The familiar "Amazon's Choice" badge, once a coveted marker of success for sellers, is being phased out in favor of three new labels: "Overall Pick," "Popular Brand Pick," and "New Arrival Pick." This shift represents more than just a cosmetic change—it signals Amazon's strategic move toward more sophisticated traffic allocation and presents new opportunities for sellers to capture visibility.
1. The Evolution of Amazon's Recommendation System
The "Amazon's Choice" (AC) label, introduced years ago, was awarded based on customer purchase history, wish lists, and search behavior. It served as a powerful traffic driver, offering sellers an official endorsement that significantly boosted click-through rates and conversions.
The new labeling system reflects Amazon's commitment to more granular traffic distribution. Rather than a simple replacement, these three distinct badges create specialized pathways for different product categories and seller types:
- Overall Pick: The highest-performing product for a specific search term, representing the platform's top recommendation. Products earning this badge can expect enhanced visibility and sales momentum.
- Popular Brand Pick: A designation for established brands demonstrating strong performance metrics. This label creates a dedicated traffic channel for brand-focused sellers.
- New Arrival Pick: Designed to accelerate product launches, this badge helps new items gain traction by highlighting them to relevant shoppers.
While the AC badge may still appear in certain product detail pages during this transition period, Amazon appears to be conducting A/B testing as it fully implements the new system.
2. Why Amazon Is Changing Its Recommendation Labels
Several strategic motivations likely underlie this platform update:
- Precision targeting: More specific labels allow for better matching between products and customer needs.
- Brand development: The Popular Brand Pick designation reinforces Amazon's focus on cultivating strong marketplace brands.
- Product innovation: By spotlighting new arrivals, Amazon encourages sellers to introduce fresh inventory.
- Traffic optimization: As growth slows, the platform seeks more efficient ways to allocate its customer base.
3. Strategies for Capitalizing on the New Label System
Sellers can position themselves for success under the updated framework by focusing on several key areas:
- Product excellence: Superior quality remains the foundation for earning recommendation badges.
- Conversion optimization: Strong sales velocity and conversion rates signal product desirability to Amazon's algorithms.
- Keyword strategy: Precise search term integration in product listings improves discoverability.
- Review management: Positive customer feedback remains critical for recommendation eligibility.
- Fulfillment reliability: Maintaining strong delivery metrics through FBA is essential.
- Brand registration: Formal brand enrollment creates eligibility for brand-specific badges.
4. Navigating Amazon's Evolving Marketplace
The label update follows several other significant platform changes in 2023, including new data disclosures and program adjustments. Successful sellers will need to:
- Monitor policy updates closely
- Adapt operational approaches flexibly
- Strengthen core competitive advantages
- Experiment with emerging opportunities
While platform changes present challenges, they also create openings for sellers who can quickly understand and leverage new systems. The shift to specialized recommendation labels represents another chapter in Amazon's ongoing effort to refine its marketplace—one that rewards strategic, adaptable sellers.