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Published by Julie Spear
Get access to the world's best brains when it comes to building momentum online for established consumer brands. Join our hosts and their expert guests for conversations about ecommerce strategies, trends, and innovations. Access our brain trust and boost your brand's ecommerce potential. Ecommerce Braintrust
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🎙️News Review with Michael Childers and Pat Petriello DESCRIPTION Welcome to another edition of The Retail Roundup: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world. We have a packed slate today. Joining us to break down all the madness are our resident experts: Pat Petriello on the media side, and Michael Childers covering operations and organic trends. Let's get into it! Quote: "Our world is really complicated, but if you boil it down, the game is all about discoverability and buyability. Both Amazon and TikTok are masters in one sphere and moving towards the other." Pat Petriello KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Michael discuss: Amazon's latest upgrade to its AI Seller Assistant still has limitations. Its new Buy Box diagnostic feature helps explain potential issues but doesn't yet provide the specific insights needed to quickly identify and resolve them. Sponsored Products are expanding into creator content. Amazon is testing new ways to bring products into off-Amazon discovery, but the scale and performance of these placements remain to be seen. Delivery speed is becoming another competitive lever. Brands can now bid for faster delivery, creating potential conversion gains, but also another cost to factor into profitability. Amazon Ads is becoming one connected ecosystem. Bringing Sponsored Ads, DSP, AMC, and data tools together should simplify campaign management and enable more automation, though brands will need to pay closer attention to account governance. Walmart is building a stronger full-funnel ad business. Its investments in streaming TV and first-party data position Walmart Connect as an increasingly serious competitor for larger brand advertising budgets. Fall tentpole planning should already be underway. Brands should lock in inventory, pricing, promotions, and advertising plans early, and avoid aggressive pre-event discounts that could hurt deal eligibility later.
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 tackling a topic that has evolved from a conference panel talking point into one of the most significant media budget shifts in digital advertising: Amazon DSP for non-endemic brands. Historically, brands that don't actually sell physical products on Amazon's marketplace have questioned why they should buy Amazon media. Today the conversations we're having with brands are very different. Joining us today to unpack why 2026 is the turning point for non-endemic media buying is our very own Director of Retail Media at Acadia, Ross Walker. Let's dive in! Quote: If you're a non-endemic brand and you're hitting a point of consistent diminishing returns with your traditional media channels, that's the first signal that you should consider testing into a new media channel like ADSP. Ross Walker KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Ross discuss: Endemic vs. non-endemic, simplified: It's really just "sells on Amazon" vs. "doesn't sell on Amazon" - the jargon is mostly industry inertia. Amazon DSP has hit parity with The Trade Desk: Years of building out premium CTV/STV, audio, digital out-of-home, and owned-channel inventory means Amazon can now support the same kind of full-funnel programmatic buys as legacy DSPs. The real edge is commerce data, at a lower cost: No other DSP has Amazon's depth of purchase-intent signal, and Amazon has intentionally kept platform and audience fees low to win market share while it can. Premium CTV reach is a genuine unlock: ADSP now reaches roughly 80 million authenticated CTV households a month through partners like Netflix, Disney+, and Roku - inventory that used to be exclusive to players like The Trade Desk. Attribution is no longer the weak link: Tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud, the Amazon Ad Tag, and conversion APIs let non-endemic brands tie a Netflix or Roku impression directly to a D2C sale, lead form, or sign-up - solving a measurement gap that's plagued programmatic for years. Endemic brands get more flexibility too: Brands that do sell on Amazon can now send DSP traffic to their own site or other retailers (Walmart, Ulta, Home Depot), though the richest behavioral/custom audiences are still reserved for traffic that stays on Amazon. Signals to know it's time to test ADSP: Diminishing returns on Meta/Google/Trade Desk, or an audience with strong, specific purchase intent are both green lights to start testing. What still differentiates DSPs going forward: As capabilities converge across platforms, the real differentiator becomes each platform's unique owned audiences and media properties (e.g., Amazon's Prime Video, Walmart's owned data via The Trade Desk).
