Latest / Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast / Amazon Ads Goes Full-Funnel, Target Joins the Deal Wars, and AI Eats SEO’s Lunch

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Amazon Ads Goes Full-Funnel, Target Joins the Deal Wars, and AI Eats SEO’s Lunch · 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 Selling on Giants podcast, and every week I break down what's happening across Amazon, Walmart, and the rest of the e-commerce world so you don't have to scroll through forums or decode half-written press releases.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: AI Search is eating SEO's lunch.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with the war for the top of the search page, because Google's blue links might not be running the show for much longer.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: According to SEMrush, AI-driven search platforms like Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are on track to overtake traditional Google traffic by 2028.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Translation, users are getting answers faster, and fewer of them are clicking through to websites.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the twist: those fewer clicks are worth more.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: SEMrush says AI-generated traffic is already 4.4 times more valuable because by the time someone reaches your site, they've already compared, filtered, and made up their mind.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're ready to buy.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: And here's another curveball.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: 90% of ChatGPT citations are coming from pages ranked below Google's top 20 results.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So even if your content isn't sitting on page one, you might still show up in AI summaries.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, Reddit and Quora are dominating Google's AI overviews because conversational content is what these models understand best.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: That means forums and community chatter are now outperforming most brand blogs.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway for brands and agencies?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Start writing for machines that quote you, not humans that scroll past.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Optimize for clarity, credibility, and structure.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because your next biggest referrer might not be Google.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: It might be an AI with opinions.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon's invite only creator program quietly expands.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of machines with opinions, Amazon's now letting humans do some of the talking again.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically, it's top creators.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Sponsored Content Request Program, or SCR, is quietly expanding.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's invite-only and lets select brands pay Amazon-approved creators to produce content for TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, and then reuse those clips inside sponsored brand ads.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's basically influencer marketing, but built straight into the Amazon ad ecosystem.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Campaigns are flat fee, include two rounds of revisions, and even if the content flops, you're paying the bill.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Usage rights are tight, you can't repurpose the content outside Amazon ads, and licenses expire after 90 days.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: But for brands that can afford it, this is Amazon's first real bridge between influencer UGC and native ads.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway, Amazon's not just selling shelf space, it's building a media network.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that build creator ready campaigns now will have a huge edge when this rolls out to everyone else.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon reinvents TV buying again.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: From influencers to TV screens, Amazon's taking another swing at how big budgets buy streaming ads.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: The new feature is called Complete TV, and it's designed to make life easier for traditional media buyers who are tired of juggling up fronts, scatter budgets, and 15 different spreadsheets.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Complete TV lives inside Amazon DSP and lets you plan, commit, and optimize campaigns across prime video and premium streaming inventory in one view.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It automatically generates line items, manages frequency, and ensures you hit your reach goals without waste.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: For years, TV buying has been messy, too many silos, too little data.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is Amazon's way of saying you can do all that here now.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers, it signals how aggressively Amazon is blending retail media with full funnel advertising.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Expect deeper ties between DSP, sponsored TV, and Prime Video as Amazon aims to own both the shopper journey and the living room.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon turns SQL into English.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if that's not enough to keep your ad teams busy, Amazon Marketing Cloud just got an upgrade that's basically Chat GPT for analytics.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: The new AI-powered Text to SQL tool lets you describe the audience you want in plain English, and AMC writes the query for you.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Type something like people who watch my streaming TV ads and then searched for my brand, and AMC builds that audience instantly.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: It even explains what the query is doing so your team learns while it works.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: What used to take hours of SQL tinkering now takes minutes, and that means faster insights, quicker activations, and less dependency on data engineers.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: For brands running DSP or AMC campaigns, this levels the playing field.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The only barrier now is knowing the right question to ask.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon adds some base to DSP.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, Amazon's taking over your ears.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon adds just partnered with SiriusXM Media to bring Pandora and SoundCloud inventory into DSP campaigns, giving brands access to more than 160 million monthly listeners.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: For the first time, advertisers can use Amazon's first-party data to target listeners across music and podcasts and actually measure what happens after the ad plays.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: By the end of the year, this integration will extend into Sirius XM's podcast network, which includes four of the top 10 shows in the US.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: This means you can now follow your customer from scroll to stereo, all inside Amazon's DSP.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway, audio is no longer a top funnel vanity play.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's measurable, connected, and finally worth serious investment.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon Ads Plus, Adobe equals creative therapy.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And because creating ads shouldn't feel like dental work, Amazon ads just teamed up with Adobe Express to make creative production less painful.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can now design sponsored brands videos, DSP display ads, and online video campaigns directly inside Adobe Express, pulling assets from your Amazon ads library.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: It checks policy compliance in real time, formats everything automatically, and sends your finished creative right back into your account.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye, resizing purgatory.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: This integration means faster approvals, cleaner workflows, and less time waiting on designers to fix a two-pixel logo misalignment.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway: Amazon is closing the loop between design and deployment.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that can produce fast will start winning faster.