If you want to grow your Amazon Retail business, looking at the right data is essential. Fortunately, Vendor Central offers a Retail Analytics dashboard to inform your strategy with the e-commerce giant: Amazon Retail Analytics, or ARA.
In this article, we'll take a detailed look at each report provided by Vendor Central, so that by the end you'll have a better understanding of how to use Retail Analytics and where to find the metrics that really matter, allowing you to make data-driven decisions to support the profitable growth of your business on Amazon.
Index
Understanding the fundamentals
First, let's review some basic concepts to reduce confusion when using Amazon data dashboards in Vendor Central.
Differences between Retail Analytics and Brand Analytics
The Retail Analytics dashboard includes metrics on the business and operational performance of your vendor account . It is divided into: Sales, Inventory, Traffic, Forecasts, Net Margin PPM, and Catalog.
On the other hand, Brand Analytics panel provides data on buyer behavior on Amazon with your products and brand . It includes aspects such as repeat purchase behavior, most popular search terms, and shopping cart analysis.
Manufacturer View vs. Supplier View
In Vendor Central there are two views available: the Manufacturing View and the Supply View.
Manufacturing View: This view is only available to manufacturing brands on Amazon. It displays your brand's aggregated sales and inventory performance, regardless of where or from whom the products were sourced. This means the metrics shown aren't always directly tied to your account's performance, as they may include products sourced from distributors and wholesalers. The Manufacturing View also includes pan-European and cross-border inventory.
Supply View: Displays metrics directly related to your account performance. It reflects the actual sales and inventory that Amazon has sold and received solely from your inventory.
Data Comparison: Previous Period vs. Year Over Year
When using Retail Analytics, you will often have the option to compare your dataset to the previous period or year over year.
Previous Period: Amazon compares your data to the same period prior to the one currently selected. For example, if you are viewing data for January, the previous period refers to December.
Year over year: Amazon compares your dataset to the same period of the previous year. For example, if you're viewing data from January of this year, your data is compared to January of last year.
Sales report
The sales dashboard lets you quickly identify which products contribute to your overall sales performance . It lists every product sold within the selected time period and displays the value in euros, the units ordered and shipped, as well as customer returns.
KPIs to review:
- Ordered revenue: Revenue from sales that have not yet been sent to Amazon customers.
- Revenue sent: Revenue from sales that has already been sent to customers.
- Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) dispatched or shipped: Cost of goods shipped to customers.
- Customer returns: Number of items returned by customers.
Real-time sales report
For sellers who regularly run price promotions and need real-time sales performance data for their catalog, Amazon has launched the Real-Time Sales dashboard. It allows you to view your product sales in real time , which is especially useful during high-volume sales days like Prime Day or Black Friday. Key performance
indicators (KPIs) to review:
- Ordered income
- Ordered units
Inventory report
The inventory report includes vital information for measuring the operational health of your account. It tells you which products are out of stock and which have accumulated unhealthy excess inventory . The dashboard also shows your order confirmation rate and how much Amazon has earned from your brand during the selected period.
KPIs to review:
- Product available out of stock
- Seller confirmation rate
- Net units received
- Open purchase order quantity
- Saleable inventory on hand
- Turnover rate
- Unhealthy inventory
Traffic report
It only contains information about the number of impressions on your listings' detail pages . However, along with the Ordered Units metric from the sales report, you can use Detail Views to calculate your product conversion rate (Conversion Rate = Ordered Units ÷ Detail Views).
KPI to review:
- Detail views: Number of times shoppers viewed your product details page on Amazon.
Forecast report
One of the most important data dashboards is the forecasting tool in Retail Analytics. It gives you access to Amazon's demand forecast, which includes the Media, P70, P80, and P90 estimates .
It's important to note that the forecast is demand-driven, not purchase-driven. This means that the actual order volume from Amazon to you as a seller may differ from your forecast in Vendor Central.
KPIs to review:
- Average forecast: Amazon's best estimate of weekly customer demand for the next 1-48 weeks. This estimate does not include safety stock.
- P70 Forecast: An estimate where Amazon predicts, with a 70% probability, that future weekly demand will be at or below this value.
- P80 Forecast: An estimate where Amazon predicts, with an 80% probability, that future weekly demand will be at or below this value.
- P90 Forecast: An estimate where Amazon predicts, with a 90% probability, that future weekly demand will be at or below this value.
Net Margin Report PPM
Amazon's Net Margin PPM is the primary metric for every Vendor Manager. Therefore, it's critical that you monitor your portfolio's margin performance. Fortunately, the Net Margin PPM report in Vendor Central allows you to do just that.
It's important to note that Net Margin PPM measures profitability after accounting for the cost of goods sold, seller financing, and sales discounts . This represents a fundamental change in the new Retail Analytics dashboard, as sales discounts were previously not included in Vendor Central's Net Margin PPM.
KPIs to review:
- Net Margin PPM: This stands for Net Margin of Pure Product. It is the primary metric that Amazon reports to sellers. Net Margin PPM = (Revenue Shipped – COGS Shipped + COGS Compensated – Sales Discount) ÷ Revenue Shipped.
Catalog Report
The catalog report section in Vendor Central allows you to analyze and monitor the quality of your Amazon catalog . This is particularly useful if you want to ensure products are replenished or if you want to understand whether a product requires additional preparation that could lead to penalty charges on your account.
KPIs to review:
- Product group: The product group in which an ASIN is listed with Amazon.
- Restock category: Indicates whether a product will be reordered again by Amazon.
- Required preparation instructions: This refers to the current preparation instructions for an item on Amazon. For example: ASIN labeling, bagging, packing, bubble wrapping, etc.
- Vendor readiness status: Describes who issued or certified the readiness instruction for an item.
Conclusion
Using Amazon's Retail Analytics dashboard in Vendor Central can transform how you manage and grow your business on the platform.
From understanding sales and inventory to optimizing your catalog and anticipating future demand, each section of the dashboard is a powerful tool for making informed, strategic decisions. By mastering these reports and metrics, you'll be better equipped to maximize your sales opportunities and ensure long-term success on Amazon.
So, if you haven't yet thoroughly explored Amazon's Retail Analytics, now is the time to start.
