Amazon is simultaneously the biggest growth unlock and the fastest way to compress your margins if you enter unprepared. The size of the prize is obvious. According to EMARKETER’s US Ecommerce Forecast 2024, US online sales will rise to nearly 1.2 trillion dollars this year, and the report’s charts show Amazon still towers over rivals with more than 40 percent of US ecommerce. At the same time, more shopping now starts in retail media walled gardens. The EMARKETER analysis of search in 2024 finds that 56 percent of US consumers begin shopping searches on Amazon, and retail media will capture 27.2 percent of US search ad spend this year.

The decision: Amazon, Shopify, or both?

If you sell a product that is frequently searched, easy to compare, and has tangible proof like reviews and UGC, Amazon will likely accelerate velocity. If you sell highly configurable products or need depth of education, your own storefront may convert better. A hybrid approach lets you capture high intent search on Amazon and build your brand and LTV on Shopify.

Three questions sharpen the choice:

• Can your margin stack absorb marketplace costs? The Selling on Amazon fee schedule shows many categories pay a 15 percent referral fee on the first 300 dollars, plus FBA and advertising. Model these fees against contribution margin before you launch.

• Will you control the narrative and price? If resellers already list your products, Amazon may be a defensive necessity to win the Buy Box with Brand Registry and pricing discipline. If you are not ready to set MAP and enforce it, you risk a race to the bottom.

• Can operations hit Prime expectations? FBA improves discoverability and conversion, and Amazon’s 2025 fee update confirms no increase to US referral or FBA fees, with lower inbound placement fees for certain large products, which eases planning.

If margins are thin, build pricing power first. Our playbooks on ecommerce pricing to lift AOV and protect margin and bundling frameworks to lift AOV and LTV will help before you list a single SKU.

A profitable Amazon + Shopify hybrid: step-by-step

1. Define a channel strategy by SKU. Put hero SKUs and replenishable items on Amazon to win category search, and hold back bundles, limited editions, and higher margin configurations for Shopify. Our 2025 checkout optimization tests can capture that premium demand on your site.

2. Set defensible pricing and offers. Keep Amazon pricing at parity or slightly premium, then engineer superior value on Shopify with bundles, gifts with purchase, or subscriptions. Apply the bundling frameworks to protect blended margins.

3. Earn the Prime badge without overpaying on logistics. Use FBA for top ASINs to maximize conversion and search rank. The 2025 update from Amazon’s Selling Partner team indicates referral and FBA fees will not increase, and inbound placement fees drop for some bulky items, which improves cost predictability. For the full stack, remember the official fee schedule varies by category.

4. Launch listings that answer every objection. Secure Brand Registry, design A+ Content that mirrors your highest converting PDP sections, and integrate authentic reviews and Q&A early. Then measure the knock-on effect on your site using our attribution guide for 2025 to keep channel cannibalization in check.

5. Capture demand with retail media, not just search engines. The shift of search budgets into retailer networks is real. As EMARKETER’s retail media coverage explains, a growing share of search ad spend now lives on Amazon and peers. Start with Sponsored Products for rank and incrementality testing, then scale into Sponsored Brands and DSP for mid funnel.

6. Incentivize external traffic when it makes sense. If affiliates, influencers, or email flows point to Amazon, enroll in the Brand Referral Bonus program, which Amazon says averages a 10 percent bonus on qualifying sales you drive. For DTC first campaigns, keep traffic to Shopify and retarget Amazon cart abandoners through your CRM.

7. Leverage Buy with Prime wherever it increases conversion. Amazon’s own data reports that Buy with Prime increases shopper conversion by 25 percent on average. Use it on select PDPs where delivery speed is the primary objection and where you can still collect opt-in email.

8. Make Shopify your data and LTV engine. Build segmentation with our zero party data playbook and high ROI email and SMS guide to convert Amazon-aware visitors into owned relationships. If you need a modern DTC foundation, launch fast on Shopify.

9. Instrument measurement for blended ROAS. Attribute revenue across channels with GA4, server side tracking, and MMM heuristics from our attribution deep dive. On Amazon, run geo or time based holdouts to quantify true incrementality from Sponsored Products.

10. Diversify to short form marketplaces once the core is stable. Test shoppable social with proven offers using our TikTok Shop 30 day launch plan and GTM playbook to add a second marketplace that does not simply bid up your Amazon CPCs.

Unit economics guardrails founders should not skip

Work backward from contribution margin per unit and assume ads are required to gain rank. Amazon’s Q2 2025 results show a continued ad flywheel, and the company reported that advertising services revenue rose 22 percent year over year to 15.7 billion dollars, according to Amazon’s investor relations release. In most categories this means you will fund initial sales with Sponsored Products before organic rank compounds. Your model should include referral fees, FBA pick and pack, storage, returns, and realistic ad CPCs.

Protect your brand assets as you scale. Register IP, monitor unauthorized listings, and maintain MAP. Keep your best bundles exclusive to your site and direct marketplace shoppers to your owned experience with value props that marketplaces cannot match, like quiz driven personalization and loyalty rewards. When macro conditions tighten, revisit buffers using our recession playbook for ecommerce to forecast cash, pricing, and inventory risk.

The bottom line for founders

Sell where intent lives, then own the relationship where lifetime value grows. Amazon remains the default starting line for product search, and it will continue to attract ad dollars and purchase ready traffic. Shopify is where your brand narrative, data, and margin compounding happen. If you want weekly, zero fluff tactics like these, join StoreAcquire and get the playbooks our readers use to move from 50 thousand to 500 thousand in MRR, like this growth case study. Browse all guides in the blog archive or learn more about us.