Amazon & E-Commerce Weekly News #58

09.22.2026 03:06 PM

Google Merchant Center adds AI visibility benchmarking, 58% of shoppers verify AI recommendations, and Amazon sets Prime Big Deal Days for October 6–7

Amazon and E-commerce Weekly News For Sellers 58

News #1. 
Google Merchant Center Adds Competitive AI Visibility Insights

Google has made AI Performance Insights generally available in Merchant Center, giving brands a way to measure how often their products appear in AI Mode and AI Overviews and benchmark that visibility against competitors.

What happened

The feature is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand. It provides share-of-voice data showing how frequently a brand and its products appear in Google's AI-generated shopping results relative to competitors. 

Similar monitoring has been available through third-party AI visibility tools, but brands can now access these insights directly from the platform generating the AI results. Google also surfaces related queries and product attributes shoppers are interested in.

Why it matters

AI visibility is becoming a measurable performance metric inside Merchant Center. Product data quality also affects what information AI systems can use. In a test with lululemon, additional descriptive product attributes appeared in 50% of relevant AI Mode recommendations.

What it means for e-commerce sellers

This is most relevant for brands and merchants that feed product catalogs into Google Merchant Center. Compare your AI visibility with competitors and audit the completeness of product attributes. For Amazon brands, it adds another visibility tool when products are also marketed through Google or a DTC site.

Source: Google

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News #2.
Amazon Sets Prime Big Deal Days for October 6–7

Amazon will hold Prime Big Deal Days 2026 on October 6–7. For sellers, a key update is the September 22 deadline for Best Deals and Lightning Deals, along with clarified rules for other event promotions.

What happened  

The 48-hour event will feature millions of deals across more than 35 categories, including over 1 million products at their lowest prices of the year. New Today's Big Deals will launch three times a day. The event will run across 22 countries, although dates may vary by market.

Amazon is accepting Best Deals and Lightning Deals through September 22. Coupons can run through the end of the event, while eligible ASINs can be added to Prime Exclusive Discounts until the final 12 hours.

Why it matters  

Amazon is positioning Prime Big Deal Days as the kickoff to holiday shopping. Normally, recent pricing can affect the promotional price required for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, Prime Big Deal Days promotional prices are excluded from that validation.

For example, discounting a $100 product to $80 during the October event does not by itself mean the seller must go below $80 to qualify for a November promotion. That gives sellers more flexibility to plan October and November discounts separately.

What it means for e-commerce sellers  

Review eligible ASINs and promotion margins by September 22. Inventory should already be received by Amazon or on its way ahead of the event. For priority products, plan advertising budgets for October 6–7 in advance.

Source: Amazon

News #3.
58% of Shoppers Double-Check AI Product Recommendations

AI is already widely used by shoppers, but trust remains limited. According to VML, 58% of consumers verify AI-generated product recommendations elsewhere before making a purchase.

What happened  

VML's The Future Shopper 2026 surveyed 28,000 consumers across 17 countries. While 82% have used AI, 58% cross-check its product recommendations with other sources. At the same time, 46% have reconsidered which brands they would buy after receiving an AI recommendation. 

Trust remains a concern: 53% worry that AI recommendations may be influenced by commercial interests.

Why it matters  

AI is becoming an important product discovery, comparison and recommendation channel, but shoppers are not relying on it blindly. After seeing a recommendation in ChatGPT, Google AI or Amazon Alexa for Shopping, consumers may verify the product through search, marketplaces, reviews or the brand's own website. 

Another trust issue is imagery: 49% of respondents say AI-generated product images reduce their trust in a brand.

What it means for e-commerce sellers  

Getting mentioned by AI is only part of the customer journey. Product specifications, materials, dimensions, compatibility and use cases should be accurate and consistent across channels. Authentic product imagery and credible customer reviews become especially important when shoppers verify an AI recommendation before buying.

Source: VML.com

News #4. 
Amazon Reportedly Plans to Expand Its Same-Day Network to More Than 1,000 Facilities

Amazon is considering a major expansion of its U.S. same-day delivery infrastructure, with the number of Same-Day Fulfillment Centers potentially growing from 85 to more than 1,000 by 2031.

What happened  

According to internal Amazon documents reviewed by Business Insider, Project Mercury would put same-day delivery facilities within 10 miles of 80% of U.S. Prime members. 

Amazon plans to invest $6.8 billion in the infrastructure in 2026–2027, according to the report. Local facilities would stock roughly 90,000 fast-moving products. An Amazon spokesperson stressed that the internal forecasts are preliminary and subject to change.

Why it matters  

Amazon is looking to position more high-demand inventory closer to customers and reduce the time between checkout and delivery. In 2025, the company increased the number of products delivered to U.S. Prime members the same or next day by 30%. 


A broader same-day network would make local inventory availability increasingly important in marketplace competition.

What it means for e-commerce sellers  

For Amazon FBA sellers, delivery speed increasingly depends not just on having inventory in stock, but on how broadly Amazon can distribute that inventory across its fulfillment network. 


Accurate demand forecasting and sufficient FBA inventory are particularly important for high-volume SKUs. More available inventory gives Amazon greater flexibility to position units closer to customers, while insufficient stock can leave products farther from parts of the customer base and limit access to the fastest delivery options.

Source: Business Insider

Other E-commerce News

Walmart Expands Scintilla's AI Capabilities

Walmart is adding conversational AI to Scintilla, its analytics platform for suppliers. Brands will be able to investigate performance changes and build dashboards using natural-language questions against Walmart's first-party data. In 2027, Scintilla is also expected to combine brands' direct-supply and Walmart Marketplace data, simplifying analysis across sales, inventory and advertising.

Temu's U.S. Traffic Jumps 79%  

Temu reached 108.2 million unique U.S. visitors in June, up 79% year over year, according to Comscore data cited by EMARKETER. Traffic had previously fallen sharply after the U.S. ended de minimis treatment for China-origin shipments. The rebound puts Temu back in stronger competition for price-sensitive U.S. shoppers.


One in Four AI-Cited Shopping Sources Has a Disclosed Commercial Interest  

GetCited analyzed 106,758 sources cited by ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity for shopping queries such as “best laptop” and “best running shoes.” In its English-language sample, 25.4% pointed to pages with disclosed commercial interests, most commonly affiliate links. The study does not show that affiliate links improve AI rankings, but it highlights reviews and comparison content as another potential source of brand visibility in AI shopping discovery.

Source: Walmart, EMARKETER, GetCited 

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