Top 5 Seller Reads this Week: Issue #249

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Top 5 this week

1. Retail News: Amazon Upgrades Vendor Tools While Retail Media Goes Mainstream

“Treat finance data like ops data: link shortage codes to root causes, fix the flow, and let the new payments report prove the dollars you’re getting back. Set a weekly playbook to reconcile, resolve, and reduce DSO. From Kroger to PayPal, retail media is merging marketing, loyalty, and ads, creating unified customer experiences. Sellers should explore how to leverage these shifts for growth.” ~Mak Bidikar

2. As Holiday Sales Growth Slows, Shoppers Turn to Sales Events, Buy Now Pay Later: Adobe

“Holiday growth is slowing, but the game’s getting shorter: concentrate your ad dollars and stock when the sales happen. Add “premium-with-value” bundles and turn on BNPL promos; it’s a growth lever this season. Sellers may see bigger orders, but watch for operational impacts from higher return rates to more complex fulfillment. As AI helps more holiday shoppers find the right product fast, brands with tech-savvy, well-optimized listings stand to win.” ~Vanessa Cox

3. Amazon Extended Holiday Returns Begin November 1, 2025: What Sellers Need To Know

“I think Amazon’s extended holiday returns are now an American tradition. Kicking off on Nov 1, they give buyers until Jan 31 to return most items. Expect higher post-holiday returns and tighter margins. To prep, audit your returns dashboard, look for returns signals that can be prevented by adding information to listings, and make sure to have content answering every complaint.” ~Vanessa Hung

4. 90 Million Sensors: Walmart’s Bold Move in Logistics

“It’s easy to get distracted by the hardware (which is quite cool), but I think the real story here is the data. Walmart is building an impressive real-time data pipeline for its systems & AI to utilize, which is critical for eliminating stockouts and logistic errors. It’s also a good reminder that the quality of your own data is what will ultimately determine your ability to leverage AI and automation generally effectively.” ~Nikko Patten

5. Amazon Debuts Single-tap ‘Add to Delivery’ Function

“One-click convenience raises the bar for aggressive upselling and attachment rate growth. Sellers and brands should revisit upsell bundles and cross-sell strategies to ride this wave of instant convenience. Optimize eligibility, price points, and thumbnails so your SKUs are the easy “add.” Treat add-to-delivery like a new shelf: clean up PDPs, keep fast-ship tags live. Seed low-friction add-ons where the blue button appears.” ~Shelby Owens