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Amazon Brand Gallery, AI Search, Reddit Visibility, and Why eCommerce Is Becoming More Connected · Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Selling on Giants.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Mr.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Will, and this week we are looking at a set of updates that all point in the same direction.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Commerce is getting smarter, more visual, more automated, and more connected, but the fundamentals are getting less forgiving.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is making brand advertising more immersive.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart is finding out that internal AI adoption has a capacity problem because people actually want to use it.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: DHL is leaning on USPS because the last mile is too expensive to build alone.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Trade policy and import timing are putting pressure back into supply chains.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And AI search is starting to change how shoppers discover products before they even know what keyword to type.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: That is the theme this week.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: The platforms are adding better tools, but better tools do not remove complexity.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: They usually move the pressure somewhere else.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: They move it into creative, they move it into logistics, they move it into data quality, they move it into supply chain planning, they move it into whether the business is actually built to absorb change instead of just react to it.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with Amazon, because Sponsored Brands now has a new brand gallery format.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And this is one of those updates that sounds tactical but says a lot about where Amazon advertising is heading.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Brand Gallery gives advertisers a richer way to showcase multiple products and brand assets inside sponsored brands placements.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of treating the ad as a narrow path to one ASIN, Amazon is giving brands more room to present the catalog and encourage shoppers to explore.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: That matters because Amazon advertising has been product first for a long time.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: The old model was simple: get the click, sell the ASIN, measure the return, and move on.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sponsored products still matter and they are not going anywhere, but Amazon is clearly trying to turn more ad placements into Discovery experiences.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Brand Gallery fits with everything else Amazon has been building around brand stores, premium A plus content, posts, AI shopping tools, and richer brand building placements.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The operator takeaway is that catalog architecture matters more than ever.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you have one product and nothing else for the shopper to explore, this may not move the needle much.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have multiple hero skews, complementary products, bundles, replenishment behavior, or a lifestyle-driven category, this becomes more interesting.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: A shopper coming in for probiotics may discover prebiotics, digestive enzymes, fiber supplements, or a bundle that increases order value and long-term customer value.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: A beauty shopper may come in for one product and discover the routine.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: A pet shopper may come in for one need and discover the system.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: That is the real opportunity.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is not just asking, can we get this shopper to click?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is asking can we get this shopper to spend more time with the brand?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: That means agencies and sellers have to stop managing ads in isolation.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sponsored brands, brand stores, creative, product relationships, cross-selling strategy, and catalog layout all have to work together.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: The best accounts do not treat every ASIN like an island.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: They create pathways between products.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: This also connects to Amazon's AI image generator for search bar queries.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is letting shoppers create visual search queries directly from the search bar, which means shoppers can start with an idea, aesthetic, or concept instead of a specific product name.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That is a meaningful shift.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Historically, shoppers had to know what to type: blue velvet accent chair, modern farmhouse lighting, minimalist makeup organizer.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now the behavior moves closer to show me a cozy reading corner, give me a luxury bathroom aesthetic, or help me create this kitchen look.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: That changes how products get discovered.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Keywords still matter, but they are no longer the whole game.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is trying to bridge the gap between inspiration and transaction.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: If a shopper can show Amazon the feeling, style, or visual outcome they want, Amazon needs to understand which products match that intent.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: That means product photography is no longer just conversion support.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes part of discoverability.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is a big deal for sellers who still treat creative like a one-time asset checklist.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Main image, secondary images, infographic, lifestyle shot, done.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: That mindset is too thin for where search is going.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Lifestyle images, contextual photography, clean attributes, accurate categorization, and product data all help AI understand where the product belongs.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: If your imagery does not communicate the desired outcome, you may be harder to surface in an AI-assisted shopping environment.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Creative assets are becoming search assets.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: That is the sentence I want sellers to sit with.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Creative is not just about making the product look nice, it is about helping platforms understand when, why, and for whom the product should appear.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's widen that AI conversation because Reddit is also becoming more important for Gen AI visibility.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Practical e-commerce highlighted how AI search engines and large language models increasingly rely on Reddit discussions to understand products, answer questions, and generate recommendations.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: For brands, that means the conversations happening outside your own website, outside your Amazon listing, and outside your paid ad creative may influence how AI systems understand your product.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is uncomfortable for brands that want to control the narrative.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: For years, the playbook was fairly predictable.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Build the website, optimize the product page, get reviews, create content, run ads, maybe do some influencer work, but AI wants authentic human conversation, and Reddit has a lot of it.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Product reviews, troubleshooting, comparisons, buying advice, complaints, recommendations, and brutally honest customer language all live there.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: When someone asks an AI tool what protein powder people actually like, which office chair lasts the longest, or what cookware serious home cooks recommend, the answer may be influenced by community discussion.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: That means customer experience becomes part of your AI visibility strategy, whether you planned it that way or not.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: If people are talking positively about your product in the places AI systems learn from, that becomes an asset.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: If they are complaining about the same issue over and over again, that becomes a signal too.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is where the old version of SEO starts to feel small.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: The future of visibility may depend less on what brands say about themselves and more on what real customers say about them across the internet.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: That does not mean brands should go spam Reddit.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Please do not do that.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants a marketing intern pretending to be a satisfied customer in a thread where everyone can smell the deck from three comments away.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: It means brands need to listen.