🎙️News Review with Armin Alispahic and Pat Petriello

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to another edition of The Retail Round Up: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world.

We've got the full squad back together today. Armin Alispahic is here bringing his sharp eye to operations and organic industry trends. Pat Petriello is back to break down everything happening in media.

Let's get into it!

Quote:

"I believe we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what Rufus is going to be. What we think of as Rufus in April 2026 is nothing compared to what we will see Rufus as six months from now."

Pat Petriello

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss:

• Amazon's AI assistant, Rufus, is now in general availability, meaning it is defaulted to "on" for all advertisers. Brands are now charged a CPC when customers click on Rufus-generated questions, though current spend and volume remain low.

• The Shift to Autonomous Shopping: Rufus now supports historical price tracking, "auto-buy" triggers based on target prices, and scheduled actions. This could shift the customer journey from active searching to a "set and forget" model.

• Amazon Increases Seller Pressure: New updates like the DD+7 payout delay, a fuel and logistics surcharge, and direct proceeds deductions for ad spend are significantly tightening seller cash flow and margins.

• Amazon just doubled down on its Anthropic collaboration with an additional $5 billion investment. At the same time, OpenAI has quietly launched its own Ads Manager, which reportedly mirrors the look and feel of Google Ads.

• Instacart's AI Creative Tools: To remove creative friction, Instacart is piloting AI tools that automatically resize, restyle, and enhance existing brand assets for seasonal moments and specific ad formats.

• Walmart's Local Delivery Edge: Walmart is leveraging its physical footprint by staging 3P marketplace inventory in store backrooms for local delivery and pickup. This leverages the fact that 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart location.

🎙️Interview With Carel van Rooyen and Michael Childers

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.

We're officially in the calm before the storm, recording this in April with one eye firmly fixed on the summer ahead. This episode is your comprehensive playbook for Prime Day 2026.

We're breaking it down across three pillars: Media, Organic Content, and Operations. To help us do that, we've brought in two battle-hardened veterans who've seen it all - and also won.

On the media side, we have Carel van Rooyen, and covering account strategy, we have Michael Childers.

Tune in to find out more!

Quote:

Prime Day will be treated more as a full-funnel moment rather than just an event. And not every product should be a Prime Day hero anymore.

Carel van Rooyen

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Carel, and Michael discuss:

• Timeline & key deadlines: Lock in deals, inventory, and budgets early. Success starts weeks in advance with strict adherence to submission and shipment cutoffs.

• 2026 strategy vs. last year: It's a refinement year - be more selective with products, protect margins, and plan promotions holistically across multiple Amazon events.

• AI search & PDP readiness: Optimize PDPs for both humans and AI by delivering clear, confidence-building content that answers key shopper questions end-to-end.

• Most important ads evolution: AMC is a game-changer - use it to build and activate high-intent audiences, especially non-buyers and cart abandoners.

• Retail media strategy: Structure campaigns across lead-in, event, and lead-out phases, shifting from awareness to conversion to sustained performance.

• Execution during the event: Real-time monitoring is critical. Stay on top of inventory, Buy Box ownership, budgets, and content issues hour by hour.

• Post-event strategy: Extend momentum with retargeting, cross-selling, and aggressive review generation to lock in organic ranking gains.

• Mindset shift in brands: Brands are thinking more strategically - focusing less on tactics in isolation and more on full-funnel, data-driven execution and experimentation.

🎙️Interview With Lauren Livak Gilbert of Digital Shelf Institute

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.

Today, we're excited to welcome back a returning guest and friend of the pod: Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute and co-host of the Unpacking the Digital Shelf podcast.

Lauren joins us to share insights from a recent report DSI co-authored with Azoma, titled "How to Prepare Your PDP for the Agentic Commerce Era". The report digs into why SEO strategies alone aren't enough for the next generation of commerce, how retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target are approaching agentic commerce, and what you can do today to stay visible.

Tune in to find out more!

📚 RESOURCES

How to Prepare Your PDP for the Agentic Commerce Era

Quote:

We know that the behavior is changing. So get your content ready to be machine-readable, focus on your brand.com, and really hone in on making sure that your brand is super clear.

