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eCommerce Platforms Want Total Control: Amazon AI Analytics, Retail Media Growth, and AI Shopping Agents · Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Today's update has a quiet theme running through it: operational discipline.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Across Amazon, retail media, supply chains, and even AI shopping agents, the platforms are slowly tightening the rules of the game.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you run a brand, the companies that win the next few years are the ones that operate cleanly, not the ones chasing hacks.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with one of those operational rules that shows up every single summer.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon just reminded sellers that meltable inventory needs to be out of FBA before April 20th.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a new rule.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: But every year, a surprising number of brands ignore it and end up paying for it.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell products that melt at 155 degrees Fahrenheit or below, Amazon does not want them sitting in fulfillment centers during peak heat months.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: That includes things like chocolate, gummies, certain supplements, and wax-based products.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: From April 20th through September 28th, Amazon will not accept meltable inventory into FBA.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And anything still sitting in the network after that cutoff can be marked unfulfillable.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Starting May 1st, Amazon can dispose of those units and charge a disposal fee.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of those policies that sounds like a small operational detail until you run the numbers.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine a palette of products sitting in FBA that suddenly gets flagged and removed.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: That is stranded inventory loss margin and removal costs all at once.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that handle this well treat meltable inventory like a seasonal supply chain problem.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Some shift to FBM during the summer months.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some reduce FBA inventory levels ahead of the deadline.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Others use third-party warehouses in cooler regions and replenish later.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: But the bigger signal here is about how Amazon operates its fulfillment network.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: As the platform scales, the rules around inventory quality, temperature control, and operational efficiency keep getting tighter.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is not interested in being a storage locker for risky products.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: They are optimizing for speed, consistency, and customer experience.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that theme actually connects to the next update inside Seller Central.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon quietly expanded Product Opportunity Explorer with a new feature called Saved Opportunities.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you have used Opportunity Explorer before, you know the drill.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is Amazon's internal research tool that analyzes demand, competition, search volume, and pricing across product niches.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: The big frustration historically was that every time you left the tool, you basically had to start your research all over again.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now Amazon is letting sellers save niches and product opportunities directly inside the platform.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Those saved ideas appear inside a new tab called Your Saved and Recent Views.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: You can track demand trends over time, revisit niches, and download the data when you want to analyze it further.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: At first glance, this feels like a small feature update, but step back and look at what Amazon is doing strategically.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: They are slowly turning Seller Central into a full research and planning environment.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Product discovery.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Demand validation, competitive analysis.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: All inside Amazon's own ecosystem.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Historically, sellers relied on external tools like Helium 10, Datadive, or Jungle Scout to build product pipelines.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is clearly moving in the direction of giving sellers more first-party demand data directly in the platform.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And first-party data always wins in the long run.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because Amazon sees the actual purchase behavior behind those searches.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: For brands planning new SKUs or catalog expansion, this tool is quietly becoming one of the best places to validate demand signals early.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you build a habit of saving niches as you research them, you essentially build a pipeline of potential product launches inside Seller Central.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this next story might seem unrelated at first, but it actually ties directly into how retail platforms are evolving.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Target generated$915 million in advertising revenue last year.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: That number matters even more when you realize Target's retail sales have been flat or declining for over a year.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Their core retail business has been soft, but their advertising business keeps growing.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: That tells you something important about modern retail.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Retailers are becoming media companies with stores attached.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon figured this out first.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart leaned in next.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now Target is doing the same thing through its Roundell advertising network.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: For brands, this changes how visibility works.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Shelf space is no longer just earned through product performance, it is increasingly purchased through advertising.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: That means media budgets are becoming part of the cost of doing business inside retail ecosystems.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when retailers see advertising generating nearly a billion dollars in revenue, they are not slowing down.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Expect more sponsored placements, more retail media tools, more measurement systems.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Visibility inside retail is slowly turning into a paid channel.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of marketing performance, there is an interesting report out of StackAdapt looking at how marketing teams are evolving in 2026.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: The top marketers are separating from the rest of the field.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not because they spend more money, because they operate differently.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: 75% of marketers expect budgets to increase this year.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the biggest performance difference is coming from how teams run campaigns across channels.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Multi-channel campaigns generate 47% higher click through rates compared with single-channel campaigns.