Amazon’s Flywheel Is Starting to Shake 🧯

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🧠 Big Story: 
Amazon’s Flywheel Is Starting to Shake 🧯

📊 Key Data:
State of Google Ads👀

📖 Ecommerce ecosystem news:
🇺🇸 US Seeks Google Breakup, Chrome Sale.
🇺🇸 Meta’s $7B Ad Revenue Risk from Tariffs.
🇦🇺 Linktree rolls out creator monetization tools.
🇺🇸 Nate’s founder charged with fraud over fake AI app.
🇪🇺 InPost and Vinted Partner for Eco-Friendly Delivery.
🇨🇦 Amazon, Walmart Sellers Dodge Tariffs in Canada.

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

Let’s make the e-commerce world a little smarter. Together.

Prices go up, loyalty goes down, and Amazon’s once-bulletproof flywheel starts to squeak. In a world where inflation cools but Amazon gets hotter, shoppers — and sellers — are starting to feel the burn. Here’s a look at how rising costs are reshaping Prime membership, third-party seller profits, and maybe, just maybe, Amazon’s entire game.

Amazon’s Prices Outrun Inflation 📈

Amazon’s 3P sellers hiked prices by 6.7% in 2024, more than double the U.S. inflation rate of 2.9%. Why? Fees. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) charges have jumped 96% over 25 years. Two-thirds of Amazon’s top 10M listings are 3P, so when sellers get squeezed, shoppers pay. Cheap and cheerful? Not anymore.

Amazon Sellers: Pay More, Earn Less 💸

In 2024, 65% of Amazon sellers raised prices to cover soaring FBA fees — yet 59% still ended up less profitable. New hits like Inbound Placement fees (up to $6/unit) and Low-Inventory penalties crushed margins. Sellers faced a tough choice: rewire their entire supply chains or bleed cash. Most chose... to bleed, passing the bill to customers along the way.

Prime Members Spot Price Hikes 🔎

Prime members aren’t just loyal — they’re alert. Across nine categories, from frozen foods to makeup, they noticed price hikes about 1% more often than average adults. For essentials, 40% flagged significantly higher prices vs. 2023. Bezos built trust; inflation is quietly chipping away at it, one Prime delivery at a time.

Prime Loyalty Wobbles Under Pressure 🛒

Online deal-hunting is cooling. Prime members shopping more due to price hikes dropped from 29% in Feb ’22 to 25% now. Among all U.S. adults, it slid from 24% to 21%. Inflation fatigue is setting in. Even Amazon’s flywheel — built on low prices, a killer selection, and world-class logistics — is showing signs of a flat tire. The brands that can shout "value" the loudest are the ones poised to win in this new landscape.

State of Google Ads👀

The ad economy is starting to look like a Vegas casino: the house (Google) always wins. Costs are rising, results are stalling, and the new tools — like PMax — are looking more like scams than solutions. Welcome to the “Clicks vs. Cash” era — let’s dive into who’s paying, who’s playing, and who’s disappearing.

Google’s Ad Spend Outruns Clicks 🚀

Google's ad machine keeps humming — paid search spend rose 9% YoY in Q1'25, but clicks lagged at just 4%. Translation: advertisers are paying more for less. CPC nudged up 5%, propping up spend even as user engagement flatlines. If this were a stock, you’d call it overpriced.

Clicks Outrun Spend in Shopping 🛒

Google Shopping clicks jumped 9% YoY in Q1'25, outpacing spend growth of 8%, while CPC dipped 1% — a rare discount in today’s ad inflation. Yet 93% of retailers are still chained to Performance Max, despite it coughing up 10% lower conversion, 13% higher CPC, and 7% weaker ROAS compared to standard Shopping ads. It's like paying more for a gym membership and gaining weight.

🇺🇸 US Seeks Google Breakup, Chrome Sale. US claims Google’s 89% search share is a monopoly; hearing started Apr 21, 2025. OpenAI may buy Chrome, decision due by summer 2025. 👉 CNET

🇺🇸 Social Media’s Teen Mental Health Pros and Cons. Pew study on Apr 22, 2025, says 74% of teens feel connected, but 45% lose sleep. KOSA bill passed Jul 2024 to protect kids online. 👉 TechCrunch

🇺🇸 Meta’s $7B Ad Revenue Risk from Tariffs. US-China tariffs may cut Meta’s 2025 ad revenue by $7B, per Apr 2025 report. China was 10% of Meta’s $134.9B in 2023, Temu ads drop. 👉 Tech in Asia

🇺🇸 TikTok Takes on Google Maps with Reviews. TikTok tests location reviews in comments tab, launched Apr 15, 2025. Targets Gen Z, builds on 2024 image search and Sep 2024 ads. 👉 TechCrunch

