Amazon Sellers stay one step ahead with our insightful newsletter - 'Unlock Your Success.' Every week
Share
Amazon News: AI Shakeups, Payout Controversy & Holiday Sales Wars
Published 10 days ago • 9 min read
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News
Hey Reader,
We’re back with another action-packed edition of your weekly newsletter. From AI shaking up e-commerce to Amazon’s latest payout policy controversy, here’s everything you need to know to stay ahead. Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific!
We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.
ChatGPT is becoming a major driver of online shopping traffic, accounting for 20% of Walmart’s referrals and significant shares for Etsy, Target, and eBay. Shoppers are increasingly relying on AI recommendations instead of traditional search engines, shifting how consumers discover products online.
Amazon, however, has blocked AI crawlers to protect its $56B ad business and instead pushes its own AI assistant, Rufus. For Amazon sellers, this means rivals may gain traffic from AI tools while Amazon maintains a closed ecosystem, so staying alert to how AI shopping evolves will be critical.
OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, allowing users to make single-item purchases directly from U.S. Etsy sellers, with Shopify’s million-plus merchants coming soon. This lets shoppers complete transactions without leaving ChatGPT, signaling a major shift in how consumers buy online.
Etsy’s stock jumped 16% on the news, while Shopify gained 6%, reflecting market confidence in AI-driven commerce. For Amazon sellers, this development highlights how AI shopping assistants may funnel traffic and sales toward competitors, raising the stakes for Amazon’s own chatbot Rufus and seller ecosystem.
Chinese sellers now make up 50.03% of Amazon’s global active seller base, marking the first time they’ve surpassed half of all sellers across international marketplaces. Their rise has been fueled by AI-powered listing optimization, proximity to manufacturing, and government export subsidies, allowing them to compete on price while scaling quickly.
For Amazon sellers in the U.S. and other regions, the key takeaway is that while Chinese sellers dominate in numbers, American sellers still generate more revenue per seller, averaging over double the sales. Competing successfully will require leveraging AI tools, improving efficiency, and differentiating through branding and premium positioning rather than just pricing.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue collecting tariffs and processing cargo during the government shutdown, keeping trade lanes open. However, staffing cuts are slowing documentation reviews, compliance checks, and inspections for regulated goods, leading to potential bottlenecks.
For Amazon sellers and importers, this could mean delays in moving goods through ports, higher warehouse pressure, and risks to sensitive or seasonal inventory. Prolonged shutdowns also raise costs across trucking, retail, and e-commerce, making it critical to plan ahead, reroute shipments if possible, and closely monitor supply chain partners.
Keepa quietly rolled out a new feature that lets you see the full historical product catalog of any Amazon seller just by using their seller ID. This goes beyond current inventory, allowing you to track what items competitors have sold in the past, including seasonal products and replenishable items.
For Amazon sellers, this means you can reverse source wholesalers, spot holiday winners from last year, and identify replen opportunities your competitors are likely to bring back. It’s a powerful sourcing and competitive research tool that could reshape how sellers plan inventory and find suppliers.
Isaac Gross shared that Amazon just released a PPC update allowing sellers to see placement performance for Amazon Business ads broken down by Top of Search, Product Pages, and Rest of Search. Previously, sellers could only see overall Business Placement data without this level of detail.
For Amazon sellers, this means sharper insights into where ad spend is actually performing within Amazon Business, helping optimize bids and budgets. If your campaigns drive significant traffic from Business customers, this new reporting can highlight high-ROI placements and uncover wasted spend.
Amazon has launched a grocery line where most items cost less than $5, positioning it as a value-focused brand in the competitive grocery space. This expansion into low-priced essentials reflects Amazon’s push to capture more share in the everyday consumer goods market.
For Amazon sellers—especially those in grocery, household staples, or consumables—this signals heightened competition on pricing and margins. If you’re selling in similar categories, expect pressure to match or differentiate beyond price through quality, branding, or convenience.
Starting March 12, 2026, Amazon will move seller payouts to a new standard reserve of seven days after the delivery date (DD+7). This means funds from sales will be available later, potentially creating cashflow issues—especially for sellers dealing with shipping delays or untracked packages.
Amazon says the policy gives time for fees, returns, and customer evaluations, but many sellers view it as Amazon holding funds longer to earn interest. The change has sparked backlash, with sellers citing added financial strain on top of existing frustrations like lost inventory reimbursements, A-to-Z claims, and brand gating.
Amazon briefly suspended drone deliveries after two Prime Air MK30 drones collided with a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, causing major damage and a fire. No injuries were reported, and Amazon says deliveries will resume after adding new safety procedures like enhanced landscape inspections.
For Amazon sellers, this shows both the progress and risks of Amazon’s push into faster last-mile delivery using drones. While innovative, these setbacks highlight the experimental nature of drone logistics and how it could affect future fulfillment options for lightweight products.
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days returns October 7–8, kicking off the holiday season with millions of discounts across popular categories like toys, electronics, and beauty. The event is exclusive to Prime members and will be supported by Amazon’s AI tools like Rufus and Lens to help customers find and organize deals more easily.
For Amazon sellers, this event signals a major demand surge, requiring careful inventory planning, competitive pricing, and promotional strategies to capture shopper attention. With expanded global participation and curated gift collections, sellers should prepare for both heightened competition and an opportunity to boost Q4 sales.
Walmart is kicking off the holiday shopping season with its six-day Deals Event from October 7–12, overlapping Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days but running four days longer. The event features discounts across electronics, toys, home, fashion, and more, with Walmart+ members getting early access on October 6.
