As of January 8, 2026, Amazon has started tying customer service metrics for seller-fulfilled orders into the account health rating (AHR). According to Amazon, this cannot negatively impact your metric for now, but only add to your score. However, one can reasonably expect this to be fully rolled out in the future, with the possibility of eventually having the chance to harm your AHR.
What Is Amazon's Seller-Fulfilled Customer Service Metrics?
The pilot focuses on three customer service insights tied directly to how customers interact with fulfilled by merchant (FBM) sellers:
- Buyer contact rate: Measures how often customers need to reach out after ordering. Frequent contacts usually point to listing inaccuracies, shipping confusion, or product issues. Amazon's goal for FBM sellers is to stay below 0.50%.
- Average response time: Tracks how quickly you respond to buyer messages. Fast responses reduce escalations and prove active customer support. Amazon's expectation is for this average to remain below 12 hours.
- Buyer dissatisfaction rate: Captures negative outcomes like poor feedback, A-to-z claims, or unresolved complaints. It reflects whether issues are ultimately handled in a way that maintains buyer trust. Must stay below 4.5%.
How is Amazon Tying Seller-Fulfilled Customer Service Metrics to AHR?
Amazon’s customer service metrics are now layered into the existing AHR system, which operates on a rolling 180-day window. Sellers who consistently maintain strong customer service performance will earn additional AHR points. On the other hand, Amazon claims that sellers with poor customer service metrics will not be negatively impacted.
For now, this new adoption of Amazon enforcing customer service metrics can only positively impact you. However, it’s very reasonable to assume this is just a soft launch of enforcement, and logically, this will eventually have the chance to negatively impact sellers as well.
Why is Amazon Incorporating Seller-Fulfilled Customer Service Metrics with AHR?
Amazon’s overall goal here is to reduce friction for buyers purchasing from FBM sellers. If a customer’s transaction is anything less than perfect (meaning, no follow-up was necessary, and no negative feedback was received), Amazon sees that as a fault of the seller. It’s not surprising that Amazon has started to incorporate these metrics into the overall health of the account.
How Can Amazon FBM Sellers Prepare for Enforced Customer Service Metrics?
Historically, Amazon’s customer service metrics have been in beta form and not enforced whatsoever. This marks a significant change for FBM sellers, and it should not be taken lightly. To adequately prepare, it’s a best practice to begin tracking your customer service metrics, which can be found in Seller Central on the Feedback Manager page. If your metrics fall outside of the above-mentioned standards, now is the time to get that under control and ensure you are trending downward on a week-over-week basis.
With the constant updates in online marketplaces, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest changes. If you're a client looking for more information, contact your account team! If you’re interested in learning more about how Blue Wheel can aid in your brand efforts in online marketplaces, schedule a consultation with our team, we would love to hear from you.
For more updates on marketplaces, visit our full Marketplace Updates content gallery
Julia Asburry is the Senior Marketplace Support Analyst at Blue Wheel, where she plays a vital role in enhancing Account Health and Customer Service management. Her work empowers our clients to not just sustain, but truly thrive in the eCommerce landscape. With over half a decade of diverse experience in the industry, she wears many hats within the organization, bringing a wealth of expertise that propels us forward and helps set us apart.
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