Amazon’s marketplace is massive. We are talking tens of billions of product listings sprawling across every category you can imagine, and plenty you probably cannot. And with Amazon’s new push to clean things up, staying ahead of the curve with “Bend the Curve” has never been more important for sellers.
But here is the thing. Not all of those listings are actually helping Amazon’s customers. In fact, a lot of them are getting in the way. That is why Amazon recently kicked off an internal project, known as “Bend the Curve” according to recent media reports, to clean up its catalog by purging billions of outdated, low-quality, or duplicate listings.
For merchants this could change how your products show up in search results, how customers find you, and how you manage your catalog going forward. Here is what you need to know.
Why Amazon Is Clearing the Clutter
Amazon’s product catalog has grown to an estimated 75 billion listings. Over time, a huge chunk of that catalog became cluttered with old listings for products that are no longer sold, duplicate ASINs, spammy or poorly optimized listings, and abandoned third-party listings that were never maintained.
All of this bloat was making it harder for customers to find relevant, high-quality products.
With competitors like Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop gaining traction by offering faster, more curated experiences, Amazon needed to make a move.
The goal of Bend the Curve is to shrink the marketplace to around 50 billion cleaner, more accurate listings and improve the customer experience along the way.
What This Means for Your Store
For merchants, this cleanup brings both opportunities and a few new pressures.
If you have well-maintained, high-quality listings, you could see a boost. With less clutter in search results, your products may stand out more, attract more clicks, and convert better.
But if your catalog has inactive listings, outdated product data, or duplicates, now is the time to clean house. Amazon is already flagging listings for removal or requiring updates to meet new quality standards.
This signals a broader shift in how Amazon is managing its marketplace. Sellers will need to treat their catalogs with more of a retailer mindset, not just a list-it-and-leave-it approach.
Getting Your Catalog Ready
Now is a great time to take a fresh look at your Amazon listings. Start with these key steps:
- Identify old or inactive SKUs that need to be updated or removed
- Tighten up product titles, descriptions, and images to meet current best practices
- Check for any duplicate listings that could trigger compliance issues
- Review Amazon notifications about listing quality or required updates
The cleaner your catalog, the better positioned you will be in this new phase of Amazon’s marketplace.
Keeping Your Catalog and Fulfillment in Shape
Amazon is raising the bar on listing quality and fulfillment expectations. If your catalog is clean and your back office is dialed in, you will be ready for whatever comes next.
If you want help managing your Amazon listings, syncing your inventory, and keeping your fulfillment flowing, talk to an Ordoro expert. We work with Amazon sellers every day to help them stay ahead of the curve.