💰 THE END of AMAZON and WALMART as WE KNOW THEM?

Is the end of Amazon and Walmart as we know them on the horizon?

The landscape of e-commerce is on the brink of a seismic shift that could spell the end for the traditional dominance of marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.

Driven by powerful AI agents and the rapid evolution of agentic commerce, the way consumers discover and purchase products is transforming at an unprecedented pace.

In fact, according to groundbreaking research, traffic driven by AI-powered Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity already converts at nearly 9 times the rate of traditional search traffic.

This radical shift in consumer behavior signals a fundamental change from simple keyword searches to personalized, conversational shopping experiences.

Semrush further reports that the average query length for these AI interactions is now 23 words, with sessions lasting over 6 minutes, highlighting the deep engagement and trust users place in these platforms.

Agentic commerce, defined by transactions initiated and executed by autonomous AI agents, is set to reshape every facet of online shopping. Rather than navigating e-commerce platforms or search engines, consumers will increasingly rely on AI assistants integrated directly into browsers like Perplexity's groundbreaking new Comet browser to handle their shopping needs.

Comet ☄️ Agentic Shopping Live Demo

OpenAI, too, is entering this competitive arena, developing its own agentic browser poised to launch soon. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas emphasizes that innovation and speed will be critical moats, as browsers become a cognitive operating system managing personal context such as emails, calendars, and even shopping preferences.

Industry experts forecast that by 2030, most product discovery and transactions will be mediated through these AI-powered agents, creating a marketplace environment vastly different from today's e-commerce.

McKinsey predicts e-commerce will make up 50% of North American retail sales by 2040, fueled significantly by agentic commerce. Additionally, investment into generative AI has surpassed $200 billion in the last year alone, underscoring the industry's confidence and acceleration toward AI-driven marketplaces.

Brands that fail to adapt risk becoming invisible, relegated to irrelevance as consumers and their AI companions overlook them entirely. Just as specialized brands thrived in the aftermath of the media unbundling by social platforms, the ecommerce industry now faces a similar reckoning

Brands must shift their focus to creating unique, authoritative, and genuinely helpful content to remain visible in these agent-mediated interactions. LLMs prioritize authentic, conversational content, meaning brands must excel in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to stay discoverable.

Three clear strategies emerge for businesses aiming to stay ahead:

1. Price Leadership: Dominating price competitiveness, as Walmart aims to, ensuring AI agents always find you as the best-priced option.

2. Distribution Excellence: Mastering logistics and convenience, a strategy Amazon has perfected, even as their homepage and search relevance fades.

3. Content and Advisory Authority: Offering specialized, deeply knowledgeable content akin to brands like REI or Tom's Guide, which AI agents will value highly in their recommendations.

The shift is already underway. Companies must rapidly adopt AEO strategies and invest in AI-native business processes to ensure their content and products are consistently recommended by AI assistants.

Emerging technologies, such as autonomous commerce and AI-companions, will further drive the need for seamless, highly personalized user experiences, reshaping both consumer expectations and operational workflows.

In short, the next evolution of commerce is here. Companies that proactively build their brand authority, personalize their user interactions, and understand the workings of agentic systems will carve out powerful competitive advantages, much like savvy Amazon sellers did in the early 2010s when 3P selling was new.

Those who hesitate or ignore this profound shift will undoubtedly be left behind, invisible in a radically transformed marketplace.

If you’d like help for your brand in ecom AEO, get on the waitlist for DragonFish.

🚨 NEW REALITY SHOW for AMAZON SELLERS

Helium 10 is launching a new reality series that combines business transformation, mentorship, and media exposure for Amazon and TikTok sellers. Think Shark Tank meets e-commerce makeover.

🔹 What It Is:
Helium 10 is casting 8 sellers for their new series Project X, where participants will receive hands-on mentorship from top industry experts and undergo a full business transformation.

🔹 What You Get If Selected:

• 📺 Featured on Helium 10’s YouTube channel (tens of thousands of subscribers)

• 🧠 Personalized coaching from elite e-commerce mentors

• 💰 $10,000 in Helium 10 credits

• 💡 Actionable strategies to scale your business

• 🌟 A chance to inspire millions with your story

If you’ve got a compelling business and a story worth sharing, this is your shot.

