Podean and Jungle Scout launch Marketplace Index for 3,500 Amazon brands

Podean, with Jungle Scout, launched The Marketplace Index™ 2026 on Oct. 6, expanding its annual Amazon benchmark to more than 3,500 brands across six markets. The report adds AI readiness as a fifth pillar, reflecting how shopping discovery on Amazon is changing.

Why it matters: - The Marketplace Index gives brands a data-backed way to measure Amazon performance against category peers and identify growth gaps. - The 2026 report adds AI readiness as a new benchmark, signaling that product discovery on Amazon is increasingly shaped by AI-powered shopping tools. - The index covers six major markets, giving brands a cross-market view of where performance standards and opportunities differ.

What happened: - Podean launched The Marketplace Index™ 2026 on Oct. 6. - Jungle Scout partnered on the report and supplied Amazon marketplace data for the scoring model. - The annual benchmark now evaluates more than 3,500 brands across Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. - The report is in its fourth year.

The details: - The 2026 edition assesses performance across five pillars: Retail, Content, Customer, Media and the new AI readiness pillar. - Podean said the report helps brands see where they rank, who sets the pace and where the biggest opportunities sit. - Jungle Scout said the report provides detail by category, brand, product and keyword so brands can decide where to compete and invest. - Podean and Jungle Scout have worked together for five years, and 2026 is their second collaboration on The Marketplace Index. - The two companies worked together throughout the report process to keep the data and insights as complete as possible. - The report is available at More information, with localized versions for each of the six markets. - Brand-specific reports can be requested from Raphiel Bacar at raphiel@podean.com. - The report says winning on Amazon now requires a full-funnel, multi-market strategy that includes media, content and AI readiness. - The index highlights category leaders and the strategies they use to build and defend advantage. - The report compares brands with category peers, market competitors and leading brands across the Amazon ecosystem. - The benchmark tracks year-over-year performance changes over the past three years. - The report also compares brands across Amazon marketplaces globally and identifies where performance standards vary by market.

Between the lines: - The new AI readiness pillar suggests Amazon competition is moving beyond retail execution and media into how brands show up in AI-assisted discovery. - The report’s expanded geographic coverage reflects how global marketplace operators need standards that travel across markets, not just within one country. - In Brazil, the data points to content fundamentals as an immediate lever for growth, which makes execution quality more important than broad brand awareness alone.

What's next: - Brands can use the 2026 benchmark now to compare performance and prioritize investment. - The report may push more sellers to audit content, retail and media readiness before AI-driven discovery becomes a bigger competitive filter. - In Brazil, the report suggests brands that improve fundamentals now may gain share before competition tightens further.