A retail company uses a regional Amazon API Gateway API for its public REST APIs. The API Gateway uses a custom domain name that maps to an Amazon Route 53 alias record. A solutions architect needs a deployment approach that minimizes customer impact and minimizes data loss when releasing a new API version. Which solution meets these requirements?

Canary releases are ideal for minimizing customer impact and data loss when deploying new API versions. By routing a small percentage of traffic to the new version (canary stage), you can test it in a live environment without affecting all users. If issues arise, traffic can be diverted back to the stable version. Once verified, the canary stage is promoted to production, seamlessly replacing the old version. The other options involve direct updates or creating entirely new API Gateway endpoints, which carry higher risks. Using import-to-update in merge or overwrite mode directly on the production API can introduce breaking changes or downtime if not handled carefully. Creating a new API Gateway endpoint and updating Route 53 involves a DNS change, which can have propagation delays and potential for downtime during the switch.