Amazon to end commingling after years of complaints from brands and sellers
Amazon revealed at its annual Accelerate seller conference in Seattle that it is shutting down its long-running “commingling” program — a move that drew louder applause from sellers than any other update of the morning.
The decision marks the end of a controversial practice in which Amazon pooled identical items from different sellers under one barcode. The system, intended to speed deliveries and save warehouse space, had also allowed counterfeit or expired goods to be mixed in with authentic ones, according to The Wall Street Journal. For years, brands complained that commingling made it difficult to trace problems back to specific sellers and left their reputations vulnerable when customers received knockoffs. In 2013, Johnson & Johnson temporarily pulled many of its consumer products from Amazon, arguing the retailer wasn’t doing enough to curb third-party sales of damaged or expired goods.
By ending commingling, Amazon is signaling a stronger commitment to protecting brands on its marketplace, while further distancing itself from resellers. The announcement underscores the company’s ongoing strategy to prioritize trusted brand relationships — evident in moves like its revived wholesale partnership with Nike — while responding to mounting seller and consumer frustration over counterfeit risks.
During Wednesday’s presentation in Seattle, Amazon executives said the economics of commingling no longer worked. With the company’s logistics network now capable of storing products closer to customers, the speed advantage of pooled inventory has diminished. At the same time, Amazon estimated brand owners spent $600 million in the past year alone through re-stickering products, the process of placing new labels or barcodes over existing ones on products.
“Most products can now achieve the fast shipping speeds customers love without commingling,” Nadya Dhalla, director of Supply Chain by Amazon, said from the stage. “By ending commingling, these resources can now be reinvested in growing your business.”
Ben Donovan, insights lead at Marketplace Pulse, said the announcement was “one of the more significant” steps Amazon has taken in years to support brands. “It signals a continued shift away from resellers towards brand owners,” Donovan said. “It is certainly becoming a tougher environment for resellers on Amazon.”
The decision aligns with Amazon’s recent emphasis on direct partnerships with household names. In May, Amazon resumed working with Nike to source products directly, ending years of separation after Nike pulled out in 2019. That move restricted the ability of independent resellers to list certain Nike items on Amazon, Modern Retail reported at the time. And industry analysts saw it as part of a broader effort by the e-commerce giant to court major brands while tightening oversight of who can sell their goods.
The end of commingling coincided with Amazon’s heavy promotion of a new AI-powered seller assistant described as “agentic.” Amazon touted its new seller assistant several times over the course of the 90-minute presentation. Amazon pitched the tool as able to resolve support tickets, optimize storage to help avoid fees and recommend operational improvements across a seller’s business. Yet despite the fanfare around AI, it was the decision to sunset commingling — a little-known policy to most consumers — that seemed to resonate most with sellers.
Amazon said commingling will be phased out across its supply chain later this year.
