January 2026 Newsletter: Amazon Growth Checkpoints

Q1 is a great time to take a high-level look at your current account management needs, so we’ve created a quick list that distills core measuring, tooling, and advertising principles into clear checkpoints. Use it to pressure-test strategy, validate impact, and stay aligned with how Amazon’s ecosystem actually drives growth.

1. Ads and Listing Performance

Focus on year-round health: understanding organic lift, demand capture, and how listings perform within the broader category. Use these checks as a starting point to ensure ads and content are supporting sustainable growth, not just short-term efficiency. Strong listings and clear measurement guardrails ensure ads amplify a healthy retail foundation rather than masking underlying issues.

• Prioritize and optimize listings based on data-driven insights and brand identity
• Monitor TACoS to ensure ads drive total business growth
• Track repeat purchases to confirm long-term customer value
• Use Brand Analytics to monitor market share and organic rank shifts

2. Measurement, Data, and Incrementality Validation

Prove why performance is happening. The goal is clarity: understanding incrementality, customer journey impact, and which levers truly drive growth.

• Align ad strategy with clear definitions of incrementality
• Evaluate performance beyond ROAS alone
• Track New-to-Brand rates to confirm audience expansion
• Apply AMC modeling to understand path-to-purchase behavior

3. Technology, Automation, and AI Governance

Ensure new tools improve decisions rather than obscure them. The focus is balance: using automation and AI while maintaining transparency and strategic control.

• Research Amazon’s AI tools to surface opportunity signals
• Apply human judgment before scaling AI-driven insights
• Balance automation with brand and journey context
• Use unified reporting across Sponsored Ads and DSP

4. Event-Driven Ads and Seasonal Activation

Designed for Prime Day, Q4, and other spikes, these checks help brands stay intentional under pressure and refocus on areas of proven incremental impact.

• Sequence messaging across full-funnel campaigns
• Retarget engaged audiences with conversion-focused ads after using awareness video ads to build intent
• Reinvest ads budget into proven incremental audiences
• Validate audience expansion during peak events

Q1 planning isn’t about chasing quick wins—it’s about building the systems, measurement, and discipline that compound growth all year long. By revisiting these checkpoints now, brands can enter peak moments with confidence, clarity, and an Amazon strategy built to scale on real, incremental impact.

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