Talk Commerce recently featured Hristo Arakliev, Co-founder and COO of Hyperzon, in an engaging conversation about maximizing Amazon potential for direct-to-consumer brands. Hristo brought firsthand expertise to this episode, sharing practical strategies that help ecommerce businesses expand their reach across multiple sales channels. The discussion covered everything from AI implementation to advertising tactics, providing listeners with actionable advice for scaling their Amazon presence. Beyond the business talk, Hristo revealed his passion for extreme sports like kite surfing, snow kiting, paragliding, and parkour.
Key Takeaways
- Focus on one channel at a time – Don’t dilute your attention and investments by spreading too thin across multiple platforms simultaneously. Master one channel before expanding to the next.
- Marketing trumps product perfection – Having a great product isn’t enough. Without proper marketing efforts and visibility, even the best products will fail to gain traction.
- Organic traffic spillover works best – Drive traffic to your website and let 10-13% naturally spill over to Amazon rather than directing paid traffic straight to Amazon listings.
- Amazon operates like Google SEO – Many sellers mistakenly treat Amazon like a paid advertising platform similar to Meta ads. In reality, Amazon’s keyword-driven search functionality makes organic optimization critical.
- AI serves as an add-on, not a replacement – Use AI tools to handle tasks you don’t enjoy, freeing up time for strategic thinking rather than replacing human analysis.
- Prepare early for holiday seasons – Ship inventory to Amazon months in advance. Recent years have required mid-September inventory arrivals to ensure products are available before the holidays.
- Consider strategic ad placement during competitive periods – Let competitors exhaust their budgets, then advertise under their listings to capture customers seeking the authentic product.
About Hristo Arakliev
Hristo is the Co-founder and COO of Hyperzon. His company is one of the leading Full Scale Amazon agencies in the US, providing account management, advertising, and store optimization services to sellers. As COO at Hyperzon, Hristo helps e-commerce brands scale on Amazon through tailored strategies that drive growth and visibility. With a focus on long-term success and deep knowledge of the platform, he ensures clients avoid common pitfalls and stand out in a competitive marketplace.
Hristo has been in the Amazon space for more than 6 years now and likes to share his knowledge on multiple platforms, including at some big ecommerce events like World Geekout, Digital Founders Network, Traffic Summit and more. His educational background includes a Master in Law, and he brings a diverse skill set that encompasses public speaking, marketing expertise, and growth hacking. Outside of his professional pursuits, Hristo maintains an active lifestyle through tennis, kite surfing, snow kiting, paragliding, and parkour.
Episode Summary
The conversation kicked off with Hristo explaining Hyperzon’s core mission: helping established D2C brands achieve similar success on Amazon. He emphasized that Amazon continues to dominate the ecommerce landscape as the largest marketplace, making it impossible for brands to ignore.
Hristo noted the powerful synergy between D2C and Amazon channels, stating that “your sales don’t like double, but they will quadruple and more if you use all of these channels the right way.” This visibility across platforms builds consumer trust and helps brands stand out in a crowded marketplace.
The discussion turned to AI implementation, where Hristo shared forward-thinking ideas. He expressed interest in AI storefronts that rearrange in real time based on customer intent, AI that pre-tests 50 thumbnails before spending money on PPC, and community-building features where AI generates content to keep buyers engaged.
On the topic of common merchant mistakes, Hristo warned against going hard on multiple channels simultaneously. He advised brands to focus their attention and investments on one working channel, scale it exponentially, and only then move to the next platform.
The advertising strategy discussion provided valuable insights. Hristo recommended against driving traffic directly to Amazon, explaining that Amazon doesn’t respond well to high bounce rates. Instead, he suggested letting natural spillover occur from website traffic, which typically results in 10-13% of visitors eventually purchasing on Amazon.
When addressing the emergence of AI search engines, Hristo acknowledged the shifting landscape. He noted that while Google has only lost about 1% of search traffic currently, this will likely change over the next few years as more consumers turn to ChatGPT and other AI browsers. He even shared an anecdote about receiving a client call from someone who discovered Hyperzon through ChatGPT recommendations.
The holiday preparation segment offered timely advice for sellers. Hristo stressed that inventory must be shipped to Amazon earlier each year, with mid-September becoming the cutoff to ensure products arrive before Christmas. For brands already on Amazon, he suggested a clever advertising strategy: letting competitors exhaust their ad budgets on branded keywords, then appearing under competitor listings to capture customers who recognize the knockoff products.
Final Thoughts
This episode delivers essential guidance for brands looking to maximize their ecommerce potential. Hristo Arakliev demonstrates why strategic thinking matters more than simply throwing money at advertising. His insights on organic optimization, AI integration, and channel focus provide a roadmap for sustainable growth. For D2C brands wondering whether to expand to Amazon, the message is clear: the opportunity exists, but success requires methodical execution and patience. Are you ready to take your brand to Amazon and experience the success that comes with proper marketplace strategy?
This has been produced in cooperation with Content Cucumber
https://www.contentcucumber.com/
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Connect with Hristo Arakliev on Instagram: @chrisaraventures
