Latest / Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast / Amazon Big Deal Days, Variation Abuse, Walmart’s Collectible Push, and Why AI Is the New SEO

Transcript

Amazon Big Deal Days, Variation Abuse, Walmart’s Collectible Push, and Why AI Is the New SEO · Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Selling on Giants, e-commerce news and updates.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mr.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Will, host of the SOG podcast, and every week I break down what is actually moving the money across Amazon, Walmart, and the rest of the marketplace universe so you don't have to decode forums or guess at PR.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, we are heading straight into Q4 Prep where timing and inventory split the winners from the almost their crowd.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Big Deal Days submissions are open.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Clock is ticking.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon has open submissions for Prime Big Deal Days.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers have until September 12th to submit deals with FBA inventory deadlines landing September 10th.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you want minimal shipment splits and September 19th for Amazon optimized splits.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Translation for operators.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Lock your offers now and stage inventory to the right FCs or your deal slot will turn into a very expensive out-of-stock lesson.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you are modeling margin, treat deeper discounts as paid placement.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Bigger cuts often trigger extra merchandising, but only if your stock can ride the wave.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Build a promotion ladder that protects hero SKUs and use bundles or add-ons to hold AOV when the discount hits.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: While some brands are sweating over discounts, others are bending the catalog like a yoga instructor on Red Bull.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Catalog gymnastics are back.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Variation abuse is still a cheat code.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers are flagging listings that mash fundamentally different products into one parent to hijack reviews and pump rank.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Think one panel, two-panel, five-panel drug tests, living under one roof and sharing social proof they did not earn.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: The worst part is the copy-paste support response that says no violation found.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here is the playbook.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Audit your own variation families like a compliance officer.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Color and size are fine.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Functionally different is a no.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Keep receipts when reporting abuse and include screenshots, timestamps, and complaint IDs.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you get hit, have a clean plan of action that cites the variation policy and shows what you fixed.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Also note that Amazon is pruning irrelevant variation themes this fall, which is a small step in the right direction.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: The core message: stay clean and loud, because bad actors still get free oxygen unless you hand trust and safety the case file.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of oxygen, Walmart is pumping fresh air into a high-intent niche where community buys on emotion and speed.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart bets on collectibles with weekly live shopping.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart launched Collector's Night, a weekly Walmart live series powered by Talk Shop Live, with We the Hobby hosting box breaks and shoppable streams.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Why you should care.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Collectibles are sticky, repeat purchase buyers, and live stream urgency fits the category like a glove.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell trading cards, memorabilia, or adjacent gear, test Walmart Live with limited drops and tie your Walmart Connect audiences to viewers.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: This is Walmart leaning into passion communities where Discovery outranks price.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: That is a very different game than just listing ASINs in bulk.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And as Walmart courts diehard fans with box breaks, Amazon's playing defense by cutting off freeloaders at the prime door.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon ends Prime invitee on October 1st.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: The ghost program that lets some members share free shipping outside the household finally ends October 1st.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is steering users to Amazon Family, which shares benefits inside a single household.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Why it matters?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Prime saturation in the US looks flat to down by some reads, so expect Amazon to put more weight behind fast delivery badging, exclusive promos, and streaming bundles to reinforce the subscription.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers, that means stronger pressure to stay prime eligible and to price into programs that speak to members first.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: If your delivery speed or stock position lags, your visibility will lag with it.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Before we jump into what beauty shoppers are actually doing, quick sidebar, because if you are trying to make sense of all this, that is literally what we do.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: At Bellavix, we have helped brands sell over$500 million on Amazon.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: We are a verified ad partner and we specialize in hands-on growth strategies that turn marketplace chaos into a clear plan.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it is scaling ads, cleaning up your catalog, or prepping for a retail pitch, this is our day job.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Head to Bellovics.com if you want a team that actually knows what the inside of Seller Central looks like.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, back to the news.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's shift from platform levers to category momentum and where shoppers are still spending real money.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Beauty's 2025 check-in growth holds, proof rules.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: McKinsey's latest read puts Core Beauty on a glide path to roughly 5% annual growth through 2030, on track for about$590 billion by decade's end.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Online's share keeps climbing toward one-third, with marketplaces carrying an outsized role.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: What the operator should do, lead with efficacy on PDPs, stack before and afters, ingredient clarity, and results high on the page.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Use marketplaces to recruit and let DTC retain with refills and shade finders.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Treat retail as media with demos you can repurpose into short video that carries across channels.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Pair AI assistive tools with credible human proofs so the pitch stays trusted.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: But even with shoppers chasing glow, your biggest risk isn't margins.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's what AI decides to say about you when someone asks if your brand's legit.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: AI is the new SEO.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Control the narrative or someone else will.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: When shoppers ask Chat GPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI modes if your brand is legit, the answer blends old training data with live sources.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: If your site is silent, AI will happily cite a blogger you have never met.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Your move.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Run prompts on your brand and competitors.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Track which domains get cited.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fill the gaps with clear, fact-dense pages that answer buyer questions in plain language and FAQs.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tools like Peace AI and others can show who gets cited and where while the LLMs.txt debate continues.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: The SafeBed is still building extractable, authoritative content with structured headings, bullets, and dated updates that models can lift cleanly.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: That is how you earn citations and protect the story.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Back to bread and butter seller central changes that touch reputation and coverage in search.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Seller feedback goes star only.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Be ready for noise.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon rolled out star-only seller ratings without required text.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: It means more feedback volume and less context.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: For FBA sellers, that muddies whether a low star is really about you or the carrier.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Action items for all of our listeners.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Monitor feedback manager daily, dispute what is clearly product or FBA related, and set internal SLAs to respond faster to neutral feedback before it drifts negative.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Pair that with proactive post-purchase messaging that clarifies where to go for help so fewer customers vent into feedback.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's wrap this up with something you can hand to your creative team and use this week.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hack of the week.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Six video types that turn browsers into buyers.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, have a product overview to set context.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, use unboxing to nail scale and what is in the box.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Next, at number three, have lots of how-to's for the big task your shopper cares about and reduce returns.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: At number four, setup of the product for the first five minutes out of the box.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, troubleshooting for the top three issues.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Or for new to market products, top three issues based on top competitors.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Drumroll, please, our final video type is having a brand story to anchor why you exist and what to buy next.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Load each video with a clear first three seconds, captions for silent viewing, and a call to action.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then A B test thumbnails and titles like you test main images.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: The winners go everywhere.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: PDPs, storefront, sponsored brands video, Walmart video modules, and shorts.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: That is your selling on Giants news and updates for the week.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: We covered Prime Big Deal Days Timelines, variation abuse tactics, Walmart's Collectibles Livestream Push, Prime Invitees Sunset, How Beauty Keeps Growing with Proof, Why AI is the new SEO, and how to keep seller feedback from becoming a silent killer.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: If this saved you hours of forum scrolls and internal slack debates, leave a review wherever you are listening.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us keep the lights on and book better guests.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am Mr.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Will.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: See you next week.