A note from our CEO

Hey everyone,

Happy August! With Prime Day in the rear view, we are now eyeing the “Amazon second half”, which starts after Prime Day and makes up the majority of most brand sales. We’re focused on Q4 inventory as well as beginning to forecast 2026.

It feels like Groundhog Day, but we’re back in tariff conversations. It occupied far less of the news cycle this round, but reminded us we’re not out of the woods. Many financial analysts are saying tariff pricing will hit soon, particularly as preemptively ordered inventory (something Amazon also did for Vendors) will likely soon deplete. We will be watching competitive prices closely for any changes.

Anyone working in consumer should be watching both tariffs and the troubling jobs report, which, with a lackluster Prime Day, paint a quite uncertain picture for what the remainder of the year will be. That said, M&A in consumer has been very strong, often a good sign for brand investment, and many wellness and grocery signals remain strong.

Looking back at Q2, it’s clear many brands took a “wait and see” which resulted in a slow and conservative April and May in terms of new launches, ad budgets, and big projects. Conversely this led to our busiest June and July ever as folks dove in to try to deliver a strong 2H amidst all the waiting and uncertainty.

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find:

• Our latest portfolio sales and ad spend index

• Inventory planning, and our AMZ Prep partnership for shipping in faster freight

• How we used PickFu A/B image testing to boost Happy Viking’s Amazon business

• We’re hiring!

• Amazon search term trends from July

Feel free to reply direct - it goes to my inbox!

PS - we are hiring! We’re looking for folks for Amazon brand management and b2b Cartograph marketing and sales roles.

Last Month’s Sales and Ad Spend Numbers

Inventory Planning & Management

Amazon inventory gets tight fast in Q4.

Below, we cover two things that matter most:

1) Prepping for October Prime Day and 2) Why we’re partnering with AMZ Prep for middle-mile logistics

Preparing Inventory for October Prime Day

It’s peak summer, but our team has started preparing for October Prime Day, typically in the middle of October. We’re looking at Amazon’s capacity estimates for September and taking action to ensure we are ready.

To hit October Prime Day (and set yourself up for Q4), you’ll need to:

• Inbound all Prime inventory before September

• Submit Q4-bound shipments throughout September

• Secure extra capacity now, before slots get tight, by bidding on inventory space based upon Amazon’s September estimates

Even if you don’t plan to run deals, October Prime Day drives retail-wide demand and velocity spikes. Having space (and inventory) in place early gives you more flexibility across pricing, promotions, and restocks. 

AMZ Prep Partnership

We’ve partnered with AMZ Prep to help brands navigate middle-mile logistics with less cost and more speed.

Here’s what AMZ Prep can do for you:

• No more Amazon redistribution fees – Ship to one location; AMZ Prep handles warehouse distribution.

• Faster check-in at FBA – Transit times drop from weeks to days via optimized routing and carriers.

• Lower shipping costs – Inventory rides alongside other brands’ product, not solo freight.

• Faster selling – Faster FBA check-in = faster product availability = better cash conversion.

• Full-service logistics – From international freight to Walmart delivery, AMZ Prep handles it.

• Slack-based support – Real humans. Real tracking. Real transparency.

• Plug-and-play flexibility – Whether you’re shipping from your own warehouse or need one, AMZ Prep adapts.

If you’re shipping at volume or hitting delays, middle-mile strategy might be the difference between a smooth Q4 and a stuck one.

How A/B Testing Our Images Jumped Click-thru by 18%

Some brands guess what “looks good.” We don’t.

For Happy Viking, we built a creative testing loop that turned image updates into conversion drivers, starting with real consumer feedback and ending with double-digit lifts across the board.

Using tools like PickFu and Amazon’s Manage Your Experiments, we isolated which visual elements mattered most to shoppers and ran multiple test rounds to refine clarity, credibility, and consumer relevance.

The result? +18% Click-thru Rate, and +27% Conversion—all from one image update.

This case study is a good example of how we make visual decisions the same way we do pricing and ad ops: with data, iteration, and a bias toward what performs.

Read the full case study here.

Hiring Update

We’re hiring a Senior Marketing Manager to lead Cartograph’s B2B marketing efforts and help shape the future of our brand! If you know someone who’s strategy-minded, creative, and passionate about better-for-you products, send them our way!

www.gocartograph.com/careers

July Search Term Trends

Each month, we track and analyze search volume and CPCs for popular Amazon search terms. Here are some recent trends we found interesting.