Welcome to the 80/20 of e-commerce for the week of February 20th, 2026. This week, we have big news on the Amazon and AI fronts — OpenAI acquired OpenClaw, Amazon officially surpassed Walmart in revenue, Chinese imports are cratering, and Amazon is quietly changing how fast you get paid.
Deep Dive: The end of the ChatGPT Era and what it means for Ecom
OpenAI acquired OpenClaw. They hired the founder, Peter Steinberger, to join forces with OpenAI.
In my opinion, we just witnessed the beginning of the death of the ChatGPT era. 3 weeks ago, OpenClaw launched — you could chat with it using WhatsApp or Telegram. It had hockey stick adoption. 100,000 stars on GitHub, top 0.01% of apps.
ClawBot commoditized LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude because it became the front end. I stopped going to ChatGPT. I stopped going to Claude. I just used their brains. Sam Altman saw the writing on the wall. Rather than try to beat them, he bought out the founder.
This is a huge shift from AI chat to autonomous agents that can do things for you.
The old way — 2 years ago when ChatGPT first came out — it was like talking to a friend for advice, but you had to do it yourself. And sometimes your friend would hallucinate. You had to fact check everything.
Today, these AI agents can take over your computer. They do the work for you. You can vibe code any type of app in plain English — whether it's a Rufus optimization app or creating UGC based on your Amazon ASIN.
The best part: they have memory. ChatGPT used to forget what you talked about an hour ago. OpenClaw remembers. It can self-improve. It can teach itself things it couldn't do at first.
They're basically autonomous — like a really smart A-player executive assistant that gets stuff off your plate.
For Amazon sellers, it's been a tough time with the tariffs. Everyone feels stuck. Frozen. Not sure what to do next. Some want to quit. Others are looking to exit.
There are 9 things these agents can take off your plate so you can do more with less. I'm not saying you'll operate 100% as a one-man show. You still need a human in the loop. There are security risks — it's not like handing over the keys and you're done. You have to set this up in a controlled environment where you get the benefits but minimize the risks.
That's why I created the 80/20 OpenClaw Ecom Accelerator starting next week. In a 2-week sprint — a live cohort, 4 sessions — you will build your own autonomous OpenClaw agentic team to run your Amazon e-commerce business. You'll get 10x leverage. Doors are closing Friday. Check out the details in the link below.
For the first time ever, Amazon has surpassed Walmart in annual revenue. $464 billion from retail — both online stores plus third-party sellers, you and me. And $100 billion from advertising and Prime.
Amazon just overtook Walmart. Walmart was the king.
This is a huge milestone moment, guys. Amazon's growth is being fueled by third-party sellers and advertising, meaning the platform is doubling down on you as the seller, as a revenue engine. It also means more competition, higher ad costs ahead. Third-party seller services are growing 11%, which means sellers are paying more fees.
But at the same time, it makes sense to stay in this game because this is the biggest marketplace. It makes sense for you to be in the biggest marketplace.
TAKEAWAY: My advice is — don't quit just yet. Look at ways to run your business leaner and meaner. Use tools like OpenClaw to do more with less.
Supply Chain Corner: Chinese Shipping Imports to the US Down 22.7% in January
According to Retail Brew, US container shipments are down 6.8% year on year, and China specifically fell 22.7%. Some reports are showing up to a 35% decline despite the Lunar New Year stockpiling period.
If you look at the fine print, on 1 hand you see imports dropping from countries like China. But on the other hand, you see imports increasing from countries including Vietnam, Southeast Asia, India, and Taiwan. Indonesia was 1 of the big winners among Southeast Asia.
Take a look at the fine print. Some shipments from Southeast Asia actually still originated from China. Chinese companies are trans-shipping.
TAKEAWAY: If you source from China, this confirms that the supply chain is rapidly shifting. Tariffs are biting. Imports are cratering. 2 moves to consider: 1) Diversify to Vietnam, India, or Mexico now, if you haven't already. 2) If your competitor sources from China and you don't, that's a surprising advantage worth marketing. You can say, "Hey, we're not made in China." Also, watch out for inventory shortages in categories heavily China-dependent.
If you're a brand owner with Brand Registry, you're fine. But if you're a reseller or doing arbitrage, you need to update your workflow ASAP. Budget for FNSKU label printing and application.
TAKEAWAY: This also means if you're not registered for Brand Registry, register now. Brand Registry is increasingly non-optional.
