Amazon just posted its first-ever $200 billion quarter — and its ad business alone brought in $19.8 billion. Meanwhile, TikTok is quietly testing a Prime-style membership that could change how sellers think about a channel they've treated as discovery-only.
Here's what changed this week, and what to do about it.
- 📈 Amazon posts first-ever $200B quarter as ad revenue hits $19.8B
- 💻 Amazon just moved 3D models to the front row
- 🛍️ TikTok Shop is testing a Prime-style membership
AMAZON NEWS
Amazon's Q2 2026 earnings landed this week, and the number that should catch every seller's eye isn't the $200.6 billion in total revenue (a first for the company). It's the $19.8 billion Amazon Ads pulled in — up 26% year-over-year.
📈 Where the growth is coming from
CEO Andy Jassy pointed to Sponsored Products as the biggest driver, plus a fast-growing slice from AI-powered shopping: buyers who click a "Sponsored Prompt" inside Alexa+ convert 48% more often and spend 21% more on average. Amazon's new Ads Agent tool, which auto-optimizes campaigns, is already delivering 8% lower cost-per-impression and 6% lower cost-per-acquisition for early adopters.
💰 The trade-off
Net income tripled to $62.6 billion, though more than half of that came from a one-time gain tied to Amazon's Anthropic stake. Strip that out, and ads plus AWS (up 37%, its fastest growth in 18 quarters) are the real underlying story — and both are compounding fast.
What this means for sellers
Ad revenue growing faster than retail revenue means Amazon is leaning harder into advertising as a profit engine — expect CPCs to keep climbing and Sponsored Products placements to get more competitive heading into Q4. The upside: tools like Ads Agent are becoming table stakes for keeping ACOS in check. If you're still managing PPC manually, this is the quarter to start testing Amazon's automation before your competitors do.
SPONSORED POST
Amazon just moved 3D models to the front row. Is your listing ready?
Amazon just changed where your product lives.
Remember the "View in 3D" button on mobile? That's gone now.
3D models on mobile are now embedded directly in the main image carousel. Before, it was tucked away and treated as optional.
But not now.
It's front and centre. The first thing a customer sees when they land on your listing, right next to your hero image.
Amazon doesn't move things into the carousel without data behind it. They've seen what 3D does to dwell time, engagement, and conversion, and they've made it a core part of the listing experience.
It's just like when A+ Content first rolled out. Same way for videos in listings or Brand Stores.
The brands that moved first built leads that took competitors years to close. Right now, less than 1% of Amazon brands have a 3D model on their listing. But that window won't stay open long.
Future-proof your brand
3D Images builds Amazon-compliant 3D models specifically for sellers, with a QA validation process so your model never gets rejected, and turnaround times that get you live fast.
No big budget needed. No creative agency.
This month, get 20% off your first 3D model.
👉 Use code 20SELLERBITES at checkout → 3dimages.ai
Need a custom quote for a larger project? Email [email protected] and mention the code.
HOT TOPIC
TikTok Shop Is Testing a Prime-Style Membership — And It's Coming for Amazon's Playbook
TikTok just tipped its hand on how far it wants to go in ecommerce. The platform is testing "TikTok Shop Plus," a paid membership that looks a lot like Amazon Prime — free shipping, exclusive discounts, and coupons, wrapped in a monthly fee.
🎯 What's being tested
TikTok is trialing three price points — $6, $10, and $15 a month — with perks like free 3-day shipping and member-only discounts (one example showed $10 off a $57 hair product). No rollout date yet, but screenshots surfaced in late July.
📊 Why now
Social buyer growth on TikTok is projected to slow to 8.6% this year — its weakest pace in six years. A membership program is TikTok's bid to stop shoppers from browsing on the app and finishing the purchase on Amazon, capturing more of the "final conversion" in-house.
What this means for sellers
If you sell on TikTok Shop, or are weighing it, a Prime-style membership could mean stickier, more repeat-purchase-friendly buyers — but also a platform even more motivated to keep transactions from leaking off-platform. Worth watching before you build a multichannel strategy that assumes TikTok stays a discovery-only funnel into Amazon.