Welcome to another edition of The Retail Roundup: 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 Damiano Ciarrocchi back to the show. He'll be sharing his takes on all things media. There are a lot of interesting updates to dig into today! Let's get into it! "For a long time, the digital shelf and the physical shelf have been completely disconnected. And the biggest problem in online grocery that we know of is just having out-of-stock items." -Armin Alispahic KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Damiano, and Armin discuss: AI Corner: AI-Generated People Disclosure Amazon now requires disclosure for AI-generated photorealistic people in A+ Content. Brands should update creative workflows to include metadata tagging and audit existing assets for compliance. Amazon DSP: Omnichannel Metrics Amazon DSP now attributes sales across retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot. This gives brands a clearer view of cross-retailer impact and marks a major step toward true omnichannel measurement. Amazon Marketplace Operations Buy Box eligibility: More sellers can now compete, but performance still determines who wins. Returnless resolutions: Brands can automate refunds for low-value items to reduce costs, but should monitor rules carefully to prevent abuse. Instacart Updates Immersive Feed: Vertical video ads create new opportunities for product discovery beyond search. Arpalus acquisition: AI-powered shelf scanning promises better inventory visibility and fewer out-of-stock frustrations. Walmart Connect Walmart acquired Vibe.co to make Connected TV advertising more accessible for brands. Negative keyword targeting is finally rolling out for Sponsored Products, giving advertisers much-needed campaign control. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Connect with Acadia's Retail Media Team Lead, Damiano Ciarrocchi Connect with Acadia's Operations Team Lead, Armin Alispahic Connect with our host, Julie Spear Connect with our host, Jordan Ripley Learn more about Acadia
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 are getting into something every brand needs to hear - because what you think you know about your media performance might be complete fiction. We're talking about the 2026 measurement crisis. The moment when the gap between what your dashboards say and what your account shows has become impossible to ignore. And to help us make sense of it all, we have two incredible guests from the Acadia team with us: Sally Kazin, Head of Analytics, and Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media. Let's dive in! Quote: The gap between the dashboard numbers and the ground truth has become impossible to ignore. Sally Kazin KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Sally, and Ross discuss: The growing "measurement crisis" in ecommerce, where platform-reported revenue often exceeds actual sales due to duplicated attribution claims across channels Transition from reliable observation-based tracking to a world of estimation and modeling, driven by privacy changes and a fragmented platform landscape The challenges posed by siloed data, platform biases, and engine inflation in retail media and traditional paid channels Widespread overreliance on ROAS as a North Star metric and the pitfalls of "ROAS jail" for both brands and CFOs The limitations and decline of Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), and why Acadia now deploys a three-pillar measurement framework The importance of glass box (transparent) models over black box or "off the shelf" solutions, balancing science and business art in measurement Pairing MMM with real-world incrementality tests for a self-correcting measurement loop How to communicate with CFOs and senior leadership about marketing impact, translating platform metrics into true business outcomes and incremental revenue The evolution of MMM: from slow, backward-looking models to AI-enabled, forward-looking, and more frequent scenario planning Practical questions for brands to gut-check their measurement strategy, such as verifying if summed platform-attributed revenue exceeds actual sales Common flags of broken retail media measurement, and the need to match ad spend and goals to brand objectives rather than vanity KPIs
🎙️News Review with Armin Alispahic and Pat Petriello DESCRIPTION Welcome to another edition of The Retail Roundup: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world. We have a packed slate today. Joining us to break down all the madness are our resident experts: Pat Petriello on the media side, and Armin Alispahic covering operations and organic trends. Let's get into it! Quote: "Amazon does rule the Internet, but they cannot replicate over 10,000 brick-and-mortar stores that Walmart has." Armin Alispahic KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss: Amazon's AI Intermediary Play – Amazon is becoming the AI layer between shoppers and brands (Alexa/Rufus for consumers, licensing the same tech to other retailers via AWS). Search is shifting from keywords to semantic, question-based queries — brands need to optimize PDPs for AI, using specific, factual attributes instead of generic terms. Full Funnel Campaigns & Title Policy – Amazon's new AI-driven campaign type auto-manages budget across ad types, and titles over 75 characters now get auto-rewritten if brands don't act within 14 days. Great for accessibility, but risks homogenizing listings and losing key conversion triggers — human review still matters. Attribution Goes Free – AMC's paid tables are free through year-end, and a new "Attribution" toggle brings multi-touch data into standard reporting. With measurement now available to everyone, the edge shifts from having data to knowing how to act on it fast. Walmart's Open-Web Strategy – Rather than compete head-on with Amazon online, Walmart is pushing its first-party data onto the open web (e.g., via Google DV360/YouTube) and leaning on its 10,000+ physical stores for closed-loop attribution. Catalog hygiene remains a weak spot for its AI assistant, Sparky. Tighter Brand/Catalog Control – New Brand Registry reseller requirements and the removal of the "Contact Customer" review button both point to Amazon consolidating control over catalog integrity and the customer relationship. Brands should clean up reseller networks and clarify internal ownership now.
