Amazon Tags: Frequently Returned Products and More

As an Amazon seller, you know how important it is to have your product listing stand out on Amazon's search result pages.

Traditionally, there have been several ways Amazon has allowed you to do just that while also creating a good buying experience for shoppers. One of these ways is through product badges or labels. These can't-miss designations, found on search results and product detail pages, help Amazon call out certain products based on their sales performance or relevancy to the customer.

Popular labels and badges include Amazon’s Choice, Best Seller, and New Release. Each of these is highly sought after because it can increase conversion rates.

Amazon has added two tags to product listings that can also impact your business, but they aren’t like anything that has existed before. Keep reading to learn how Amazon is flagging frequently returned products and sales data for select listings on the marketplace.

What is the Frequently Returned Item Label?

The first new product tag is a dangerous one. Amazon has started adding a "frequently returned item" tag on product listings. This label is assigned to products with significantly higher return rates than others in their product category.

By labeling these products, Amazon aims to reduce customer frustration and ensure that buyers are aware of potential issues before making a purchase. Sort of a "buy at your own risk" reminder. Beneath the label, it reminds shoppers to check the product details and customer reviews to learn more about the item.

Why is Amazon doing this? The obvious reason is an attempt to lower its sky-high return rate, which reportedly soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Processing returns comes with a big price tag for Amazon, which allows customers to return new and unused items up to 30 days after purchase.

Learn more: The Seller's Guide to Amazon Return Policy

Although some have poked fun at this new tag, no Amazon seller should take it lightly as it is sure to influence conversion rates. Buyers will make assumptions about any products branded with this tag whether or not your product has been returned for reasons you can control. Moving forward it will be critical to maintain low return rates across all of the ASINs in your catalog.

Amazon began charging a high returns processing fee in 2024.

How to Avoid Becoming One of Amazon's Frequently Returned Products

Here are a few tips for keeping your product off Amazon's frequently returned products list:

Submit accurate product content and images. Customers are more likely to return products that do not meet their expectations, so make sure your product descriptions and images are accurate and provide a clear representation of your products.
Work with reputable suppliers and manufacturers. Your business's reputation is ultimately tied to your products. Refrain from selling cheap (or potentially even counterfeit) products destined to be returned by unhappy buyers.
Offer excellent customer service. If a buyer contacts you with a question about the product, it’s a perfect opportunity to clear up any confusion that might lead to a return. You can also use your product listing, especially the Customer Questions & Answers section, to correct misleading negative reviews that include inaccurate information about your product.
Share additional product information in your packaging. Very few buyers read every single word on your product listing. As such, they may not fully understand the features of your product. If your item requires assembly, setup, or personalization, be sure to include that information in your product instructions or inserts to avoid confusion.

Need more help? Check out this how-to guide for lowering your Amazon return rate.

Amazon Makes Sales Data Public for Some Test Products

If you’ve been a seller on Amazon for any length of time, you know how secretive the company typically is with its data. Previously, shoppers and sellers alike could only estimate sales for any given product on Amazon by monitoring its best sellers ranking. While this was inconvenient for sellers, it also created a less-than-ideal experience for shoppers which Amazon aims to clean up with its latest product label.

Following in the footsteps of the newly popular online marketplace Temu, product listings will now feature an approximate sales number below them to give shoppers a peek into their popularity. The number is rounded to hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands and maxes out at one hundred thousand. The time range may be a week or a month.

Much like review counts, it can be assumed that product listings with higher sales numbers have higher conversion rates. This makes increasing sales all the more important.;

4 Tips for Getting More Sales on Amazon

Here are some helpful tips on how you can increase your sales and potentially get a sales data label for your own listings:

Optimize your product pages. Enhance your product listings with relevant keywords and images to improve your search ranking and increase visibility. Shoppers can only buy what they can see, so be sure your product makes its way to search results pages that lead to sales.
Add high-quality images and infographics to your listing. Research shows that Amazon A+ content increases conversion rates. As more and more sellers are utilizing this feature, that will only continue to be the case.
Use Amazon's advertising tools. Utilize Amazon's advertising tools, such as Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display, and Sponsored Brands, to increase visibility and drive sales. While these ad features can eat into your profit margin, they are often a much faster alternative to organic sales.
Offer competitive pricing. Pricing competitively will help you attract more customers and increase your sales volume. When considering the best price point for your product, be sure to analyze all factors of your listing. Even if your product is superior, if it has significantly fewer reviews or a lower star rating it may not perform well with a higher price tag.

With FeedbackFive by eComEngine, you can simplify the process of getting more reviews by automating your requests in order to reach more buyers. Compatible with Amazon Request a Review and Buyer-Seller Messaging messages, FeedbackFive makes it possible to schedule and send your requests to buyers at scale.

FeedbackFive also ensures that you stay informed about negative reviews with timely text and email alerts. By proactively managing your product and seller reputation with FeedbackFive, you can maintain a consistently high rating on Amazon.

For more guidance on improving your product pages, check out this Amazon listing guide.

Keep Providing an Excellent Customer Experience

The introduction of the frequently returned products label and public sales data on listings are two more ways that Amazon is providing transparency and information to customers. As a seller, it is essential to avoid the frequently returned item label by providing accurate product descriptions and images, using high-quality materials and craftsmanship, and offering excellent customer service. Failure to do so will surely lead to a drastic decrease in sales and damage to your brand reputation.

Additionally, now more than ever, increasing your sales volume by optimizing your product listings, using Amazon's advertising tools, and offering competitive pricing is critical as Amazon continues to test displaying sales data on your listings.

By following these tips, you can improve your reputation, increase sales, and provide a better customer experience on Amazon.