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, two-thirds of marketers say siloed marketing execution wastes up to 30% of programmatic budgets.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: 30% of spend disappearing because the systems are disconnected.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Search teams doing one thing, social teams doing another, display campaigns operating in their own silo.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: The highest performing teams are integrating everything.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Search, social, display, video, streaming television, all coordinated around shared data and unified creative strategy.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: AI is also playing a big role here.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Advertisers using AI-powered targeting or first-party data are reporting roughly double the return on ad spend compared with traditional targeting models.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And AI-driven creative production is exploding.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Video and motion-based creative increase nearly 60% year over year.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Which makes sense.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: AI tools are making it dramatically faster to generate creative variations and test them across campaigns.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: The takeaway for brands is simple.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Disconnected marketing stacks waste money.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: The companies that unify their data, creative, and media strategies will outperform the ones still running fragmented campaigns.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are running an e-commerce brand right now, that operational complexity probably sounds very familiar.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Which is actually a good place to pause for a quick note about Bellovics.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because this exact problem shows up in almost every brand conversation we have.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: One team is handling Amazon, another team is managing paid media, someone else is running influencers, and none of the data is actually connected.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: That is where things break.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Bellovics has helped brands generate over$500 million in Amazon sales by bringing those moving pieces into one operating strategy.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: We are also a verified Amazon ads partner.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Our focus is not theory.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: It is hands-on execution that turns marketplace complexity into a clear plan for growth.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: If your brand is trying to scale across Amazon while also coordinating paid media, creative, and influencer strategy, that alignment matters more than most people realize.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn more at Bellovics.com.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, while marketing complexity is rising, retailers are dealing with a completely different challenge on the supply chain side.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Tariffs are back in the conversation again.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Costco recently confirmed they are already adjusting sourcing strategies to deal with potential tariff increases in 2026.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: The company is negotiating with suppliers, shifting manufacturing to alternative countries, and preparing for selective price adjustments.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Costco has always been known for a limited SKU strategy.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: That small assortment gives them serious negotiating leverage with suppliers, but even Costco is preparing for cost pressure.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: For brands, tariffs create a difficult balancing act.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Retail partners will push suppliers to absorb the cost increases.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Suppliers push back because their margins shrink.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, someone has to move prices.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that survive these cycles usually have more diversified supply chains.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you rely on one manufacturing region and trade policy suddenly shifts, your margin can disappear overnight.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Tariffs are not new, but they remain one of the most unpredictable forces in global retail.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And supply chains in general are entering a new phase.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: After the pandemic surge in demand, retail growth has normalized.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds healthy.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: But it is exposing a lot of operational inefficiencies.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Many brands built huge inventory pipelines during the supply chain chaos of the last few years.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now demand has cooled.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And those companies are sitting on excess inventory while margins tighten.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, customer expectations have not gone backwards.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Consumers still expect fast delivery, consistent availability, and seamless shopping across channels.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So brands are stuck balancing two competing pressures.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Reduce costs, but still deliver premium service.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: That tension is driving investment into supply chain visibility tools, better forecasting systems, and automation.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: The companies that manage inventory precisely will outperform the ones still operating with guesswork.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And inventory discipline connects directly to another massive cost problem in retail.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Returns.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: A new industry report estimates retailers processed$706 billion in returns last year.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Roughly$100 billion of that is considered preventable loss tied to fraud or abuse.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: But fraud is not the only issue.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Operational complexity is the bigger story.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: About 81% of returns happen in store, and nearly 30% of returns are what retailers call boris by online return in store.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: That behavior sounds convenient for customers, but it creates major operational headaches, inventory moving across channels.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Disconnected return systems, manual store processing.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Every time an item goes through the return process, retailers lose roughly 30% of its value, which is why many retailers are investing heavily in unified return data systems.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: They want to detect fraud earlier, manage inventory better, and reduce unnecessary losses.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Convenient return policies are not going away.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Customers expect them, but retailers are becoming much more strategic about how they manage that risk.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And while retailers work through these operational challenges, they are also investing heavily in something that used to be considered a luxury: personalization.