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 recorded this episode on June 29th, 2026, just after the dust had settled on Amazon Prime Day 2026. The initial numbers are starting to normalize, and we have brought together a great panel of internal experts to help us unpack exactly what went down. Joining us to break down the event from all angles, we have: Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media, will walk us through the media side Michael Childers, Retail Account Manager, covering account strategy Meg Scavo, Senior Account Manager, digging into the data from the disruptor and challenger brands we manage Let's jump right into it. "If you don't run any deals, you might be down year over year. With all the filtering and AI tools, people are going straight to deals in search, so you won't get visibility." -Meg Scavo KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, Michael, and Meg discuss: Prime Day 2026 delivered strong growth. Spend was up ~23% YoY for Acadia clients, ahead of expectations, but performance increasingly came down to execution-promotion depth, media strategy, and catalog focus-not just participation. The sales curve flattened across all four days. Days 2 and 3 saw the strongest growth, and the classic "Day 1 spike + Day 4 finale" pattern weakened. Consumers are pacing purchases more deliberately, while Amazon's merchandising is actively shaping that flow. Participation is effectively mandatory now. Roughly 9 in 10 brands ran promotions. Opting out no longer just forfeits upside-it can actively hurt visibility, as the traditional halo effect continues to fade. Promotions have converged into a more disciplined playbook. Prime Exclusive Discounts dominate, with brands shifting from broad discounting to tiered strategies-heavier discounts on hero ASINs (30–40%), lighter elsewhere (15–20%)-balancing rank defense with margin control. Incrementality looks weaker, but it's largely a baseline shift. June timing created a "higher floor," making lift look smaller than prior years. Absolute growth is still strong, but comparisons to past Prime Days are less apples-to-apples. AI is becoming the infrastructure layer of shopping. Discovery, PDP content, reviews, and Q&A now directly influence how products are surfaced and summarized, meaning content quality and structure are now performance levers, not just hygiene. Media is still essential, but less about scale and more about precision. Ad spend rose ~24%, but conversion declined through the event as shoppers shifted into comparison mode. Sponsored prompts drove big engagement, but performance varied sharply by funnel depth-strong in lower-funnel use cases, weak in top-funnel browsing. Bottom line: Prime Day is shifting from a discount-driven event to a visibility-and-optimization exercise-where winners are defined less by how much they discount and more by how well they manage structure, media efficiency, and AI-era discoverability. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Connect with Senior Account Manager, Meg Scavo Connect with Retail Marketplaces Account Manager, Michael Childers Connect with Acadia's Director of Retail Media, Ross Walker Connect with our host, Julie Spear Connect with our host, Jordan Ripley Learn more about Acadia
🎙️Interview with Scott Ohsman, Adam Janecka, and Matt Rosenfeld 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. This week, we have something a little different for you. A few weeks ago, while attending the Digital Shelf Summit in Atlanta, we had the chance to join Scott Oshman on the mic for an episode of the Always Off Brand podcast. The conversation was simply too good, not to mention too much fun and packed with valuable insights, not to share here as well. We covered a lot of ground, from the latest trends shaping ecommerce and retail media to the challenges and opportunities brands are navigating today. So if you missed it the first time around, you're in for a great discussion. Let's dive in. --- "We don't need to go out and be everything to everyone on day one, but we need to be very relevant to our core audience." -Matt Rosenfeld --- KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Scott, Matt, and Adam discuss: Breaking into crowded categories and creating meaningful differentiation. Why retail media and digital shelf strategy can no longer operate in silos. Building marketplace momentum through trial, content, and conversion. How brands are rethinking measurement beyond simple ROAS metrics. The evolution of Amazon advertising, DSP, and audience targeting. Preparing organizations for AI-driven search and discovery. Lessons learned from scaling brands across retail and e-commerce channels. Prime Day strategy, consumer trends, and what comes next for marketplace growth. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Connect with Always Off Brand Host, Scott Ohsman Learn more about the Always Off Brand Podcast Connect with the Director of Ecommerce at Trilliant Food & Nutrition, Adam Janecka Learn more about Trilliant Food & Nutrition Connect with CRUSH Founder & CEO, Matt Rosenfeld Connect with our host, Julie Spear Connect with our host, Jordan Ripley Learn more about Acadia
🎙️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 have a packed slate today. Joining us to break down all the madness are our resident experts: Pat Petriello on the media side, and Armin Alispahic covering operations and organic trends. Let's get into it! Quote: "Amazon is essentially positioning its AI shopping agent as the best-in-class shopping assistant." Pat Petriello KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss: Amazon is evolving Rufus into "Alexa for Shopping," signaling a major shift toward AI-powered personalized commerce experiences that blend conversational search, product discovery, and customer preference data. Amazon Now expands the company's push into ultra-fast local delivery, using smaller fulfillment hubs to compete directly with Walmart on groceries, household essentials, and high-frequency purchases. Amazon's new dynamic TV creative allows Prime Video ads to personalize headlines, CTAs, and product messaging in real time based on individual shopper behavior and interests. Amazon Supply Chain Services highlights the company's expansion beyond retail, turning its massive logistics and fulfillment infrastructure into a full-service operational platform for brands. The new LinkedIn and Amazon DSP partnership brings professional audience targeting into streaming TV advertising, giving B2B marketers new ways to reach viewers by job title, industry, and seniority.
