Agency 2.0 Emerging I hate opening posts with "the more agency owners I speak to
By Simon Ellicott · June 2, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Agency 2.0 Emerging
I hate opening posts with "the more agency owners I speak to..." but there has been a noticeable shift in the Amazon agency market.
Not loudly.
But unmistakably.
More acquisitions.
More consolidation.
More founders quietly exploring exits.
And fewer independent agencies capable of commanding premium valuations.
Most people see the consolidation. What they're missing is why it's happening.
For years, the Amazon ecosystem rewarded activity.
Optimise everything.
Advertise everything.
Launch more campaigns.
Produce more reports.
Do more.
And for a long time, that worked.
The problem is that many agencies became exceptionally good at execution without ever developing genuine strategic capability.
They could optimise a PDP.
They could restructure a PPC account.
They could build a DSP audience.
But ask them which SKUs should be prioritised, where market share is realistically winnable, what level of investment is commercially viable, or how the next AVN cycle might impact profitability...
And the conversation often becomes a lot quieter.
Because strategy and execution are not the same thing.
AI is now exposing that distinction.
Not because it creates strategy, but because it increasingly automates execution. And when execution becomes cheaper, faster and more accessible, the value moves upstream.
From doing the work...
To deciding what work should exist in the first place.
The agencies pulling ahead aren't necessarily doing more. In many cases, they're doing less.
They're helping brands understand:
• Which SKUs not to advertise
• Which products should be deprioritised
• Where incrementality genuinely exists
• What growth is actually profitable
• How Amazon's economics influence decision making
They're making commercial decisions before tactical ones.
That's strategy.
And increasingly, it's what buyers are looking for too.
Not:
"Can this agency run ads?"
But:
"Can this business consistently create outcomes without relying on brute force execution?"
That's a very different proposition.
And it's why I suspect the gap between execution led agencies and strategy led agencies is about to widen dramatically.
The question for agency owners isn't really about valuation multiples, it's about direction.
As AI accelerates.
As consolidation continues.
And as brands become more commercially sophisticated...
Are you building an agency designed for the market that existed five years ago?
Or the one that exists today?
Because Amazon Agency 2.0 won't be bigger.
It will be smarter.
More commercial.
More selective.
And ultimately, far more valuable.
#AmazonAgency #AgencyGrowth #Amazon
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