Top 5 this week

1. ChatGPT Referrals to Retailers’ Apps Increased 28% Year-Over-Year

“AI-driven traffic is still small but growing fast and converting 38% better than average, so it deserves its own measurement plan and merchandising strategy. As ChatGPT sends more shoppers to retail apps, demand is concentrating even more inside Amazon and Walmart, raising the stakes on retail media, pricing, and availability for marketplace brands. Clean category structures, clear value props, and disciplined promo architecture make it easier for AI assistants to surface your products when shoppers ask broad, intent-based questions.” ~Vanessa Cox

2. Retail News: How Socials and AI Are Driving Record Holiday Sales

“We need to be careful not to confuse inflation with growth; seeing record seasonal spend is less impressive when you realize products cost materially more than they did last year. The signal that actually matters here is the 800+% jump in AI-powered traffic that converted ~38% more frequently compared to non-AI sources! To me this is the first major clear data point that turns the AI shopping hype into a reality all sellers need to pay serious attention to.” ~Nikko Patten

3. Create Shoppable Videos with New Canva Templates and Upload in Bulk

“These new Canva templates make Shoppable Videos accessible to small & mid-size brands. Amazon is clearly pushing for richer content to help buyers visualize products in action and buy instantly, shortening the path to conversion. Brands that move early will benefit from increased lift while everyone else plays catch-up.” ~Clayton Atchison

4. Preview Current and Future Costs with Revenue Calculator

“Amazon is clearly trying to push sellers toward better profitability analysis, which is a step in the right direction. But handing over their product costs is a line many sellers won’t cross—especially given Amazon’s history of supplier pilfering. It’s time we level up to intentional, strategic profitability — something I’ll be focusing on and designing solutions for in 2026.” ~Chelsea Cohen

5. Amazon Tests 30-min Delivery Challenging Instacart, DoorDash

“As Amazon experiments with ultra-fast delivery, ad inventory and on-site placements will naturally skew toward items that can actually arrive in 30 minutes. That means sellers who align their catalog eligibility, inventory buffers, and campaign targeting with these new speed tiers can capture incremental demand that never makes it to a traditional cart. This is a signal to integrate media planning with operational capacity so that “fastest” doesn’t just win clicks, but delivers profitable orders reliably.” ~Mak Bidikar

Community

🎙 Cyber Week Wins, AI Agents Rise & US Legal Pressure

Chelsea Cohen and industry experts break down key trends shaping ecommerce today. From standout Cyber Week performance to the growing impact of AI agents on purchase influence, they explore how sellers can stay ahead. The discussion also dives into U.S. legal developments, including a call for better country-of-origin labeling domestic versus foreign seller identification, with practical insights on maintaining margins and seizing growth opportunities.

Watch the full discussion

📦 Blog Post: How to Manage Reimbursements Across Multiple Marketplaces

Once you operate more than one marketplace or region, reimbursement errors don’t just add up, they compound. The strongest operators are now consolidating reimbursement data and workflows into a single system, so patterns of loss (by FC, ASIN, or issue type) can be spotted once and acted on everywhere, instead of fighting the same fire market by market. For brands running multiple accounts across regions, expert reimbursement partners can standardize compliance, chase smaller-but-frequent cases, and give a clear view of recovered vs. at-risk dollars.

Read the full blog post