This Week in M&A Issue #247
July 27, 2026
Hey hey! đź‘‹
Today’s trend of the week is “hacky sacks”.
Yet another ’90s trend is making a comeback, and this time it’s hacky sacks. What was once a schoolyard favorite is suddenly back in demand, fueled by a wave of viral social media content.
Interest has exploded, with TikTok searches up 7,000% year to date and Google searches jumping more than 5,000% in a single month.
The surge is already putting pressure on supply. Bomb Footbags owner Mike Heher told Bloomberg that business has “exploded.” He even raised the price of one of his products from $13 to $34, and it still sold out. Some retailers have also started limiting how many customers can buy.
Hacky sacks are inexpensive to produce, lightweight to ship, and seeing strong demand. If you’re looking for your next product idea, this trend might be worth kicking around.
Today we have for you:
- EU forces Google to share search data with AI rivals
- New seller service allows TikTok to run your store for you
And:
- Amazon sellers may need to rethink how they optimize for search
- Amazon’s 2026 holiday calendar is here
- The 5 most important Google ranking factors right now
Alright, let’s dive in.
Image Source: Giphy (SpongeBob SquarePants)
Google Must Share Search Data With Competitors Under New EU Rules
Google will soon be required to share anonymized search data with qualifying competitors, including rival search engines and AI assistants with search capabilities, following a new decision from the European Commission.
Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google must begin providing eligible companies with access to this data in January 2027. The goal is to help alternative search platforms and AI tools improve their products and compete more effectively with Google Search, which has maintained more than 90% market share in Europe for years.
The data available to competitors will include insights such as search queries, rankings, clicks, views, and interactions with search results. However, the rules exclude personal information, including user accounts, individual search histories, exact timestamps, and any data that could identify users. Companies will also not gain access to Google’s search algorithms or proprietary technology.
For AI companies, the change could be significant. AI-powered search tools depend on large volumes of real-world data to better understand what users are looking for, improve result quality, and deliver more accurate answers. Access to anonymized search data could help smaller platforms develop stronger search experiences without having to build the same data collection systems that Google has spent decades developing.
The European Commission is also requiring Google to make parts of Android more accessible to competing AI assistants. This will allow rival tools to access features currently available to Google’s Gemini, like deeper device integration and voice activation capabilities.
The decision doesn’t remove the challenges of competing with Google, which still has major advantages in technology, distribution, and infrastructure. However, it could lower one barrier for entrepreneurs and companies building AI-powered search and discovery tools by giving them access to valuable data that was previously difficult to obtain.
ecommerce
TikTok Shop’s New Managed Service Could Let Brands Outsource Their Store Operations
 TikTok Shop is testing a new service that would allow the platform to essentially run your store for you. The program is expected to launch as a pilot in August 2026.
Sellers would still own their product listings and provide products to creators, but TikTok would manage much of the work needed to drive sales. That includes setting up and optimizing marketing campaigns, managing automated advertising through TikTok’s GMV Max tool, improving product listings, coordinating creator collaborations, and producing content, including AI-generated videos.
The service comes with a $10,000 upfront fee, plus a commission of 10% to 20% on sales depending on the product category. It will be available to both US-based sellers and international brands looking to sell to US customers.
For sellers, the appeal is clear. Growing on TikTok Shop requires constant content creation, creator outreach, and advertising experimentation. A managed service could help brands move faster without building a large internal team.
However, it could create challenges for the agencies that already help brands succeed on TikTok Shop. By offering services like campaign management, creator partnerships, and content production directly, TikTok would become a direct competitor to many existing agencies.
There’s also a question around whether increased platform involvement could make TikTok Shop content feel less unique over time. If a majority of brands rely on the same tools, strategies, and production processes provided by TikTok, there is a risk that product videos and storefronts could all begin to look more similar, reducing some of the creativity that helped make TikTok commerce successful in the first place.
For sellers, this pilot program could create new opportunities, but it also means thinking carefully about how much control you want to hand over to the platform driving your sales.
Amazon
Amazon’s AI Doesn’t Just Pick the Top-Ranking Products
For years, Amazon sellers have focused on one goal: getting their products to rank higher in search results. Higher rankings meant more visibility, more clicks, and more sales.
But new research from Marketplace Pulse suggests Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Alexa for Shopping, is making product recommendations in a very different way.
