The Retail Round-Up - Twitch Is Shoppable, Spotify Is (More) Buyable, and FBA Fees Get Scrutable - Episode 417

Nov 4, 2025

Armin Alispahic, an e-commerce operations expert, joins retail media strategist Pat Petriello for an insightful discussion. They analyze significant updates to Amazon's FBA fees and how sellers must optimize or risk falling behind. Pat also elaborates on Amazon's partnerships with Twitch and Spotify, enhancing programmatic advertising strategies. The duo delves into the limitations of Amazon's new AI-driven Storefront Page Builder and contemplates the future of search with conversational AI, highlighting key trends shaping the retail landscape.

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INSIGHT

FBA Fees Favor Operationally Efficient Sellers

Amazon's FBA fee changes refine a regional fulfillment strategy that rewards operational efficiency and punishes poor fulfillment behavior.
Some standard-size and >5lb SKUs face much larger increases than the announced average, forcing sellers to optimize splits or pay more.

ADVICE

Treat Every SKU Like A P&L

Treat each SKU as its own P&L by calculating COGS, packaging, and per-unit shipping to understand true profitability.
Use those SKU-level margins to inform media decisions like ACOS and ROAS rather than relying on top-line metrics.

INSIGHT

DSP Expansion Into Premium Inventory

Amazon is expanding DSP reach via partnerships and platform upgrades to include premium inventory like Twitch shoppable ads and Spotify placements.
This makes Amazon DSP a stronger programmatic option versus Trade Desk and others for reaching streaming and audio audiences.

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🎙️News Review with Armin Alispahic and Pat Petriello

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to another edition of The Retail Round Up: your monthly recap of the biggest headlines and developments in the retail world.

This week, Pat Petriello is here to unpack everything happening in the world of ads, and Armin Alispahic will take us through the latest in operations and organic trends.

First up: Amazon fees. What changed, what's next, and how to respond, followed by rapid-fire industry updates.

Let's dive in.

Quote:

Search is not dead. I think in two years, 90+ percent of product discovery will still be going to happen through the search bar.

Pat Petriello

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Pat, and Armin discuss:

Amazon FBA Fee Changes: The latest fee updates, how they compare to previous years, and what they really mean for brands, from operational efficiency to punitive costs for poor fulfillment practices.
Survival of the Fittest: How increased complexity and tighter margins are pushing sellers to optimize their operations or risk falling behind, with commentary from Pat Patriello on treating SKUs as individual P&Ls.
Big Retail Media Announcements: Amazon's new partnerships and platform updates, including shoppable ads on Twitch and audio/video ad placements on Spotify, and what these mean for near- and long-term media buying strategies.
AI Tools and Storefronts: Amazon's rollout of its Storefront Page Builder powered by AI, its current limitations, and predictions for what's coming next.
The Rise of ChatGPT in Commerce: Recent announcements about the Agentic Commerce Protocol and integrations with platforms like Walmart, Shopify, and Etsy, reflecting on how conversational AI could transform (but not immediately replace) traditional search-driven product discovery.
Fee Updates and Pricing Transparency: New Prime Exclusive Deal structures for the holidays, plus a potentially game-changing test of displaying historical price data in the Amazon mobile app, and what that could mean for brands and consumers.