eStoreBrands

We decided to test Amazon's AI shopping assistant by asking it the exact same 50 questions every single hour for 11 straight days. Looking at the data, two major takeaways jumped out at us.. First off, it doesn't really rank products, it draws them. Ask it the same question twice back-to-back, and you might see completely different top picks because it re-analyses the prompt each time. So while a product's overall odds of showing up stay fairly consistent, any single result is pretty unpredictable. Second, even though the pool of potential products is wide, the winning odds are super skewed. Out of 71,000 total recommendation slots, a massive 67% were snagged by just 50 items. On top of that, 65% of the products in the categories we looked at never got recommended even once. David Halls and Filip Zok walked clients and prospects through the complete findings earlier this week, diving into what actually tilts those odds in your favour. If you want to check out the key highlights and full write-up, you can read it on Ignite here: https://bit.ly/4xVC4k9 Source: eStoreBrands study, UK coffee machines and sunscreen, 261 consecutive hours, 2026.

We're at the Co-op Trade Briefing from IGD at Co-op Live, Manchester, today. Laura, Francis, David and Joe are around and available to chat throughout the day. We'll be talking to suppliers about Co-op Catalyst, our new quick commerce insight service with Co-op. The networking break, lunch and the gaps between the afternoon breakouts are the best times to catch us. If you can't be there, find out more and register your interest: https://bit.ly/4AuZUpM

IGD forecasts that quick commerce will account for 15% of UK online grocery sales by 2031, making it the fastest-growing sector in UK grocery (IGD UK channel forecasts 2026 to 2031). For suppliers, that changes where the sale is won. Quick commerce ranges are smaller, and shoppers order on a phone where only the first few results are visible without scrolling. Being in stock, correctly ranged and easy to find carries more weight when there is less shelf to compete for. Co-op Catalyst, our new service with Co-op, gives suppliers quick commerce insight direct from Co-op. Laura, Francis, David and Joe will be on our stand and walking the floors at the Co-op Trade Briefing from IGD tomorrow at Co-op Live, Manchester, and would be glad to talk it through. Please come and say hello if you're going to be attending! Register your interest: https://bit.ly/4xxJsCp

Today we're pleased to announce Co-op Catalyst, a new supplier insight service built in partnership with Co-op. Quick commerce is the fastest-growing part of UK grocery. IGD forecasts it will account for 15% of UK online grocery sales by 2031 (IGD UK channel forecasts 2026 to 2031). For suppliers, that growth raises new questions: how their range is performing, where they are visible, and what is holding sales back on a shelf that fits on a phone screen. Co-op Catalyst gives suppliers quick commerce insight, direct from Co-op. For more info and to register interest ahead of launch please visit: https://bit.ly/4y2NxPR Read Co-op's announcement: https://bit.ly/479rWcJ We'll also be at the Co-op Trade Briefing from IGD this Thursday, 24 September, at Co-op Live in Manchester. Laura, Francis, David and Joe will be available to talk suppliers through Co-op Catalyst, so come and find us for a chat if you're there and would like to find out more .

Amazon re-evaluates the Buy Box continuously. Price moves, an offer goes out of stock, a new seller arrives, and the button changes hands. A listing can have several owners in a single day. Weekly snapshots miss most of it. The commercial questions need specifics: which seller took the Buy Box, on which date, at which price. An unauthorised seller at a deep discount points to a distribution leak. A first-party offer that keeps going unavailable points to supply. The response depends on the diagnosis. Our new article covers what losing the Buy Box costs, and why the fix starts with measurement: https://bit.ly/4r1ple5

Tomorrow at 11:00 UK / 12:00 CET: How to win on Alexa for Shopping (Rufus). David Halls and Filip Zok, live for 45 minutes: what Amazon's AI shopping assistant actually is, the myths worth clearing up, data on how it behaves, and the first demonstration of our new Alexa for Shopping tool. Everyone who registers gets the recording, so it is worth registering even if you cannot join live. Register here: https://bit.ly/4xRhe6A

Halloween lifts formats, not categories. Within the same brand, one pack format can sell strongly through the season while another shows no rise at all. Halloween has a specific job to be done, which is sharing and handing out sweets. Formats built for that job take part. Formats built for other occasions do not, whatever the brand on the pack. If the formats the season rewards are not in your online range, that is a conversation for the spring range review. By September the decision has already been made. More on this, and four other things we see in online Halloween demand, on ASDA Xpert Insights: https://bit.ly/46PdOVO

Amazon's Sponsored Products ads display only while the advertised product holds the Featured Offer. Lose the Buy Box and the campaigns on that listing stop serving. There is no alert. The listing's organic traffic keeps converting, through another seller's offer, while the paid activity waits for a position the brand no longer holds. A dip in ad-attributed sales in the monthly review often traces back to a Buy Box loss weeks earlier. The eStore platform monitors who holds the Buy Box on each listing, so a change of hands is visible the day it happens rather than in the next reporting cycle. More in our new article: https://bit.ly/4xGNU2t

Our Francis Nicholass spoke to Toby Pickard, Retail Futures Senior Partner at IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution), about where suppliers can find growth in online grocery. IGD forecasts online to be the fastest-growing UK grocery channel to 2031, with quick commerce reaching 15% of online grocery sales by then (IGD UK channel forecasts 2026 to 2031). Francis argues the biggest missed opportunity is eCategory management: bringing the category discipline suppliers already apply in store to the online shelf. He also covers how brands stay visible as retailers build their own AI shopping assistants. Read the full interview on IGD: https://bit.ly/4itnZ9H

When a shopper asks Amazon's assistant which product to buy, it answers with a handful of recommendations. Amazon publishes no reporting on those answers. According to Amazon's Q4 2025 earnings call, over 300 million customers used the assistant last year, and shoppers who use it are 60% more likely to complete a purchase. Your share of search doesn't tell you your share of the answer. David Halls and Filip Zok will show how visibility inside those answers can be measured, with a live demonstration of our new Alexa for Shopping tool. 11:00 UK / 12:00 CET, 45 minutes including Q&A. Register here: https://bit.ly/4xfnTGp