What: Amazon’s dominance in retail is reshaping consumer behavior, advertising, and brand strategies across the industry.

Why it is important: The shift in brand strategies toward Amazon reflects a broader industry move to balance marketplace reach with brand control, supported by recent Notion findings.

Amazon’s steady rise to dominance in the retail sector is fundamentally altering how consumers make purchasing decisions and how brands approach their market strategies. No longer just a platform for low-cost goods, Amazon now serves as a pivotal checkpoint in the buying journey, where consumers verify product availability, quality, and delivery speed before making a purchase. This central role is reinforced by Amazon’s robust first-party data ecosystem and expanding retail media network, which have made advertising on the platform a strategic necessity rather than an optional add-on. Brands, particularly in France, are increasingly reconsidering their resistance to Amazon, recognizing that absence from the marketplace often means ceding demand to competitors rather than protecting direct-to-consumer channels. The perception of Amazon has shifted, with premium and well-positioned products now thriving alongside value offerings, provided they are presented with clarity and strategic focus. Success on Amazon is less about budget and more about method—careful category selection, optimized product pages, and targeted advertising are now essential. This evolution is compelling brands to adopt more sophisticated, data-driven approaches to remain competitive in a landscape where Amazon quietly but decisively shapes the rules.

IADS Notes: Amazon’s expanding influence over the customer journey and retail media has been highlighted in recent industry analyses, with AI-driven initiatives and first-party data strategies driving measurable business outcomes (January 2026, December 2025, July 2025). The debate among brands about engaging with Amazon, as seen in Nike’s return and Saks’ curated storefronts, reflects a broader shift toward balancing marketplace reach with brand control (May 2025, April 2025). The need for strategic, data-driven approaches to succeed on Amazon is echoed in recent findings on merchandising and promotional models (July 2025, May 2025, November 2025).

Amazon, the giant that is quietly making its mark