February marked a structural turning point for Amazon. We are seeing a decisive move away from seller flexibility toward a more rigid, system-driven environment. From inventory traceability to payout cycles and AI-managed advertising, Amazon is prioritizing systemic efficiency over seller autonomy.
Beyond these shifts, I know that the current instability involving Iran complicates long-term planning. In times of global uncertainty, the most effective move is to recalibrate your immediate roadmap and tighten your operational buffers.
If you are currently reassessing priorities or adjusting forecasts, I recommend our recent article on setting goals in an unpredictable reality: Setting Your Amazon Goals for 2026
Key Amazon Updates: February 2026
1. Manufacturer Barcodes Phased Out (For resellers)
Amazon is significantly restricting the use of manufacturer barcodes for many resellers accounts (Not Brands), requiring a transition to Amazon-issued FNSKU labeling in affected categories.
Starting March 31, all FBA inventory sold by resellers in affected categories must transition to Amazon-issued barcodes (FNSKU).
This is a move toward total traceability. By eliminating pooled inventory, Amazon is placing the burden of product authenticity and quality directly on the individual seller. This reduces Amazon’s liability and increases resellers operational overhead.
2. Retirement of A+ “Shoppable Collections”
Amazon has begun phasing out the “Shoppable Collections” module from A+ Content in certain accounts.
This suggests Amazon is reclaiming control over cross-selling. Instead of allowing brands to curate their own discovery path, the platform is shifting that logic to its own AI-driven recommendation widgets.
For customers whose accounts have Shoppable Collections launched, we will roll back to the “Brand Story” module.
Amazon’s example of a Shoppable Collection module
3. Shift to DD+7 Disbursement
Amazon is standardizing its payment cycles by migrating remaining accounts to the “Delivery Date + 7 days” model. This means funds from a sale become available for disbursement seven days after the confirmed delivery date.
This update aligns all sellers under a unified payout structure, primarily to ensure sufficient reserves for potential returns or claims.
For your business, this change introduces a longer gap between a sale and the actual receipt of funds, which shifts the timing of your available working capital.
Action:
- Review your cash flow forecasts to account for this updated payout timing.
- Ensure your operational reserves are calibrated to cover this extension in the payment cycle.
4. Regulatory Pressure: German Cartel Office
German regulators have restricted Amazon’s ability to suppress the Buy Box solely on the basis of lower off-platform pricing.
This ruling limits Amazon’s ability to force price parity through “Buy Box suppression.” While this provides more pricing freedom in the German market, we expect Amazon to shift toward more subtle algorithmic ways to favor competitive pricing.
* These restrictions do not apply in other regions.
5. Launch of Amazon Ads MCP Server (Open Beta)
Amazon has launched its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a standardized translation layer that allows AI agents (such as Claude or ChatGPT) to interact directly with Amazon’s advertising stack.
This technology converts natural-language prompts into structured API calls, significantly simplifying complex technical tasks like campaign creation and large-scale data retrieval.
At Wise Commerce, we are learning this new technology to explore how it can streamline our daily operations, reduce manual execution times, and allow us to focus even more on your brand’s strategy and growth.
The Bottom Line: Precision Over Ambiguity
The pattern in February was consistent: Amazon is becoming more standardized, automated, and less tolerant of manual workarounds.
Keyword coverage is no longer enough, your listings must now be optimized for machine reasoning – meaning clear intent, clean data, and structural accuracy.
As always, we are here to help you navigate these changes and stay ahead of the curve.
Regards,
Meirav
