Q2 2025 Amazon Marketplace Trends Report

Content, Shelf Visibility & the Growing Gap Between Spend and Conversion

AutoMato AI | July 2025

Ad Spend Soared. Conversions Didn’t.

Q2 exposed the cost of stale content on Amazon.

Executive Summary

Q2 2025 was a quarter defined by imbalance.

Retail media spend surged ahead of Prime Day, with brands investing heavily in ad visibility. Yet returns didn’t rise in tandem. Conversions stalled. ROAS declined. The reason? Content lag — static listings, outdated SEO, and weak mobile experiences.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s evolving algorithm and shopper behavior increasingly rewarded sellers who refreshed listings frequently, embraced long-tail keywords, and structured their PDPs for real-world use cases.

This report outlines five key trends that shaped Amazon marketplace performance in Q2 — and how leading agencies and sellers are adapting for Q3.

1. Paid Shelf vs. Performance Shelf

Retail media spend on Amazon grew approximately 18% quarter-over-quarter, driven by aggressive Prime Day positioning. Yet many advertisers saw diminished returns:

• CPCs rose 9–12% in high-growth categories

• Top-of-search placements were won by budget — but lost by content

• Listings that lacked freshness, compliance, or keyword alignment underperformed in CVR despite their visibility

In Q2, many brands won the shelf with bids — but lost the sale due to weak content.

👉 Sellers who updated listing content regularly saw an average +18% lift in conversion rate.

2. Category Performance Highlights

Growth was not evenly distributed across Amazon:

Even in high-growth categories, listings that hadn’t been updated in over 60 days were penalized in both search ranking and engagement.

3. Content Velocity as a Competitive Edge

Amazon’s algorithm rewarded relevance — and penalized stagnancy.

Top-performing sellers embraced agile content workflows:

• Refreshed PDPs every 2–4 weeks, not quarterly

• Focused on mobile-first layouts: short bullets, scannable visuals, structured data

• Used long-tail keyword clusters (e.g. “2025 TSA-approved travel bottles”)

Results:

• +22% engagement rate on mobile PDPs

• Faster recovery from traffic drops or review dips

👉 Content is no longer a launch task — it’s a continuous performance lever.

4. Shelf Disruptions from Operational Gaps

Operational issues quietly crushed performance in Q2:

• Stockouts led to visibility drops of 2–5 positions in organic search

• Post-promotion review dips excluded listings from ad rotation

• Unmonitored listings lost momentum during Prime Day

Agencies that implemented real-time review tracking and inventory-linked alerts preserved ranking and ad eligibility.

5. Strategic Shifts Heading Into Q3

Sellers and agencies are applying Q2’s lessons to get ahead:

✳️ Replacing static listings with modular content blocks
✳️ Increasing content refresh frequency to monthly or faster
✳️ Rethinking ad/content alignment to reduce wasted spend
✳️ Investing in AI tools to scale listing updates and insights

About AutoMato AI

AutoMato AI is the performance content engine for Amazon sellers and agencies.

We help brands win the digital shelf by automating every part of the listing optimization workflow — from keyword discovery and AI-powered content creation to compliance checks and one-click publishing to Seller Central.

Unlike broad retail media platforms, AutoMato is purpose-built for content velocity:

• Refresh listings in minutes, not days

• Align SEO with how shoppers actually search

• Stay compliant and competitive across hundreds of ASINs

Whether you're managing a few SKUs or scaling across dozens of brands, AutoMato gives your team the speed, structure, and intelligence to turn product pages into growth drivers.

Explore AutoMato

Methodology Note

Insights reflect observed Amazon marketplace trends, agency conversations, and secondary research as of Q2 2025. This report does not include proprietary performance data from AutoMato AI customers.