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Originally published on February 25, 2025, updated January 12, 2026
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The Amazon landscape is always changing. Right now omnichannel marketing, AI-driven features, tariffs, and cost-cutting strategies are at the top of many sellers' minds.
We’ve rounded up advice and insights from industry experts to help you stay ahead of upcoming changes and competitors in the year ahead.
Amazon revealed several new advertising features in 2024. It’s clear that omnichannel marketing is part of Amazon’s growth strategy, so it should be on your radar.
As Amazon starts to open up its advertising efforts off Amazon, sellers are going to need to do the same! Amazon is becoming more and more aware that in order for it to keep growing, it needs to venture onto other platforms (ie. TikTok, brand's websites, Google Ads, etc.) to entice those users to shop. Brands are going to need to start doing the same thing. 2025 is going to be the year omnichannel marketing really starts to show its face and brands that stay reliant on just one marketing channel are going to be kicking themselves for not diversifying sooner.” – Andrew Maffettone, Founder/CEO, BlueTuskr
Diversifying your advertising strategy can increase the visibility of your products. Driving external traffic to your Amazon listings can help improve your sales rank.
External traffic diversification beyond Amazon PPC is becoming increasingly crucial for maintaining competitive advantage in 2025. Sellers who master the integration of off-Amazon traffic sources with their Amazon listings will see enhanced brand visibility and reduced dependence on the increasingly competitive PPC platform.” -Ian Rollin Berry, Founder, AMZ Expand
Affiliate content can also help your brand stand out. User-generated content tends to perform well and helps consumers picture themselves using your product.
Affiliate content is more important than ever. It is usually performance-based, so it is easier to scale from a budget standpoint. A strong affiliate campaign can drastically change a product’s success. AI is referencing affiliate content in its research. As consumers continue to utilize AI for their own research this content can completely change the direction of a product’s overall success.” -Kris Weissman, Chief Revenue Officer, Seller Rocket
Actionable Takeaways: Start testing paid and organic traffic sources outside Amazon, track performance, and scale what works.
AI is shaping Amazon’s ecosystem in many ways, from AI-powered seller support to shopping recommendations to audience targeting. We anticipate the rollout of more AI features and refinements of existing features to support the buyer experience on Amazon and encourage more purchases.
Amazon is leaning in on AI across the board. From image/asset creation (including audio) to audience building to consumer-facing tools such as Rufus, AI is here to stay. In order to stay competitive in 2025 and beyond, being aware of the latest and greatest, while also being an early adopter and tester, is extremely important. It is always best to involved with something while it is in its infancy so you can learn what works, what does not, and ultimately how it can have the most positive impact on the consumer journey and ultimately your business's bottom line. If you are not an early adopter of anything AI-related within the Amazon ecosystem, you will find yourself playing catch up.” -Ken Magner, Strategist, Commerce Media, Tinuiti
Your listings will be more successful if you keep AI readability in mind. Make sure your product details are accurate and catch the shopper’s attention quickly.
One trend we're noticing is that AI readability of the content in listings is going to play a bigger and bigger role. There are people now ordering through Alexa, and I think Amazon needs to be able to crawl listings, specifically images, understand what's in them, and make recommendations. So, make sure to run all your images through AI to ensure they're readable and understandable because that's definitely going to give you a competitive edge. On top of that, it's no longer okay to have listings that are under-optimized in a creative way. I think creativity will play a bigger and bigger role as we go into 2025. Thanks to TikTok and other short-form content platforms, shoppers' attention spans have greatly decreased. So, we need to be able to catch their attention very quickly to ensure we're conveying our products' benefits and making sales fast.” -Mina Elias, CEO, Trivium Group
Actionable Takeaways: Optimize your Amazon listings for AI readability and stay updated on new AI features as they roll out. Experiment with AI-driven ad placements, listing optimization, and other existing features.
Economic factors like tariffs may impact the cost of producing your products and packaging. Now is the time to optimize your product margins and prioritize sustainable expansion.
