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Marketplace + AWS cross-subsidy economics
AmazonOctober 15, 2026
The interesting detail is the cross-subsidy loop: high-margin AWS cash can absorb low-margin marketplace economics, letting Amazon keep squeezing price and delivery terms where rivals cannot.
The Crackback
What looks like a retail price war is partly financed by cloud profits. That changes the competitive math: Amazon can tolerate thinner retail economics longer than merchants or pure-play retailers, so “low price” is less a promise than a financing weapon.