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Monitor category conversations, understand customer language, learn the questions people actually ask, build better content and better products from that reality.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: AI Search is not just a publishing game, it is becoming a reputation game.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, while we are on AI, Walmart had an interesting internal story this week.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart reportedly capped usage of an internal AI tool because employee demand was higher than expected.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds like a systems capacity issue, but the bigger story is adoption.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Employees found the tool useful enough that usage had to be managed.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: That tells us AI is moving beyond experimentation and into daily operations.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of executives still ask whether AI will become part of the workplace.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart's experience suggests the better question is how companies will scale AI inside the organization once employees actually start using it.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Technology transformations do not work because leadership announces them in a meeting.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: They work when operators find a tool useful enough to change behavior.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: For e-commerce businesses, the lesson is clear.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: AI is not just product descriptions and a few blog outlines.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: It can support listing creation, keyword research, inventory planning, customer service, reporting, SOP development, competitive analysis, and internal knowledge management.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: The productivity gap is going to widen between companies that integrate AI into workflows and companies that treat it like a novelty.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: But let's be clear, AI accelerates work.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: It does not replace judgment.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: A faster bad decision is still a bad decision, just with better formatting.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: The winning teams are going to combine AI speed with operator expertise.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Agencies especially need to pay attention here because the value of the team is moving away from repetitive execution and towards strategy, quality control, process design, client communication, and decision making.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: AI can help produce work faster.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Operators determine whether the work is actually useful.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is where I want to pause for a second because this is exactly how we think about marketplace growth at Bellovics.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of brands are overwhelmed right now because every platform is adding tools, AI features, new ad formats, new reporting, new retail media options, and new operational requirements.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is not a lack of information.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is knowing what actually matters.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Bellovics has helped brands sell over$500 million on Amazon, and we are a verified ad partner.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: But the real value is not a badge or access to tools.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: It is hands-on strategy, execution, and knowing how to turn marketplace complexity into a clear operating plan.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that means better ads, sometimes it means better creative, sometimes it means cleaner product data, stronger fulfillment strategy, smarter inventory planning, or simply knowing which shiny object to ignore.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: If your brand is growing across Amazon, Walmart, or broader marketplaces and the complexity is starting to outrun the structure underneath it, visit Bellovic.com.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's shift into logistics because DHL signed a$10 billion last mile delivery agreement with USPS, and this is not really a DHL story.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is an infrastructure story.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: The last mile remains one of the most expensive and difficult parts of e-commerce fulfillment.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Even a global logistics company like DHL is deciding that partnership is more economical than trying to duplicate everything alone.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: That should tell sellers something.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: The companies winning logistics are not always building isolated networks.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: They are building ecosystems.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is expanding local fulfillment.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart is investing in store-based delivery, drone delivery, and pickup infrastructure.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Regional carriers are gaining share.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: USPS remains critical because it already reaches places nobody else can reach as efficiently.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Logistics is becoming interconnected, not simpler.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: For brands, shipping costs are unlikely to become easy.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Labor, fuel, tariffs, carrier capacity, zone costs, surcharges, and consumer expectations all keep pressure on the system.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Carrier diversification matters, fulfillment flexibility matters, inventory positioning matters, and if your business depends on one shipping solution with no backup plan, that is not efficiency.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: That is fragility pretending to be simplicity.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: This also ties directly into the supply chain and tariff stories.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Supply chain Brain reported that the Trump administration is moving to rebuild portions of its tariff framework while citing forced labor concerns.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And NRF is forecasting import volume bumps in June and July, followed by weakening later in the year.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: These are connected.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Brands are pulling inventory forward because uncertainty is expensive.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: They would rather carry additional inventory than risk tariff increases, port disruption, manufacturing delays, rising freight costs, or stockouts during peak season.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: That creates a difficult operating decision.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you pull inventory forward, you may protect availability and avoid future cost increases, but you also tie up working capital.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you stay too lean, you protect cash, but increase risk if lead times stretch or costs move against you.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: That tension is where real operators earn their keep.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is not just supply chain trivia.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Inventory planning affects advertising efficiency, ranking stability, promotion strategy, contribution margin, and customer experience.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing destroys marketplace momentum faster than running out of stock, pausing campaigns, losing organic rank, and then trying to restart the flywheel after the window has passed.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: On the other side, nothing strains cash flow faster than overbuying inventory that demand does not support.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: The answer is not panic ordering.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: The answer is scenario planning.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Review supplier concentration.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Understand where products are manufactured and where raw materials originate.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Check compliance documentation.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Stress test margins against tariff changes.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Review reorder timelines, supplier lead times, peak season forecasts, and cash flow assumptions.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: The next generation of e-commerce winners will not just market better, they will plan better.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let's talk about the consumer because McKinsey's latest research continues to reinforce what we have been seeing through retailer earnings, census data, and NRF reports.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Consumers are still spending, but they are more selective.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: The consumer has not disappeared.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: The impulse purchase is what is under pressure.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: That distinction matters.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: If conversion is soft, it does not automatically mean shoppers are gone.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: It may mean shoppers are asking harder questions.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Is this worth it?
