eCommerce Express Digest - September 2025
10 September 2025 Blog Posts
KT here! Here’s your Digital Marketing and SEO update intravenous news delivered in short segments to keep you up to date on the latest news in tech, digital marketing, and retail. August was packed with industry news and updates, the most noteworthy one being one related to Google’s new spam update, which has the potential to affect eCommerce sites.
Google releases August 2025 spam update
“Today we released the August 2025 spam update. It may take a few weeks to complete. This is a normal spam update, and it will roll out for all languages and locations. We’ll post on the Google Search Status Dashboard when the rollout is done.” – Google
Google has begun rolling out its August 2025 spam update, the first spam update of the year and the first since December 2024. It follows June’s core update and will continue rolling out over the next few weeks. When these updates roll out, sites that violate Google’s spam policies may see their rankings drop or disappear from results. The aim of the spam update is to protect users by reducing the visibility of spammy sites and rewarding those that follow Google’s guidelines. In some cases, sites may recover over time if they fix issues and Google’s systems later recognise compliance.
It’s unclear what type of spam this update is targeting, and historically updates like these have not affected our clients but we will be monitoring closely.
New agentic features now available to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S.
“Starting today, we’re bringing more advanced agentic and personalized capabilities to AI Mode so you can make progress on your tasks and get more tailored information based on your interests. We’re also bringing AI Mode to even more people around the world.” – Google
After months of rumors, Google has officially rolled out AI Mode across the globe, now live in 180 countries and territories. Designed to help when your query needs deeper exploration, reasoning, or comparison; AI Mode delivers detailed AI-generated answers in one place. Google has expanded AI Mode in Search with powerful new agentic features, allowing users to complete tasks like booking restaurants, with future support for services and event tickets.
Our advice to marketers would be to start testing AI Mode and see how it may influence your site visibility and outcomes.
Google Ads introduces loyalty perks to boost shopper retention
Google is adding loyalty features to Google Ads and Merchant Center, enabling retailers to showcase member-only pricing and shipping perks directly in search and shopping results. New tools include personalised annotations for discounts and a loyalty goal in Ads to optimise for long-term customer value. As a use case, Sephora US saw a 20% CTR lift by showing discounts based on loyalty tiers. A new retention goal in Google Ads also lets retailers optimise spend for high-value customers and focus on lifetime value.
OpenAI has released GPT-5, its most advanced AI model yet
It promises better writing, faster research, and greater accuracy across tasks like content creation, coding, and marketing. Users can expect more nuanced conversations, and tone control through new built-in personas. It’s out already. Free users already able to access GPT-5 (with limited access) while paid subscribers enjoy unlimited access and the Pro-version. In a article posted on Openai, it talks about new features and the hope of the new AI model to provide expert intelligence for everyone, demonstrating the new model’s use cases including creative writing, coding and deciphering results of physical exams. However, I’d note that ChatGPT is not designed for handling sensitive health information such as lab results, as uploading this type of data could expose users to privacy risks.
A powerful update for sure. There is a growing discussion within the SEO community around whether ChatGPT Plus may be sourcing answers from Google. Experiments by Backlinko, Abhishek Iyer, Aleyda Solis, and Alexis Rylko suggest this possibility, though OpenAI has officially stated that Bing is its search partner. If true, the findings would highlight the continued importance of strong Google visibility.
Amazon expands in Melbourne with two new fulfilment sites
Amazon has opened two new fulfilment centres in Melbourne, investing $200 million across Cranbourne West and Ravenhall to speed up deliveries and create more than 700 jobs. The Cranbourne West site can store four million items, while an even larger Craigieburn facility is on the way and will become Amazon’s biggest in Australia, he sites will be partly operated by robots.
And that’s a wrap from me. If you’ve got any questions about the new Google Spam update or how it might impact your digital marketing, our team is always here to help.