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Before we move on, quick sidebar.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: If this all sounds like a lot to keep up with, that's literally what we do.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: At Bellivix, we've helped brands sell over$500 million on Amazon and we're verified ad partners specializing in hands-on growth strategies that turn marketplace chaos into clear plans of action.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's scaling ads, cleaning up catalogs, or prepping for retail pitches, this is what we do all day.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Head to Bellovix.com if you want a team that actually knows what the inside of Seller Central looks like.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, back to the news.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Beauty giants go on a brand diet.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: In the beauty world, everyone's trimming the fat.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Cody is reportedly exploring a sale of its mass market brands like CovGirl and Max Factor, while L'Oreal and Estee Lauder are shedding smaller or underperforming labels such as SanoFloor, Declaor, and Smashbox.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: The reason?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Shoppers are showing stronger loyalty to fewer brands, and retailers like Amazon and TikTok Shop are eating into the old Impulse Buy model.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Lean portfolios mean fewer distractions and higher margins.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: For beauty brands on Amazon, this is a clear signal.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on hero SKUs, build repeatable stories, and double down where the margins make sense.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: The era of launch everything and see what sticks is over.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Agentic AI.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: When chatbots get a driver's license.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about the next evolution of AI, Agentic AI.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: If generative AI writes the essay, agentic AI actually turns it in for you.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: These systems don't just generate, they act.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: They'll book flights, negotiate prices, manage finances, and execute multi-step tasks while learning your personal common sense rules, like when to ask permission and when to just get it done.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Michael Kearns, an Amazon scholar, calls this the next frontier of autonomy.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: The real challenge now is teaching these agents how to communicate, coordinate, and make fair decisions without crossing ethical lines.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway: this isn't about bigger models, it's about smarter behavior.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: The AI that runs your ad campaign might soon also be the one managing your inventory.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon to sellers, your money's on layaway.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Here's one that's got sellers talking and not in a good way.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Starting March 12th, 2026, Amazon will start holding your disbursements for seven days after delivery, known as DD Plus7.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if an order ships January 1st and delivers January 3rd, you won't see your money until January 11th.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon says it's to account for fees and customer satisfaction, but sellers see it as Amazon earning interest on their cash while they wait.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: For smaller brands relying on daily disbursements, this could mean real cash flow issues.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway: plan ahead.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Adjust your working capital and start thinking about how this will affect reorders, ad budgets, and supplier payments, because cash is about to move slower.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart adds a new metric to keep sellers honest.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart Marketplace is introducing a new metric called the negative feedback rate, or NFR, which tracks how often products get one or two-star reviews over a 60-day window.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers will need to stay below 2% or risk account flags once the policy takes full effect next year.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to improve quality, but in practice it's another compliance headache.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway focus on accuracy and post-purchase experience.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Two bad reviews out of a hundred can now hit your performance score, and that means less visibility and more risk.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart doubles down on food traceability.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart and Sam's Club are reminding suppliers not to relax on FSMA 204 compliance, even though the FDA proposed extending deadlines by 30 months.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Suppliers still need to capture and share key data elements tied to critical tracking events, along with updated packaging labels and GS1 compliant barcodes.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is Walmart signaling that they're not waiting for regulators to move first.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway if you sell any food or supplement, make sure your traceability systems and ASN data are clean.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart's already watching.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon turns returns into data gold.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon's finally doing something sellers have begged for: clarity on returns.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: The new Insights and Opportunities dashboard combines FBA and seller-fulfilled return data to show you what's coming back, why, and how much you're recovering.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: It breaks down root causes, shows product level performance, and even tracks recovery rates so you know which items are resellable and which are just write-offs.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers who've been playing whack-a-mole with return reasons, this is a serious upgrade.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway, don't guess, analyze.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that learn from return data will stop bleeding margin faster.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Target strikes back, circle week, goes head to head with prime big deal days.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, Target is officially joining the Deal Week Wars.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Target Circle Week runs October 5th through 11, directly overlapping Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Deals run up to 50% off, and unlike Amazon, you don't need a paid membership, just a free circle account.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Paid Circle 360 members get early access starting October 4th, which is Target's way of pulling traffic forward before Amazon's event begins.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: For brands selling across platforms, this matters.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Traffic doesn't just spike on Amazon during deal events, it spills over to Walmart, Target, and even Shopify sites as shoppers price compare.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway: if you're managing ads or inventory, plan your spend across multiple retailers.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Don't anchor everything to Amazon's calendar.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Retail holidays are now multi-platform events, and the smartest brands will ride the whole wave.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's your selling on Giants news and updates for the week.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: We covered the rise of AI Search, Amazon's expanding ad universe, Walmart's seller metrics, and Target's push into Deal Week Warfare.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode saved you hours of scrolls and slack debates, leave a review wherever you're tuning in.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us keep the lights on and keeps the guests coming.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mr.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Will, and this has been Selling on Giants.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: See you next week.