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Costco is expanding its digital personalization strategy to better tailor promotions and recommendations to members.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is interesting because Costco historically relied almost entirely on the warehouse experience.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Walk the aisles, discover products, buy in bulk.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: But now the company is leaning deeper into data-driven marketing.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Purchase history, behavioral data, and personalized messaging are all being used to improve engagement and repeat purchasing.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: For membership-driven retailers like Costco, personalization can dramatically increase basket size and lifetime value.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is a reminder that even the most traditional retail models are evolving into data-driven ecosystems.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of data, Amazon is pushing AI deeper into seller central analytics.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Sellers will soon be able to ask questions about their account performance using natural language.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of digging through dashboards, you can ask something like, why did my sales drop last week?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Or which ASINs are driving the most advertising revenue?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: The AI then generates summaries and recommended actions.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: For smaller sellers, this acts like a built-in analyst.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: For larger operators, it speeds up the process of identifying trends across huge data sets.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: But this tool should be treated as an assistant, not an autopilot.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: AI can surface patterns, but experienced operators still need to validate the insights and decide what actions actually make sense.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because the last thing you want is a machine making strategic decisions about inventory, advertising, or pricing without human oversight.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if we zoom out even further, the next evolution of commerce might involve AI doing something even more dramatic.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, completing purchases for consumers.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: A new report from McKinsey describes what they call agentic commerce.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: The idea is simple but powerful.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of consumers browsing listings or comparing products manually, AI agents handle the process.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: They analyze reviews, compare pricing, evaluate product features, and then complete the purchase automatically on behalf of the consumer.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, these systems mostly influence decisions.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: But the next phase involves actual transaction execution.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: That would fundamentally change how products are discovered online.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of optimizing purely for human shoppers, brands may need to optimize for machine readable data.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Clear product specifications, structured information, trusted brand signals.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: All signals that an AI shopping agent can evaluate.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: The fundamentals still matter: pricing, fulfillment, reliability, strong reviews, but the interface between consumer and product could shift dramatically over the next decade.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, one story that shows how consumer brands continue evolving inside retail.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: A startup energy drink called Update just brought on Kim Kardashian as a co-founder.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: The brand is launching a major retail rollout at Walmart with an exclusive variety pack hitting more than 4,000 stores.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the more interesting piece is the product itself.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of caffeine, the drink uses perixanthine.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is the compound the body naturally produces after metabolizing caffeine.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: The positioning is energy without the jitters, crashes, or sleep disruption.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: It is part of a broader shift in the energy drink category.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Moving away from aggressive performance branding toward wellness-oriented formulations, younger consumers, especially Gen Z, are driving demand for functional beverages that feel closer to supplements than traditional energy drinks.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Celebrity-backed brands can accelerate awareness quickly, but long-term success will still depend on product performance, distribution, and sustained consumer demand.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because retail eventually filters out the hype.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: What survives is what people keep buying.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we wrap up, there was a really interesting conversation happening in the Amazon seller forums recently.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Someone asked a simple question.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: One seller put it perfectly.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: That means understanding the rules, the economics, and the workflows before you blame the platform.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Another seller said something even more direct.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Selling on Amazon is a profession, not a hobby.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: That means learning product requirements, listing policies, labeling standards, and category restrictions before your first shipment ever goes into FBA.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: One piece of advice I strongly agree with was this: Inspect your inventory before trusting the supply chain.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Do not send your first product order straight into FBA without verifying packaging, labeling, and product quality.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: That one step can prevent an expensive disaster.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the final point from the forum that really matters today: Amazon increasingly rewards brands, not resellers chasing quick flips.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Brand registry, strong creative, differentiated products, and consistent traffic all matter more than they did five years ago.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: If I were adding one final piece of advice for new sellers, it would be this ads do not fix a weak listing.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Advertising drives traffic.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: But conversion still depends on positioning, images, pricing, and trust.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon is not a shortcut business, it is an operating system.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Learn how it works, build a real brand, execute patiently, and the results tend to follow.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: That is it for this week's news and updates.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy these breakdowns, make sure you subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to the podcast.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is Mr.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Will, signing off from the Selling on Giants podcast.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Keep building, keep testing, and keep operating like the brands that win.