Top 5 Seller Reads this Week: Issue #245

Top 5 this week

1. Seller Updates: FBA UK Deadlines, De Minimis in Effect & Mandatory 2D Barcodes by 2027

“With FBA deadlines tightening in both the US and UK, sellers are running out of time—if you don’t get your inventory shipped within the next week or two, you’ll likely miss the window to participate in Prime Big Deal Days. Looking further ahead, start thinking about the upcoming shift toward mandatory 2D barcodes and stricter UPC requirements.” ~Vanessa Hung

2. Media Agencies Hope to Drive Down Costs as Walmart Opens up DSP Roster

“This move could decrease costs, which brands will appreciate. That said, there’s more at play here. I think this is the first step in increasing the flow of Ad spend into Walmart. I think the second step is they create their own DSP, once again, following in the footsteps of Amazon. That’s my strong suspicion.” ~Clayton Atchison

3. Amazon Ad Placements See Sudden Shift Away From Product Detail Pages

“Amazon has deprioritized PDP placements for Sponsored Products, especially across grocery and health categories. This change is likely part of a placement experiment, not a performance concern – clicks and conversions stayed steady. Brands should double down on fundamentals and embrace new tools: focus on high-ROI placements, routinely review and adjust bids, and implement negative keywords to reduce wasted spend.” ~Shelby Owens

4. De Minimis has Ended and Holiday Sales will See an Immediate Impact

“When cost pressures surge, every inefficiency gets magnified. The de minimis change is going to expose cracks – in pricing strategy, or in operations. Brands with the discipline to streamline and the smarts to recover deductions will find new profitability. Now’s the time to double down on efficient fulfillment, reexamine operational costs and keep deduction recovery top-of-mind.” ~Vanessa Cox

5. Target Sees Seventh Straight Month of Foot-Traffic Decline

“This is a great case study showing how qualitative issues have quantitative consequences. All the loyalty programs and seasonal promotions in the world couldn’t stop the bleed when a core customer segment felt betrayed. For e-commerce brands, where you don’t have foot traffic, this might show up as a decline in repeat purchase rate and organic search traffic. It’s worth asking what non-obvious brand decisions might be subtly dragging down your own key metrics.” ~Nikko Patten