Amazon is updating all seller accounts on when you get paid. They're actually going to pay you later — 7 days after delivery confirmation. This applies to both FBM and FBA, even when Amazon controls shipping.
If you look at the real-world impact, 1 UK retailer estimates that 20,000 to 50,000 pounds in additional working capital will be permanently tied up because of the additional 7 days.
TAKEAWAY: This is very quiet, but it's going to hit your cash flow, guys. If you're doing $50K a month on Amazon, model what DD+7 means for your cash flow. You might need a credit line or need to adjust your order timing. Sellers with thin margins and fast inventory turns will feel this the most. Plan now before the change hits your disbursement cycle. This is a perfect instance of using AI tools like OpenClaw to forecast your inventory management — model how this impacts you, and figure out what steps you can take to mitigate it. Also look at potential partners to help you, especially with a credit line. Accrue Me is 1 of our partners — if you're interested in getting more capital, definitely recommend you check them out.
Just a few weeks ago, TikTok was planning to force all US sellers into Fulfilled by TikTok logistics — basically their FBA clone. However, after a ton of seller backlash — brands pulling back, reducing assortments, threatening to leave — TikTok reversed course.
The original deadline was late February, full transition by end of March. But now things have changed.
TikTok is a huge platform. Everyone knows they're going super fast. They're expected to hit $15.8 billion this year, 108% growth. The platform has 170 million US users. Really good for products that go viral, products that stop the scroll on a phone — image-heavy items.
TAKEAWAY: 2 lessons here. 1) TikTok is growing insanely fast. If you're not testing it as a channel, you're leaving money on the table. If you'd like to test it, we have pre-trained VAs that can do this for you with our partner VAA. Check them out — link below. 2) The shipping reversal shows that TikTok's fulfillment isn't as mature as Amazon. Amazon's FBA moat is still real. If you sell on TikTok, keep your own shipping for now.
Kathleen is a pickleball brand owner. She has a co-founder as well. They started their business with $10,000. They sent 250 units into FBA. They started selling, but then she took her eye off the ball.
Aged inventory storage charges bled them to $6 in their bank account. $288.56 monthly storage charge on slow-moving inventory meant they couldn't afford to stay in business. Now they're pivoting away from Amazon to Shopify.
TAKEAWAY: Keep your eye on your inventory. Inventory is not as sexy as PPC and sales, but if you don't pay attention, it's going to come bite you in the butt. Don't send a ton of inventory to FBA before you validate demand. Start with small test batches. I've made this mistake — you send in a ton of inventory, and if it doesn't sell, you're going to get a huge bill. Set calendar reminders at 180 days and 270 days. That's when the aged inventory surcharge hits.
This is a perfect example where a seller can set up OpenClaw agents — inventory management agents to monitor your inventory, set reminders, monitor fees, and trigger removal orders or price discounts to move your inventory before they rack up expensive charges from Amazon. A smart seller once said that inventory and marketing have to go hand in hand. They have to talk to each other. If you stop marketing and your inventory piles up, you're going to get hit.
This is the future, guys. Google unveiled their Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at the National Retail Federation Show — an open standard for AI agents to shop. They co-developed this with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart. It's endorsed by Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe.
These AI agents are going to handle the full shopping journey — from discovery to comparison to checkout. Nearly 2/3 of US shoppers already start shopping trips on their phones. It's not like our parents' generation. They don't really go to shopping malls anymore. They start on their phones.
This means product data and structured content will become super important for discoverability. This is AEO — Answer Engine Optimization. Discoverability by AI agents.
TAKEAWAY: AI agents are going to be buying on behalf of customers. Your listings need to be optimized not just for human eyes, but for AI readability. This means structured data, clear specs, complete A+ content. Amazon Rufus already has 300 million users doing this. Sellers who optimize for AI-driven discovery will win the next decade.
We are starting the first ever 80/20 OpenClaw E-commerce Accelerator next week. In this 2-week sprint, you will create your own OpenClaw ClawBot AI agentic team to help you with all parts of your Amazon business — from product research to sourcing to inventory management to listing optimization and beyond.
If the pickleball seller had an OpenClaw bot on her side, she probably would still be selling today. She wouldn't have had to let Amazon keep charging her $288 a month forever.
If you want to learn more, if you want to be a first mover, check out the link below. Doors will close Friday night, 11:59 PM.
Open AI is going all in on autonomy. I heavily recommend that you guys go all in too.
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Talk soon,
Gary