Top 5 Seller Reads this Week: Issue #247

Top 5 this week

1. Peak Season Guideline for Vendors, New Tools & AI Search

“Amazon’s latest updates hit two key areas: Q4 logistics and AI-driven discovery. Vendors must confirm peak season POs fast, plan shipments early, and prep for rising inventory costs. Meanwhile, sellers offering business pricing now get FBA fee discounts, prime time to court B2B buyers. Long-term? GEO is the new SEO. Visibility now depends on AI-ready content, not just keywords.” ~Vanessa Hung

2. Amazon expands Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) to cover Walmart, Shopify, and Shein

“When the largest fulfillment network connects to Walmart, Shopify, and Shein, even niche operators get access to best-in-class speed and reach. The platforms may compete at checkout, but the logistics backbone is quietly uniting the industry. Expect simpler forecasting and fewer stockouts if you centralize inventory. Tech-powered customs promises actual savings in error rates and time to market. Sellers who harness this tech will be outpacing competitors, not just on cost but on delivery reliability and regulatory confidence.” ~Mak Bidikar

3. Amazon Accelerate: New solutions to launch winning products faster, and global innovation from Supply Chain by Amazon

“I read the move to use AI for product ideation as a classic double-edged sword. Tools like the new Opportunity Explorer will definitely surface interesting gaps, but what happens when thousands of sellers are all shown the same “unmet demand” signals? I’d treat these AI recommendations as an interesting signal; not the whole picture. Brand differentiation might become more valuable than ever as niche identification become commoditized.” ~Nikko Patten

4. October promo wars: Walmart, Target, Best Buy flank Prime Big Deal Days

“Everyone is jumping in on the “Big Deal Days – all with their own special terminology around it. This isn’t a huge surprise. But with tariffs playing a bigger part than any other year, it’s never been more important to take advantage of this 2-5 day event. That said as a seller, be careful to not run yourself out of inventory for the rest of Q4. And if you’re a shopper, get deals while you can – prices likely to go up in November!” ~Clayton Atchison

5. Trade war ‘tariff hacking’: Retailers get creative with consumer shipping strategies, but it could draw scrutiny

“3P sellers with cross-border DTC can trial a merchant-of-record model to pay duty on wholesale values, but only if you lock down U.S. returns hubs, airtight importer-of-record paperwork, and channel price parity. 1P vendors should skip MoR and instead bring AVN/JBP-ready savings via First Sale for Export, tariff engineering, and origin mix—then trade those efficiencies for price holds, promos, or retail media.” ~Vanessa Cox