A practical 2025 recap for Amazon sellers that zooms in on the two forces that shaped the year: tariffs and AI. It breaks down why tariff pressure mattered even outside Amazon, how brands that understood their numbers planned inventory ahead of cost shocks, and why “AI on Amazon” hasn’t fully moved the needle yet compared to the wider AI ecosystem. It also dives into how AI is changing performance marketing through faster creative production and testing (more variants, faster A/B learning), how Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is becoming more accessible through AI-assisted querying, and what to prioritize in 2026—especially fundamentals like product quality, true business operations, and demand generation beyond ads and organic.
Key Takeaways
- Tariffs were the silent tax on everything. Even though they aren’t “an Amazon issue,” they affected pricing, inventory strategy, and cash planning throughout the year.
- AI’s biggest seller impact wasn’t Amazon’s tools—it was speed. Faster creative production (many video/image versions) + faster testing = measurable conversion lifts.
- Every conversion point becomes real money fast. When spending and scale increase, small conversion gains can materially change profitability.
- Amazon’s shopping experience is evolving gradually. Expect smarter search and more relevant answers over time—not one big “AI switch” moment.
- AMC is becoming more usable for more sellers. AI-assisted querying lowers the skill barrier and increases access to deeper performance insights.
- Operators win: numbers literacy is a growth lever. Understanding margins, contribution profit, and unit economics separates “accidental” revenue from scalable growth.
- 2026 success for new sellers comes down to three priorities: build a genuinely great product, run it like a real business, and invest in demand generation (off-Amazon traffic + creator programs), not just ads and organic.
