Amazon Q1 ’25 Unwrapped 📦

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🧠 Big Story: 
Amazon Q1 ’25 Unwrapped 📦

📊 Key Data:
Amazon leading beauty in EU5

📖 Ecommerce ecosystem news:
🇺🇸 Amazon’s Ad Revenue Hits $13.9B in Q1 2025.
🇺🇸 Walmart Sets $200K Minimum for Vizio Ads.
🇺🇸 SHEIN and ShipBob Team Up to Boost Seller Tools.
🇺🇸 BigCommerce, Silk Launch Ecommerce Hub for 5K Stores.
🇺🇸 DHL Restarts High-Value US Deliveries.
🇺🇸 FedEx-Amazon Returns Deal Falls Through.

+ over 15 handpicked hot ecommerce news from the last week you need to know 🔥

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Amazon Q1 ’25 Unwrapped 📦

Tariffs are looming, sellers are slowing, but Amazon’s ad engine is still printing money. “Unwrapped” shows why Wall Street’s not sweating — yet. Here is short breakdown of Amazon Q1 2025 report

Cloud & Clicks Power Amazon ☁️

Amazon’s retail growth is slowing, but its real moneymakers — ads and cloud — are thriving. Ads grew +18% Y/Y, now 8% of revenue. AWS jumped +17%, making up 19%. Meanwhile, online store sales (37% of total) crawled at +5%, and third-party services slowed to +6%. Total revenue hit $155.7B (+9%), beating expectations. CEO Andy Jassy warned of tariff risks and noted shoppers may be stocking up early.

GMV Grows, But Momentum Cools 🧊

Amazon’s GMV hit $190B in Q1, growing +5.3% — much slower than last year’s +14%. Prices stayed flat despite tariff fears, and revenue growth fell 200 bps vs. Q4. Still, April demand looked better. Amazon says it’s protected from tariffs thanks to its wide assortment. Tariffs may shift seller power internally — some brands could gain share while others retreat.

3P Hits the Brakes, 1P Catches Up 🛑

Third-party (3P) growth dropped to +5.4%, while Amazon’s first-party (1P) sales nearly caught up at +5.0%. That’s the closest they’ve been in years. Overall retail growth slowed to 5.4% from over 17% last year. Rising costs and tariff concerns are hitting small sellers hard. Amazon’s own sales give it more control in uncertain times.

Ads Still Printing Money for Amazon 💸

Ad revenue reached $13.9B in Q1, up $2B (+19% Y/Y). Growth slowed from earlier highs, but ads still outperform every other segment. Sellers keep spending to stay visible — even as other areas slow down. Ads now bring in more money than subscriptions or physical stores, making them a key part of Amazon’s strategy.

From Bleeding to Breathing Margins 💉

Amazon’s US retail margins flipped from -2.9% in 2022 to +5.4% in Q1 ’25. That’s a major turnaround, driven by ad growth and smarter operations. Margins improved +0.45 pp vs. last year. These gains come from retail, not AWS, showing that Amazon is making its core business more profitable.

Amazon leading beauty in EU5

Can beauty brands afford to ignore Amazon in 2025?

(Or is it now a pillar of every eCommerce strategy?)

Let's look at the numbers:

→ In Italy, 42% of beauty e-shoppers buy only on Amazon
→ Spain: 32%
→ UK: 24%
→ France: 19%
→ Even Germany hits 35%

And that’s just the exclusive shoppers.

Now add in the “mixers” (those using Amazon and other platforms), and it becomes clear—

Amazon is not just a nice-to-have.
It’s the anchor of the beauty omnichannel.

So the real question isn't:
“Should we sell on Amazon?”

It’s:
“What’s our differentiated strategy on Amazon to scale sustainably and protect our brand?”

Inside Foodpanda’s retreat from Thailand.

Momentum Works explains the strategic retreat of Foodpanda from Thailand amid fierce competition and consolidation pressure. It’s a candid take on operational focus and regional market dynamics. 👉 Momentum Works

Fabletics leads athleisure ads—by a mile.

Sensor Tower reveals how Fabletics commands nearly half of ad impressions among athleisure brands, outspending even Lululemon. An eye-opener on brand visibility and digital ad dominance. 👉 Sensor Tower

Temu’s Y2 model: The latest move in cross-border e-commerce.

Chinese Sellers breaks down how Temu is adapting to rising tariffs with a Y2 model that shifts fulfillment dynamics. 👉 Chinese Sellers

The new compliance playbook for online marketplaces.
ChannelX dives into how UK regulations are tightening around online marketplaces and what platforms need to change. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 Amazon’s Ad Revenue Hits $13.9B in Q1 2025. Amazon earned $13.9B from ads in Q1 2025, up 18% from last year, with total sales at $155.7B. CEO Andy Jassy noted tariff uncertainties impacting strategy. 👉 Adweek

🇺🇸 Walmart Sets $200K Minimum for Vizio Ads. Walmart’s $2.3B Vizio buy in Dec 2024 aims at TV ads with $200K minimum spend. Beta tests start soon, using Walmart’s shopping data, says Seth Dallaire. 👉 Adweek