🎙️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!
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 "Winning Search, Unlocking Reviews, and the ROI of Content" with Mike Black. We hope you enjoy it!
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 "Vendor P&L Proliferation - Why It's Happening and Why It Matters" with Armin Alispahic. We hope you enjoy it!
🎙️News Review with Armin Alispahic and Ross Walker DESCRIPTION Welcome to another edition of The Retail Round Up: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world. Today, we're joined by Pat Petriello, Director of Retail Marketplace Strategy, who will be co-hosting this week. As always, we have Armin Alispahic here to dive deep into operations and organic industry trends, and Ross Walker to walk us through everything Media. This marks our final Retail Round Up episode of 2026, but we're not slowing down. There's no shortage of major industry developments to unpack, so let's dive right in. Quote : "It's a reward system in a way—if you're compliant and doing well, your score will be up, and you'll be AHA eligible." Armin Alispahic KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Jordan, Pat, Ross, and Armin discuss: Amazon's Seller Challenge: Amazon's new "Seller Challenge" allows eligible sellers to request enhanced reviews for enforcement decisions, offering a better shot at resolving account and ASIN-level issues. Account Health Assurance (AHA) Eligibility: Discussion around Amazon's scoring system for compliance, how sellers become AHA-eligible, and the limit of three seller challenges per six months. Latest Updates in Amazon Fulfillment: Changes to Seller Fulfilled Prime eligibility by size tier, the rollout of FBM Ship Plus, and improved delivery date visibility for customers. Vendor Side Enhancements: Early dispute options for vendor shortage invoices—the team shares both excitement and current issues with the new dashboard. Amazon Media Upgrades: Deep dive into Amazon's partnership with Nielsen for DSP advertisers, increasing measurement transparency and making programmatic media buys more competitive and accessible. Sponsored Prompts & AI in Retail Advertising: Discussion on the emergence of AI-powered ad placements like Amazon's sponsored Rufus prompts, the larger landscape of chatbot monetization, and how other retailers (Walmart's Sparky, Instacart's ChatGPT partnership) are responding. Looking Forward: Reflections on how advertising and ecommerce are shifting toward streaming, AI integration, and better data measurement.
🎙️Interview with Ross Walker & Danilo Alvares of Acadia 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 diving into a big topic this week: programmatic media buying through Amazon DSP, and the many different ways brands can leverage it. If you've been wondering how to get started with ADSP or how to access the right inventory to drive real results, this episode has you covered. To help us unpack it all, we've invited two of our in-house experts: Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media, and Danilo Alvares, Senior Retail Media Manager. Tune in to find out more! Quote: "The key, I would say, is balancing scale and transparency depending on what the brand is trying to learn and achieve." Danilo Alvares KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, and Danilo discuss: Ways to Access Amazon DSP: The difference between the traditional Amazon Managed Service, agency/tech partner "seats," and brands owning and operating their DSP seat in-house. Evolution of DSP Access: How Amazon has opened up the DSP ecosystem, making it more user-friendly and accessible for agencies and self-service buyers. Buying Models - Crawl, Walk, Run: The progression from open auction (crawl) to private auctions (walk) to preferred deals and programmatic guarantees (run), describing the level of control, complexity, and inventory at each stage. Aligning Deal Types with Brand Goals: How brands should approach DSP deals based on their growth stage, goals (reach vs. efficiency), and market maturity. Custom Deals & Working with Amazon Supply Desk: Insights on negotiating custom inventory deals that align closely with brand audiences, often requiring a strong relationship with Amazon's supply desk team. Latest Updates – Project Deal Builder: The team discusses Amazon's new (beta) Project Deal Builder, which aims to democratize custom deal-making for DSP buyers further. Transparency and Measurement: Examination of how transparency, reporting, and measurement vary across different buying models—and how tools like AMC (Amazon Marketing Cloud) help unify data analysis. Favorite Types of Buys: Both Danilo Alvares and Ross Walker share their excitement around mixing precise audience targeting with creative formats and leveraging new inventory opportunities like streaming TV.
Ranking source
Apple Podcasts rankings via the Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed September 19, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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