Once known for driving a humble Honda Accord, Jeff Bezos is now a spacefaring billionaire with a $263.8 billion net worth. He may be cruising on a half-billion-dollar yacht, but back on land, the retail world isn’t slowing down.
Here's what the rest of us are keeping an eye on this week:
- Amazon drops fees on Walmart orders 🤝
- Sell on Walmart for back-to-school 🏫
- Courier makes $10B where Amazon snoozed 💸
- Shoppers still hesitant post-tariffs 😐
BIG IDEA
In a rare act of platform détente, Amazon is waiving the 5% surcharge typically tacked onto Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) orders sent to Walmart customers.
The waiver runs through January 14, 2026. But according to Supply Chain Dive, there’s a catch—or three. 😅
📦 Comply or pay
To tap into the waiver, sellers must:
- Block Amazon Logistics to avoid Prime-branded deliveries
- Ship in neutral, unbranded packaging
- Use third-party carriers to dodge branding mishaps
Miss any of these and the 5% surcharge kicks back in.
💡 Why Amazon’s doing it
This change follows Walmart's own pressure campaign, which called out Amazon's fees while spotlighting its own fulfillment perks. So, this isn’t a giveaway. It’s a calculated play to:
- Expand its logistics footprint beyond its own marketplace
- Lock sellers into its MCF system across platforms
- Collect richer fulfillment data even if Walmart claims the sale
🕒 Laying groundwork
With 18 months of data and adoption, Amazon bets sellers will:
- Build habits around neutral-box MCF fulfillment
- Treat MCF as the default backend—even for rivals
- Ultimately see Amazon as the "universal" fulfillment engine
So yes, it looks like a favor. But it’s really a funnel, one that leads sellers deeper into Amazon’s delivery domain, box by box.
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BITES OF THE WEEK
- Compassionate Consumerism: U.K.'s new platform BuytoGive makes it easier to shop and donate at the same time.
- Counting Views: Social media platforms vary in the way they measure and count "views" metrics.
- Paying in Coins: The use of stablecoins in commerce is growing with modular stack Coinbase Payments leading the charge.
- Valuable SEA: GenAI is pushing Southeast Asia’s Ecommerce to unlocking $131B annual value by 2030.
ECOMMERCE NEWS
Courier cashed in $10B on the market Amazon ignored
From nameless alleys to island-strewn chaos, Southeast Asia’s roads are a delivery nightmare. Even Amazon hasn’t cracked it. But J&T Express saw the chaos as a goldmine—and turned it into a $10 billion logistics empire.
Now, the Rest of World reported that J&T Express now delivers more in Southeast Asia than... basically everyone. 🫨
🛠 J&T built what Amazon couldn't
While Amazon tried to copy-paste its U.S. logistics model overseas, J&T built something local from the ground up:
- Regional sponsors run delivery ops with equity and market knowledge
- Hybrid model blends owned infrastructure with flexible partnerships
- Ecom-first strategy: J&T scaled by aligning early with platforms like TikTok, Temu, Shein, and Shopee
Amazon built everything itself. J&T just built what worked.
🚀 The anti-Amazon strategy
J&T’s rise is a lesson in logistics agility. While Amazon’s delivery dominance is real in the U.S., Southeast Asia is a different beast—and J&T cracked it first.
Now, they’re:
- Partnering with global retail brands (think Sephora, Clarks, Uniqlo)
- Expanding into rural markets
- Testing AI and autonomous delivery (with mixed results)
J&T’s not a threat to Amazon in the West. But in emerging markets? It’s the playbook Amazon might wish it had written.
SOCIAL PULSE
Consumers still refuse to shop despite tariff rollback
ABC News reported that U.S. consumer confidence fell in June, despite tariff rollbacks that were meant to lift the mood.
Why? Shoppers across all age, income, and political lines are feeling jittery about the economy again.
✂️ Trimmed, but not gone
A U.S.–China trade deal last month briefly juiced optimism on Wall Street. But reality settled in fast:
- 10% blanket tariffs still apply to nearly all imports—except a few carve-outs like semiconductors and pharma.
- Legal limbo from recent court rulings has cast doubt on whether the tariffs will stick.
- Retailers like Walmart are already bracing for potential price hikes if relief stalls.
⚠️ Blinking warning lights
The Federal Reserve may be keeping rates steady, but it’s still walking a tightrope.
- The OECD expects U.S. inflation to hit 4% by the end of 2025—a potential spark for stagflation fears.
- Rising costs on essentials and electronics are tightening wallets, even before any Fed move.
Because at this point, it’s not just about the policies, it’s about the perception. If consumers believe prices won’t stabilize, confidence won’t rebound. 🏀
