Amazon's "fair pricing" faces unfair scrutiny

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Prime Day’s officially a wrap—how’d it go on your end?

Whether you were scrambling to restock, riding a wave of conversions, or just trying to keep your listings live, we want to know: did the 4-day marathon deliver? 🏃

Here’s what we’re seeing on our radar:

• Amazon’s pricing rules face backlash 🔥
• Most shoppers don’t scroll—rank or get lost 🧭
• Amazon's biggest Prime Day moment 🤯
• Early access perks turn browsers into buyers 💳

AMAZON NEWS

Prime Day wasn’t the only fireworks show last week…

According to Transport Topics, Amazon is facing a fresh regulatory heat as a Canadian court has ordered it to hand over years’ worth of pricing data as part of an ongoing probe into its 'fair pricing' policy.

🔍 What Canada’s digging into

Regulators suspect Amazon’s pricing policy might be discouraging sellers from offering better deals elsewhere. That could:

• Limit price competition across ecommerce platforms
• Keep prices artificially high
• Strengthen Amazon’s grip on third-party sellers

Amazon’s PR spin: 

“We designed our store and policies to help customers find great products at low prices.”

Sure—but that doesn’t answer whether it’s blocking sellers from doing the same off-platform.

💸 Why price competition matters

Yes, consumers love low prices, but there’s more to the story. Healthy price competition:

• Keeps marketplaces dynamic and innovative
• Prevents dominant platforms from crushing the little guys
• Supports a fair playing field for businesses of ALL sizes

That’s the whole point of Canada’s Competition Law. 

And this investigation landed right as Prime Day rolled out, when regulators and shoppers alike were watching Amazon’s every move. 👀

TOGETHER WITH STACK INFLUENCE

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To beat out your competitors in 2025 it’s necessary for Amazon brands to heavily invest in external traffic strategies. One of the best external traffic platforms is Stack Influence which uses A.I. and a dedicated community to automate thousands of collaborations per month to help you increase your Amazon external traffic, generate UGC, and scale your recurring revenue like never before.

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📈 Increase Amazon listing search positioning (drive high volume external traffic sales)  

🤑 Pay influencers only in products (stop negotiating fees with every influencer) 

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BITES OF THE WEEK

• Campaigning Over Chaos: Despite the bumpy Q1, these marketing campaigns succeeded in winning over shoppers.
• New York, New Requirements: ICYMI, New York is imposing new disclosure requirements for return policies effective August 7th.
• Trump Upped Tariffs: Effective August 1, tariffs on Canada-based imports have been raised to 35%.
• Free Returns: ICYDK, buyers may have the option to return orders for free, including your products.

BIG IDEA

AI shopping tools drive historic Prime Day results

Amazon just wrapped its biggest Prime Day ever.

The four-day sales fest delivered record-breaking volume, revenue, and customer savings. Shoppers shelled out across 35+ categories, scooping up deals powered by AI, groceries, and a whole lot of Alexa.

🛒 What popped this year

We don’t have the final numbers yet, but one thing’s clear: Prime Day 2025 wasn’t just a checkout frenzy—it was a tech-fueled buying spree.

Here’s what stood out:

• Alexa devices, AirPods Pro 2, and viral beauty products dominated the charts.
• Grocery deals made noise, especially with Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh slashing prices.
• AI tools like Rufus, Alexa+, and Shopping Guides helped shoppers cut through the clutter.
• Independent sellers cleaned up, with many reporting record sales and a wave of new customers.

✅ Post-Prime checklist

This year wasn’t just about scale, it was about smarter selling.

Prime Day 2025 showed that the combo of optimized listings and AI-driven discovery turns the event into more than a sales boost—it’s a brand amplifier. 🔊

New customers and more eyeballs than ever.

ACTIONABLE ADVICE

Why early access incentives trigger sales and loyalty

The best kind of incentive? One that costs you nothing but earns you everything.

“Early access” sounds simple—give loyal customers first dibs on your deals or product drops. But behind the scenes, it’s doing some serious psychological heavy lifting. 

🧠 It’s not just first access—it’s first status

MobiLoud listed 4 reasons why this tactic works:

• Scarcity hits hard: If it’s only available to a few, it instantly feels more valuable.
• Commitment builds momentum: Signing up for early access moves shoppers one step closer to checkout.
• Reciprocity kicks in: You give them the VIP invite, they feel inclined to return the favor (read: buy).
• FOMO is real: People fear missing out more than they love saving 10%.

You’re not shouting “Buy now!”—you’re whispering “You’re special.” That subtle shift builds emotional equity that conversions alone can’t buy.

🤑 It's free, but it feels premium

Let’s be real: most promotions eat into your margins. But early access?

• Costs you $0
• Doesn’t cheapen your brand like discounts might
• Supercharges your email, SMS, and app engagement
• Helps move inventory without a race to the bottom

Especially in a market where profitability’s tight, this is the kind of incentive that actually makes sense.