Latest / Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast / Amazon Opens Year-Round Prime Exclusive Deals, Prime Big Deal Days Submissions, and New AI & Retail Media Shifts

Transcript

Amazon Opens Year-Round Prime Exclusive Deals, Prime Big Deal Days Submissions, and New AI & Retail Media Shifts · Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Selling on Giants, e-commerce news and updates for the week of August 12, 2025.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mr.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Will, host of the Selling on Giants podcast.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Every week I break down what's happening across Amazon, Walmart, and the rest of the e-commerce universe so you don't have to dig through seller forms or decode platform PR.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon now lets sellers offer prime exclusive deals year-round.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Once upon a time, prime exclusive deals were like a seasonal delicacy.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Prime day, maybe Black Friday, and that was it.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now Amazon's letting sellers run them whenever they want.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: No more waiting for Amazon to bless you with a deal window.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: These are prime member only offers, and the perks are real.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Home page and deals page placement, prime deal badges in search results, and inclusion in Amazon's targeted customer emails.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: For brands, this is a new lever to pull whenever inventory cycles or seasonality demand a push, not just when Amazon says so.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you're curious whether you qualify, check your eligible audiences column in your deals dashboard.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if that's not enough deal news for one week, Amazon's already opening the gates for its next pre-holiday feeding frenzy.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Big Deal Days submissions now open.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Think of this as Prime Days younger, hungrier sibling, Prime Big Deal Days.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon's open submissions for the event with an August 21st deadline to get your offers in.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: The dates aren't final, but historically it hits early Q4.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you can clear inventory, test holiday pricing, and grab early seasonal shoppers before Black Friday.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Submit through your deals dashboard, target prime members, and be ready for a high traffic event that can set your Q4 momentum.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's pivot from the thrill of making money to the reality of waiting to get it.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon clarifies how deferred transactions work.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon's breaking down deferred transactions, the money that sits in limbo before it hits your account.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Two main culprits.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: First, delivery date policy, which holds funds for 7 to 14 days after delivery.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Second, Amazon business invoiced orders, where you're waiting 30-45 days for payment.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can now track these in your payments dashboard or by pulling the deferred transaction report.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers juggling tight cash flow, this transparency helps forecast and avoid those, why is my balance lower than expected?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: moments.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of Amazon thinking ahead, their research team is asking a different question.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Should AI work with us instead of for us?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: The modern productivity paradox.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon science is floating a new vision for AI.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Agents that collaborate with humans rather than making decisions in isolation.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: The modern productivity paradox says tech has made work faster, but not necessarily easier or more effective.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers, this means AI tools that brainstorm campaign ideas, flag risks, and adapt to your specific goals.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Think of it as a strategist in the passenger seat, not a robot driving your car off a cliff because it didn't see the detour.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk retail media, where Creteo's trying to hold the line as competitors swarm.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Kriteo holds its ground amid rising competition.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Criteo posted an 11% retail media revenue lift in Q2 and a 112% retailer client retention rate, even as it lost pieces of major accounts like Target's Roundell.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Competitors are wooing retailers with advanced programmatic tools, flexible tech stacks, and AI integrations.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers, the tech partner behind your retail media matters.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: It dictates measurement accuracy, targeting precision, and how easily you can buy across platforms.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: As competition heats up, the right partner choice could be the difference between hitting row as targets and wasting budget.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Before we jump into the next topic, quick sidebar.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're trying to make sense of all this, that's literally what we do.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: At Bellovics, we've helped brands sell over$500 million on Amazon.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're a verified ad partner, and we specialize in hands-on growth strategies that turn complex marketplace challenges into clear plans of action.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's scaling ads, cleaning up your catalog, or prepping for a retail pitch, this is what we do all day.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Head to bellavix.com if you want a team that actually knows what the inside of Seller Central looks like.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, back to the news.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: AI shopping tools threaten affiliates.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Generative AI is cutting the middleman.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: In this case, affiliates.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of reading best of guides from sites like Wirecutter, shoppers can get instant AI recommendations.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: That means fewer referral clicks, less affiliate revenue, and over time, fewer content partners driving awareness for your products.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Short term, you might get sales without paying commissions.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Long term, less affiliate content means less organic traffic.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers should test hybrid commission models, invest in their own review content, and consider how to get products surfaced inside these AI tools.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if AI isn't taking your traffic, tariffs might be taking your margin.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Tariffs on Chinese goods cost US consumers$12.2 billion monthly.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: New tariffs mean shoppers are paying an extra$47 per month on average, and many are cutting back on Timu, Sheen, and even Amazon purchases.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Nearly a quarter are sourcing from Canada or Mexico to dodge costs, but that window closes August 29th when the de minimis rule ends globally.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: For sellers, this is a window to win price-sensitive customers with tariff-free supply chains or domestic positioning.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Don't assume made in USA is enough.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Parts and packaging matter too.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Despite the price pressure, retail numbers show shoppers are still spending strategically.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Retail sales make strong comeback in July.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Core retail sales jumped 1.55% month over month in July, with standout gains in sporting goods, general merchandise, and clothing.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Digital products saw a massive 25% year over year jump.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Consumers are deal-driven and pulling purchases forward ahead of tariff hikes.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: For e-commerce sellers, it's a signal to lean into promotions and urgency messaging through Q4.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not all platform updates are about sales.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Some are about keeping your listings visible.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon Handmade Reclassification Update.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon's reclassifying handmade listings into standard product types to boost discoverability and multi-marketplace reach.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: While sales history stays intact, sales ranks will shift to standard categories and sellers will need to fill in new attributes.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some sellers are finding products reclassified without warning, so check your listing quality dashboard proactively, especially before peak season.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And to close, let's look at how eBay is making the ad spend nudge a little more visual.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: eBay's boost icon pushes sellers toward higher ad rates.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: eBay's added a boost icon that prompts sellers to start or increase promoted listings.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: The kicker?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Recommendations can jump from 2% to 11% ad rates, citing 40% more impressions.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers call it intrusive, and some worry it's a slippery slope where low ad spend equals low visibility.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's another sign that in marketplace selling, paid visibility is becoming table stakes.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's your selling on giant snooze and updates for the week.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: We covered year-round prime exclusive deals, prime big deal days, deferred transaction tracking, AI's collaborative future, Creteo's retail media fight, affiliate disruption, tariff impacts, July's retail rebound, handmade reclassification, and eBay's ad push.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: If this saved you hours of forum scrolls and internal slack debates, leave a review wherever you're tuning in.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us keep the lights on and bring in even better guests down the road.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mr.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Will, host of the Selling on Giants podcast.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: See you next week.