While everybody’s been running around looking for lightning deals and speedy shipping on Prime Day 2025, something greater is going down in the background at Amazon. The retail behemoth, which is still guided by founder Jeff Bezos’ vision, is introducing a wave of significant changes this year—and as a shopper or a seller, it may impact your bottom line.
Let us look at some of what is new up to this point in 2025 and what is still yet to come. Some of these developments are good news, some will take some getting used to — but all part of Amazon’s push toward greater efficiency and AI-based operations.
Faster deliveries to rural America
Visible transformation? Amazon is transforming its delivery network dramatically to small towns. Amazon is investing more than $4 billion to almost triple in size by 2026, with the goal of achieving same-day and next-day delivery to over 4,000 small cities and towns in the U.S.
That means whether you’re in North Padre Island, Texas, or a tiny town in Iowa, you’ll likely see packages arrive faster than ever — especially if you’re a Prime member spending over $25. Amazon says this move is about “saving customers time and money,” but it’s also a clear push to compete with Walmart and Target in underserved areas.
AI plays a major role here, helping Amazon predict what items rural customers want most so they can stock the right products in the right places.
Freevee says goodbye—Streaming content moves to prime video
If you’re someone who enjoyed watching free content on Amazon’s Freevee app, there’s bad news: Freevee is shutting down next month.
But don’t panic — Amazon says that all of Freevee’s shows and movies (including original content from MGM Studios and FAST channels) will move into the Prime Video catalog. Even better, the content will remain free to watch — even if you’re not a Prime member. So while it’s a goodbye to the Freevee name, the content lives on under a new home.
New seller policies: Tougher (but less evil) shipping policies
Amazon has altered Premium Shipping requirements for sellers. Sellers used to need a 97% on-time delivery rate in order to meet the super-coveted badge requirements. That’s a lower percentage now—a relatively low-key 93.5%—but Amazon will be checking up on compliance on a weekly rather than a 30-day cycle.
And the kicker is this: three strikes and you lose Premium Shipping benefits and visibility. So while rules might have appeared to loosen, now they require sellers to stay on top of performance more often.
Amazon doubles down on AI
Amazon is doubling down on artificial intelligence in 2025. Three new AI-powered tools are already rolling out:
- Wellspring, a mapping system that improves delivery precision
- Supply Chain Forecasting, that predicts customer demand by geography
- Agentic AI, a robotics technology that allows computers to interpret gestures and behave like a person
The applications aim to provide speed, cost reduction, and ultimately make Amazon the logistics and warehouse automation leader.
Amazon’s 2025 changes run deep — and they’re only beginning. If you’re a weekend vendor or full-time store owner, the time is now to transform and prepare for the online selling future.
