Most Amazon sellers don’t have a traffic problem.
They have a decision problem.
That’s why According to a 2026 Marketplace Pulse report of over 180 Amazon sellers:
38% are distressed
31% are grinding
8.3% are consolidating
only 23% are actually thriving
Same market. Same fees. Same tools.
Completely different outcomes.
Most sellers blame:
tariffs
rising costs
competition
But everyone is dealing with that.
That’s not the difference.
The real divide is simple:
Some sellers are trying to optimize their way out.
Others are restructuring how their business actually runs.
If you’re in the “grinding” group, this probably feels familiar:
revenue is up
margins are flat (or worse)
ad spend keeps creeping higher
you’re constantly adjusting something
It feels like progress.
It isn’t.
You’re putting more effort into a system that doesn’t work.
The top ~23% are not doing more.
They’re doing something different:
fewer channels
tighter spend control
clearer rules
less manual decision-making
They’re not reacting.
They’re operating.
This is not a keyword problem.
This is not a listing problem.
This is a system problem.
We saw it yesterday.
In our live cohort we ran a PPC analysis.
In under 60 seconds:
→ ~$30,000 in wasted ad spend
Not hidden.
Just buried in a messy structure.
That’s the shift happening right now with AI too.
Most sellers use AI as a tool:
write listings
generate ideas
tweak copy
That helps.
But it doesn’t change outcomes.
The sellers pulling ahead use AI as a system operator:
monitoring PPC
flagging waste
enforcing rules
producing clean outputs
Less guessing.
Fewer decisions.
More control.
You don’t need more optimization.
You need fewer bad decisions.
And those only go away when the system improves.
Because over the next 12 months:
costs go up
competition tightens
margins get squeezed
You won’t win by doing more.
You’ll win by structuring better.
Where this actually shows up
Look at your PPC.
Not your bids.
Not your keywords.
Your decision process.
How do you find waste?
How often?
What actually gets acted on?
What gets missed?
Most sellers don’t have clear answers.
That’s why waste compounds.
Start here
I put together a simple framework for this.
Not tips.
Not hacks.
A way to see:
where you’re leaking
how decisions are made
what should be systemized
Also broke this down here:
38% of Amazon Sellers Are Distressed — What Can the Other 23% Teach Us?
Sellers aren’t just absorbing tariffs anymore.
They’re getting creative.
The First Sale rule lets you base tariffs on the earlier manufacturer price instead of the final price.
That can significantly reduce your duty cost.
Big retailers are already doing this.
Congress is watching.
👉If you are getting your products through a sourcing agent who is adding a markup, then ask your customs broker about the First Sale rule.
The conversation has shifted.
Not:
“What can AI do?”
But:
“What results are you getting?”
That’s the difference between:
tools
systems
ICYMI
Most sellers are pushing harder.
The ones pulling ahead are fixing the system.
You don’t need more effort.
You need better structure.
— Gary
P.S. If you’re spending more on ads but not seeing more profit… You don’t have a traffic problem. You have a leak.
Most people won’t do this. The ones who do usually find something uncomfortable