🤪 My Wild 2026 Amazon Predictions


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🚀 This Week's Amazon Hack: My Crazy 2026 Predictions

Are they actually that crazy? I'm not sure. What I do know is that I was spot on about tariffs and the TikTok deal years before everyone else. I'm a bit of a political nerd, so I think that has helped. But you don't care about that stuff. You care about Amazon.

🙏 Before I share my predictions with you, I just want to THANK you for being a loyal reader. Building this newsletter has been one of the hardest projects I have ever taken on, and honestly, it's extremely fulfilling. It amazes me each and every time I get an email from a reader thanking me for helping them grow on Amazon. I think that's why I love what I do now. It's fun to see you grow your brand and be part of your journey. Anyway, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you. Every time you open my email, I feel honored.

➡️ OK, now for the juicy stuff. Here are my 2026 predictions:

1 - Amazon locks down PL listings. And not just for Sony! I really do see this happening in 2016. Full and total control of your listings if you wish to have it. Historically, Amazon has only allowed top-tier brands like Lays and Anker to do this, but I see them giving the same control to ALL small brand sin 2026. What a day that will be!

2 - We will see a drop in Chinese sellers. The reason is simple. Beijing just passed a law that goes after ALL Chinese Amazon sellers seeking tax revenue. Basically, the CCP is broke, and they are desperate for tax revenue to fund theirambitious civil projects. According to my sources on the ground in China, it's chaos right now. The gold rush for Chinese sellers is over. I used to predict that Chinese sellers would crack 70% of ALL Amazon sellers, but I have changed my mind due to this legislation. The game is over for them.

3 - Temu and SHEIN's best days are behind them. With Section 301 shut down and all the loopholes closed thanks to the Trump administration, 99% of cheating is now dealt with. Americans have already started to pivot back to brands they trust in Q4, and we will see this trend continue. The "cheap crap" era is over.

4 - Rufus will become a juggernaut. I see many foolish posts on social media about Rufus never going anywhere. Did you know that Rufus has pulled in an additional $10 billion in revenue for Amazon? Well, now you do. This number is going to explode as Rufus gets smarter and smarter. The days of reading 25 reviews are over. Rufus will do all of that work for you and tell you which product to buy.

5 - Rufus will get greedy. Look, we already caught Amazon testing ads on AI answers for customers and now, tanks to unBoxed, we have confirmation that sponsored AI answers are already in the pipeline. This is going to become a pay-to-play environment. OpenAI is doing the same. Did you really think that these giant companies were never going to monetize their precious data? Wake up!

6 - TikTok EXPLODES in popularity for brands. We will see 99% of Amazon native bands allocate 10-20% of their marketing budget for TikTok ads and influencer partnerships. Now that it is owned by American interests, the trust is there for American brands. Heck, now I can download it in good conscience! TikTok will never become a marketplace ike Amazon, though. TikTok will become ground zero for product discovery. Adapt or die!

7 - AI Agents go bust. These fun tools will be used for boring stuff like home essentials, but they will NEVER replace the shopping experience that the average American knows and loves. It's going to be human + AI search for years to come. Agents simply lack trust.

8 - The dominance of brand story. In an era of AI-generated slop, guess what will remain king? Your brand story! In 2026, we are going to see unprecedented AI "slop," and there is nothing we can do about it. Here's what YOU can do about it. Don't settle for slop and invest in your brand in unique ways. People crave human interaction. Talk about the "why" behind your brand. Use REAL people in your videos. Deliver authenticity. As your competitors settle for Amazon AI photo and video tools, I encourage you to take the harder road and profit handsomely for years to come.

9 - 2026 is when DTC brands flood Amazon and Amazon native brands flood DTC. And it's already happening. I've been watching this transformation happen quickly, and it's only going to speed up in 2026. The days of 100% Amazon are long gone. To survive, you need to be selling everywhere.

10 - This is my least favorite prediction. Pricing pressure is going to be fierce in 2026. If you think Back Friday deals starting two weeks early are bad, just wait. It's only going to get worse as AI fuels the chaos. You are competing against elite brands, Chinese sellers, international instability, and a hungry Gen Z generation. Basically, you are surrounded by sharks. And how do you survive? By using a torpedo!

It's time to be on the offensive and never look back. No more copycat products. No more AI Amazon ads. No more resisting TikTok. No more denial of the power of influencers. No more laziness. It's game on in 2026.

The good news is that e-commerce revenue just hit a new record for Q4, so we should see an economic explosion in 2026 that will shock us all. Mania translates to INSANE competition. Get your seatbelt on. We're all going for a drive.


Jon Elder

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