🇪🇺 EU Fines Apple, Meta €700M for Rule Breaks. EU fined Apple €500M, Meta €200M for Digital Markets Act violations in 2025. Fines fuel US-EU trade tension, firms given 60 days to comply. 👉 BBC

🇺🇸 Threads Ads Go Global with 300M Users. Meta launched Threads ads worldwide on Apr 23, 2025, for 300M users. Tested with Wendy’s since Jan 2024, now default in ad campaigns. 👉 Search Engine Land

🇺🇸 Google Ads Policy Boosts Relevance 10%. Google’s Mar 2024 policy shows top ads at bottom, upping relevance 10%. Bottom ad conversions rose 14%, effective across all searches. 👉 Search Engine Land

🇦🇺 Linktree rolls out creator monetization tools. Linktree launched features like storefronts and sponsored links on April 23, 2025, for its 70M+ users to earn money. CEO Alex Zaccaria says it simplifies creator income with one wallet. 👉 TechCrunch

🇺🇸 Nate’s founder charged with fraud over fake AI app. Albert Saniger misled investors with a $50M-funded Nate app, claiming AI but using human workers, leading to near-total losses. Charged on April 14, 2025, he faces up to 20 years per fraud count. 👉 Finextra

🇨🇳 Temu Connect boosts e-commerce with 90-day trial. M2E Temu Connect links Shopify, Magento to Temu’s marketplace, syncing inventory for US, UK, EU sellers. It offers a 90-day free trial to tap Temu’s global growth. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 Spur raises $4.5M for AI website testing. Spur, led by Sneha Sivakumar, got $4.5M to test e-commerce sites for bugs, serving 30+ firms like LivingSpaces.com. The April 17, 2025, funding will expand AI-driven UI/UX testing. 👉 RetailTechInnovationHub

🇺🇸 BlueSnap, Shopware partner for seamless payments. BlueSnap and Shopware teamed up on April 17, 2025, to offer secure payments like mobile wallets in the US, Canada. Jason Nyhus says it meets North American demand for fast transactions. 👉 BusinessWire

🇺🇸 eBay expands Klarna BNPL to US shoppers. eBay added Klarna’s “Pay in 4” and financing options in the US on April 23, 2025, with 500K+ listings from Klarna’s resale feature. BNPL drives $175B in US transactions. 👉 PYMNTS

🇺🇸 HubSpot acquires Dashworks for AI search boost. HubSpot is buying Dashworks to enhance its Breeze Copilot with AI search across business data, announced April 16, 2025. The deal aims to improve marketing, sales tools. 👉 CDP Institute

🇪🇺 InPost and Vinted Partner for Eco-Friendly Delivery. InPost and Vinted signed a deal on April 23, 2025, to offer fast, green shipping in 8 countries. It uses InPost’s 82K+ lockers, handling 1.1B parcels yearly. 👉 ChannelX

🇨🇦 Amazon, Walmart Sellers Dodge Tariffs in Canada. Amazon and Walmart sellers stockpile goods in Canada to avoid 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, reported April 23, 2025. It costs $500-$600 per container, with 50% more China-to-Canada shipments. 👉 Financial Post

🇺🇸 ShipBob Teams Up with Temu for Small Businesses. ShipBob and Temu partnered on April 17, 2025, to help 50K+ U.S. businesses sell on Temu’s marketplace. Temu ranks No. 14 globally by third-party sales value. 👉 PR Newswire

🇺🇸 ShipSaving Launches New Shipping Platform. ShipSaving rolled out a new platform on April 16, 2025, offering up to 89% shipping discounts for 50K+ businesses. It simplifies order management and tracking. 👉 PR Newswire

🇪🇺 European Logistics Investment Jumps 14% in 2024. Logistics investment hit €37.9B in 2024, up 14%, with 27.5M square meters leased, reported February 28, 2025. ECB rate cuts may boost 2025 growth. 👉 CIJ Europe

🇺🇸 DHL Halts High-Value U.S. Deliveries Over Tariffs. DHL suspended U.S. deliveries over $800 on April 21, 2025, due to Trump’s tariffs starting April 5. Shein and Temu may raise prices as customs delays grow. 👉 BBC

🇺🇸 DHL Confirms Pause on High-Value U.S. Shipments. DHL confirmed on April 21, 2025, halting B2C U.S. shipments over $800 due to customs delays from new tariff rules. B2B shipments may face delays but continue. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 FedEx Cuts 2025 Outlook Amid Shipping Slowdown. FedEx lowered its 2025 forecast on March 20, 2025, with $22.7B revenue, down 3.8%, due to a lost USPS contract and weak demand. Net income fell to $771M. 👉 PYMNTS

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