A study analyzing 12,810 product recommendations across 1,963 non-branded searches found that Amazon’s AI frequently recommends products that are not near the top of traditional search results. In fact, 63.9% of recommended products were outside the top 10 organic search results for the same query, while 40.9% did not appear anywhere on the visible search results page.
For sellers, this raises an important question: if ranking #1 is no longer the only way to get discovered, what does Amazon’s AI actually care about?
The answer is still unclear. Amazon has not shared the exact signals behind its AI recommendations, but the research suggests the system may be looking beyond rankings and sales volume.
Instead, AI may be evaluating things like:
- How well a product matches a shopper’s specific needs
- The details included in a listing
- Product features and specifications
- Customer reviews and questions
- How clearly a seller explains what the product is designed for
For example, a hiking backpack ranking #35 for “travel backpack” could still be recommended if the listing clearly explains that it fits airline carry-on requirements, protects a laptop, and works for multi-day trips. A higher-ranking backpack with a vague description may not be as good a match for that shopper.
This does not mean Amazon SEO is dead. Keywords, reviews, conversion rates, pricing, inventory, and sales history still influence traditional search rankings.
But sellers may need to think beyond simply optimizing for keywords. The next stage of Amazon visibility may depend on helping AI understand why a product is useful, who it is for, and when it is the right choice.
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Amazon
Amazon Keeps Holiday Fees Steady but Tightens 2026 Inventory Deadlines
Amazon has released its 2026 holiday selling calendar, giving sellers a clearer picture of peak season costs and deadlines.
The good news is that holiday promotion fees and peak fulfillment fees remain unchanged from last year. Best Deals, Lightning Deals, and Prime Exclusive Price Discounts will continue to cost a $100 upfront fee plus 1.5% of promotional sales, capped at $5,000. Sellers who register early can also save $50 on the upfront fee.
Holiday peak fulfillment fees will also stay the same, adding an average of $0.32 per unit from October 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027. However, sellers will still pay the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge introduced earlier this year, adding to fulfillment costs during the busiest shopping season.
The downside is timing.
Amazon has moved every inbound inventory deadline earlier. Sellers who miss these cutoffs could lose Prime badge eligibility during Prime Big Deal Days, Black Friday Week, and Cyber Monday, even if their inventory arrives before the events begin.
To keep products Prime-eligible for Prime Big Deal Days, inventory must arrive by:
- September 2 for Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD)
- September 9 for FBA shipments using minimal shipment splits
- September 16 for FBA shipments using Amazon-optimized shipment splits
For Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday, the deadlines are:
- October 14 for AWD
- October 21 for FBA minimal shipment splits
- October 28 for FBA Amazon-optimized shipment splits
Amazon also says sellers should expect tighter inbound capacity as the holiday season approaches.
So, while holiday fees may be predictable this year, inventory planning has become less forgiving. Waiting until the last minute could mean missing out on Prime visibility when demand is at its highest.
Google Ranking Factors Explained: The 5 Signals That Matter Most
What actually matters when it comes to rankings?
Thanks to research from Tom Demers at WordStream, along with insights from Google’s leaked Content Warehouse API documents, we now have a better understanding of the signals that influence search performance.
Thousands of ranking attributes appear to fall into five major areas.
1. Domain Authority
Google appears to measure whether a website is a trusted source through signals like quality backlinks, brand recognition, and how often people visit the site directly.
A strong website reputation can help individual pages perform better in search results.
2. Topical Authority
Google favors websites that demonstrate expertise in a specific area rather than publishing content across unrelated topics. Sites that consistently cover a specific area in depth are more likely to be seen as relevant sources.
3. Content Quality
Google is becoming better at identifying whether content shows genuine expertise or could have been produced by anyone.
It values content that shows real effort, original research, expert input, unique data, and information that can’t easily be recreated by another website.
4. Freshness
Updating content can help maintain rankings, but only when updates actually improve the page. Simply changing a publication date without adding new value is unlikely to have an impact.
5. User Engagement
Search rankings aren’t only about getting clicks. Google also looks at what happens after someone lands on a page.
Signals such as whether users click on a result, stay on the page, and find what they need can influence rankings. Websites with intrusive pop-ups, poor mobile experiences, or distracting layouts may struggle even if their content is strong.
Google rewards websites that demonstrate real expertise and provide genuine value. The best SEO strategy isn’t chasing individual ranking factors. It’s building a website that users trust and want to return to.
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