Amazon is making a move that would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago. The e-commerce giant is introducing tools that let independent sellers manage their sales on four of its biggest rivals, eBay, Shopify, TikTok, and, yes, even Walmart, from Seller Central, the very dashboard they use to run their Amazon businesses. The multichannel selling tools were announced Thursday at Amazon’s Accelerate seller conference in Seattle and are rolling out gradually to U.S. sellers over the coming months at no extra cost.
At first, sellers can connect their accounts on the other platforms, import and link listings, see all their orders in one place, and fulfill orders across channels. The data question, however, looms large. This move raises natural questions about Amazon’s motives, including what the company might do with data from sellers’ businesses on rival platforms.
Amazon’s Data Dilemma: Trust or Antitrust?
In an interview, Mary Beth Westmoreland, Amazon’s VP of Worldwide Selling Partner Experience, brought the issue up unprompted. “A seller’s multichannel data that might surface in Seller Central, it’s never used for anything other than surfacing it to that specific seller. Period,” she said. “We never use that data for any other purpose.” Pressed on whether the data could affect a seller’s standing on Amazon, such as by pushing their products lower in search results for charging less elsewhere, she was more emphatic. “We never, ever, will touch this data or use it for any other reason other than to show it to you,” she said.
Questions about how Amazon could use seller data for other purposes are not hypothetical. In 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon employees had used data about independent sellers to develop competing house-brand products, and in 2022 Amazon agreed with European regulators not to use sellers’ non-public data in its own retail business. Amazon said at the time that it prohibits employees from using non-public, seller-specific data to decide which house-brand products to launch. When it settled with European regulators, the company said it still disagreed with “several of the preliminary conclusions” in the case. The Federal Trade Commission’s pending antitrust case also accuses Amazon of punishing sellers who offer lower prices on other sites, an allegation Amazon denies. The case is set for trial in March 2027.
Why Amazon Is Doing This: Seller Demand and Strategic Synergy
So why, then, is Amazon doing this? Westmoreland said sellers told Amazon that managing sales across so many platforms takes too much time. “They said we would love it if we could use some of the cool tools in Seller Central everywhere we sell, and so that’s what we did,” she said. In addition, she said, the company believes sellers who succeed on other platforms will bring a wider range of products to Amazon, which makes its store more appealing to shoppers, so helping sellers elsewhere ultimately benefits Amazon, too. More than 95% of Amazon’s independent sellers already sell through multiple channels, according to the company.
This strategic move is not just about altruism. Selling services to merchants is a big business for Amazon. Independent sellers account for more than 60% of units sold on Amazon worldwide, and the fees Amazon charges them brought in $46.8 billion in the second quarter, more revenue than AWS. By integrating rival platforms, Amazon positions itself as the central hub for multichannel commerce, potentially locking in sellers and their data, while also upsellings its fulfillment and advertising services.
How It Works: A Unified Dashboard for Multichannel Sellers
Sellers connect their other accounts through a multichannel settings page in Seller Central. The Manage Orders page then shows unshipped orders from every connected channel on one screen. A seller can select a Shopify order, for example, and send it to Amazon for fulfillment, with tracking updates flowing back to Shopify automatically, according to Amazon. Westmoreland said the connections to other platforms mostly use their standard APIs, along with existing agreements through Veeqo, the multichannel shipping software company Amazon acquired in 2021 and now offers free to sellers. Sellers don’t have to use Amazon’s fulfillment services to use the new tools, she said. Amazon says more features are coming, including the ability to edit a product description once and have it sync across channels.
For fintech enthusiasts, this development highlights the growing importance of seamless payment and fulfillment integrations. As sellers juggle multiple platforms, the need for secure, efficient payment solutions becomes paramount. That’s where services like VCCWave come in. VCCWave (vccwave.com) offers a trusted and free virtual card generator that helps businesses manage online payments securely and efficiently. Whether you’re selling on Amazon, Shopify, or TikTok, using virtual cards can protect your financial data and streamline your transactions.
The Fintech Angle: Virtual Cards and Multichannel Payments
Imagine a seller who uses a single virtual card for all their platform subscriptions, ad spends, and supplier payments. If one platform suffers a breach, the virtual card can be easily frozen or replaced without affecting other services. This is not just convenience; it’s a security imperative. VCCWave’s virtual cards provide that layer of protection, allowing sellers to generate unique card numbers for each transaction or vendor. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that aligns with the multichannel selling trend.
Amazon’s new tools also raise questions about data ownership and privacy. As sellers connect their eBay or Walmart accounts to Seller Central, they are entrusting Amazon with a significant amount of operational data. While Amazon promises not to misuse it, the history of tech giants and data misuse makes some sellers wary. The FTC case and European settlements underscore the regulatory scrutiny. For sellers, the key is to diversify not just their sales channels but also their payment and data security strategies. Using virtual cards from VCCWave can be part of that diversified approach.
What This Means for the Future of E-Commerce
Looking ahead, Amazon’s move could signal a shift toward a more open, interconnected e-commerce ecosystem. Or it could be a strategic play to entrench its dominance. Either way, sellers gain more tools to manage their businesses efficiently. The integration of AI and automation in multichannel selling will likely accelerate. Amazon has already opened its seller tools to outside AI agents, starting with Anthropic’s Claude. This suggests a future where sellers can automate complex tasks across platforms, from listing optimization to customer service.
For fintech companies, the opportunity lies in providing the underlying infrastructure for these multichannel operations. Secure payments, virtual cards, and seamless reconciliation are just the beginning. As platforms open up, the winners will be those who can offer sellers a unified, secure, and efficient financial experience. VCCWave is well-positioned in this space, offering free virtual cards that empower sellers to transact with confidence across any channel.
In the end, Amazon’s gamble is that by helping sellers succeed everywhere, it will also succeed. It’s a classic case of rising tide lifting all boats, or perhaps, all marketplaces. Sellers should welcome the convenience but remain vigilant about their data and payment security. The future of commerce is multichannel, and the smartest players will be those who embrace tools that keep them agile and protected.
