Podean and Jungle Scout launch Marketplace Index 2026 with new AI readiness score

Podean and Jungle Scout released The Marketplace Index 2026, a benchmark of more than 3,500 Amazon brands across six global markets. The report adds AI Readiness as a new scoring pillar as brands face a more crowded, AI-shaped path to discovery and conversion on Amazon.

Why it matters: - The Marketplace Index 2026 gives brands a way to compare Amazon performance across markets, categories and competitors with one scoring model. - The new AI Readiness pillar reflects a shift in how shoppers discover products as AI-driven shopping tools gain influence. - The report is designed to show where brands are strongest and where they have room to grow in retail, content, customer experience, media and AI.

What happened: - Podean launched The Marketplace Index 2026 in partnership with Jungle Scout on Oct. 6. - The annual benchmark scores more than 3,500 brands across six markets: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, the UK and the US. - The 2026 edition is the report's fourth year. - The report is available at More information, with localized versions for each market. - Brand-specific reports may be available on request by contacting Raphiel Bacar at raphiel@podean.com.

The details: - The 2026 report adds AI Readiness as a fifth scoring pillar. - The other scoring pillars are Retail, Content, Customer and Media. - Jungle Scout provides the Amazon data that powers the scoring model. - Podean and Jungle Scout have partnered for five years, and 2026 marks their second collaboration on The Marketplace Index. - The companies worked closely during the report's creation to improve accuracy and completeness. - Podean says the index uses millions of performance signals to show where brands stand and where the biggest opportunities remain. - The report tracks year-over-year performance over the past three years. - The report compares brands against category peers, market competitors and leading brands across the broader Amazon ecosystem. - The report also shows how performance standards differ across Amazon marketplaces globally.

Between the lines: - The launch signals that Amazon competition is moving beyond basic retail execution into content quality, media efficiency and AI discoverability. - In practice, that means brands may need to optimize for both human shoppers and AI-assisted shopping journeys. - The report's multi-market framing suggests that a brand's home market performance may not translate directly to other Amazon regions. - For brands, the benchmark is as much a planning tool as a scorecard because it identifies specific gaps by market and category.

What's next: - Brands can use the localized reports to assess where they trail peers and where they can invest for faster gains. - Podean and Jungle Scout will likely use the benchmark to shape future market comparisons as Amazon shopping behavior keeps changing. - The new AI Readiness pillar may become more important as discovery tools and shopping assistants expand across markets.

The bottom line: - The Marketplace Index 2026 frames Amazon success as a multi-market, multi-funnel game, with AI readiness now part of the score.