🇺🇸 Amazon Partners with Reach for Ad Data. Amazon teamed up with Reach on Feb 5, 2024, to use first-party data as Google cuts cookies. The UK’s CMA flagged 39 issues with Google’s plan, per James Rosewell. 👉 PYMNTS

🇺🇸 Google Boosts Ad Themes to 50 in PMax. Google raised Search Themes in Performance Max to 50 from 25, enhancing AI ad targeting. Advertisers gain more control over ad placements with this update. 👉 Search Engine Land

🇺🇸 PayPal Launches Offsite Ads on Apr 29. PayPal’s Offsite Ads, launched Apr 29, 2025, use transaction data for off-platform ads. Mark Grether says it helps brands target better, per Publicis Media’s Darcy Bowe. 👉 PayPal Newsroom

🇺🇸 Niche Amazon Agencies Gain Traction. Specialized Amazon agencies help brands target niche markets to compete. They craft tailored campaigns for better visibility on Amazon’s platform. 👉 SevenPress

🇺🇸 Google Faces Ad Tech Breakup Demand. The U.S. seeks to split Google’s ad tech after a monopoly trial, with phase 2 in Sep 2025. DOJ’s Julia Tarver Wood says behavioral fixes won’t stop Google’s dominance. 👉 The Guardian

🇺🇸 Chinese Retailers Cut Meta Ad Spend. Chinese firms like Temu cut Meta ad spend due to Trump’s trade policies, hitting $8.22B in Q1 2025. Meta’s Susan Li says some spend shifted, but overall it’s down. 👉 CNBC

🇺🇸 SHEIN and ShipBob Team Up to Boost Seller Tools. SHEIN Marketplace partners with ShipBob to streamline seller operations using over 60 fulfilment centres, announced at the “Elevate” event in LA. Sellers get zero fees, faster delivery, and tools like inventory tracking, says ShipBob CEO Dhruv Saxena. 👉 SupplyChainDigital

🇺🇸 BigCommerce, Silk Launch Ecommerce Hub for 5K Stores. BigCommerce and Silk Commerce debuted the Distributed Ecommerce Hub on April 28, 2025, to manage 5 to 5,000 storefronts. It offers centralized branding and local flexibility, says BigCommerce’s Lance Owide. 👉 GlobeNewswire

🇩🇪 Commercetools Drops Spring 2025 Features for Growth. Commercetools launched new tools like loyalty offers and B2B lists in Spring 2025, with 25% API adoption in week one. Shiri Mosenzon Erez says it’s built for better customer experiences and team efficiency. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 eBay, Klarna Bring Flexible Payments to U.S. Shoppers. eBay and Klarna expanded their partnership to the U.S., offering Pay in 4 and Financing for 2.3B listings. Klarna’s 93M users and $75B eBay GMV in 2024 drive this move, with 500K resell listings added. 👉 eBayInc

🇬🇧 Affirm, WooCommerce Offer Payments to 170K UK Merchants. Affirm and WooCommerce brought flexible payments to 170K U.K. merchants in November 2024, expanding from 2015. Bedworld’s Uzair Valli says it helps customers with no-fee plans, per Affirm’s Ruth Spratt. 👉 BusinessWire

🇺🇸 Skypad Launches Analytics for Walmart Marketplace. Skypad’s new platform helps 4K+ brands on Walmart Marketplace with real-time sales and inventory dashboards. Gil Hakami says it’s key for retail success in fashion, beauty, and electronics. 👉 YahooFinance

🇬🇧 ClearCourse Buys GOb2b to Grow B2B Ecommerce. ClearCourse acquired GOb2b on October 10, 2024, adding to 40+ buys since 2018, serving U.K. and Ireland clients. CEOs Christina Hamilton and Paul Dorey say it boosts business software solutions. 👉 PYMNTS

🇺🇸 DHL Restarts High-Value US Deliveries. DHL resumed B2C shipments over $800 to the US on April 28, 2025, after a week-long pause started April 21 due to new customs rules. Talks with US officials now allow packages up to $2,500 to clear customs faster. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 FedEx-Amazon Returns Deal Falls Through. In 2024, FedEx and Amazon tried but failed to partner on e-commerce returns, while UPS acquired Happy Returns in 2023. A survey says 33.4% of US consumers prioritize free returns with easy labels. 👉 PYMNTS

🇺🇸 Amazon Bets $4B on Rural Expansion. Amazon will spend $4B by 2026 to triple rural delivery stations, adding 100K+ jobs, says SVP Udit Madan. The plan targets 13K zip codes to halve delivery times for small-town shoppers. 👉 Supply Chain Dive

🇨🇳 China’s E-Commerce Hits $360.6B. China’s cross-border e-commerce grew to $360.6B in 2024, up 10.8%, with Cainiao and JD Logistics building overseas warehouses. Cainiao’s 2025 “green channel” boosts logistics speed, per Hong Yong. 👉 Voice of China

🇺🇸 US Tariffs Slam Shein, Temu. New US tariffs on May 2, 2025, axed duty-free entry for packages under $800, with 145% tariffs hurting Shein and Temu sales since February. A Zhejiang manufacturer notes rising prices and delays. 👉 Business Today

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