Amazon’s Q2 2026 earnings call devoted surprisingly little airtime to ecommerce, but there was a lot packed into it. My biggest takeaways for brands: AI-assisted shopping is changing shopper behavior, Amazon is becoming a serious grocery destination, Pharmacy is quietly scaling, and delivery speed continues to be an important growth driver. Read my full recap and the questions I think brands should be asking on LinkedIn.
Is Amazon‘s eCommerce business on autopilot?
Sure seems that way from their recent Q2 2026 earnings release, where it got only 25% of the airtime:
- AWS & AI: ~60% airtime
- Commerce: ~25% airtime
- Ads/Prime Video/Other: ~15% airtime
Worry not, they packed a LOT of info into that 25% of airtime…key soundbites below (+ questions for brands at the end.)
Alexa for shopping is dramatically changing shopper behavior.
- They’ve grown users to over 350M (+50% y/y) and grew “interactions” 5x y/y
- Customers who use it spend an average of 40% more per order
Sponsored prompts within Alexa for shopping convert 48% more often & shoppers spend 21% more
Groceries in almost every order…likely using AI to merchandise assortment located near shoppers to fulfill it profitably.
- Grown to the 2nd largest grocer in the US
- Grew monthly active perishables customers 50% ytd
- Same-day orders with perishables average over 3x more units per order
- Fresh groceries now make up six of the top 20 best sellers on amazon.com
Pharmacy quietly growing.
- Grew Amazon Pharmacy by more than 2x y/y
- Grew same-day prescription deliveries by 5x y/y
- Helped customers save $250 million YTD in out-of-pocket costs (+400% y/y)
Delivery speed is a growth driver.
- Grew same day/overnight assortment +40% y/y (40x more selection than a typical big box retail store)
- Added 80+ new cities in US to Amazon Now, totaling 250+ cities
- Grew Amazon Now revenue (ultra-fast service, 30 minutes or less) +80 y/y and +60% more customers y/y…also now in 250 cities globally
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Questions for Brands to consider:
- Mimic your shoppers’ experience. If you haven’t already, run a few searches in Alexa for shopping. Ask questions like a shopper would. Does your brand appear? Why/why not?
- Add groceries to your upcoming Amazon order. How does this experience change/not change your grocery shopping behavior? How might it change your shoppers’?
- Are your items available for same-day & Amazon Now? Why or why not?
