Amazon launches free Shop Direct Merchant Workspace for off-Amazon stores

Amazon launched the Shop Direct Merchant Workspace on 4 November 2026, a free self-service portal that lets eligible merchants connect their stores to Alexa for Shopping and Amazon search^1,4. Merchants can reuse product catalogues they have already built for other shopping destinations, and Amazon says there is no fee to take part¹. Shipping, delivery, returns and customer service stay with the merchant^1,3.

Amazon launches a free Shop Direct Merchant Workspace for off-Amazon stores on 4 November 2026

Amazon announced the Shop Direct Merchant Workspace on 4 November 2026 in an Amazon News post¹. Amazon describes it as a free, self-service portal that makes it easy for eligible merchants to connect their stores to Amazon and get their products in front of customers¹.

Shop Direct is the programme the Workspace plugs into, and it predates this launch. Amazon says that since Shop Direct was introduced last year, tens of millions of customers have discovered hundreds of millions of unique products from other stores, and Shop Direct products appear in hundreds of millions of searches each month¹.

On the same day, Commerce.com, the parent company of the product intelligence platform Feedonomics, said Feedonomics is available as a solution provider in the Workspace². StartupHub.ai also reported the launch on 4 November 2026, describing it as a portal that connects off-Amazon stores to Alexa for Shopping and Amazon search⁴.

Sign-up steps in the sources

The sources describe these sign-up actions, in this order:

1. Register for Shop Direct through the Workspace¹.
2. Verify the business website⁴.
3. Share the catalogue through a solution provider or directly through the Selling Partner API⁴.

Amazon names Feedonomics, Salsify, CEDCommerce and VersaFeed as established third-party providers that merchants can connect through¹. StartupHub.ai notes that merchants can also integrate directly with the Selling Partner API⁴.

A merchant that already uses a feed tool should ask that provider whether it supports the Workspace. Feedonomics has confirmed that it does².

Which merchants and shoppers are affected

The programme is for US shoppers. Amazon's Shop Direct FAQ says the programme is available to U.S. customers³. Amazon says Shop Direct products may be shown in relevant searches and within Alexa for Shopping¹. Products can be discovered on the Amazon shopping website and app as well as in Alexa for Shopping¹.

The merchants affected are off-Amazon stores that want their products found by these shoppers. Amazon's FAQ gives shopdirect@amazon.com as the contact for merchants who want to take part³. Amazon sellers may also be eligible to list selection they do not currently sell in Amazon's store¹.

Can you reuse your existing feed, and what does it cost?

Yes, according to Amazon's announcement. The Workspace accepts widely adopted shopping feed formats⁴, and merchants can reuse catalogues they have built for other shopping destinations¹. Commerce.com says eligible US Feedonomics customers can connect existing catalogues to Shop Direct using feeds already built for other destinations, without maintaining a separate feed integration².

Amazon says there are no fees to participate in Shop Direct and that merchants can opt out at any time¹. Its FAQ says merchants do not currently have to pay to take part, and that Amazon does not receive a referral fee for Buy for Me purchases. The same FAQ says Amazon "continue[s] to experiment with ways for merchants to participate in Shop Direct"³.

Buy for Me is Amazon's agentic buying tool, which can complete a purchase on the merchant's website on the customer's behalf¹. Where Buy for Me applies, the customer confirms the delivery address, taxes, shipping fees and payment method on Amazon's interface¹.

Who handles shipping, delivery and returns

The merchant does. Amazon says shipping, delivery, returns, exchanges and customer service are managed directly by the merchant through their existing processes³. Commerce.com says the same post-purchase tasks remain directly managed by the merchant when using Feedonomics².

Amazon's FAQ says merchants receive orders through their site's checkout and remain the seller of record³. When a customer buys through Buy for Me, Amazon may provide a secure, unique email address for each order to share order confirmations and tracking details³.

Prime delivery is not included unless the merchant separately uses Amazon's Multichannel Fulfillment, according to StartupHub.ai⁴. Customers who tap the Shop Direct button are told they are leaving Amazon before they reach the merchant's site¹. Amazon's FAQ says it does not collect data about how customers interact with the merchant's website through this service³.

What sellers should do now

We recommend the following checks before signing up. None of these is a requirement in the sources.

• Confirm that you serve US customers and have a business website you can verify. The program is available to U.S. customers³, and website verification is a sign-up step⁴.
• Export your current shopping feed and check that it uses a widely adopted format⁴.
• Check that your shipping, returns and customer service processes can handle shoppers arriving from Amazon, since those remain with you³.

What is not yet known

• Eligibility. Apart from the US customer requirement and the business-website verification step, the sources do not publish eligibility criteria.
• Ranking and display. Amazon says it "decides whether, when, and how to display" product information³. The sources do not describe ranking rules for search or Alexa for Shopping.
• Feed specification. The sources say only that widely adopted formats are accepted⁴. They do not include a feed specification.
• Fees beyond Amazon. The sources do not say whether solution providers such as Feedonomics charge for their services.
• Duration of the no-fee position. Amazon has not said how long the current no-fee position will last³.

What this means

Our view is that the Workspace mainly changes how a merchant with an existing feed gets into Amazon's Shop Direct program. It does not change who runs the order. StartupHub.ai puts the trade-off in similar terms: merchants get the traffic and keep the operations⁴. The main gaps are eligibility, ranking and how long the no-fee position lasts. Those are the points to check before committing a catalogue. For another recent AI shopping development, see Walmart opens shopping to AI agents; Amazon blocks Meta's agent.