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Welcome to the July edition of the Retail Roundup, your go-to recap of the biggest developments in retail media and marketplace news.
From a surprise pullback in Google Shopping spending to long-awaited features like Brand Tailored Promotions for vendors and Early Vine reviews, the updates reflect both Amazon’s tightening control of its ecosystem and growing pressure on brands to adapt quickly.
Whether you're in performance marketing, operations, or brand strategy, these updates offer clear signals on what to watch and how to respond.
Let’s get into it.
Amazon Quietly Pulls Google Shopping Ads
On July 23rd, Amazon unexpectedly pulled back its spending on Google Shopping paid search ads. As one of Google's largest advertisers, this shift has sparked widespread speculation. Was this a financial decision? A data protection move? A test? Or all of the above?
A Cost-Cutting Experiment?
One interpretation is that this is a straightforward financial maneuver. Paid search is a major line item for Amazon, and halting spend could serve as a short-term lever to boost EBITDA.
Industry watchers point to Amazon’s frequent A/B testing culture, which may simply be another trial to see if the company can achieve the same performance with reduced media investment.
Early signals from the Acadia team show little to no drop in conversion rate, ACOS, or traffic. While attribution windows could still be hiding impacts, initial data suggests that this move might not have significantly hurt Amazon’s bottom-line performance, at least not yet.
The AI and Data Control Angle
Beyond margins, there’s a growing consensus that this decision is about control, specifically over data. Amazon holds the most comprehensive product catalog in the world, rich in user behavior, pricing, and purchasing signals. Continuing to feed that data to Google could be seen as arming a competitor, especially as generative AI becomes central to search and commerce.
Instead of giving that intelligence away, Amazon may be closing ranks. This theory also aligns with recent news that Amazon finalized a deal to license content from a The New York Times, reportedly worth $20 million annually, to train its large language models (LLMs).
💡Later Edit (7th of Aug): Amazon And Google Just Made Up
There was speculation. We imagined all kinds of scenarios. But as of August 4th, the story is simple: Amazon and Google have made up. Amazon is back spending on Google Ads.
Brand-Tailored Promotions Coming to Vendors in 2026
At a recent Amazon Solution Provider Summit, Amazon announced that Brand-Tailored Promotions (BTPs) will be coming to the Vendor side of the business. Although the rollout isn’t expected until Q1 or Q2 of 2026, this update marks a notable expansion of a tool that has already become essential for sellers.
BTPs have been widely used as part of evergreen merchandising strategies. Their upcoming availability for vendors is a welcome step toward greater parity between Seller Central and Vendor Central capabilities.
While the tool itself is expected to function similarly across both sides, there are some vendor-specific considerations. One key difference is that vendors can also consider how these promotions might influence Amazon's purchase order (PO) behavior.
As with any other promotion, vendors will want to factor in inventory and PO status before making decisions. For example, if Amazon issues a large PO, that could be a good time to launch a new customer acquisition campaign. On the flip side, if an item is in CRaP (Can’t Realize a Profit) status and POs have slowed down, it would make less sense to run a re-engagement or customer retention promotion.
Pros
- Vendors will gain access to a proven tool that has already become essential for sellers. This levels the playing field and gives vendor brands more control over promotional strategies.
- Vendors can use BTPs to tailor promotions for specific customer segments, whether for acquisition, retention, or re-engagement, similar to how sellers already do.
Cons
- The feature isn’t launching until early to mid-2026, which means vendors will need to wait several more quarters before they can start leveraging BTPs.
💡Tips
- Use the same common-sense rules that apply to promotions in general here as well.
- Be mindful of how promotional timing aligns with Amazon’s PO cycles. Avoid promoting low-inventory or CRaP-designated products without clear strategic intent.
- Although the launch is still months away, vendor teams can begin identifying which products and segments would benefit most from BTPs once they become available.
Amazon Debuts Competitive Summary API
Amazon introduced the Competitive Summary API, a new data product that delivers featured offer pricing by ASIN, merchant, and location. This API is location-aware, accounting for regional factors like shipping speed differences between the West and East Coasts.
The tool also allows tech providers to set pricing rules via API, moving away from scraping methods currently used by many repricers. In addition, it can incorporate pricing data for competitive and adjacent products, such as those in the “customers who viewed this also viewed” category.
This release is part of a broader trend of increased data availability, similar to how Amazon has allowed visibility into shipping speed’s impact on conversion rates in search query reports. The addition of geo-specific data marks a major shift: previously, such data was only surfaced in select areas throughout Amazon’s ecosystem (e.g. DSP targeting, order-level data). Now, Amazon appears to be making it more widely accessible for the purposes of price and ship speed competitive optimization.
For repricers, this API could be transformational. It promises more accurate and timely pricing data, reducing lag and errors. It also introduces pricing visibility outside of Amazon, making it possible to include competitor pricing from other retailers.
Pros
- More accurate repricing: Real-time, geo-specific data reduces lag and improves Buy Box targeting.
- Better competitive insights: Includes pricing from similar or adjacent products, not just direct matches.
- Visibility beyond Amazon: Access to off-platform pricing gives broader market awareness.
Cons
- Some industry experts consider this update “late to the game”
- Sellers already optimized for speed may gain little from regional insights.
- Small gains in niche categories: Competitive edge may be marginal unless operating at a significant scale.
💡Tips
- Use geo data to prioritize markets: Identify where fast shipping creates a competitive edge, and lean into it.
