How Will Amazon Evolve in 2025?

Editor’s note - September 2026: This article was first published on January 21, 2025, as a prediction about how Amazon might change during the year. We have kept the original 2025 point of view, but we have also added verified 2026 updates so readers can see what actually happened. For the latest guidance, see Amazon trends in 2026.

At the start of 2025, I expected Amazon to move faster because competition was becoming stronger. I also expected major changes in Vendor Central, paid support programs, advertising, and Seller Central.

Some of those predictions proved fairly accurate. Others did not.

Instead of pretending every prediction was correct, the best way to look back at this article is to compare what we expected in 2025 with what Amazon actually did by 2026.

What Happened by 2026? A Quick Scorecard

The broad direction was partly correct: Amazon expanded automation and continued investing heavily in advertising, while several of the specific predictions did not happen as expected.

However, some of the more specific predictions, such as Seller Central and Vendor Central merging or Strategic Account Services ending, did not happen.

Amazon’s Next Moves: A Giant Wakes Up

My main idea in 2025 was simple.

Amazon could no longer act like it had no serious competition while TikTok Shop, Temu, Shein, and other marketplaces kept changing how customers discover, compare, and buy products.

The direction of that prediction was partly borne out. Amazon continued rolling out new shopping experiences quickly, including the expansion of Amazon Haul. But Amazon's public updates do not establish competitive pressure as the direct cause of those decisions.

Amazon continued expanding Haul, its ultra-low-price shopping experience, and introduced more ways for shoppers to discover and purchase products.

The original article also included some speculation about who might own or influence TikTok. That point wasn't important to the main Amazon prediction, so I removed it.

The End of Vendor Central?

In 2025, I believed Amazon had three possible directions it could take with Vendor Central.

Amazon could shut Vendor Central down, limit it mainly to its biggest 1P brands, or combine Seller Central and Vendor Central into one platform.

At the time, I believed the third option was the most likely.

As of September 2026, there is no confirmation that this merger happened.

Supplier Central may sound similar to the platform I imagined, but Amazon describes it as a system that helps suppliers work with Amazon on upstream supply-chain activities.

That does not mean Seller Central and Vendor Central have become one system.

For brands considering moving away from the 1P model, the better question is whether moving to 3P can improve control, margins, product selection, and day-to-day execution.

SalesDuo explains this decision in more detail in its guide to switching from Vendor Central to Seller Central.

Goodbye to Paid Programs Like AVS and SAS

I also predicted that Amazon might slowly remove paid support programs because better support should ideally be built directly into the marketplace.

That prediction did not prove correct for Strategic Account Services.

Amazon still operates SAS in 2026.

The program is currently at capacity, and Amazon asks interested sellers to join an interest list.

Because of this, the old prediction that programs like SAS would disappear should not be treated as a current fact.

For questions about pricing, eligibility, or whether the program is right for your business, see SalesDuo’s updated guide to Amazon Strategic Account Services.

Amazon Advertising: The Crown Jewel

This was one of the stronger predictions from the original 2025 article.

I expected Amazon to invest heavily in advertising technology because ads were becoming more important for brands trying to reach shoppers on and off Amazon.

That direction became even clearer by 2026.

Amazon Ads’ 2026 outlook puts AI, creators, streaming, omnichannel advertising, and measurement at the center of its advertising strategy.

So the overall prediction was correct.

However, this article doesn't need to be a complete guide to Amazon PPC or advertising.

SalesDuo covers the topic in much more detail on its page on Amazon advertising trends and statistics.

Seller Central: It’s Time for a Revamp

The original article argued that simple listing and catalog tasks should become easier for sellers and brands.

It also predicted that Amazon would introduce more automation and faster validation inside Seller Central.

That prediction was partly correct.

Amazon now uses generative AI to create draft listing content from product descriptions, images, URLs, and spreadsheets.

Amazon also provides AI-assisted tools for creating A+ Content.

However, sellers still need to review everything these tools create. Sellers are still responsible for ensuring their content is accurate and follows Amazon’s policies.

Amazon has also continued changing listing rules instead of automating the process.

One clear example from 2026 is Amazon’s 75-character title change, which changed how sellers should prioritize non-media product titles and Item Highlights.

So the fairest conclusion is that the original prediction was “partly borne out.”

Seller Central has become more automated in specific workflows, but sellers still need to review AI-generated content and manage many operational tasks themselves.

Chinese Sellers: The Silent Revolution

The original article included exact percentages for the number of Chinese sellers on Amazon.

However, those percentages lacked a reliable source, and the article did not clearly explain how the figures were calculated.

As a result, those numbers should not remain in the article as verified facts.

The larger point is still useful.

U.S. brands compete in a global marketplace where sellers may have very different costs, sourcing strategies, supply chains, and operating speeds.

Brands should respond by focusing on things they can control, such as category economics, product differentiation, supply-chain reliability, customer experience, and brand strength.

Strategy should not be based on unsupported estimates about what percentage of Amazon sellers come from a particular country.

What We Missed: AI-Assisted Shopping Became a Major Discovery Layer

One major change in 2026 was not clearly predicted in the original article.

Alexa for Shopping brought Rufus and Alexa+ together to create an AI-powered shopping assistant for U.S. customers.

The assistant can answer shopping questions, compare products, provide AI-generated summaries, show price history, and even support automated shopping actions.

For brands, this creates another way for customers to discover products beyond traditional Amazon search and advertising.

Product information now needs to be clear and useful not only for shoppers, but also for AI tools that compare and recommend products.

SalesDuo explains the practical side of this change in its guide to Amazon’s shopper-facing AI.

2025: A Year of Disruption

Looking back from 2026, the overall prediction was more accurate than some of the individual predictions.

Amazon continued rolling out new shopping, advertising, and AI capabilities quickly, although public evidence does not establish competitive pressure as the direct cause.

Advertising became even more important, and automation continued to grow.

However, the expected Seller Central and Vendor Central merger was not confirmed, and Strategic Account Services did not disappear.

It shows what SalesDuo predicted at the beginning of 2025, what actually happened, and where Amazon moved in a different direction.

Brands should now make decisions based on Amazon’s current tools, policies, and marketplace conditions instead of relying on predictions made at the beginning of 2025.

Planning for Amazon’s evolution in 2025 means reviewing advertising, content, search visibility, and operations together, whether internally or through a full-service Amazon agency.

If your brand needs help turning current Amazon changes into an operating plan, Book Your 1:1 Growth Call.

About the Author

Meet Arjun Narayan, a Business Dynamo with two decades of conquering boardrooms and founding two companies that didn't just survive but thrived. When he's not navigating business strategies and delivery teams, you'll find him immersed in his love for cars and exploring new models, geeking out over tech trends, globe-trotting for new adventures, and occasionally pondering the mysteries of the universe over a good cup of coffee.