Keep an eye on new tariffs and how they might impact your costs—it’s important to understand their effect on your bottom line and adjust your pricing or sourcing strategy if needed. Also, focus on growing profitably, not just for the sake of growth. Scaling without keeping an eye on profitability can lead to headaches down the road. Prioritize products with good margins, spend wisely on ads, and look for ways to make your operations more efficient. It’s all about smart, sustainable growth!” -Sriteja Srivatsavai, Head of eCommerce Growth, Trellis Corporation
Competition from Chinese sellers will only continue to increase in 2025. Cost optimization is key to keeping your business profitable and competitive. Look for cost-saving strategies to help you maintain profitability without hiking up your prices.
If you’re manufacturing overseas, store your inventory in the same country where it’s produced. US-based 3PLs are becoming prohibitively expensive due to high labor and shipping costs. By shipping directly to Amazon FBA from your country of production, you’ll save significantly on inbound shipping fees, labor, and storage expenses. In today’s competitive Amazon landscape, it’s crucial to find ways to compete with Chinese sellers. This strategy is one way we can start to level the playing field.” -Benjamin Wood, CEO, Angora
If you’re launching a new product this year, consider what shoppers need and how you can differentiate your product from the competition.
When it comes to launching a product on Amazon, there are two types of products - NEED items and WANT items. A need item is one that someone cannot live without in their lives. A want item is something they want but if they cannot afford it now, they put it off. So when you are looking to launch an item - you should ask yourself this. And if you are a NEED item, why does the shopper need YOURS over the competition? Do not just expect more sales from a cheaper price and different color. You have to give compelling reasons HOW you are better and HOW you can give them a happy life with your product.” -John Aspinall, Brand Evangelist, PickFu
Actionable takeaways: Optimize costs by monitoring tariffs, cutting unnecessary expenses, and reducing inventory storage fees. Differentiate your product by addressing real consumer needs and competing on value, not just price.
Cyndi Thomason of bookskeep recommends analyzing your expenses each quarter to determine what can be cut or reduced:
“Each quarter, look at your expenses either from your accounting software or your bank and credit card statements and determine what you can cut or reduce. Is the subscription or expense vital to your business or is it a drain and not providing value? Our needs change month to month and often we forget to cancel things we don't use. This practice ensures you routinely pay attention to these costs.”
Pay careful attention to costs such as FBA fees, storage, and packaging expenses. Analyze your recent returns to identify common return reasons.
FBA fees can drain your profitability if you’re not paying attention. Amazon introduced the returns processing fee last year. If you’re selling a product with a higher return rate than similar items in the category, you’ll be paying this fee in addition to other FBA fees. Look for ways to reduce returns to cut costs. Consider changing your packaging to reduce dimension and weight if possible — just be sure it doesn’t negatively impact the shopper’s experience with receiving the item. Software like SellerPulse can notify you when your products are at risk of incurring low-inventory-level fees and aged inventory surcharges. Have a plan to restock quickly or manage excess inventory to avoid these unnecessary fees. Managing your inventory and returns effectively is the best way to save,” -Jay Lagarde, Founder and President, eComEngine
Actionable takeaways: Review expenses quarterly and cut unnecessary costs—subscriptions, FBA fees, storage, and packaging can quietly drain profits. Reduce returns, optimize packaging, and stay in stock without overstocking to avoid excess fees.
Amazon continues to roll out advertising features and insights. Use them to your advantage to refine your ad targeting for more effective campaigns, says Sriteja Srivatsavai of Trellis Corporation:
“Amazon is making a clear shift toward leveraging 1P shopper data and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) to give sellers deeper insights into customer behavior. AMC unlocks powerful audience-building capabilities by using first-party data like purchase trends and browsing activity on and off Amazon. What’s even better is that these audiences can now be applied across Sponsored Products, Brands, and Display campaigns—going beyond just DSP. This shift highlights Amazon’s focus on helping sellers create smarter, more targeted campaigns that deliver real results. Embracing these tools will be key to staying ahead of your competitors.”
Expanding your audience is the key to growth, notes Ken Magner of Tinuiti.
