This Week in M&A Issue #262
November 9, 2026
Top of the mornin’ to ya!
Today’s trend of the week is “flag football”. 🏈
Girls’ flag football is taking off across the US, and participation is growing at an impressive rate.
According to Morning Brew, more than 100,000 high school girls played flag football during the 2025–26 school year, up 48% from the previous year and over 550% since 2021.
Around 800,000 girls aged 6–17 now play the sport, with 4,000 high schools across 40 states offering girls’ flag football programs.
And the sport is getting some serious financial backing. The NFL and other investors have pledged $192 million toward developing professional men’s and women’s flag football leagues. The sport is also set to make its Olympic debut in 2028.
This growing interest presents an opportunity to target a rapidly expanding market.
Online sellers could capitalize by offering flag football equipment, including flags, belts, gloves, and training accessories, or launching sportswear brands specifically designed for female players.
There’s also potential for digital products, such as coaching guides, training programs, and resources for parents and young athletes.
With participation growing and major investment flowing into the sport, now’s a great time to explore this niche.
Today we have for you:
- Shopify merchants saw 29% sales growth in Q3
- ChatGPT now handles 20% of Google’s search volume
And:
- Amazon opens Alexa Shopping to independent merchants
- Google organic traffic hits 15-month high
- Different AI models recommend different products
Alright, let’s dive in.
ecommerce
Image Source: Giphy (MailChimp)
Shopify Merchants Sell $119 Billion in Just 3 Months
Shopify merchants had a pretty impressive third quarter.
Shopify generated $3.74 billion in revenue in Q3 2026, up 32% year-over-year. Merchants using the platform sold a whopping $119.1 billion worth of products, a 29% increase.
Shopify’s operating income also jumped 66% to $568 million, while net income reached $462 million.
One of the most interesting developments is how quickly AI shopping is growing.
Shopify reported that traffic from AI searches grew 2.6 times year-over-year, while orders from these searches increased 3.3 times.
Even more interesting, shoppers arriving through AI referrals were 64% more likely to buy than those coming from traditional organic search.
That’s potentially good news for smaller ecommerce businesses selling niche products. Instead of searching for general product categories, shoppers can ask AI assistants to recommend products that match their exact needs.
Of course, AI shopping is still relatively small, and Shopify hasn’t revealed exactly how many sales it generates.
Still, Shopify is preparing for further growth by expanding integrations with Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and other AI shopping assistants.
Shopify’s own AI assistant, Sidekick, is also gaining traction, with daily active users growing 3.7 times. Meanwhile, tools like Canvas are helping merchants launch customized stores 20% faster.
For ecommerce entrepreneurs, Shopify’s latest results are an encouraging sign that consumer spending online continues to grow.
With new tools making it easier to launch stores and reach customers, entrepreneurs have more ways to benefit from that demand.
Search
ChatGPT Is Growing Fast, but Google Still Wins on Traffic
Google has dominated online search for decades, but ChatGPT is catching up faster than many expected.
OpenAI recently revealed that ChatGPT now handles roughly 20% as many search queries as Google.
That’s pretty impressive considering ChatGPT only introduced web search capabilities about two years ago.
For context, OpenAI counts a search when someone asks ChatGPT a question that requires up-to-date information from the web. Simple questions and general explanations aren’t included.
But more searches don’t necessarily mean more website visitors.
According to SEO platform Ahrefs, Google generated 24.74% of traffic across 118,671 tracked websites in October, while ChatGPT accounted for just 0.36%.
So, while more people are using ChatGPT to find information, relatively few are clicking through to websites.
There’s also some uncertainty around OpenAI’s figures. The company hasn’t disclosed which Google search data it used for comparison. Earlier this year, Ahrefs estimated ChatGPT’s search volume at around 12% of Google’s, using a different methodology.
And Google isn’t exactly losing momentum.
Alphabet recently reported its strongest year-over-year search query growth in five years. Google is also investing heavily in AI-powered features, including AI Overviews, personalized results, and interactive charts.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is developing similar features to make ChatGPT’s answers more visual and interactive.
So, what does this mean for online business owners?
Google still dominates search traffic, but customers are increasingly using AI tools to research products, compare options, and discover businesses.
That means traditional SEO remains important, but it’s worth paying attention to how your products and content appear in AI-generated answers.
Amazon
Amazon Lets Online Stores Sell Through Alexa
Amazon has launched Shop Direct Merchant Workspace, a free platform that allows eligible ecommerce businesses to connect their stores to Amazon and its AI shopping assistant, Alexa for Shopping.
