Amazon in 2026 Starts Now: Strategic Steps to Take Before the Next Quarter

Amazon in 2026 Starts Now: Strategic Steps to Take Before the Next Quarter

Okay, listen—I'm fully aware that “step-by-step plans” are overdone. You see them everywhere: blog posts, YouTube videos, LinkedIn threads, all promising the same roadmap to success. If you’re reading this and thinking, this is useless, I’ve already done all of this, that’s great. That probably means you’re ahead of most sellers. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to improve. There’s almost always opportunity hiding in your blind spots.

I’m writing this for the people who can benefit from it. And if you are already ahead of the curve, I’ll make you a deal—reach out and let me take a look. If there’s nothing you could be doing better, I’ll be the first to tell you that, and you’ll still have my contact information if you ever need anything down the road. I’m here to help. I’m not chasing clicks or clients. I’m doing this because I’ve been at the bottom, the middle, and the top—and I know what it feels like at every level (and what your potential struggles are).

If you read my last post—Amazon Advertising in 2025 (and What It Means for 2026)—you already know that success next year starts long before January 1st. In that post, we talked about the advertising opportunities sellers can start capitalizing on now. This post zooms out. Advertising is only one part of the bigger picture. What I want to talk about here is everything else—operations, inventory, planning, and positioning your brand to win in 2026.

Step 1: Plan Inventory Like It’s February 2026

The most common mistake brands make is simple: they get so focused on Q4 that they forget Q1 exists.
Q1 is your reset button. It’s the quarter that determines your pace for the entire year.

You can’t sell on Amazon if you don’t have inventory. That sounds obvious, but time and again, I see businesses—small and large—get caught off guard because they didn’t plan far enough ahead. They don’t have purchase orders for Q2, they don’t know their 2026 catalog, or they don’t have updated projections. Or maybe they have done all of those things, but they have nobody actively managing it.

Whether you’re working with just a few hundred units or a few million dollars in stock, most brands aren’t forecasting properly. They’re reacting instead of preparing.

Even if you don’t have the capital to pre-buy months in advance, you can plan.
Know your numbers:

• How much you’ll need

• When you’ll need it

• How long it takes to get there

• Do I need to negotiate terms?

• Will outside investments be necessary?

Building that visibility now will reduce stress later—and almost always lead to better profitability.

Step 2: Know What’s Changing in Your Business

2026 will bring its own opportunities and challenges. So, what’s changing in your world?

• New brand deals or partnerships?

• Products being discontinued?

• Supply chain updates?

• A rebrand or expansion to other marketplaces?

Most brands skip this step because it feels like “common sense.” But few actually document it. Take a day before the end of Q4 to outline your 2026 expectations—what’s staying, what’s going, and where you want to grow.

Growth doesn’t happen just because the calendar changes.
It happens because you planned for it.

So ask yourself: why will we grow next year? Not because “the economy looks better,” but because of the actions you’re taking now—better forecasting, smarter operations, improved listings, and a clearer brand story.

Step 3: Build the Roadmap

This is what I’m doing right now for my clients—building out projections, roadmaps, and growth strategies for 2026. The goal is clarity.

You should know:

• What your sales targets are

• What headwinds you might face

• Which partnerships are coming or going

• What your new product pipeline looks like

If you’re managing your own account, carve out time to think about these things.
If you work with a consultant or agency, make sure they’re thinking about them with you.

Every brand that’s growing right now has one thing in common: they’re thinking about next year while everyone else is still trying to survive this quarter.

Step 4: Face the Hard Stuff Early

Let’s be honest—most sellers avoid the hard stuff until it becomes a fire.

Maybe your issue is cash flow. Maybe it’s overstock. Maybe your listings are outdated, or your processes rely on one person who’s already overloaded. Whatever it is, now is the time to face it.

The brands that grow consistently aren’t the ones that never hit problems—they’re the ones that identify and address those problems early.

• If you’re overstocked, make a liquidation plan before Q1.

• If your margins are tightening, renegotiate supplier terms (or start looking for a new one) now—not after your costs have already eaten your profits and your relationship has deteriorated.

• If your account is walking the line on Account Health, fix it before it becomes an emergency and prioritize getting into Amazon’s Account Health Assurance program.

You don’t have to solve everything overnight. But by getting honest about where your pain points are—financial, operational, or strategic—you position yourself to actually make 2026 a year of movement instead of reaction.

Facing the hard stuff early doesn’t just reduce stress; it gives you leverage.

Step 5: Don’t Wait for 2026 to “Start”

It’s November. Q4 is chaos—I know.
But this is exactly when you need to stop and get a grip on the next twelve months.

Inventory, strategy, people, products, and partnerships—everything you do now determines where you’ll be sitting a year from today.

Don’t wait until January. Amazon in 2026 starts now.
(Honestly, it started about six months ago.)