Lauren Livak Gilbert

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Lauren discuss:

• Definition of "Agentic Commerce" and its implications for autonomous shopping and discovery

• Current consumer behaviors and the pragmatic pace of AI adoption in shopping

• Importance of foundational ecommerce practices: being "brilliant at the basics" still applies in the AI era

• Overview of Amazon's AI ecosystem (Cosmo & Rufus) and how they influence discovery and product recommendations

• Tactics for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), including Q&A content, natural language, and alt text for images

• Distinctions in how Walmart and Target approach AI shopping compared to Amazon, including their partnerships with tech companies like OpenAI and Google

• Actionable steps for optimizing PDPs on Walmart and Target, such as clear titles, correct taxonomy, and answering key consumer questions

• The evolving role of organizational structure and content management in preparing for AI-driven commerce

• Data management as a prerequisite for AI success, and why brands should focus on getting the basics right before diving into advanced AI strategies

• Reassurance to brands not to panic and to adopt a test-and-learn approach as the agentic commerce landscape evolves

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to another edition of The Retail Round Up: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world.

Joining us as always is Armin Alispahic, our go-to expert for operations and organic industry trends. We've also got Pat Petriello back in the mix. He'll be weighing in on all things media.

One month. A lot happened. Let's get into it.

Quote:

"With the ability to hit 88 to 90% of authenticated connected TV households, Amazon ads is truly full funnel. We can engage with net new customers watching a Netflix show all the way to engagement loyalty as subscribe & savers."

Pat Petriello

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss:

• The AI Corner:

• • OpenAI is scaling back agentic checkout after finding users prefer researching products in chat rather than completing purchases there.

  • The $50B Amazon–OpenAI partnership is primarily about infrastructure (AWS/compute), signaling long-term monetization rather than immediate retail integration.

  • Criteo joining ChatGPT ads shows ads will appear inside product recommendation conversations, reaching users at high intent moments.

  • Walmart embedding "Sparky" into ChatGPT reflects a strategy to control product discovery directly within AI experiences.

• New Dynamic Canvas Experience: Amazon's Dynamic Canvas transforms Seller Central into an AI-native workspace that not only visualizes data but actively analyzes it and suggests actions through an agent-like interface.

• Amazon Ranked as The Leader of Omnichannel Ads Platforms: Amazon being ranked #1 reinforces that its ads platform now spans the full funnel, using rich first-party data to drive both awareness and conversion.

• Netflix Taps Amazon's Shopping Data: Brands can now combine Netflix ad inventory with Amazon's audience data, enabling targeting based on real shopping behavior and excluding past purchasers for incrementality.

• Amazon DSP Upgrades: New DSP reporting features like time-to-conversion and audience insights bring AMC-level data into the native console, improving optimization and budget allocation decisions.

• Prime Day Key Dates: With earlier submission deadlines, new fee structures, and stricter pricing eligibility windows, brands must lock in pricing and inventory planning well ahead of the event.

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.

Today's topic is one brands and advertisers aren't watching closely yet, but we think they should be. Amazon quietly added a "Prompts" report to Sponsored Products, and if this is as big as we think it is, it could change the advertising game on Amazon in a pretty meaningful way.

To help us unpack what's actually happening and what it means for brands, we're bringing in our Director of Retail Media, Ross Walker.

Tune in to find out more!

Quote:

The top-of-search placement has long been the most coveted. Now there is new inventory in that same premium space, and advertisers will be competing for it.

Ross Walker

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Ross discuss:

• Amazon is introducing ads into AI-driven prompts: Sponsored Products are now appearing within Rufus-generated, conversational search prompts, with a new report surfacing performance data like impressions, CTR, and sales.

• This is a new placement, not a new ad type: Prompts act as an additional layer of inventory within search, similar to how top-of-search or PDP placements evolved—likely to expand across other ad formats over time.

• Advertisers currently have limited control: Brands cannot choose which prompts they show up for or influence placement—Amazon is fully curating results based on relevance and AI-driven matching.

• Measurement is available, but monetization isn't yet: Advertisers can track performance using familiar metrics (CTR, CVR, ROAS), but there is currently no spend or bidding mechanism tied to this inventory.

• Prompts blend keyword search with conversational AI: Rather than replacing traditional search, Amazon is layering long-form, natural language queries into the existing keyword-driven ecosystem.

• Adoption is still early, limiting scale: Most users aren't fully engaging with prompt-based search yet, but increased UI visibility and AI adoption will likely accelerate usage.

• This could become a core part of Amazon's search strategy: As consumer behavior shifts toward AI-assisted discovery, prompt-based placements are likely to become a high-value, competitive area for ad spend.

🎙️News Review with Armin Alispahic and Pat Petriello

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to another edition of The Retail Round Up: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world.

As always, we have Armin Alispahic with us to dig into operations and organic industry trends. We're also thrilled to welcome Pat Petriello back to the show. He'll be sharing his takes on all things media.