This means products from independent online stores can appear in Amazon search results and Alexa’s product recommendations, alongside products sold directly on Amazon.
Importantly, Amazon doesn’t charge merchants to participate.
And there’s a potentially huge audience.
Since launching Shop Direct last year, Amazon says tens of millions of shoppers have discovered hundreds of millions of products from external retailers. These products now appear in hundreds of millions of Amazon searches every month.
So, how does it work?
Merchants can register for free, verify their websites, and upload their existing product catalogs. Amazon also supports integrations with providers like Feedonomics, Salsify, CEDCommerce, and VersaFeed.
When customers discover a product through Shop Direct, they have two purchasing options:
- Shop Direct: Customers are redirected to the merchant’s website to complete their purchase.
- Buy for Me: For eligible products, Amazon’s AI can complete the purchase on the merchant’s website on the customer’s behalf.
Merchants remain responsible for their own inventory, pricing, shipping, returns, and customer service. They can also choose which products to include and leave the program whenever they want.
Now, Shopify and other independent store owners could potentially reach Amazon’s massive customer base without becoming traditional Amazon sellers or paying marketplace fees.
Read All About It!
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AI Search
AI Shopping Test Reveals Why Different AI Models Recommend Different Products
Despite growing concerns that AI is reducing website traffic, new data suggests Google is actually sending more visitors to websites.
Semrush’s Q3 2026 State of Search report found that 46.11% of Google desktop searches in the US resulted in clicks to external websites in September, up from 39.74% in July.
That’s the highest percentage recorded in the 15-month study.
Even better, the percentage of searches ending without a click dropped from 24.97% in July to 22.99% in September. Clicks to Google’s own websites also declined.
Europe showed similar results, with 49.56% of Google searches leading to external websites and just 20.99% ending without a click.
But that doesn’t mean AI search is slowing down.
AI tools accounted for 1.29% of US desktop activity in September, up 79% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, traditional search accounted for 9.47%, down slightly from 10.29%.
Google’s AI Mode is also gaining users. Its share of US desktop activity more than doubled between July and September, although it still accounted for just 0.31%.
People are also changing how they search.
In September, 2.58% of US Google searches contained more than 15 words, compared to 1.67% in August. This suggests people are increasingly asking Google longer, more detailed questions, similar to how they interact with AI assistants.
Despite these changes, Google still dominated traditional search, accounting for 92.43% of US desktop searches and 94.47% in Europe.
It’s worth noting that Semrush analyzed desktop activity across the US and 32 European countries. Mobile searches weren’t included.
For online business owners, this is encouraging news. While AI search is growing, traditional Google search remains an important source of website traffic.
The increase in organic clicks suggests businesses shouldn’t abandon their SEO efforts in favor of AI optimization. Both deserve attention, especially as customers change how they discover products and businesses online.
eCommerce & AI
AI Shopping Assistants Can’t Agree on the Best Products
AI shopping assistants are supposed to help consumers find the best products. But what happens when different AI models are given exactly the same shopping request?
A recent experiment found that three AI models recommended different products, even when comparing identical options.
Researcher Slobodan Manic tested three Claude AI models using Shopify’s product catalog.
The experiment involved 1,980 product selections across categories including coffee, backpacks, running shoes, and skincare.
Despite receiving identical information and instructions, the models never agreed on a favorite product across the six main searches.
Interestingly, each model was consistent in its own recommendations.
Claude Sonnet 5 selected its preferred product 94% of the time, Opus 5 did so 89% of the time, and Haiku 4.5 did so 67% of the time.
So, what influenced their decisions?
Haiku and Sonnet generally favored products with more customer reviews, while Opus preferred safer, more general-purpose options.
The models also relied heavily on product descriptions and ratings, sometimes repeating inaccurate information.
For example, Shopify listed a water bottle with 447,221 reviews, despite the retailer’s website showing just 6,537. Two models repeatedly recommended it based on the inflated figure.
Naturally, specific customer requirements also influenced recommendations.
When researchers asked for sunscreen under $25 for oily skin, all three models stopped recommending the previously popular $48 product. One model even favored a lower-rated sunscreen because its description specifically mentioned that it wouldn’t clog pores.
For ecommerce sellers, this research highlights the growing importance of accurate product information and detailed descriptions.
Merchants should check how their products appear in AI-accessible catalogs, use language that reflects customers’ specific needs, and verify their product claims.
The experiment was limited to three Claude models and didn’t involve actual purchases, but it suggests that getting products recommended by AI may depend on much more than traditional search rankings.
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