Nine spots left to join us in NYC on July 15
Amazon’s ad business is worth almost $3 billion. The company reported in third-quarter earnings today that “other” revenue, which is primarily made up of ad sales, is now worth $2.5 billion, an increase of 123 percent from the year prior.
In the second quarter, Amazon had said that ad revenue was up 129 percent to almost $2.2 billion.
In the past few months, Amazon took a major step in consolidating and simplifying its ad products, merging everything into one platform called Amazon advertising so advertisers can buy everything in the same place.
Marketers now see Amazon as a part of the triopoly, although the company’s overall advertising prowess lags far behind the other two legs of the triopoly, Google and Facebook. Google parent Alphabet, which reported that CPC on Google properties is down 28 percent, had total revenue at $34 billion for the quarter, with the majority of that being advertising. Facebook reports third-quarter earnings next week.
Amazon’s ad business, which some estimates project will reach $50 billion in the next decade, is still a small part of Amazon’s overall business, which was $56.6 billion this quarter. Perhaps because of that, both buyers and brands still have gripes about how slowly the platform is improving. They report that the company still has a way to go with the basics, with somewhat rudimentary toolsets, campaign data and some inconsistencies with how ads are bought and what data you get back.
According to data by Teikametrics, which helps brands advertise on Amazon, 32 percent of revenue for brands that sell on Amazon is now driven by advertising on Amazon. And brands have increasing ad spend overall on Amazon by 250 percent since the third quarter of 2017.
More in Marketing

Sam’s Club sees initial success with digital checkout
Sam’s Club’s CFO said at an investment conference that “if we fast forward into the future,” there will probably be no checkout registers.

How employment is projected to transform in media during the AI era
Experts offer pointers on how to future-proof your career or re-enter the job market in a period of disruption.

Retail media hits maturation curve, eyeing brand budgets with full-funnel makeover
Retail media networks like Walmart, DoorDash, and Instacart recently unveiled new tools and partnerships, signaling a push beyond conversions toward full-funnel brand budgets.