- Audit repricing tools: Ensure they can ingest API data and respond in near real-time.
- Don’t overlook adjacent products: Competitive positioning isn't just about exact matches anymore.
Amazon Expands Video Measurement and Targeting Capabilities
Amazon has introduced two key updates to its video advertising capabilities:
- Shoppable Amazon Live data is now available directly in the AMC console, allowing advertisers to view impressions, views, and click data tied to live stream content.
- Amazon is beginning to enable targeting and retargeting based on how long someone viewed a prior online video (OLV) ad. This feature allows advertisers to identify and re-engage audiences based on actual engagement time — a key signal of interest and intent.
While there’s some skepticism about Amazon Live's long-term strategic priority, especially following the closure of its creative studios, the addition of measurement and retargeting features suggests that Amazon is catching up with features that are considered ‘table stakes’ in the rest of the video advertising world.
Separately, Amazon appears to be shifting its video commerce strategy. Rather than focusing on embedded social-style videos on product detail pages, it is leaning into Prime Video shopping channels, which resemble a Home Shopping Network-style experience.
If these dedicated channels succeed, the AMC audience signals tied to them could become much more valuable for remarketing and campaign optimization.
Pros
- Improved measurement: Amazon Live performance metrics (views, clicks, impressions) now visible in AMC.
- Behavior-based targeting: Ability to retarget based on actual video watch duration.
- Stronger engagement signals: Time watched reflects genuine interest for more precise audience segmentation.
Cons
- Amazon Live’s future is uncertain: Feature additions contrast with signs of declining internal investment.
Tips
- Focus on engagement length: Prioritize audiences who watched video ads longer for retargeting — they show higher intent.
- Monitor Prime Video shopping formats: These may become key real estate for product discovery and conversion.
- Use AMC data to refine creative strategy: Viewing and click metrics can inform which content formats are worth scaling.
The Early Vine Reviews Program Is Here
Amazon has launched the Early Vine Reviews program, allowing brands to enroll products in Vine before inventory reaches fulfillment centers.
Previously, Vine enrollment could only happen once inventory was live, often leaving new listings without reviews during their critical early exposure window: the so-called “honeymoon period” when Amazon’s algorithm is evaluating product performance.
With this change, brands can secure reviews before or immediately after the product becomes available, which helps listings become retail-ready faster. Instead of waiting two or more weeks (and sometimes up to two months) to accumulate reviews, many will now appear within the first week or two of availability.
This timing opens up a new option in launch strategy: brands can delay their official ad or promo push until reviews are in place, maximizing the impact during the honeymoon window when conversion rates and algorithm signals matter most.
Pros
- Faster retail readiness
- Early reviews align with launch timing
- Better use of the honeymoon period
Cons
- Not a game-changer: More of a helpful upgrade than a breakthrough
- Still requires planning around FBA availability
Tips
- Delay your full launch by 1–2 weeks after becoming FBA-available to let reviews accumulate first
- Time ads and promos with early review visibility to maximize conversion and algorithm learning
- Use this window to hit the ground running with a retail-ready listing on Day 1 of your hard launch
Amazon Fulfillment Center Chaos
A growing number of brands are reporting significant delays and frustrations tied to Amazon’s fulfillment network, particularly around Prime delivery speed, storage capacity limits, and increased fees.
Despite Amazon’s extensive FC infrastructure, including recent expansions and investments in automation, regional fulfillment appears misaligned, with major metropolitan areas experiencing overcapacity while other areas remain underutilized.
The situation is further complicated by rising seasonal storage fees and a perceived disconnect between actual capacity and the data reported in Amazon’s Capacity Monitor.
Pros
- Pressure drives operational innovation: Constraints in Amazon’s fulfillment system are pushing brands to rethink packaging, logistics, and go-to-market strategies (e.g., lighter products, different co-packing formats).
- Opportunity for more strategic fulfillment planning: Brands with strong 3PL relationships or alternative fulfillment options may find new competitive advantages as others struggle with Amazon’s infrastructure limitations.
- Clarity on Amazon’s direction: The tightening of logistics rules and rising fees signal Amazon’s intent to prioritize more profitable partners, helping brands understand how to better align with platform expectations.
Cons
- Slower delivery times: Even for first-party offers, Prime delivery times are slipping, particularly during peak periods, eroding customer trust and brand experience.
- Higher costs and storage constraints: Brands are facing steep increases in storage fees (e.g., over 200% hike starting October 1st for seasonal items) alongside tighter limits on inventory capacity.
- Unreliable tools: Amazon’s Capacity Monitor is seen as inaccurate and unhelpful, making it difficult for brands to plan inventory confidently.
- Ongoing operational disruption: Labor churn and the complex shift from national to regional logistics have led to inefficiencies that are still unresolved, despite continued investment in new FCs.
💡Tips
- Plan launches and replenishments well ahead of peak seasons
- Evaluate AWD and 3PL options for better inventory flexibility
- Rethink packaging to reduce weight and dimensional costs
- Track capacity limits closely and pressure-test your Q4 logistics early
Looking Ahead
As Amazon continues to evolve its retail media and operations ecosystem, brands are being asked to move faster, operate leaner, and adapt to an increasingly complex set of tools and rules.
Whether it's new targeting capabilities, shifting fulfillment dynamics, or expanded promotional programs, the throughline is clear: those who stay proactive and closely tuned in will be best positioned to win.
Stay sharp, stay flexible, and we’ll be back next month with the next Retail Roundup.
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