She stated that multichannel data connected to Seller Central will only be displayed to that seller and will not be used for other purposes. When asked whether Amazon might use this data to influence sellers' search rankings on the platform, such as if sellers offer lower prices on other platforms, Westmoreland reiterated that Amazon would not use this data for other uses. In response to this new feature, Amazon further explained in its official announcement that sellers can independently decide which sales channels to connect, what data to share, and can disconnect at any time. Amazon stated that relevant data will not be shared with other sellers nor used in its retail business decisions. From seller feedback, the practical value of the multichannel management tool is also under scrutiny. In the Reddit Amazon seller community, one seller mentioned that they have already used Amazon's multichannel logistics software Veeqo to handle orders from Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, replacing their previous subscription to ShipStation. They hope for further integration of Walmart logistics label purchasing functionality to reduce switching between different backends. Another seller reflected that although TikTok was listed as one of the initially supported platforms, the corresponding option has not yet appeared in their backend. Some users also raised questions about whether the new tool can support pricing rule management across different channels, which is more noteworthy than simply centralizing product information. Currently, related discussions remain relatively limited, making it difficult to assess the overall acceptance of the new tool among sellers. It is worth noting that Amazon has previously provided logistics and order management services for merchants operating on other e-commerce platforms through products such as Multichannel Fulfillment (MCF), Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD), and Veeqo. This update further extends its service scope to cross-platform product management and operational data analysis. In response, a Chinese seller also pointed out that this means Amazon Seller Central is beginning to take on more cross-platform operational management functions. For sellers already using third-party ERP or multichannel management software, whether the new tool can replace existing systems still depends on the completeness of subsequent features, platform compatibility, and data usage rules. Ebrun continues to track and report on this intelligence. To learn more about information related to this article, please scan the code to follow the author on WeChat.

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