From a media analytics perspective, Amazon stands out due to its extensive consumer shopping behavior data and comprehensive coverage across U.S. households. The platform’s closed-loop measurement solution provides advertisers with valuable insights by integrating ad interactions with direct purchase data. Unlike other ad platforms where conversion tracking can be fragmented, Amazon’s data-safe space allows brands to see a more complete customer journey.

Another key advantage is Amazon’s audience data. The platform has a deep history of purchase behavior, enabling precise targeting based on consumer preferences and predicted future purchases. This level of granularity gives advertisers an edge in reaching high-intent shoppers.

While Amazon presents a significant opportunity for advertisers, there are strategic considerations. Amazon’s ad ecosystem is designed to keep brands within its walls, which can be a challenge for companies balancing sales across Amazon, direct-to-consumer channels, and wholesale. Advertisers need to strategically allocate budgets to maximize Amazon’s benefits while maintaining a presence across multiple sales channels.

High performers: Advertisers with mid-range ticket items and strong product differentiation tend to see the best returns. Since Amazon is a competitive marketplace, brands with unique offerings and reasonable margins can leverage its data-driven targeting effectively.

Underutilized industries: Many brands assume Amazon ads are only for those selling on the platform. However, with Amazon DSP, advertisers can use Amazon’s audience signals for campaigns that drive traffic to external sites. This presents an untapped opportunity for brands that do not sell directly on Amazon but want to reach high-intent shoppers.

Amazon’s closed-loop attribution via Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) changes how brands measure ad effectiveness. Unlike other platforms, Amazon can directly link exposure to a purchase due to its logged-in user base. This enhances visibility into:

• Upper-funnel impact: Demonstrating the value of Prime Video ads and other brand-building tactics
• Right-sizing budgets: Ensuring last-click attribution does not overvalue lower-funnel tactics.
• Conversion path analysis: Using models like Markov chains to determine which touchpoints are truly driving incremental sales.

Slingwave’s approach to incrementality measurement has uncovered key challenges brands face:

• Over-spending on branded keywords: While necessary for defense, over-reliance on branded search campaigns can inflate return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) figures without capturing true new customer acquisition.
• Over-saturating remarketing campaigns: Excessive frequency can lead to wasted budget and ad fatigue.
• Relying too much on automated bidding: While Amazon’s AI-driven tools work well in some cases, brands with higher budgets need manual controls to allocate spend effectively across different funnel stages.
• Ignoring consumer demand signals: Brands sometimes push inventory they want to sell rather than focusing on what consumers are actually searching for and purchasing.

Beyond ROAS, advertisers should track:

• Incremental sales contribution: Identifying what percentage of ad-attributed sales are truly incremental.
• Brand search lift: Monitoring increases in branded search volume as an indicator of upper-funnel ad effectiveness.
• Product page view growth: A strong predictor of future conversions.
• Media mix overlap: Understanding how different ad types interact to optimize cross-channel budget allocation.

Brands can enhance their Amazon strategy by integrating first-party data. Amazon’s ad tag and AMC allow advertisers to leverage their own data for lookalike modeling and custom audience segmentation, improving targeting efficiency without compromising privacy.

With Amazon extending ads beyond e-commerce into Twitch, Prime Video, Fire TV, and even Alexa, brands need to rethink their strategies:

• Leverage new ad placements: Experiment with video and streaming ads to build brand awareness.
• Test voice search optimization: As voice-assisted shopping grows, ensuring product discoverability via Alexa is crucial.
• Cross-channel synergy: Combine insights from traditional Amazon ads with newer formats to create a holistic advertising approach.

Amazon is no longer just an e-commerce giant—it’s a full-fledged advertising powerhouse. Brands that understand its closed-loop measurement, leverage its rich audience data, and balance their presence within and outside of the ecosystem will gain a competitive edge. As Amazon continues to expand its ad offerings, advertisers who stay ahead of these trends will unlock new growth opportunities.