Unlike Amazon’s Prime-exclusive sale, Walmart’s event is open to all shoppers, though Walmart+ members enjoy extra perks like earlier online access and free shipping with no minimum. For Amazon sellers, this signals intense price competition as Walmart positions itself as a direct alternative, forcing sellers to monitor pricing strategies closely during Q4.
Steven Pope outlines a step-by-step process for fixing incorrect UPC codes on Amazon listings, starting with purchasing proper GS1 codes and creating a duplicate listing. Once set up, sellers should email Amazon with both ASINs and supporting documentation, such as product images or website links, to request a merge.
If Amazon doesn’t update the UPC, sellers can push changes via feed files, check other marketplaces for consistency, and escalate through Seller Support chat for faster resolution. For Amazon sellers, this guide provides a practical framework to correct UPC issues that can otherwise block listings, ads, or brand growth.
A+ Content can transform Amazon listings by boosting conversion rates, improving brand image, and creating stronger customer engagement. The process includes preparing product details and images, writing compelling text, and using comparison charts and visuals to highlight product advantages.
Optimization through SEO, testing, and performance analysis ensures maximum impact, while inspiration from top-performing listings shows how to stand out in a crowded marketplace. For sellers, A+ Content isn’t just about visuals—it’s about storytelling that builds trust, drives sales, and strengthens brand loyalty.
GPT-5 is transforming how sellers build Amazon product images, turning a single real product photo into full lifestyle galleries, infographics, Sponsored Brand banners, and Premium A+ modules—all in hours instead of weeks. By combining creativity, reasoning, and instruction-following, GPT-5 can maintain logo accuracy, scale, and brand consistency while delivering multiple high-quality variations.
Sellers can generate lifestyle shots, replicate styles from existing infographics, and produce A+ content in the correct formats for Amazon modules, all while keeping costs dramatically lower than traditional photography. The shift isn’t just about images—it’s about using structured prompts to streamline workflows, create cohesive branding, and accelerate testing for better conversions.
Amazon now allows sellers to issue partial refunds without requiring customers to return products for FBA orders in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. This change can save sellers money on return shipping and processing, while also speeding up the returns process.
Sellers can set custom refund percentages, choose which products qualify, and adjust participation at any time, giving more control over returns management. Transactions are tracked in the FBA Returns dashboard under “Return not expected,” making it easier to monitor activity.
Amazon has introduced the Insights and Opportunities dashboard, giving sellers a centralized view of customer returns and recovery performance for both FBA and seller-fulfilled orders. Sellers can now track weekly and monthly return trends, as well as drill down into product-level issues that drive returns.
The dashboard also provides actionable recommendations based on customer feedback, helping sellers refine their processes and improve satisfaction. For FBA users, it includes recovery metrics to show what happens to customer-returned inventory, offering better visibility into costs and opportunities.
Juozas Kaziukėnas argues that ChatGPT checkout works best for boring, expensive, or research-heavy purchases like appliances or robot vacuums, but not for fun or fashion-driven items that rely on visuals and media. He points out that TikTok dominates impulse-driven, fun shopping with short videos, while Amazon already makes boring, cheap buys like toilet paper quick and easy.
For sellers, this means AI-assisted checkout could reshape routine reorders and considered purchases, while categories that thrive on visual engagement will need richer tools to compete. He expects Amazon and Walmart to dominate repeat essentials with AI, while niche tools tackle fashion and lifestyle categories.
A TikToker revealed how some Amazon sellers inflate product prices in October to manipulate Amazon’s six-week average pricing rule, creating “fake discounts” during Black Friday. By raising prices early, sellers can later advertise steep discounts that aren’t truly deals, leaving buyers paying close to the original price.
For Amazon sellers, this exposes a controversial tactic in the marketplace and highlights the growing scrutiny of discount practices. Savvy shoppers are being warned to track prices ahead of sales, meaning transparency and trust could become key differentiators for honest sellers.
Todd’s Top Tip: Unlock FBA Fee Discounts for Business Orders
Sellers, here’s a practical update for September 2025: set up Amazon Business pricing to access the new FBA multi-unit fulfillment fee discount.
Effective September 24, 2025, Amazon offers up to $1.17 per unit off fulfillment fees on qualifying B2B orders, a rare reduction amid typical fee increases.
This applies to orders of two or more units of the same product in small or large standard sizes, with discounts scaling by quantity (starting at 3% off standard fees).
It targets over 8 million business customers who order larger volumes with lower return rates, potentially boosting sales by 5-20% through better margins and traffic.
Your plan:
In Seller Central, go to “Pricing” > “Business Pricing” and enable Amazon Business pricing.
Set tiered quantity discounts of 3% or more off your standard price for 2+ units (e.g., 5% off for 5-9 units).
Select eligible ASINs in small/large standard sizes, like office supplies or bulk pet products.
Review the discount tiers in the Business Pricing dashboard to ensure FBA fee reductions apply.
Audit existing listings for optimization, layering in higher quantity tiers for Q4 volume.
Monitor performance in the Pricing Health report, tracking B2B orders and margin improvements.
This strategy expands your reach to high-volume buyers while improving profitability.
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News Hey Reader, This week’s news dives deep into new taxes, shifting ad costs, underwhelming Prime Day performance, and some surprising marketplace trends that could shape your Q4 strategy. Let’s get into it.Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific! We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook. Let’s dive in!Click...
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News Hey Reader, This week brought game-changing updates—from a massive FTC settlement to new seller tools, competitive threats, and marketplace shakeups. Here’s what you need to know:Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific! We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook. Let’s dive in!Click here to read on our website...
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News Hey Reader,This week’s e-commerce updates are packed with AI innovation, policy shifts, major marketplace moves, and new opportunities to stay ahead. Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific! We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook. Let’s dive in!Click here to read on our website News AI Takes the Helm:...