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Can I trust this brand?
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a better alternative?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Will this solve my problem?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Is the price justified?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Should I wait for a promotion?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: That creates pressure on brands that rely too heavily on traffic and not enough on value communication.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Value does not always mean the lowest price.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is where brands get lazy.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: They assume the consumer wants cheap, so they discount.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that works.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Often it trains the customer to wait.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: Real value is confidence in the purchase.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Quality, durability, convenience, trust, outcomes, and proof all matter.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Premium brands can still grow, but the value proposition has to be obvious.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: If a customer cannot immediately understand why your product is worth buying over the alternatives, the market is becoming less forgiving.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: This connects to the ongoing list of retail bankruptcies.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Retail Dive continues tracking major filings, and while each company has its own story, the pattern is consistent.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Weak margins, high debt, poor inventory management, excessive fixed costs, overexpansion, and failure to adapt to changing consumer behavior all show up again and again.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Revenue does not protect businesses, operational discipline does.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: That is a lesson e-commerce sellers should not ignore.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: A brand can grow and still be unhealthy.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: A company can generate sales and still run out of cash.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Top line revenue is not the same as a durable business.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Strong operators are looking at contribution margin, inventory turns, cash flow, advertising efficiency, promotional dependency, and whether growth is creating better economics or just bigger numbers.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: When weaker retailers exit, there is opportunity.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Market share opens up, customers migrate, advertising competition can shift, vendor relationships change, but those opportunities go to brands that are strong enough to capture them.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: If your business is already stretched thin, someone else's bankruptcy may not help you.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: It may just be a preview.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's bring in the World Cup because both Target and broader brand activity around the tournament point to another important theme.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Retailers and brands are competing for cultural relevance, not just shelf space.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Target is building soccer-focused events tied to the World Cup, and other brands are finding ways to participate without paying for official sponsorship rights.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: That is smart because most brands cannot justify official FIFA sponsorship costs, but they can still build campaigns around watch parties, family gatherings, team spirit, outdoor entertaining, summer celebrations, and the consumer moments surrounding the event.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: The key is staying adjacent without pretending to be official.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Intellectual property laws still apply.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot just slap protected branding on a product and call it strategy, but you can participate in the occasion.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Food and beverage, electronics, apparel, home entertainment, party supplies, sporting goods, and outdoor categories all may see demand tied to the event.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that plan inventory, creative promotions, and retail media early will have a better shot than brands reacting after everyone else is already in market.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is also another reminder that attention is one of the most valuable assets in marketing.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: Major cultural moments gather attention that brands can borrow if they belong there naturally.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is not to chase every trend.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to identify the moments where your product already fits the customer's life and show up with the right message at the right time.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So when you connect the whole week, the pattern is pretty clear.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is turning sponsored brands into richer discovery experiences.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is also pushing visual AI search, which makes creative and product data more important for discoverability.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: Reddit is becoming part of the AI visibility layer because authentic customer conversations influence how products are understood.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart's internal AI adoption shows that the productivity race is happening inside companies, not just between companies.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: DHL and USPS show that last mile delivery is moving toward shared infrastructure.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Tariffs and import timing remind us that supply chain uncertainty is back in the room.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: McKinsey and retail bankruptcies remind us that consumers are still spending, but weak operators are getting exposed.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: And World Cup planning shows that cultural relevance can create demand if brands prepare early and participate intelligently.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway is simple.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: E-commerce is not getting less complex.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is getting more connected.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Advertising connects to creative.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Creative connects to search.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Search connects to AI interpretation.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: AI interpretation connects to customer conversations.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Supply chain connects to ad efficiency.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Inventory connects to ranking.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Fulfillment connects to customer trust, and cultural relevance connects to demand.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: The edge is not in hacks.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is in execution, clean systems, and fast decisions.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode helped you connect the dots, share it with someone on your team or another operator trying to make sense of the same shifts.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are getting value from the show, take a second to leave a review so more sellers can find Selling on Giants and stay ahead of what is actually changing.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Mr.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Will here, signing off from Selling on Giants, let's keep building.