Just the second Monday of the week, and Amazon has already angered retailers.
Yep, even Monday needs a little controversy.
- Amazon sellers eyeing TikTok Shop 👁️
- Is this new test pissing YOU off? 😬
- Your sales growth: PAUSED ⏸️
- Holiday online sales hit $258B 🎄
BLACK MARKET
Amazon is quietly testing a feature that pulls product listings from other retailers’ sites, no permission required. The bigger signal: Amazon wants to own product discovery everywhere, not just on its marketplace.
And it’s making sellers uneasy.
🕵️ How Amazon is pulling this off
The beta feature is called Shop Direct. Here’s how it works:
- Amazon lists products it doesn’t sell
- Product names, prices, and details are scraped from public brand websites
- Clicking the listing sends shoppers off Amazon to the retailer’s site
- Brands are auto-included by default and must opt out later
Amazon says the goal is to “expand discovery” and help businesses reach more customers.
⚠️ Why sellers are upset
This test is controversial for a few key reasons:
- No consent upfront: Brands weren’t asked to opt in before listings went live
- Data accuracy issues: Some listings showed incorrect names and product details
- Trust concerns: Confused shoppers can mean damaged brand credibility
- Double standards: Amazon has historically blocked, and even sued, others for scraping its data
According to Business Insider, Marketplace Pulse founder Juozas Kaziukenas called the feature “full of oddness,” noting the irony of Amazon doing what it bans others from doing.
⭐ The bigger play: Project Starfish
Shop Direct ties to Amazon’s Project Starfish, aiming to make Amazon the go-to source for product info, essentially, the ultimate ecommerce catalog.
Internal documents suggest it will crawl and map hundreds of thousands of brand sites, acting more like Google for shopping than a marketplace.
🔑 No longer just a marketplace
It’s becoming a product discovery layer for the entire web, raising questions around data, customer experience, and brand safety.
Sellers may face a world where discovery doesn’t guarantee sales, and opting out could be harder than opting in. In short, small test, big implications.
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BITES OF THE WEEK
- Amazon x EtherArts: EtherArts launches all-in-one photography and A+ Content suite to boost Amazon conversions faster.
- Sendle Shutdown Stress: Australian eBay sellers scramble as carrier halts deliveries, leaving parcels and protections uncertain.
- Men’s Makeup Boom: Gen Z and social platforms drive men’s makeup mainstream, pushing brands toward gender-neutral marketing.
- Ambient AI Push: Amazon promotes always-on ambient AI at CES, sparking convenience promises alongside growing “creepiness” and accuracy concerns.
ECOMMERCE NEWS
US holiday online spending hits $258B record
According to Reuters, U.S. shoppers went all out online this holiday season, setting a record $257.8B in spending in 2025!
But while the total hit new highs, growth slowed to 6.8% compared to last year’s 8.7%.
💡 Trends that “Sleigh-ed”
Here’s what made the 2025 holidays stand out:
- Discounts and BNPL: Competitive deals and Buy Now, Pay Later drove $20B in sales, up 9.8% from 2024.
- Big-ticket items: Electronics, sporting goods, and appliances saw strong demand.
- Mobile dominance: Smartphones accounted for 56.4% of transactions, up from 54.5%.
- AI shopping: Visits tied to AI assistants rose 693%, showing lasting consumer comfort with AI-guided shopping.
Even with slower growth, consumers are hunting bargains, leaning on flexible payments, and using mobile + AI tools to shop smarter.
Brands that optimize for mobile, highlight deals, and integrate AI-friendly experiences are positioned to capture more of the record-breaking holiday spend, not just this year, but for seasons to come.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE
How to expand on TikTok shop
Now that TikTok Shop has stabilized in the U.S., you’re likely seeing it as a discovery-first playground. Helium 10 outlined how to expand successfully on the platform.
♟️ TikTok Shop is NOT Amazon
It takes some strategic maneuvering.
- Pick scroll-stopping products. Focus on visually appealing items priced $15–50.
- Tip: Highlight beauty, personal care, or anything that shows a clear before-and-after in short-form videos.
- Content is king. TikTok buyers discover products through entertainment, not search.
- Tip: Produce 3–5 videos per product per week and leverage creator partnerships.
- Track profitability across channels. Lower platform fees don’t automatically mean higher profits.
- Tip: Use profitability dashboards to ensure TikTok growth doesn’t eat into Amazon margins.
- Plan operations carefully. Viral hits can spike orders, and algorithm changes can drop them just as fast.
- Tip: Allocate inventory for both FBA and FBT, plan fulfillment strategies, and scale content production systematically.
⚖️ Why sell on both platforms
TikTok Shop hit $9B U.S. GMV in 2024 with 650% growth, and 60% of sales flow through affiliates.
Expanding early helps capture market share before competition heats up. With careful planning, sellers can avoid chaos while growing across both Amazon and TikTok.
