Amazon is a Chessboard, not a Ladder
đȘ The winners control space, not just rank, Platforms pull commerce and content into the feed, and more!
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âïžAmazon Is A Chessboard, Not A Ladder
đ± Platforms Pull Commerce and Content Into the Feed
đ Ad of the Day
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âïžAmazon Is A Chessboard, Not A Ladder
If you walk down the soda aisle in a grocery store, you notice something immediately.
Coke doesnât just have one bottle on the shelf. They have Diet, Zero, Cherry, Vanilla, Mini-cans, and 2-liters.
They arenât doing this because customers desperately need Vanilla Coke. They are doing it to physically crowd out the competition. Every inch of shelf space Coke occupies is an inch Pepsi cannot have.
This is exactly how elite brands win on Amazon.
Most sellers are obsessed with âRanking.â They want their one hero product to be #1.
But being #1 is fragile. If you lose that spot, you lose the business.
Real staying power comes from Density Stacking.
Instead of fighting for one slot, you manufacture a lineup designed to hog the digital shelf.
The Hero: The main profit driver.
The Flanker: A slightly cheaper version to capture price-sensitive shoppers.
The Bundle: A high-AOV pack to dominate the âFrequently Bought Togetherâ widget.
The Decoy: An expensive option that makes the Hero look like a great deal.
The Goal: Break the Comparison Loop
When a shopper clicks your product, Amazon immediately shows them alternatives.
âCustomers also viewed...â
âCompare with similar items...â
If those slots are filled with competitors, revenue leaks out.
If those slots are filled with your other ASINs, the âcomparisonâ phase ends. The shopper is no longer choosing between Brand A vs. Brand B. They are choosing between Brand A (Option 1) vs. Brand A (Option 2).
You win either way.
The Traffic Requirement
This strategy only works if the traffic fueling it is high-quality. If junk traffic hits five different ASINs, it ruins the conversion rate for all of them.
This is where Levanta becomes critical. It allows brands to orchestrate affiliate and creator partnerships across Amazon, Walmart, and DTC as a single channel, ensuring the âFlankerâ gets the budget shopper and the âHeroâ gets the premium shopper.
If you are ready to see how that infrastructure works, book a free Demo with Levanta. It is currently offering qualified sellers a $75 Uber Eats or DoorDash gift card just for taking the meeting.
The Bottom Line
You donât win Amazon by having the best product. You win by being the only product the customer sees.
Turn Amazon from a ladder you climb into a chessboard you control. Most sellers are still just trying to get to the next rung.
đ± Platforms Pull Commerce and Content Into the Feed
Disney and Microsoft are both reshaping how users discover and act on content. Disney is adding short-form video to Disney+, while Microsoft is embedding checkout and brand agents directly into AI chat. Both moves focus on capturing intent earlier and more often.
The Breakdown:
1. Microsoft collapses shopping into conversation - Copilot Checkout lets users search, compare, and buy without leaving AI chat. Payments run through PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe, with merchants keeping control.
Brand Agents answer product questions, guide decisions, and speak in a brandâs voice. Microsoft says agent-assisted sessions deliver stronger engagement and conversion.
2. Disney+ is adopting short-form mechanics - Disney confirmed vertical video will roll out later this year to drive frequent check-ins. The experience will support multiple content types and personalised discovery inside Disney+.
Discovery and checkout are converging into feeds and AI chats. A new report revealed that over 60% of Gen Z now uses AI to discover products, raising the cost of not showing up clearly inside these emerging surfaces.
đ Ad of the Day
What Works:
Awareness Level: Bottom funnel. The buyer already knows ButcherBox and just needs a strong reason to act now instead of âlater.â
Psychological Hook: Loss aversion plus disbelief. âLast chanceâ creates urgency, and âfree ribeyes for a yearâ feels almost too good to ignore.
Strategic Role: Conversion push. This ad isnât explaining the brand; itâs collapsing decision time and turning fence-sitters into buyers fast.
When youâre closing, lead with value shock. Make the upside obvious, time-bound, and emotionally tempting so that delay feels expensive.
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