Insights · Topic
Marketplaces
How to launch and grow across the U.S. marketplaces that matter — account setup, listing optimization, Brand Registry, and sequencing channels deliberately instead of launching everywhere at once.
Walmart Can Now Find Your Products by EAN. If You Have Been Creating Duplicate Listings, That Just Got Cheaper to Fix.
On August 20, 2026, Walmart added EAN and ISBN search to the Item Search API for the US market. For international brands whose barcodes were never UPCs, this closes a real gap in catalog matching. Buried in the same notice is a harder date: MP_ITEM_MATCH seller-fulfilled 4.x support ends October 15, 2026, right in the middle of peak.
Read → MarketplacesWalmart Marketplace Grew 50% Last Quarter. If You Are Not On It Yet, You Are Late.
Walmart's Q2 FY27 results, released August 20, 2026, put U.S. marketplace net sales up more than 50% and Walmart Connect up 43%. Here is what those numbers actually mean for your channel plan before Q4.
Read → MarketplacesWalmart Just Banned Account Brokering and Account Switching. If You Emailed Your Login to an Agency, That Is Now a Suspension Risk.
On August 18, 2026, Walmart updated its Marketplace Seller Code of Conduct to prohibit account switching, account brokering, and any activity that provides access to seller accounts in an unauthorized manner. Corrective action includes suspension and termination. The provision most sellers will trip over is not brokering. It is the shared login sitting in a shared inbox.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Merged Your DSP Account Into One Global Login. Here's What Breaks.
Amazon is auto-upgrading Amazon DSP accounts into a single advertiser account covering 34 countries, with Sponsored Ads and Amazon Marketing Cloud in the same place. Your account ID changes, your billing consolidates, and your regional reporting quietly blends. Here is what to fix before it does.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Made It a Contract Violation to Borrow Against Your Payouts. That Clause Goes Live August 24.
On August 24, 2026, an updated Amazon Business Solutions Agreement makes two long-standing practices expressly off-limits: transferring your rights under the agreement, and pledging your Amazon payouts as loan collateral. If you are financing Q4 inventory against your disbursements, your loan structure and your seller agreement are about to disagree. Here is who is exposed and what to check this week.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Started Taking Ad Costs Out of Your Payouts. Check Your Billing Setting Now.
On August 1, 2026, Amazon began moving a group of advertisers off credit-card billing and onto deduction from seller proceeds. If you were contacted and did nothing, ad costs now come out of your balance before you get paid. Here is the cash-flow hit and the one setting to check this week.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Opted Your Ads Into Creator Placements. Here's What to Check Before August 10.
On August 4, 2026, Amazon updated its off-Amazon advertising docs to add creators as a Sponsored Products destination, starting August 10. Existing campaigns are enrolled by default at current bids and budgets. Here is what to check this week.
Read → MarketplacesWalmart Connect Just Shipped Negative Keywords. Here's the Spend You Can Stop Wasting.
On July 29, 2026, Walmart Connect rolled out negative keywords for Sponsored Products, closing a gap Amazon has had for years. It changes the ACoS floor on Walmart. Here's what to do the week it lands.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Is Winding Down Most of Its Nova AI Models. Stop Betting Your Creative Workflow on Them.
Amazon spent a year pushing sellers to generate ad images and video with its own Nova models. Now it is quietly moving most of that lineup into maintenance mode and betting on a single new model due at re:Invent. Here is what actually changes for your listings, your ad creative, and how Rufus surfaces your product.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Made New Product Launches Cheaper. The Window Closes October 31.
The FBA New Selection Program (2026) goes live July 30 with capped referral fees, 200 units of free storage, and Vine and coupon credits. Enrollment terms must be accepted before October 31 to keep the benefits. Here is how to sequence launches around it.
Read → MarketplacesYour Amazon CPCs Jumped This Spring and You Didn't Touch a Setting. Here's What Changed.
Amazon reweighted its Sponsored Products bidding engine in late April 2026. Down Only stopped working as a cost cap, and agencies report CPCs up 18–27%. The auction changed, not your campaign.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Split Reviews Across Your Variations. Some of Your Listings Just Lost Their Star Rating.
Between February and May 2026 Amazon stopped sharing reviews across functionally different variations. Color and size still share. Capacity, material, and formulation don't. Here's how to find which of your ASINs got hit.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon's 75-Character Title Limit: What Sellers Need to Do Before July 27
Starting July 27, 2026, Amazon caps product titles at 75 characters in every category except media — and will let its AI rewrite anything longer. Here's what's changing, why it matters, and the moves to make before the deadline.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Killed Rufus. Now an AI Agent Decides If Shoppers See You.
Amazon retired Rufus in May 2026 and put an AI shopping agent in the search bar. It reads your listing differently than a keyword shopper does. Here's how to be the product it recommends.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Just Removed the Buy Box Eligibility Gate. Don't Celebrate Yet.
In July 2026 Amazon dropped the seller-performance gate that decided who could compete for the Featured Offer. Sounds like a win. Here's why your account health now decides more, not less.
Read → MarketplacesSelling on U.S. Marketplaces: What Actually Wins on Amazon, Walmart, and Target Plus
Each U.S. marketplace has its own rules, economics, and traps. A practical look at what it takes to launch and win on Amazon, Walmart, and Target Plus — especially as a brand entering from abroad.
Read → MarketplacesHow to Build a Winning Digital Shelf Strategy in the U.S.
Your digital shelf is every place a U.S. shopper encounters your product — search results, product pages, reviews, and price. Here's how to build one that consistently converts.
Read → MarketplacesAmazon Brand Registry for Foreign Sellers: How It Works
Brand Registry protects your listings and unlocks A+ content and brand tools. For foreign sellers, the key requirement is a registered or pending U.S. trademark. Here's the path.
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