👉 Apply now to be cast in Helium 10’s Project X
Real sellers. Real tools. Real results.

🎥 HOW to CREATE CINEMATIC E-COMMERCE VIDEOS 

🧮  TIKTOK MAKES CREATORS MORE ACCOUNTABLE

Rankster says TikTok has quietly rolled out a major update: Creator Reviews. It’s a game-changer for e-commerce brands working with creators, affiliates and influencers. Think of it like Yelp for brand-collabs.

Now, brands can review creators after campaigns, and while creators aren't required to follow brand feedback … those reviews stick. A low score can tank future brand deals and even cut creators out of TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program.

❌ Bad review = creator downgrade: They can still post, but poor ratings hurt future opportunities.

• 🛠️ Reviews visible to brands on TikTok Creator Marketplace (not public), alongside engagement, audience data, and history.

• 🧑‍💻 Creators are now vetted like job applicants: the platform is treating influencer marketing more like hiring than gambling.

• 📋 Briefs matter: unclear direction = bad content. “Make it viral” isn’t a strategy.

• ✅ Better feedback loops mean fewer viral flops and more polished branded content.

Influencer marketing is growing up. This shift gives brands more control and better accountability, but only if you take the time to give clear, helpful direction.

Treat creators like creative partners, not vending machines. Good briefs + solid feedback = content that converts.

✍🏽 STRUGGLING to GET PRODUCT REVIEWS?

GetReviews has helped 100's of Amazon sellers worldwide collect real and honest reviews by designing review funnels and generating unique QR codes for package inserts.

Add these inserts to your packaging to get customers to leave genuine reviews. Also offer giveaways such as warranties, promo codes, e-gift cards or digital products.

What's the win for you here?

• compatible with Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart and more!

• set up to be compliant with Amazon TOS

Schedule a call today to learn more.

Don't wait - improve your review strategy today.

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📛  28-POST DEEP DIVE on AMAZON’S RUFUS AI

If you’re still optimizing your Amazon listings like it’s 2024, you’re already behind.

Amazon’s new AI assistant, Rufus, is transforming how customers discover products and turning static listings into dynamic conversations, replacing keyword matching with semantic understanding, and even analyzing your product images like a shopper would.

Andrew Bell’s 28-post deep dive on LinkedIn is the most detailed look at what Rufus is doing under the hood and what sellers must change right now to stay competitive. Below is a breakdown of the most important shifts, features, and action steps.

📌 Key Highlights from the 28-Post Rufus Deep Dive

• FAQs Above the SERP
  Rufus surfaces real customer questions and answers above search results, driven by user clicks, not just what sellers write.

• Semantic Search > Keyword Search
  Rufus focuses on natural language and noun phrases. Listings need to be written to match how humans ask, not just what they search.

• Rufus Under Bullets & A+ Content
  Rufus pulls answers directly from your bullets and A+ modules so make them concise, benefit-driven, and structured.

• Vision-Language AI (VLMs)
  Rufus doesn’t just “read” your listing, it sees your images. It uses OCR and image classification to determine context, features, and product relevance.

• Price Transparency Tools
  Rufus now shows 90-day price history graphs, making price gouging visible and undermining artificial scarcity.

• Ad Placement Inside Rufus
  Sponsored Brand Ads and even Video Ads are now being tested inside Rufus’ Q&A interface. This will impact how and where ads are served.

• COSMO + Rufus Navigation
  Amazon is integrating two new navigation AIs likeCOSMO (for layout) and Rufus (for intent) meaning your page structure and language must now serve two AI masters.

• Auto-Generated Content
  Rufus is generating PDP summaries on desktop based on search queries. Your listing must be readable by AI to ensure you’re featured.

• The "Shopping Agent" Shift
  Rufus is evolving into a buying assistant, offering side-by-side comparisons, contextual answers, and step-by-step product guidance.

• What Not To Do
  Bell also outlines common pitfalls: keyword stuffing, vague bullets, unstructured A+ content, and low-quality or generic images.

If you want to future-proof your Amazon strategy, you need to optimize for AI shoppers, not just human ones. Rufus is the new front door to the marketplace and it’s curating what customers see before they even land on your listing.

✌🏼 See you again Thursday …

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
1.36 billion packages entered under de minimus in 2024