“Focus your ad spending on areas of growth and not double dipping where you have an easy win. If you truly want to grow, you need to expand your audience pool. Focus your spend on learning about new audience segments, growing organic rank for queries you're not already dominating, and creating as much exposure to a relevant but not brand aware consumer as much as possible. I am not saying I am anti-brand defense, but understanding where that stands from a priority and allocation standpoint is key. Make your dollars work harder and get comfortable with being uncomfortable (in other words, do not get stuck up on ROAS).”
Actionable takeaways: Leverage Amazon’s tools to refine targeting and build high-converting audience segments across ad types. Focus on expanding your audience rather than over-investing in easy wins—growth comes from reaching new shoppers, not just defending your brand.
Finding other ways to reach your target customers can boost your sales. Andrew Maffettone of Blue Tuskr recommends testing channels. “If you haven't already, start testing diversification and find other channels where you can reach your target customer. If you have already started diversifying, start finding ways you can leverage your own data to start to develop true omnichannel marketing strategies to make the experience your customers have with your brand that much better.”
Consider expanding to a platform other than Amazon in 2025 to diversify your eCommerce business strategy. Dillon Carter, Cofounder and COO of Aura, says,
Going multi-channel is becoming more of a necessity. Be adaptable and data-driven in your decision-making.”
A well-optimized product listing is crucial, and it starts with your main image, says John Aspinall of PickFu. “The way your hero image appears on the SERP (search engine results page) on Amazon is paramount. If you are not testing how your main image compares to others using PickFu, you are just gambling with your sales, your advertising spend, and your inventory.”
Build your Amazon funnel and continuously optimize your listings. Mina Elias of Trivium Group offers the following advice:
“Start looking at Amazon as a thoughtful funnel strategy. Stop compartmentalizing and looking at just PPC, just your listing, or just your SEO. You need to understand that Amazon is a funnel that starts with people seeing your product on search pages or brand store pages, deciding to click on your products, then being convinced that your listing is the right one for them, and finally converting. Make sure you're looking at the entire funnel all the way to repurchasing.
Understand how you can:
Then, focus on how to get more people to click on your listing:
Once they're on the listing, consider how to make more people convert:
After they purchase, if it's a consumable product, think about how to get them to buy again and again by using brand follow promotions and encouraging them to subscribe and save.
Sellers need to look at the entire funnel from start to finish and continuously improve every single piece of it.”
Testing is important, but don’t lose sight of the essentials. Focus on scaling what works, says Ian Berry of AMZExpand. “While testing new strategies is essential, successful Amazon sellers should follow a 'test and scale' approach - systematically testing new opportunities while continuing to invest in proven systems that deliver results. Focus on methodical testing across offer, ad types, and creative elements, but maintain discipline in scaling what works rather than constantly chasing new tactics.”
Actionable takeaways: Diversify beyond Amazon by testing new sales channels and leveraging data for an omnichannel strategy. Optimize your entire Amazon funnel—from visibility to conversion—by refining images, pricing, and ad strategies while systematically testing and scaling what works.
It’s easy to lose sight of trends when you’re caught up in daily tasks. Cyndi Thomas of Your Profit Team notes that, "Profitability and Cash Flow were at an all-time low last year. The combination of increased fees, inflation, and high interest rates hit hard.” She said, "Cash Flow Forecasting allows you to look ahead to predict revenues and manage your expenses in alignment with cash coming in. If reading financials is a challenge for you and it's too much ‘hindsight’ then Cash Flow Planning can put you in the driver’s seat, looking ahead and being prepared because you know your cash runway.”
Focusing too much on profit-killing SKUs can prevent you from growing your business. Jay Lagarde, Founder and President of eComEngine, feels that regular monitoring is key. “We created our SellerPulse software to deliver the FBA insights sellers need to easily identify concerning trends such as high return rates, unnecessary FBA fees, and major changes in sales velocity. It also notifies sellers about listing issues like search suppression and potential hijackers. Finding the right metrics to focus on can help you grow your Amazon business in 2025.”
Actionable takeaways: Implement cash flow planning and regularly monitor trends to identify any financial risks for your Amazon business.
Whew, that’s a lot of great advice! Stay adaptable, use data to drive your decisions, and keep a long-term perspective as the Amazon space evolves. Start implementing these strategies and takeaways today to stay competitive in 2025!
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