Overview

On February 15 2023 the Helium 10 Buzz podcast released an episode that dissected four pressing issues for Amazon merchants: the newest Amazon Live scheduling capability, a wave of Walmart distribution‑center closures, the emergence of “dead‑bat” order spikes on Amazon, and a hands‑on pay‑per‑click (PPC) refinement technique. Each topic directly influences revenue protection, inventory planning, and advertising efficiency, making them essential knowledge for sellers operating across both marketplaces.

Key Points

• Amazon Live Scheduling — Sellers can now set up live streams straight from the Seller Central advertising hub, and a kitchen‑gadget vendor reported a 22 % lift in sales during a single broadcast.
• Walmart Distribution Closures — Walmart announced the shutdown of multiple regional fulfillment hubs, prompting merchants who depend on two‑day shipping to reroute stock to alternate centers to avoid delivery delays.
• Dead‑Bat Order Spikes — A sudden, algorithm‑driven surge of purchases can empty inventory within minutes; a novelty‑sock brand experienced a 300‑order burst in one hour after a price‑matching trigger.
• Weekly Negative‑Keyword Harvesting — By extracting high‑spend, low‑conversion terms from search‑term reports each week, a health‑supplement company trimmed its advertising cost‑of‑sales (ACoS) by several percentage points.
• Strategic Takeaway — Coordinating live‑stream promotions, diversifying fulfillment routes, and tightening PPC controls can mitigate the volatility introduced by platform updates and market shifts.

How the Changes Work

1. Amazon Live Event Creation — Within the “Advertising” tab, sellers schedule a live session, choose a start time, and upload a product video; for instance, an eco‑friendly water‑bottle brand booked a 30‑minute demo and saw its sales dashboard register an average of 15 units sold per minute throughout the stream.
2. Walmart Fulfillment Rerouting — When a Walmart hub is flagged for closure, the system automatically identifies affected SKUs and recommends nearby fulfillment sites based on capacity; a outdoor‑gear seller shifted 500 units to a substitute center, averting a projected two‑week shipping lag.