In what will come as more bad news for 3rd Party Sellers, Amazon announced that it would be adding a 5% inflation and fuel surcharge on top of existing fees for sellers who use their fulfillment services from 28 April 2022.
“The surcharge will apply to all product types, such as non-apparel, apparel, dangerous goods, and Small and Light items,”
The war in Europe has caused an increase in fuel prices, and retailers are feeling the pressure of raising transpiration costs.
This makes sense for Amazon but will surely anger the over 2 million 3rd party sellers already struggling with raised costs and inventory issues. Amazon says it has already taken significant costs increases on its own and has no choice but to pass it on to its sellers. The price increase will make it harder for sellers to compete on price with other platforms and Amazon itself.
Amazon stated that it would not affect sellers who use other delivery services or ship it themselves(only 2% of Amazon sellers).
This will only add to the record inflation numbers seen as sellers are forced to pass on the fee increase to customers.
Corporations made record profits in 2021, with Amazon achieving a net income of $33 billion compared to the 21.3 Billion in 2020. Third-party orders made up 50% of sales through the e-commerce giant in 2021, from which it received $100 billion in fees.
And it seems that while corporate profits skyrocket, the consumer is once again the one feeling the pinch, and it will not be long before it affects their purchasing power.
