Your margin matters too, of course – but Amazon’s margin view is what really dictates your brand’s performance…
And the brands who are winning out on the marketplace? They’re the ones who have learned to factor that into every decision.
To thrive on Amazon, smart brands need to be fluent in Net PPM – Net Pure Product Margin – because this is what drives their key decisions around your ASINs, from your cost price pressures and marketing contributions to your ad visibility and even your stock availability.
As our CEO, Andrew Banks, puts it, “If you don’t understand Amazon’s margin, you can’t control your performance.”
So – what do leading brands do differently?
They model both sides of the margin equation
Yes, you should care about your landed cost and contribution.
But you should also model Amazon’s margin through a Net PPM lens – because that’s what Amazon is optimising for.
Use an understanding of how Amazon sees margin on every ASIN to shape pricing, promotional plans and trading conversations.
They align spend where it counts
Rather than spreading Co-Op or ad budget thinly, they invest where Amazon margin is strong – making smart choices on where to push growth and where not to bother.
Think:
- Investing promo and ad spend behind your high Net PPM SKUs – the ones that are serving both sides.
- Negotiating Co-Op with contribution to Net PPM in mind all the while.
- Evaluating which of your ASINs drive profitable growth vs those growing at the cost of margin.
They prioritise by commercial potential
Net PPM isn’t just a finance metric – it should also shape your content roadmap, your advertising priorities and even your SEO.
High PPM? Worth investing in with content updates, SEO investment, A+ and ads.
Low PPM? Approach with purpose, not pressure and think twice before sinking resources into trying to make it fly when it’s just not commercially viable for Amazon.
The Bottom Line
Amazon doesn’t care about your internal benchmarks, only its own.
And the better you understand how your catalogue performs from their side?
The less you’ll have to fight for visibility – and the better you can plan, negotiate and grow.
Need help surfacing those margin insights and using them to shape smarter strategies?
Let’s talk – our award-winning team is here to show you the full picture.