How to Prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2026 - Episode 432
🎙️Interview With Carel van Rooyen and Michael Childers
DESCRIPTION
Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Account Management.
We're officially in the calm before the storm, recording this in April with one eye firmly fixed on the summer ahead. This episode is your comprehensive playbook for Prime Day 2026.
We're breaking it down across three pillars: Media, Organic Content, and Operations. To help us do that, we've brought in two battle-hardened veterans who've seen it all - and also won.
On the media side, we have Carel van Rooyen, and covering account strategy, we have Michael Childers.
Tune in to find out more!
“Prime Day will be treated more as a full-funnel moment rather than just an event. And not every product should be a Prime Day hero anymore. ”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Carel, and Michael discuss:
Timeline & key deadlines: Lock in deals, inventory, and budgets early. Success starts weeks in advance with strict adherence to submission and shipment cutoffs.
2026 strategy vs. last year: It’s a refinement year - be more selective with products, protect margins, and plan promotions holistically across multiple Amazon events.
AI search & PDP readiness: Optimize PDPs for both humans and AI by delivering clear, confidence-building content that answers key shopper questions end-to-end.
Most important ads evolution: AMC is a game-changer - use it to build and activate high-intent audiences, especially non-buyers and cart abandoners.
Retail media strategy: Structure campaigns across lead-in, event, and lead-out phases, shifting from awareness to conversion to sustained performance.
Execution during the event: Real-time monitoring is critical. Stay on top of inventory, Buy Box ownership, budgets, and content issues hour by hour.
Post-event strategy: Extend momentum with retargeting, cross-selling, and aggressive review generation to lock in organic ranking gains.
Mindset shift in brands: Brands are thinking more strategically - focusing less on tactics in isolation and more on full-funnel, data-driven execution and experimentation
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Connect with Michael Childers, Retail Marketplaces Account Manager
Connect with Acadia’s Amazon PPC Specialist, Carel van Rooyen
How to Make This Prime Day Profitable by Ross Walker
Connect with our host, Julie Spear
Connect with our host, Jordan Ripley
Learn more about Acadia
