This Week in M&A Issue #217
December 29, 2025
Ho ho ho!
Today’s trend of the week is “nostalgic toys”. 🧸
Nostalgia is shaping gift lists this year as parents raid their own childhoods for gift ideas.
Shopify sales data shows that dollhouses are up 177% month over month, fueled in part by the Barbie movie bringing miniature worlds back into the spotlight. The global dollhouses market is experiencing significant growth, reaching $1.8 billion in 2024 and projected to soar to $2.7 billion by 2030, with a steady compound annual growth rate of 6.1%.
Classic staples like wooden blocks and play-dough sets are also surging, with growth of 123% and 76%, as families lean into tactile, hands-on play over flashy electronics. Even vintage favorites like musical boxes and yo-yos are seeing renewed interest, jumping 111% and 93%.
All of this is proof that sometimes the smartest trend is the one that never really went away. The good news for eCommerce sellers is that nostalgic toys are often simpler to source, easier to brand, and perfect for storytelling-driven marketing.
Today we have for you:
- Sell directly in AI Chats with Shopify Agentic Storefronts
- Amazon quietly changes refund rules for FBM sellers
And:
- How to buy a business without spending your own money
- What really makes brands show up in AI Search results
Alright, let’s dive in.
ecommerce
Image Source: Giphy (sambmotion)
Shopify’s Agentic Storefronts Let Merchants Sell Directly Inside AI Conversations
Shopify is officially stepping into the future of AI-powered shopping with the launch of Agentic Storefronts, a new feature that lets merchants sell directly inside AI conversations.
Announced as part of Shopify’s Winter ’26 Edition, Agentic Storefronts lets Shopify send clean, structured product data to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot. For small and mid-sized merchants, this is a big deal. It creates a direct path to new customers without needing massive ad budgets or complex integrations.
Once merchants turn on Agentic Storefronts in Shopify, Shopify handles the heavy lifting. Product details such as pricing, inventory, and brand information are structured and shared with partner AI platforms. Customers can discover products, get answers to follow-up questions, and complete purchases directly inside the chat. Every order flows back into Shopify with clear attribution, tracking, and reporting.
A key benefit is brand control. Merchants decide where their products appear and how their brand is represented from discovery through post purchase. Using Shopify’s schema tools and Knowledge Base app, brands can define product attributes, policies, FAQs, and brand voice so AI agents present accurate information in every conversation.
Shopify also removes the need for custom integrations with each AI platform. One integration powers every AI surface. Shopify Catalog structures data at a global scale, keeping prices and inventory up to date while ensuring shoppers see relevant and unique results. Merchants can toggle AI channels on or off at any time.
Most importantly, you remain the merchant of record. You control whether checkout happens in-chat or on your store, own the customer relationship, and manage the post-purchase experience. Every customer stays yours.
By giving AI platforms accurate, structured product data, Shopify ensures your store is ready for the future of agent-driven commerce, where conversations, not links, drive sales.
The Opportunity podcast
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How to Structure a Business Acquisition Without Breaking the Bank
You don’t need to drain your bank account to buy a business. In fact, many of the best deals are done with very little personal capital.
In this podcast episode, Greg breaks down how buyers can structure acquisitions using financing instead of their own money.
He explains why debt isn’t something to be afraid of, as it can add a serious boost to your spending power. But he also warns about the dangers of over-leveraging and how too much debt can make a business fragile.
This video is packed with actionable insights for anyone looking to acquire a business with limited upfront capital.
Amazon
New Refund Timeline Gives FBM Sellers More Time to Process Returns
Two days before Christmas, Amazon quietly dropped a policy update that affects Fulfilled by Merchant orders (FBM), with the new rules going live on January 26, 2026.
The good news is that FBM sellers will now have more time to process returns. Instead of having just two business days to issue a refund after receiving a returned item, sellers will now have four calendar days.
But there is a catch. If you miss that four-day window, Amazon may automatically refund the customer for you. When that happens, sellers will usually lose the ability to file a SAFE-T claim for reimbursement. The main exceptions are cases where the item was lost in transit, or delivery confirmation was incorrect, and the seller never actually received the return.
Amazon is encouraging sellers to use the Guided Refund Workflow. This tool allows sellers to inspect returned items, apply restocking fees, issue partial refunds, and upload evidence if an item is returned in worse condition than it was sent.
Some sellers were concerned that this update might eliminate Refund at First Scan. Amazon clarified that RFS is not going away. When Amazon provides prepaid return labels, Refund at First Scan will continue to work as it does today. The new rules only apply to returns where RFS is not used.
Despite Amazon framing the update as an improvement, seller reactions have been mixed. Some argue the update actually reduces their protection by limiting when SAFE-T claims can be filed. Amazon has acknowledged the confusion and says its SAFE-T documentation is being updated.
FBM sellers should start tightening their return processes now, because when this policy goes live, missed deadlines could get expensive fast.
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AI Search
The New Rules of Brand Visibility in AI Search
AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI-powered search are becoming powerful discovery channels for many online businesses. A new study by Ahrefs of 75,000 brands reveals which signals most influence whether a brand is mentioned in ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and AI Overviews.
Here is what business owners need to know.
YouTube Is the Strongest Visibility Signal
Across all platforms studied, YouTube mentions had the strongest connection to AI visibility. YouTube content is heavily used as training data for AI models, which makes video mentions a powerful trust signal.
Brands that appear frequently in YouTube video titles, descriptions, and transcripts are far more likely to show up in AI-generated answers.
What matters most is how often your brand is mentioned, not how viral those videos are. A wide spread of smaller creators talking about your brand can be more powerful than one big influencer mention.
Mentions Matter More Than SEO Tricks
AI systems strongly favor brands that are talked about across the web. Mentions in blog posts, guides, articles, and reviews consistently increase the chances of being referenced in AI responses.
Branded links, where a site links to your brand name, and branded search volume also help. These signals show that real people recognize and actively seek out your brand.
Traditional SEO tactics like publishing more pages or aggressively building backlinks showed little impact.
Not All AI Platforms Work the Same
Google’s AI Mode leans heavily toward established brands. It favors signals like branded links and branded search volume.
ChatGPT works differently. It shows weaker ties to classic authority metrics, which means smaller or emerging brands may have a better chance of being mentioned there first.
AI Overviews sit somewhere in the middle and slightly favor higher-authority domains, likely because they aim to deliver quick, factual answers.
What This Means for Brands
If you want to increase your AI visibility, focus on building real brand presence, not just optimizing pages.
That means investing in YouTube content, encouraging reviews and creator coverage, and earning genuine mentions across trusted websites. If your brand is still growing, ChatGPT may be the easiest place to gain early visibility while you build broader recognition.
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