Alexa for Shopping gains traction, TikTok Shop accelerates in the U.S., while Amazon limits review access and expands AI-powered analysis of marketplace content
News #1. More Than 350 Million Shoppers Used Alexa for Shopping Over the Past Year
Amazon has revealed the scale of its AI shopping assistant for the first time. According to CEO Andy Jassy, Alexa for Shopping has already reached hundreds of millions of customers — and engagement is rising quickly.
What happened
During Amazon’s Q2 2026 earnings discussion, Andy Jassy said more than 350 million customers had used Alexa for Shopping over the past 12 months. In the second quarter, the number of active users nearly doubled year over year, while interactions increased more than fivefold.
Why it matters
The numbers show that AI is becoming an important way to search for and discover products inside Amazon Marketplace. Growing adoption and higher average order values suggest that shoppers are increasingly comfortable using AI not just to find information, but to help make purchase decisions.
What it means for e-commerce sellers
AI shopping is becoming another source of product visibility on Amazon. As Alexa for Shopping expands, high-quality listings, detailed product information and accurate attributes can play a bigger role in which products AI surfaces to shoppers. Content optimization now matters for both Amazon Search and AI-powered shopping interfaces.
Source: Ecomwatch, Retaildive
News #2. The U.S. Becomes TikTok Shop’s Largest Market as Global GMV Hits $50.3 Billion
TikTok Shop continues to gain traction in the U.S. Sales topped $11 billion in the first half of 2026, while the number of sellers generating more than $1 million keeps growing.
What happened
TikTok Shop generated an estimated $50.3 billion in global gross merchandise value (GMV) during the first half of 2026, up 92% year over year. If that pace continues, annual GMV could surpass $100 billion.
The U.S. became TikTok Shop’s largest market, generating $11.8 billion in GMV, up 103% year over year. The number of stores increased from 475,000 to 1.35 million, while the ecosystem now includes roughly 20 million creators. More than 5,700 U.S. sellers have surpassed $1 million in sales, and 506 stores have generated more than $10 million in GMV.
Why it matters
TikTok Shop is establishing itself as a standalone e-commerce channel in the U.S. Its model remains different from Amazon Marketplace: product discovery is still heavily driven by content, algorithmic recommendations and creators.
What it means for e-commerce sellers
TikTok Shop increasingly helps brands reach new customers and test demand, while Amazon remains the primary sales and repeat-purchase channel for many sellers. As a result, more brands are using the two platforms together rather than choosing between them.
Source: Momentum.asia
News #3. Amazon Limits Review Access for Some Shoppers
Discussions on Amazon forums and Reddit drew attention to an unusual issue: some Amazon.com users can no longer access the full list of product reviews. Amazon confirmed that the restrictions are connected to its protection against automated data collection.
What happened
Some Amazon shoppers are no longer able to browse the full history of customer reviews. Instead of thousands of reviews, they may see only a small number of recent comments — in some cases, just eight. Affected users may have to email Amazon for assistance and wait several business days for a response.
Why it matters
Customer reviews are one of the most valuable sources of marketplace intelligence. Shoppers use them to evaluate products, while private label sellers rely on them to analyze competitors, identify product weaknesses and uncover opportunities for product development.
Limited access makes that research less complete. In our own work, we have also started seeing cases where Amazon does not display all reviews for a product. Amazon has not announced changes to its review-display algorithms, but visibility into this data is becoming less predictable.
What it means for e-commerce sellers
Private label sellers should account for the possibility that competitor review analysis may become less complete. This makes independent target audience research even more valuable, allowing sellers to understand customer needs without relying entirely on data available inside Amazon Marketplace.
Source: Fastcompany
News #4. Amazon Automatically Translates Text Inside Product Images
Amazon’s AI-powered image translation has already been visible for several months, but this week the company officially detailed its broader rollout across international marketplaces. The announcement also offers clear evidence of how deeply Amazon’s algorithms can analyze content inside product images.
What happened
Amazon announced an expansion of automatic text translation for product images across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK and most major European marketplaces.
Why it matters
The significance goes beyond localization. To translate image copy, Amazon must first recognize and interpret the text inside the image.
What it means for e-commerce sellers
Listing infographics should no longer be treated as a less scrutinized part of the product page. Text inside images should go through the same compliance review as other listing content. As Amazon expands its AI capabilities, automated analysis of image content is likely to become increasingly important.
Source: Amazon Seller Central
Other E-commerce News
eBay Restricts Third-Party AI Shopping Agents
eBay has confirmed that it is restricting third-party AI shopping agents on its marketplace while developing its own AI tools for sellers and buyers. Management says the company supports AI in e-commerce but wants to control how outside agents interact with its platform. The approach resembles Amazon’s: marketplaces are embracing their own AI while remaining cautious about independent AI intermediaries.
Disney and TikTok Open Disney Assets to Creators
The Walt Disney Company and TikTok announced a partnership that will give participating creators access to assets from hundreds of Disney films and series, including Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. The program will pilot in the U.S. in the coming months. Some creator videos will appear both on TikTok and in Verts on Disney+, bringing fan-created short-form content directly into Disney’s streaming ecosystem.
Court Allows Perplexity’s AI Agent Back on Amazon
A U.S. appeals court overturned an injunction that had restricted Perplexity’s Comet AI agent from operating on Amazon. We have been following (News #15, News #31 and News #34) the dispute since Amazon filed its lawsuit in 2025, as it has become one of the first major legal battles over agentic AI in e-commerce. The court found that the user — not Perplexity itself — performs the actions on Amazon through the AI tool. The ruling could influence how shopping agents that search, compare and purchase products on behalf of users are treated going forward.Source: Fortune, TikTok Shop, Reuters
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