The theme: Amazon used its annual seller conference, Amazon Accelerate, to showcase new tools and features that reinforce its ambition to serve as the infrastructure of retail.

The company is weaving together AI-driven tools, externalized logistics, and its vast seller network to extend its influence beyond its own marketplace.

The context: Amazon aims to ensure it operates like the “world’s largest startup” to stay agile amid shifting market conditions, CEO Andy Jassy said in a fireside chat during the three-day event.

• The company’s partnership with its massive number of sellers—55,000 of whom grossed over $1 million in annual sales last year—and its rollout of AI-driven tools and externalized logistics are helping it weave together a multipronged approach that positions it not just as a marketplace, but as the infrastructure of ecommerce.
• “I think the transformation that we're seeing with AI is going to make it even easier and more compelling for you all to be able to sell and for us to collectively be successful together," Jassy said. "I still think it's very early days.”

The details: Amazon is pushing both on-platform and off-platform growth. On Amazon, it continues to streamline the seller experience. Off-platform, it’s externalizing logistics through Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)—which lets merchants use Amazon’s network to pick, pack, ship, and deliver orders from other channels—regardless of the whether the shopper makes a purchase on a marketplace, brand site, or social platforms.

Key competitive moves announced:

• Walmart: Sellers can now use MCF to fulfill orders placed on Walmart.
• Shopify: MCF is joining Shopify’s curated list of third-party logistics providers.
• Shein: An integration will connect merchants with MCF later this year.