There is a lot to dig into today! We've been on a hiatus for the past couple of months, and that means that we have a lot of interesting news to break down.

Quote:

"There is some risk for those brands that run very lean or typically provide inventory at the last minute for the traditional July Prime Day."

Armin Alispahic

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss:

• Prime Day Rumors & Strategic Impacts: Why Amazon may move Prime Day up to late June, the challenges this presents for inventory and planning, and the likely reactions from competitors like Walmart and Target.

• Rufus & AI-Enabled Search: The growing influence of Amazon's Rufus (AI search assistant) on conversion rates, trust in Amazon's reported results, and the real-world impact, as confirmed by third-party data.

• Sponsored Product Prompts & Media Integration with Rufus: How sponsored prompts are now appearing within Rufus, what this means for targeting high-intent shoppers, and actionable tips for brands to optimize their approach.

• A+ Content Quality Analysis Tool (Beta): Amazon's new AI-powered assessment tool for A+ Content, its strengths, its sometimes blunt feedback, and ways brands can leverage its recommendations to enhance PDPs.

• Amazon's Podcast Audience Network in DSP: The integration of podcast advertising inventory into Amazon DSP, the significance for media buying efficiency, and the untapped potential for brands in podcast advertising.

• Storefront Sectional Performance Analytics: A major update allowing brands to measure KPIs at the individual section level within Storefronts, enabling far deeper optimization and A/B testing across traffic sources.

• FBM On-Time Delivery Rate Policy Changes: Amazon is now penalizing only problem SKUs for late FBM shipments, not entire seller accounts, plus eligibility requirements for this "nicer" enforcement.

🎙️Interview with Kiri Masters of The Retail Media Breakfast Club

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.

As we return from our holiday break, we're taking the opportunity to step back and reflect on where the ecommerce industry has been—and where it's headed next.

To guide that conversation, we tapped into the insights of a dozen former podcast guests, including industry analysts, technology providers, and brand leaders. We asked each of them two key questions: what had the biggest impact on the industry over the past year, and what they're most excited about in the year ahead.

To help us unpack these perspectives, we're thrilled to welcome back someone deeply embedded in retail forecasting and strategy: Kiri Masters, former host of The Ecommerce Braintrust and current host of the Retail Media Breakfast Club.

Quote:

"Retail media will likely see some consolidation as expectations come back down to earth. We may see retailers come together and collaborate more, offering stronger audience insights to media buyers while dialing back the exuberance around retail media growth."

Kiri Masters

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Survey Data

• 82% of respondents identified AI as a key theme shaping the industry

• 64% of respondents explicitly mentioned profitability, margin pressure, or growth discipline

• 55% of respondents discussed incrementality & measurement challenges

• 45% of respondents discussed channel diversification beyond Amazon
  
  

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Kiri discuss:

• The Dominance of AI in E-Commerce: AI remains the headline story, with a huge spike in expert mentions. The team breaks down how AI is shaping advertisers' ability to personalize at scale, the shift from keyword to audience-based strategies, and why AI-powered personalization is becoming fundamental rather than a standout trend.

• Shopper Experiences and Search Evolution: Innovations like virtual try-ons (Zara app example), the rise of agentic commerce, and the blurred lines between upper and lower funnel marketing as AI tools start to both recommend and transact for shoppers.

• Amazon's Defensive Stance and Retail AI Partnerships: With new protocols like Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), retailers like Walmart and Wayfair are collaborating with AI platforms—while Amazon remains a walled garden, raising questions about its evolving competitive positioning.

• Retail Media's Maturity and Profitability Pressures: How retailers' rapid build-up of media businesses has led to ambitious targets, scrutiny around true ad spend sources, and a likely shift toward more creative, collaborative brand partnerships. The market is moving away from "growth at all costs" toward more sustainable, margin-aware strategies.

• Breaking Silos in Measurement and Data: As brands push for unified data across channels, third-party aggregators and traditional data players are filling the gaps that retailers haven't solved with standardized metrics.

• Looking Ahead: The ongoing challenge for brands to keep up with fast-changing tech, automate where possible, but also stand out with original thinking as AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous. There's consensus that both AI innovation and industry corrections will shape retail into 2026.

Thank you for an incredible 2025! 🎉

We are grateful for such an engaged community of listeners. To celebrate, we're re-releasing 3 of our most popular episodes of the year. This week, we're bringing back "The Maturation of AMC for Sponsored Ads" with Ross Walker and Carlos Sastre.

We hope you enjoy it!