Your listings aren't ready for Black Friday. Here's why - 80/20 of Ecom 11/13/2026

Hey {{first_name|there}},

Do you think your listings are ready for Black Friday? Think again.

By now, sellers know they should have their listings ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the winningest time of year in ecommerce.

Keyword optimization. Image optimization. A+ content. Getting all your PPC campaigns ready. That's what it takes to win as a serious seller.

But recently, one of the sellers in our live cohort, who had his listings buttoned up to a tee for the season, was surprised by his AI readiness score from ZonGuru. It came back at 46 out of 100.

He had already used one of the popular image optimization tools to do a good job on his listing images, his A+ content and his copywriting.

The one thing he overlooked was optimizing for Amazon's Alexa.

Here's why that matters. In its Q3 results, Amazon said Alexa for Shopping was used by 400 million+ customers in the last 12 months (Amazon's Q3 release).

On the earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy said U.S. customers using it spend 50% more per order than those who don't (Q3 call transcript). PPC Land notes that Amazon gave no methodology for the 50% (PPC Land), so treat it as Amazon's claim, not a promise.

This is not the same keyword search we were doing in 2023.

The bottom line: if you haven't optimized your listings for Alexa, you're giving your competitors the opportunity to have Alexa recommend their product over yours.

Optimizing for Alexa isn't simply about keywords.

If you missed it, check out the training we had from Jon Tilley, one of the leaders in Amazon Alexa and AI optimization, and the CEO of ZonGuru. He walked through an in-depth analysis of how sellers should optimize their listings for Alexa.

If you don't do it, simply put, Alexa is less likely to recommend you to shoppers when they have their wallets open and are willing to spend more than normal during the holiday shopping season.

Follow along here: Jon Tilley / ZonGuru — Alexa optimization training

If you'd like to do this yourself, check out Helix AI from ZonGuru. I'm an affiliate for ZonGuru. If you join, you buy me a cup of coffee and help us keep creating content like this.

TAKEAWAY: Before Black Friday, run one of your top ASINs through ZonGuru's free AI Readiness Score and look at which buyer questions your listing doesn't answer.

Alexa isn't the only Q4 check. Here are 3 dates worth having in front of you:

In the age of AI, human contact matters more than ever — not less.

The tools keep changing. What's working today may not work by January. The only way to stay ahead is to be in a room with people testing it at the same time you are.

That's what the 7 Figure Ecom Accelerator is for. We meet weekly, share what's actually working in AI for ecommerce, hold each other accountable, and learn from each other's mistakes — which saves you time and money.

Monthly — $149/mo | Quarterly — $349/3 months

Here's the 80/20 of Ecom for November 13th.

In today's issue:

During Q4, most sellers are fixated on driving top-line revenue and sales: getting their deals ready, ramping up PPC, optimizing listings.

But did you know there are a couple of key things sellers overlook when it comes to profitability?

I was joined by one of the masters of profitability himself, Alex from Sellerboard. He walks through the top mistakes sellers are making when it comes to bleeding profits in Q4, what they should be focusing on, how you can optimize, and other best practices he has seen working with a number of successful sellers.

Watch the video: Amazon PPC for Profit | Sellerboard Walkthrough

Let me know: what's the number one thing you're going to do to move the needle on profitability this quarter? Hit reply.

You can't run the business off a payout report alone. Sellerboard is built for profit analytics: a profit dashboard, COGS, returns, and the fees that are easy to miss. You can try it with a 2-month free trial, and no credit card is required: sellerboard.com

Amazon published this on November 5, and it didn't make last week's issue.

Most of the fee changes take effect on January 15, 2027. Amazon says that, on average, FBA fulfillment fees will increase by $0.19 per unit sold.

The impact will vary by product. Fees for some products will go up, and others will go down. The FBA fuel and logistics surcharge stays the same.

Storage changes come a little later, on February 1, 2027:

TAKEAWAY: Don't use the $0.19 average as your number. This week, open the Fee Change Comparison dashboard in Profit Analytics in Seller Central and look at your top ASINs before January 15.

Read Amazon's announcement: https://sellingpartners.aboutamazon.com/update-to-us-referral-and-fulfillment-by-amazon-fees-for-2027

Amazon also posted it in Seller Central: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/bc3deccc-28c6-47c1-ade3-9fbed1f29316

Last week I wrote that no strike and no deal had been confirmed for the port watchmen at LA/Long Beach.

Here's the update, from the Pacific Maritime Association: on November 6, PMA and ILWU Local 26 agreed to extend their contract through November 20, with more talks scheduled in that window. There is still no deal. There is also no strike underway.

TAKEAWAY: If you have inventory coming through LA/Long Beach, treat November 20 as a live date, not a closed one. Ask your forwarder where each container is, and keep a buffer on your top ASINs.

Read the PMA statement: https://www.pmanet.org/press_releases/statement-from-the-pacific-maritime-association-on-negotiations-with-ilwu-local-26-at-the-ports-of-la-and-long-beach/

Talk soon,

Gary